"But… this is only the beginning…"
A sinister grin spread across Orochimaru's face as he released another surge of chakra. Instantly, the remaining snakes went berserk once again, hissing wildly as they lunged toward Team 7, tearing through the battlefield with murderous intent.
Naruto snorted coldly and formed hand seals at lightning speed.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Clouds of white smoke exploded across the battlefield as hundreds of shadow clones appeared all at once, surrounding the area like an unstoppable army.
Earlier, while chasing after Sasuke, Naruto had already exhausted himself. He had fought the Sound Four, battled Kimimaro, and finally clashed with Sasuke at the Valley of the End. Back then, his chakra reserves had completely dried up, forcing him to borrow the Nine-Tails' chakra in desperation.
But things were different now.
After Tsunade mastered the Strength of a Hundred Seal, the chakra she stored daily was enough to dramatically boost Naruto's reserves during training. Naruto already possessed monstrous chakra levels by nature, but now he had become even more terrifying.
The countless shadow clones roared as they charged forward.
The battlefield instantly descended into chaos.
Although Orochimaru's sea of snakes looked overwhelming, they were still ordinary snakes in the end. Against Naruto's overwhelming numbers, they stood no chance.
The clones hacked through them mercilessly.
Snakes were torn apart one after another, blood splattering across the ground as severed bodies piled everywhere.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes mockingly.
Suddenly, the surviving snakes opened their mouths wide—
And countless Kusanagi swords shot out from within them!
The blades pierced through the air like deadly rain as they attacked Naruto from every direction.
But Naruto's shadow clones didn't panic.
Each clone immediately drew its own Kusanagi blade and infused it with Wind Release chakra.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sword!"
Whoosh!
Sharp gusts of wind erupted from the blades, intertwining into a massive net of razor-sharp air currents. The attacks overlapped perfectly, leaving no path of escape.
The wind blades swept forward violently.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Every snake caught within the storm was shredded into pieces instantly. Flesh and blood exploded everywhere, dyeing the battlefield crimson.
Even Sasuke couldn't help muttering under his breath,
"Seriously… Naruto's chakra reserves are insane."
Orochimaru nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
"It seems your training with Tsunade wasn't wasted, Naruto."
Naruto pointed his sword directly at him.
"Now it's your turn, Orochimaru!"
With an angry roar, the army of shadow clones unleashed another wave of devastating wind blades.
The attacks surged forward like a gigantic storm.
This time, there was only one target—
Orochimaru.
The countless vacuum blades crossed through the air from every direction, sealing off every possible escape route.
Against such an overwhelming attack, even an elite Jonin would have been instantly overwhelmed.
Unfortunately for Naruto…
His opponent was Orochimaru.
Instead of dodging, Orochimaru simply stood there with a twisted smile on his face, allowing the attacks to collide directly with his body.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions thundered across the battlefield.
The ground split apart violently, massive cracks spreading everywhere like spiderwebs. Valleys and trenches were carved into the earth in an instant as rocks and dust shot into the sky.
The sheer destruction shook the entire area.
Even Naruto, despite his massive chakra reserves, began breathing heavily after such an enormous attack.
"Hinata! Can you see him?!"
Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan, scanning through the smoke and dust carefully.
"There!"
Her expression changed slightly.
"He's still alive!"
Naruto frowned deeply.
Still, he wasn't truly surprised. If Orochimaru could be killed that easily, he wouldn't be one of the Legendary Sannin.
As the dust slowly settled, Orochimaru's figure appeared once more before them.
His appearance was horrifying.
His clothes had been shredded completely. Deep cuts covered his body, flesh hanging loosely from torn skin. Even his neck was nearly severed, connected by only a thin layer of flesh.
Yet somehow…
He was still alive.
Anyone else would have died hundreds of times over from such injuries.
Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Karin, and even the ANBU from the Grass Village stared in disbelief.
Then, something even more horrifying happened.
Orochimaru suddenly opened his blood-covered mouth unnaturally wide.
Crack…
A pair of arms pushed outward from inside his mouth.
The jaws stretched wider and wider in a grotesque display as another body slowly crawled out from within him.
First came the arms.
Then the head.
Then the upper body.
