"Splat!"
Amid the swirling smoke and dust, fresh blood sprayed through the air, a clear sign it came from the snakes Orochimaru had summoned from his sleeves.
"Huff…"
A gust of wind blew away the smoke, revealing Orochimaru's sinister face.
"Hmm... You brats make for some fine prey…"
With a twisted grin, he lewdly extended his long tongue to lick the corner of his mouth, visibly excited.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Orochimaru. Guys like you, cocky and useless, are the ones I hate the most."
Naruto scoffed, clearly unimpressed.
"Oh? Such a sharp tongue for a little brat. A prey that dares to provoke its hunter… Don't you think that's a little foolish?"
Orochimaru's grotesque voice oozed contempt, unfazed by Naruto's retort.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
With a sharp cry, Sasuke's Sharingan eyes blazed open. His tone was cold, his expression colder.
"Stop going on about hunters and prey. Right now, there's three of us, and you? You're just a cornered dog. That makes you the prey."
A massive fireball slammed into the ground, leaving a smoking crater. The flames roared for several moments before slowly dying out.
"Heh… If that's all you've got, you really are just prey."
Orochimaru sneered, but in the next instant, snap!, several nearly invisible threads shot out, binding him tightly to a tree. He was completely immobilized.
"Sharingan Windmill Triple-Blade Jutsu?"
Struggling slightly, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at Sasuke, who was pulling on the wires.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Sasuke formed a hand seal, his body engulfed in fire.
The flames raced along the wires, and in a flash, they transformed into blazing strands of fire, wrapping around Orochimaru.
The resulting explosion of fire consumed not just Orochimaru, but also the tree behind him.
"Nice one, Sasuke!"
Naruto raised his hand and shouted, "Nine-Tails Rasengan!"
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, he appeared next to the scorched Orochimaru and slammed the dark, swirling Rasengan into the top of his skull.
Crack!
It felt as though even the air trembled. The tree beneath Naruto's feet shattered to dust, and the ground beneath them collapsed, as if it had been hollow all along.
"Hey, Kurama, what's the deal with Orochimaru? Is he down for good?"
Naruto asked inwardly.
"Hmph… He's still alive. Barely scratched, just weakened."
Kurama growled back in Naruto's mind.
"No way! He took a full hit, how can he be unscathed?"
"Ting!"
A sharp metallic sound rang out. Orochimaru, his body dripping with a saliva-like liquid, lunged at Naruto with a glowing, thin blade.
"Damn it, Orochimaru's body substitution technique?"
Naruto cursed as he realized Orochimaru had escaped the earlier attack using a substitution.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Dragon Vortex!"
Naruto swiftly formed a complex hand seal. The sky turned dark.
Crackle…
Bolts of lightning rained down, striking Naruto, who now radiated with intense electric energy.
"Let's go all out, Kurama."
He roared in his mind.
"Got it!"
Kurama responded, equally thrilled.
Crack, BOOM!
The sky changed again, this time glowing a brilliant electric blue.
Naruto's body shimmered with a faint red glow as immense chakra surged around him.
"Awoooo…"
Red Nine-Tails chakra merged with the lightning dragon wrapping around Naruto, solidifying it further and turning it a deep violet.
A low roar echoed through the air, it was hard to tell if it was real or imagined.
The Thunder Dragon Vortex technique had mutated, becoming something entirely new, its power amplified many times over.
"This monstrous chakra… this kid…"
Orochimaru stared wide-eyed, now visibly shaken.
Even the ambient chakra was unbearable, if that new jutsu hit, he'd be a dead snake for sure.
His face twisted with panic. Countless jutsu strategies flashed through his mind, even Edo Tensei, but none seemed capable of countering Naruto's transformed, Nine-Tails-infused attack.
A flicker of desperation passed through his eyes as he prepared to escape.
"Trying to run?"
Naruto instantly saw through Orochimaru's plan and darted forward.
"Shit!"
Before Orochimaru could react, the lightning dragon was in his face, its speed beyond even Orochimaru's expectations, almost like teleportation.
"Hissss…"
With a sharp hiss, Orochimaru shed his form and turned into a massive white phosphorus serpent, slithering rapidly toward the forest.
"Phantom Lightning Fist – CRACK!"
Holding a coiling strand of violet lightning in his palm, Naruto launched a dragon punch aimed directly at the snake's vital point, its seventh inch.
"Screeee!"
A piercing screech rang out. Orochimaru left behind a severed piece of his serpentine body, fleeing into the forest, blood trailing behind him.
"Heh, that's what they mean by 'hit a snake where it counts.'"
Naruto bent down and picked up the discarded piece of snake flesh. He exhaled, dispersing his chakra, he was clearly exhausted.
"Na-Naruto, are you okay?"
Sakura, who had been stunned by Naruto's devastating power, finally snapped out of it and ran over, her face filled with concern.
"I'm fine. Just... drained."
Naruto's face was pale, sweat beading on his brow, classic signs of chakra exhaustion.
Slowly, Nine-Tails' chakra replenished his strength, and Naruto's color began to return.
He looked at the trail of blood Orochimaru had left behind and sneered inwardly:
"Orochimaru, this time you'll be out of commission for at least a hundred days."
"Sasuke, here. This tail's for you."
Naruto tossed the purified remains of the white phosphorus serpent to Sasuke.
"Study it well. It'll make you stronger."
(After discovering his strange ability to use Wood Style, Naruto realized his chakra carried immense life energy, it could accelerate plant growth and even purify corrupted materials.)
"Thanks…"
For once, Sasuke didn't show a hint of jealousy. He quietly caught the snake's remains and, for the first time ever, actually said:
"Thank you."
⚔────────
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