Naruto stared at Kimimaro for several seconds, the Gunbai resting heavily in his hands. The guy had been poisoned, shredded by wind, smashed through stone, buried beneath trees and crushed beneath enough debris to flatten a house. Somehow, he was still standing.
That was when Naruto finally understood the problem.
He wasn't going to beat Kimimaro by hitting him harder.
"Shizune," Naruto said quietly. "When I move, run."
Her eyes narrowed. "What are you planning?"
Naruto produced a thick stack of sealing paper from his pouch and grinned.
"Cheating."
Shadow clones exploded across the destroyed forest.
Kimimaro charged immediately, but Naruto didn't send the clones forward to fight normally. They scattered through the trees instead, each carrying several black-inscribed tags while the original dropped to one knee and pressed his palm against the earth.
Sovereign's Grasp.
Stone platforms erupted beneath the clones and launched them from different directions. Kimimaro's spine whip destroyed the first three, but every clone he struck managed to slap something onto his bone armor before disappearing.
A seal flashed across his shoulder.
Then another on his thigh.
Kimimaro's movements slowed.
Gravity Seal.
He tore the first tag away.
Three more clones reached him.
Seals appeared across his back, forearm and tail before bone spikes erupted outward and destroyed the attackers. The formulas activated anyway, multiplying the force dragging Kimimaro toward the earth.
His feet sank into the ground.
Naruto created more clones.
Dozens.
They swarmed Kimimaro from every direction, no longer caring about damage. Some threw sealing tags while others sacrificed themselves just to slap one against his armor.
Ten seals became twenty.
Twenty became thirty.
Kimimaro's movements visibly slowed.
By the time the fortieth activated, one knee struck the earth hard enough to crack it.
Shizune stared.
Each individual formula wasn't extraordinary. Together, they were forcing a monster strong enough to smash through Naruto's reinforced stone onto his knees.
Naruto's breathing grew heavier.
"Still wanna keep walking?"
Kimimaro answered by growing bones.
Hundreds of white spikes exploded from his armor, shredding paper seals and shadow clones alike. Black scraps filled the forest while Kimimaro forced himself upright beneath the remaining pressure.
Naruto's smile vanished.
"Of course you can do that."
Another wave of bone growth destroyed half the remaining seals.
Naruto could keep piling them on, but that wasn't the point anymore. Every attack they'd used had been answered eventually, and trying to defeat Kimimaro outright was only wasting the time they'd fought to gain.
Their job had never been to kill him.
Naruto looked toward Shizune.
"Now!"
They ran.
Kimimaro followed.
Naruto kept one hand low as they moved, feeding chakra through Sovereign's Grasp. Reinforced walls erupted behind them one after another, forcing Kimimaro to smash through each obstacle instead of gaining ground.
The first shattered almost instantly.
The second slowed him.
The third disappeared behind them as Naruto collapsed the trail into a deep trench.
That wouldn't hold him.
It didn't need to.
Naruto and Shizune burst from the forest into what remained of the valley.
The battlefield barely resembled the place they'd entered earlier. Gamabunta stood with his sword driven into the ruined earth while Manda coiled opposite him, both enormous summons battered from the exchange. Katsuyu had partially reassembled nearby, her massive body scorched and scarred but still positioned protectively near Tsunade.
Nobody moved.
Even creatures their size seemed to recognize the standstill.
Gamabunta exhaled smoke through his nose. "I've had enough of this."
Manda hissed. "For once, toad, we agree."
Katsuyu's voice remained calm. "Lady Tsunade?"
Tsunade stood atop her head.
"Enough."
The summons disappeared one after another in enormous clouds of smoke.
When the haze cleared, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru stood scattered across the destroyed valley. All three were breathing heavily, their clothes torn and their bodies showing the damage of a battle between Sannin.
Naruto and Shizune reached them moments later.
"Tsunade-sama!"
Tsunade turned.
Relief crossed her face when she saw Shizune.
Then her eyes landed on Naruto.
The boy was covered in blood, dirt and shallow cuts. His green coat was barely recognizable, sealing paper clung to his clothes, and the enormous Uchiha Gunbai rested over his shoulder.