Finally, the rest of him emerged completely.
Like a snake shedding its skin, Orochimaru spat out an entirely new body, perfectly unharmed.
Karin's face turned pale with disgust.
"What… what kind of ninjutsu is that?!"
Even Naruto and the others felt chills run down their spines.
Orochimaru smiled sinisterly.
"This is my unique Body Replacement Technique. Quite useful, don't you think?"
Naruto clenched his fists tightly.
After consuming such an enormous amount of chakra, his attack had ultimately failed to seriously injure Orochimaru at all.
What Naruto didn't know, however, was that Orochimaru's replacement technique consumed a massive amount of chakra as well. The fact that Orochimaru had been forced to use it proved that even he couldn't casually withstand Naruto's attack head-on.
Sasuke took a deep breath.
Then—
Hissssss!
Dark markings suddenly spread across his body like living flames.
The Curse Mark activated.
The patterns glowed crimson red, radiating intense heat as they rapidly spread over half his body. One of Sasuke's eyes transformed into a yellow-green snake-like pupil, making him look almost monstrous.
Yet at the same time—
His chakra surged dramatically.
"Orochimaru…"
Sasuke's voice turned cold.
"You gave me this power."
"And now I'll use it against you."
Orochimaru's eyes twitched slightly.
"So you've finally released the full power of the Curse Mark…"
He laughed loudly.
"Interesting! Very interesting!"
Naruto looked at Sasuke silently.
Meanwhile, Sasuke continued coldly,
"My thoughts are different from Naruto's."
"I don't care where power comes from. As long as it helps me achieve my goal, that's enough."
Orochimaru's smile widened.
"Well said!"
"Although Naruto may be more talented… Sasuke, your way of thinking suits me far better."
"Come. Show me how far your Curse Mark has evolved."
The curse mark spread further across Sasuke's body as his chakra exploded outward violently.
Without hesitation, Sasuke formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Boom!
A gigantic dragon-shaped inferno burst from his mouth.
Under the amplification of the Curse Mark, the power of the jutsu became far stronger than before. The flames twisted violently through the air as they rushed toward Orochimaru like a blazing dragon.
Naruto couldn't help thinking to himself—
The Curse Mark really boosted Sasuke's chakra and ninjutsu tremendously.
Even Orochimaru praised the attack.
"Not bad."
"But a jutsu of this level still isn't enough to defeat me."
His body twisted unnaturally, the lower half transforming into a giant snake as he slipped past the flames effortlessly.
However—
Sasuke had already predicted his movements.
With the Sharingan enhanced by the Curse Mark's power, Sasuke's perception had reached an entirely new level.
"You're not escaping!"
"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
Instantly, Sasuke's dark hair hardened and expanded wildly, extending like countless black chains toward Orochimaru.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The hair wrapped around Orochimaru instantly, binding him tightly in place.
Orochimaru's expression finally changed.
"That's Jiraiya's technique…"
"I didn't expect you to learn this as well!"
Sasuke replied coldly,
"I can only use it in this form…"
"But it's more than enough to deal with you."
Naruto puffed out his cheeks unhappily.
"That pervy sage never taught me this move…"
Hinata giggled softly beside him.
"But Naruto-kun, you're already learning from both Jiraiya-sama and Lady Tsunade. Isn't that enough?"
Naruto paused for a moment before scratching his head awkwardly.
She was right.
How many shinobi in the world could train under two Legendary Sannin at the same time?
Maybe he really was being greedy.
"Heh… yeah, you're right, Hinata."
Naruto then looked toward Sasuke.
"Sasuke! We'll help too!"
Seeing Sasuke successfully restrain Orochimaru, Naruto and Hinata charged forward immediately.
Hinata carefully observed Orochimaru's body with her Byakugan.
"Naruto-kun, Orochimaru's body has definitely been modified by some kind of secret technique."
"Normal physical attacks probably won't work effectively against him."
Naruto clicked his tongue.
"He really is a monster."
Then his eyes sharpened with determination.
"In that case, Hinata, use the Gentle Fist to shut down his chakra points!"
"And I'll try the sealing technique that the pervy sage taught me!"
The battle against Orochimaru was far from over.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)