Jiraiya glared at Orochimaru, fury blazing in his eyes. But as always, Orochimaru met that glare with a mocking smile.
"Jiraiya… you still think you can stop me?"
A thunderous crash split the air.
Crack! Bang!!
Tsunade leapt forward, slamming her fist into the ground. The monstrous strength behind her blow shattered the earth like glass, sending shockwaves tearing across the battlefield. Both Jiraiya and Orochimaru had to leap back to avoid being caught in the blast.
Orochimaru chuckled, glancing at the fractured ground. "Still the same as ever… your punches are truly terrifying, Tsunade."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Jiraiya protested, climbing out from behind a broken slab of stone. "Tsunade, I'm helping you here! You trying to kill me too?!"
Tsunade shot him a sharp glare. "Jiraiya, go check on the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. Now."
Jiraiya paused for only a moment before nodding. He understood. She'd hold off Orochimaru while he ensured Naruto didn't completely lose control. Because if the Nine-Tails truly went berserk… it could be catastrophic.
In the distance, the roars grew louder.
The air trembled. The ground cracked open again and again, splitting into massive fissures that spread for hundreds of meters.
Naruto and Shigure had turned into two blurs of red light, colliding repeatedly in midair. Each impact sent waves of pressure ripping through the landscape.
"What a monster of a kid," Jiraiya muttered under his breath.
He wasn't talking about Naruto—because Naruto, with the Nine-Tails' overwhelming Chakra, should have held the upper hand. Yet Shigure, wielding only the Three-Tails' power, was keeping pace. Matching the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki blow for blow.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Naruto's tails lashed like whips, stabbing into the ground and exploding it apart. Shigure weaved between them, dodging narrowly each time.
Catching one tail as it struck the earth, Shigure twisted his body and hurled Naruto over his shoulder.
Thud!
Naruto hit the ground hard, creating a crater. Before he could recover, Shigure sprinted forward. Ice erupted around Naruto's tails, freezing them to the earth. Ice clamps snapped shut around his wrists and ankles.
Then—Bang! Bang! Bang!
Shigure's fists crashed into Naruto's face again and again, hammering him into the ground. Each blow echoed like thunder.
Pinned and pummeled, Naruto's growls deepened, and the air around him pulsed violently. His eyes, already red, glowed darker—feral, full of rage.
The Nine-Tails' Chakra wasn't just power. It carried the beast's hatred—its fury—and that emotion seeped through Naruto's every breath.
If he couldn't contain it, if his mind broke under its pressure… his humanity would be devoured entirely.
And that moment was rapidly approaching.
Two more strikes landed—Thump, thump—before Naruto suddenly roared, his Chakra exploding outward in a blinding flash.
The shockwave sent Shigure skidding back across the frozen ground.
Shigure steadied himself and gave a strained smile. "As expected of the protagonist… he never stays down for long."
A sixth tail emerged.
Naruto's body was now wrapped in a skeletal armor, his head encased in bone plating. His Chakra spiked violently, shaking the ground beneath them.
Even from afar, Orochimaru and Tsunade paused mid-battle and turned toward the source of that overwhelming presence.
Orochimaru's smile widened. "Ahh… so it's finally happening."
Tsunade's expression hardened. "This is bad… that feeling—"
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. "The Nine-Tails… has gone berserk!"
Boom! Boom!!
Naruto dropped to all fours and bolted forward with terrifying speed, tearing through the terrain like a beast unleashed.
Shigure reacted instantly, raising his hand. Ice walls erupted before him, one after another—but Naruto crashed through them effortlessly, shattering them like glass.
Snow began to fall. Shigure guided the storm, the flakes swirling into a freezing cyclone around Naruto.
Within moments, the swirling frost condensed into icy spears, and one massive ice lance formed in front of Shigure. He drove Chakra into it and hurled it forward, the weapon tearing through the air with a shriek.
But the explosion of the Nine-Tails' Chakra tore through everything—shattering the snowstorm, melting the spear mid-flight.
Shigure's eyes narrowed. Can't even freeze him?
It seemed his control over Ice Release still wasn't enough to suppress a rampaging Nine-Tails.
A red flash cut through the sky, moving faster than the eye could track.
Boom!
The next instant, Shigure was smashed from midair, sent flying like a cannonball. He crashed into the earth, carving a trench hundreds of meters long, a cloud of smoke and dust billowing upward.
Jiraiya stared in shock at the rampaging figure. The oppressive presence—the sheer destructive power—it was overwhelming.
"This… this is the Nine-Tails' berserk state…"
Before he could move, the beast's burning eyes locked onto him.
Oh no.
A red tail lashed out, wrapping around his neck. Whoosh—Bang!
Jiraiya was slammed into the ground, the impact throwing debris in every direction.
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade screamed, rushing forward.
But Shizune's voice cut through the chaos. "Lady Tsunade, wait! Behind you!"
A red blur appeared before Tsunade. Her eyes widened—too late.
Pfft!
A clawed hand wreathed in crimson Chakra pierced straight through her abdomen, blood spraying across the shattered ground.
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya croaked, struggling to rise as the Nine-Tails' host turned toward Orochimaru.
For once, even Orochimaru's smile faltered. His eyes twitched. "Damn it…"
Naruto lunged.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru flung out his arm, dozens of serpents bursting forth to intercept. But Naruto tore through them, his speed beyond human sight.
In an instant, he was behind Orochimaru. The creature that had once been Naruto opened its maw, hot breath spilling from its throat as a guttural growl rumbled deep within.
Orochimaru barely turned before—
Crack.
His neck twisted with a sickening snap.
The fallen Orochimaru instantly opened his mouth, using the Great Serpent Substitution Jutsu to slip away underground.
The Nine-Tails, who had been about to attack Shizune, stopped mid-motion as Orochimaru escaped. With a furious roar, the colossal fox turned and charged after him once more, its tails thrashing violently as it tore through the frozen battlefield.
Orochimaru, realizing he couldn't outrun the beast, whirled around and quickly formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A tremendous gust erupted from his mouth, flattening everything in its path. The gale howled like a hurricane, but the Nine-Tails barreled straight through it, unfazed, its claws tearing through the air as it lunged at Orochimaru.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
Boom!
A blazing sphere of fire suddenly roared across the battlefield, slamming into the Nine-Tails' flank. The explosion lit up the night sky, engulfing the beast in waves of scorching heat.
The ground trembled violently from the impact, and even Orochimaru had to leap back to avoid being caught in the flames.
...
TN:
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