"You look terrible," Tsunade said.
Naruto grinned.
"You should see the other guy."
Jiraiya laughed despite himself.
Orochimaru didn't.
His eyes moved toward the forest.
"Where is Kimimaro?"
Naruto shrugged.
"Busy."
Something moved behind him.
Naruto felt it.
Too late.
A hand struck his back.
Then something cold passed through his chest.
Naruto froze.
There wasn't pain at first.
That was the terrifying part.
Kabuto stood directly behind him.
Half his torso was covered in pale, hastily regenerated tissue. One lens of his glasses was shattered, blood stained his entire lower body, and the hole Naruto had blown through him looked as though it had been reconstructed by someone working with seconds instead of hours.
Green chakra burned around his hand.
A chakra scalpel had plunged deep into Naruto's chest.
Kabuto twisted his wrist.
Naruto's heart spasmed.
His body locked.
"Naruto!"
Shizune's scream tore across the valley.
Kabuto ripped his hand away.
Naruto stumbled forward.
Jiraiya turned.
His expression went blank.
Then horror replaced it.
"NARUTO!"
Naruto's knees hit the ground.
His heart missed a beat.
Then another.
His fingers clawed at his chest as pain suddenly flooded through him so violently he couldn't breathe.
PING!
CRITICAL DAMAGE DETECTED
Cardiac tissue severely damaged.
Naruto's eyes widened.
Another message flashed.
Uzumaki Vitality Activated
Emergency biological stabilization initiated.
His heart contracted.
Weakly.
Again.
Naruto sucked in a broken breath.
For the first time since gaining the System, something colder than pain spread through him.
Fear.
Not fear of losing.
Not fear of Orochimaru.
Fear that the next heartbeat simply wouldn't come.
All those stats suddenly meant nothing.
Sovereign's Grasp meant nothing.
Advanced Toad Fist meant nothing.
The Gunbai, Rail Pierce, shadow clones, seals—none of it mattered if he died kneeling in the dirt.
I can actually die.
Naruto's hands began shaking.
Kabuto lifted his chakra scalpel again.
Tsunade moved.
Orochimaru intercepted her.
"Not so quickly."
Jiraiya exploded toward him.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HER WAY!"
Orochimaru twisted around Jiraiya's first punch, but the Sannin attacked with none of his earlier amusement. His student was bleeding out behind him, and every strike carried enough force to make the air crack.
Kabuto stepped toward Naruto.
Naruto forced himself upright.
Shizune grabbed him.
"Don't! Your heart is barely functioning!"
Naruto pushed her hand away.
His knees almost buckled.
"I said..."
Tsunade heard him.
Naruto looked toward her through blurred vision.
"I said I'd bring you back."
Something inside Tsunade broke.
For one heartbeat, Naruto disappeared.
A smaller boy stood in his place.
Brown hair.
Wide eyes.
A necklace around his neck.
Nawaki smiled at her.
Then blood covered him.
Tsunade stopped breathing.
Not again.
The image flickered.
Naruto returned.
Blond hair.
Blue eyes.
Blood running from the corner of his mouth.
Still standing when his body had absolutely no business standing.
Tsunade's hands trembled.
Years ago, she'd arrived too late.
There had been nothing she could do.
No miracle.
No technique.
No second chance.
Nawaki had died.
But this time—
Her eyes locked onto Naruto.
This time her little brother was still breathing.
Naruto struggled for another breath.
"If bringing you back means Konoha has somebody who can stop people from having to do this..."
His heart skipped again.
His body swayed.
"...then I'll keep fighting."
"Naruto," Tsunade whispered.
He smiled weakly.
"Even if it kills me."
The diamond on Tsunade's forehead flashed.
Violet markings threatened to spread from it for a fraction of a second.
Orochimaru saw them.
His expression changed.
"Tsunade—"
She disappeared.
Kabuto barely turned.
Tsunade's fist hit him.
The ground collapsed.
Kabuto vanished into a crater as stone erupted fifty feet into the air.
Tsunade was already moving.
Orochimaru disengaged from Jiraiya just in time to see her coming.
