Even Orochimaru found it difficult to escape after being tightly bound by Naruto's Diamond Sealing Chains.
As Naruto had once said, there was nothing in heaven or earth he feared more than sealing techniques.
Of course, genjutsu was another matter entirely. However, aside from someone like Itachi Uchiha, ordinary genjutsu posed little threat to Orochimaru. After all, he himself was one of the most skilled shinobi in the art of illusions.
Naruto was already breathing heavily. If it were not for the power of the Yin Seal supporting him, he would never have been able to endure this long.
Without the Yin Seal, subduing Orochimaru would have been nearly impossible.
But regardless of the circumstances, Naruto had just achieved something unbelievable.
A miracle.
He had successfully restrained and sealed Orochimaru himself.
At that moment, Naruto truly accomplished the impossible. Using the terrifying power of the Diamond Sealing Chains, he completely suppressed one of the Legendary Sannin.
Of course, this victory was not Naruto's alone. It was the combined effort of all three members of Team 7.
Sasuke's Heaven Cursed Seal, his Sharingan, his powerful Fire Release techniques, and the stealth skills he inherited from Jiraiya had all played a crucial role.
Hinata's Byakugan, Gentle Fist, and the monstrous strength she learned from Tsunade were equally important.
Without any one of them, this miracle would never have happened.
At the same time, Orochimaru's own arrogance had contributed to his downfall. He had believed Team 7 was completely under his control and underestimated them from the beginning.
That carelessness had finally come back to haunt him.
One by one, Naruto's shadow clones vanished in clouds of white smoke.
The fierce battle had exhausted too much chakra, and maintaining the Diamond Sealing Chains alone was already pushing Naruto beyond his limits.
Sasuke also released his Heaven Cursed Seal state and collapsed back into his normal form. Sweat covered his body as he struggled to breathe.
He was already close to complete exhaustion.
Hinata still had some chakra left, but she had suffered heavy injuries during her earlier clash against Orochimaru.
Even so, the truth remained unchanged.
Team 7 had defeated Orochimaru.
Karin stared blankly at the scene before her.
"They actually subdued Orochimaru… One of the Legendary Sannin… one of the most terrifying figures in the ninja world…"
Her voice trembled in disbelief.
"What kind of monsters are these people?"
Even the ANBU members from the Grass Village were completely stunned.
"We actually thought about rebelling against them earlier…"
"That would've been suicide."
Hinata quickly rushed toward Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, are you alright?"
Naruto's body trembled as he maintained the chains. Cold sweat continuously dripped down his face, yet he still managed to force out a confident grin.
"I've never felt better!"
Sasuke snorted softly.
"Hmph. You really love showing off, Naruto."
Naruto glared at him.
"What's that supposed to mean? I'm completely confident in my own strength!"
Sasuke smirked faintly.
"Yeah… I guess."
Naruto immediately exploded.
"What do you mean 'I guess,' you bastard?!"
Although Orochimaru had been temporarily restrained, he had not truly given up.
After the initial shock and anger faded, calmness slowly returned to his eyes.
Then—
He suddenly laughed.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I never imagined I would fall into the hands of a group of brats like you…"
Naruto gritted his teeth.
"Stop acting tough, Orochimaru! You've already lost!"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and smiled coldly.
"Lost?"
"Do you really think these chains can hold me forever, Naruto?"
Despite his exhaustion, Naruto showed no fear.
He tightened his grip on the Diamond Sealing Chains and laughed confidently.
"These chains are stronger than steel! There's no way you can escape!"
"Even the Nine-Tails can be sealed with this technique!"
Orochimaru chuckled darkly.
"Is that so?"
"What a pity…"
"You are not Uzumaki Kushina."
The moment those words fell, an overwhelming burst of chakra erupted from Orochimaru's body.
BOOM!
The gigantic eight-headed serpent violently struggled against the Diamond Sealing Chains.
Its massive body twisted with terrifying force as it attempted to shatter the seal through sheer brute strength.
Naruto's expression changed instantly.
"Damn it! He's trying to break the seal by force?!"
Orochimaru sneered.
"Your chakra reserves are indeed monstrous, Naruto."
"They're probably already beyond Kushina Uzumaki's."
"But the problem isn't chakra quantity."
"It's mastery."
"You barely understand the true power of the Diamond Sealing Chains."
Naruto knew Orochimaru was right.
In truth, he had only used the technique twice before.
The first time against Gaara had happened almost by accident.
Although the Yin Seal allowed him to activate it successfully now, his mastery over the technique was still incredibly shallow compared to Kushina's.