Her fist buried itself in his stomach.
Orochimaru folded around it.
Tsunade grabbed him by the throat.
"YOU DON'T GET ANOTHER ONE!"
She hurled him across the battlefield.
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
Then he understood.
His hands blurred.
Chakra exploded between his palms.
A Rasengan formed.
Then expanded.
Larger.
Larger.
Until the rotating sphere was nearly as wide as Jiraiya himself.
"ŌDAMA RASENGAN!"
Orochimaru saw it waiting in his flight path.
His eyes widened.
"Oh, you bast—"
Tsunade appeared behind him in midair.
Her heel crashed into his spine.
Orochimaru shot forward.
Directly into Jiraiya's technique.
"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade roared.
"I KNOW!"
The Big Ball Rasengan detonated against Orochimaru's chest.
The valley turned white.
Wind and chakra exploded outward as Orochimaru was launched across the landscape like a cannonball, smashing through one stone formation, then another, before disappearing into the distant forest.
Jiraiya landed badly.
He immediately spun around.
"NARUTO!"
Any satisfaction vanished from his face.
Tsunade was already moving.
Kabuto no longer mattered.
Orochimaru no longer mattered.
Nothing mattered except the blond boy collapsing into Shizune's arms.
Tsunade slid to her knees beside him.
"Move."
Shizune moved instantly.
Green chakra flooded Tsunade's hands.
Naruto felt warmth spread through his chest.
Then agony.
He screamed.
"Good," Tsunade said. "Pain means your heart is responding."
Her voice broke on the final word.
Naruto went still.
Tsunade's hands were shaking.
The great Tsunade Senju—the woman who could split the earth and punch a Sannin across a valley—was terrified.
Naruto stared at her.
"Granny?"
Her eyes met his.
For another instant, she saw Nawaki.
Not dead.
Not broken.
Alive beneath her hands.
Waiting for her to do what she hadn't been able to do before.
Tears slid down Tsunade's face.
"Not this time."
Naruto blinked.
Tsunade pushed more chakra into his chest.
"Not this time," she repeated, angrier now. "I get to save you this time."
Naruto didn't fully understand.
Shizune did.
She covered her mouth.
Tsunade's tears fell onto Naruto's ruined jacket as damaged muscle slowly knitted beneath her palms.
"You idiot," she whispered. "You stupid, reckless, loudmouthed little idiot."
Naruto managed the weakest grin of his life.
"I know you are, but what am I?"
Tsunade laughed.
It broke halfway through and became something closer to a sob.
"You nearly died."
"But I didn't."
"You almost did!"
Naruto flinched.
"Okay, okay."
Jiraiya dropped beside them.
His face was pale.
For once, there was no joke waiting.
"Kid?"
Naruto looked toward him.
Jiraiya's expression made the fear return.
Naruto looked down at himself.
He thought about the forest.
About the wind obeying the Gunbai.
About throwing Kabuto through a tree.
About controlling entire sections of terrain.
He'd felt powerful.
Really powerful.
Then Kabuto had touched him once.
One mistake.
One attack.
That was all it had taken.
Naruto swallowed.
"Granny..."
Tsunade immediately looked down.
"I'm here."
His eyes grew heavy.
"I was scared."
Tsunade froze.
Naruto stared upward.
"For a second..."
His voice became quieter.
"...I thought I was actually gonna die."
Jiraiya looked away, hands clenching into fists.
Naruto's fingers curled weakly against Tsunade's sleeve.
"All this new stuff..."
His eyelids fluttered.
"...doesn't mean anything if somebody kills me."
Tsunade's expression softened.
"No."
She pressed one bloody hand against his forehead while continuing to heal his heart with the other.
"As long as I'm here, don't even think about dying."
Naruto looked at her.
Her thumb brushed dirt from his cheeks.
"You're coming back, right?"
Tsunade stared at him.
Then smiled through the tears.
"Yes."
Naruto's eyes finally closed.
"Cool."
His body went limp.
Jiraiya immediately tensed.
"TSUNADE?!"
"He's unconscious, you idiot!"
Jiraiya exhaled so violently that Shizune almost laughed.