Even among all his abilities, sealing techniques were still his weakest field.
But Naruto refused to back down.
"I don't care!"
"I'm never letting you escape!"
He roared as an even greater wave of chakra exploded from his body.
The Diamond Sealing Chains thickened and glowed brighter.
The sealing power intensified dramatically.
Orochimaru clenched his teeth and desperately resisted using every ounce of chakra, strength, and technique he possessed.
Seeing Naruto being pushed to his limit, Hinata immediately stepped forward.
"Don't forget…"
"You still have to deal with us!"
Facing the immobilized eight-headed serpent, Hinata unleashed her strongest attack without hesitation.
Just as Naruto had developed his Wind Release Chakra Mode…
Hinata had also been pursuing her own ultimate technique.
A taijutsu secret art that combined overwhelming physical strength with the precision of the Gentle Fist.
At its current stage, it was still incomplete.
A mere prototype.
But even so—
It was already terrifying beyond imagination.
"Gentle Fist!"
"Eight Trigrams Palm!"
"Massive Strength Impact!"
At that instant, Hinata released both powers simultaneously.
It was an unprecedented sight in the ninja world.
BOOM!!!
One force was soft.
The other was violent.
One represented Yin.
The other represented Yang.
One destroyed internally.
The other crushed externally.
Completely opposite forces merged together in Hinata's palms.
A mountain-shattering impact exploded outward like massive waves crashing through the battlefield.
The ground rippled beneath her strike as though solid earth had transformed into water.
Even the gigantic eight-headed serpent was violently shaken by the attack.
The entire creature was blasted backward.
Orochimaru had no way to dodge while restrained by the sealing chains and was forced to endure the hit directly.
His face instantly turned pale.
The attack damaged both his internal organs and his outer body simultaneously.
"Damn brat!"
Orochimaru roared furiously.
Driven into desperation, he controlled the White Snake from within his body and suddenly spat out the Kusanagi Sword toward Hinata.
SHING!
The blade pierced directly through Hinata's body.
Everything had happened too quickly.
After unleashing her unfinished ultimate technique, Hinata had no time left to evade.
"HINATA!!!"
Naruto's horrified scream echoed across the battlefield.
"Die!"
Sasuke could only watch helplessly.
The backlash from the Heaven Cursed Seal had already drained all his strength, while Naruto was completely occupied maintaining the Diamond Sealing Chains.
They could only watch as Orochimaru attempted to kill Hinata in his final struggle.
Then—
A figure suddenly appeared.
PAT!
Someone grabbed Hinata and pulled her away from the fatal strike of the Kusanagi Sword.
It was Karin.
"Karin…?"
Hinata coughed weakly in shock.
Karin immediately rolled up her sleeve and shouted anxiously,
"Stop talking!"
"Quick, bite my arm!"
Hinata hesitated for a moment.
Karin glared at her furiously.
"Hurry up!"
Without another choice, Hinata bit into Karin's arm.
Instantly, an enormous amount of chakra surged into her body.
The wound pierced by the Kusanagi Sword rapidly began healing at a visible speed.
Since Hinata had trained under Tsunade and practiced medical ninjutsu herself, her chakra control and vitality were already exceptional.
Combined with Karin's healing ability, her condition stabilized quickly.
Color slowly returned to Hinata's pale face.
"Thank you…"
Karin collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily, but still forced out a smile.
"What are you thanking me for?"
"If you guys hadn't shown up, I would've either been captured by those people or killed by this monster."
"Compared to that, this is nothing."
Seeing Hinata recover finally allowed Naruto to relax slightly.
But the moment he looked back at Orochimaru, overwhelming rage filled his eyes.
"Orochimaru!"
"You bastard!"
BOOM!
The Diamond Sealing Chains tightened once more.
Their power increased dramatically as the chains pierced deeper into the eight-headed serpent's body.
Some of them even tore completely through it, pinning the massive creature firmly to the ground.
Orochimaru gritted his teeth in fury.
"Naruto…"
"I'll tear you apart!"
At that moment, Sasuke had lost the ability to continue fighting due to the recoil from the Heaven Cursed Seal.
Hinata was still recovering from her injuries.
Karin's chakra had been heavily drained, and she was not a combat-type ninja to begin with.
Everyone on the battlefield could only watch.
The final outcome now depended entirely on Naruto and Orochimaru.
If Naruto could continue suppressing Orochimaru and complete the seal, everyone would survive.
Victory would belong to Team 7.
But if Orochimaru managed to break free—
Then there would only be one ending waiting for all of them.
Death.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)