Tsunade looked back down at Naruto.
For a moment, she saw Nawaki again.
Then the image faded.
There was only Naruto.
Her patient.
Her village's jinchūriki.
Jiraiya's student.
The idiot who wanted her to become Hokage so fewer people would need to sacrifice themselves.
Tsunade placed a hand against his blond hair.
This time, she had made it in time.
If Naruto were still awake he'd have seen the latest notification regarding his quest completion
PING!
Quest Complete!
Konoha's Future
Base Rewards Acquired:
+3 Strength
+3 Agility
+3 Endurance
+3 Intelligence
+3 Charisma
+1 Luck
+120 System Points
Medium Skill Experience Pack x2
Free Lottery Rolls x9
PING!
Hidden Objectives Evaluated!
Unbreakable Will — COMPLETE
Condition: Convince Tsunade Senju to reject Orochimaru's offer without coercion or force.
Rewards:
Will of Fire — Minor Passive Unlocked
+5% to all stats when fighting against hostiles with fellow konoha nin!
+30 System Points
Against the Dead Bone — COMPLETE
Condition: Survive prolonged combat against Kimimaro and force him to reveal the full extent of his corrupted power.
Rewards:
Secret Quest Unlocked!
Tainted Nature
Objective: Discover the source of the corrupted natural energy contained within Orochimaru's Cursed Seals.
Known Clues:
Kimimaro's transformation contained detectable natural energy.The energy was unstable and heavily contaminated.The Cursed Seal appears to force the user's body to absorb or mimic a form of natural energy.
Quest Chain: ???
Final Rewards: ???
+50 System Points
Medium Skill Experience Pack x1
Make the Medic Bleed — COMPLETE
Condition: Inflict a normally fatal wound upon Kabuto Yakushi and force him to expend advanced medical ninjutsu to survive.
Reward:
Skill Fusion Token x1
Two compatible skills may be permanently fused into a new Unique Skill. Components will determine the resulting technique.
WARNING: Fusion cannot be reversed.
+40 System Points
Untouchable Victory — FAILED
Condition: Defeat or completely incapacitate both Kabuto Yakushi and Kimimaro while sustaining no major injuries.
Status: FAILED
Reason:
Near-fatal cardiac damage sustained.
Uzumaki Vitality emergency stabilization triggered.
Tsunade Senju required to prevent death.
Reward Forfeited: Rare Equipment Selection Ticket x1
Hidden Objectives Completed: 3/4
PING!
Special Achievement Unlocked!
The Fifth's Reason
You did not force Tsunade Senju to return.
You reminded her why she wanted to protect people in the first place.
+4 Charisma
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Village: Konohagakure
Rank: Chunin
Stats
Strength: 165
Agility: 189
Endurance: 162 (+40%)
Intelligence: 154
Charisma: 115
Luck: 17
System Points: 205
Will of Fire: +5% to all stats when fighting against hostiles with fellow konoha nin!
Trap Making – LVL MAX → LVL MAX
Advanced Toad Fist – LVL 1 (1/10) → LVL 3 (24/30)
Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu – LVL 5 (27/50) → LVL 6 (48/60)
Shadow Shuriken Jutsu – LVL 6 (10/60) → LVL 6 (15/60)
Tree Walking – LVL MAX → LVL MAX
Water Walking – LVL 1 (5/10)
Advanced Fuinjutsu – LVL 8 (67/80) → LVL 9 (46/90)
Wind Release: Cyclone – LVL 9 (22/90) → LVL 9 (63/90)
Wind Release: Rail Pierce – LVL MAX → LVL MAX
Water Release: Tidal Wave – LVL 6 (32/60)
Earth Release: Sovereign's Grasp – LVL 1 (1/10) → LVL 3 (21/30)
Inventory Non Equip items:
Damaged Uzumaki Record (Fragment)
x3 Medium Skill experience packs
Chakra Stabilization Band: +15% experience boost to Chakra Control training
1 Destiny Breaker
Balloons
Rubber Balls
Icha Icha limited edition signed copy
9 Free Lottery rolls
Skill Fusion Ticket