A tall, upright youth sat perched on a tree branch, his golden hair cascading to his waist.
He wore a custom-made clothes from the pirate world — a red and black ensemble that shimmered with style and presence.
Especially striking was the massive scroll strapped to his back. Combined with his slightly wild and untamed aura, he looked anything but ordinary — drawing eyes wherever he went.
"Naruto-kun… is that really you…?"
Yakumo looked up at the youth on the branch. Two patches of blush quietly appeared on her cheeks.
From what she knew of Naruto, she was certain: this golden-haired youth, though his height and appearance had changed drastically, gave off a feeling that hadn't changed at all — it was unmistakably Uzumaki Naruto.
"Yo! Yakumo, Karin — long time no see!"
Naruto slowly opened his eyes and waved to the two girls below with a bright smile.
"Long time…?"
Yakumo tilted her head.
"Naruto-kun, we only haven't seen you for a day, right?"
Naruto couldn't help but laugh.
For the girls, it had been only a day. But for him, it had been a whole year.
Still, he didn't explain. Instead, he summoned flames in his hand and grilled a few chunks of Sea King meat, handing them to the girls.
As they ate, they kept sneaking glances at Naruto's new appearance.
Midway through chewing, Yakumo asked hesitantly:
"Naruto-kun, the way you look now… transformation jutsu couldn't have done this, right…?"
"Yeah, I've grown."
Naruto smiled and nodded.
"At least physically, I'm now a full-grown man."
"Wow!"
Both Yakumo and Karin stared in amazement.
But Naruto didn't dwell on it. After eating a bit more Sea King meat, he sensed his wounds were almost completely healed.
"Alright, time to move out!"
Naruto stood up.
"We're heading to Otogakure for a visit. I'm going to collect a few people I marked before."
Before traveling to the pirate world, he hadn't been confident enough to invade Otogakure. After all, it was a Hidden Village, and Orochimaru was there — a shinobi at Kage-level, possibly even stronger.
But after returning from the pirate world, Naruto felt he was now more than capable of going toe-to-toe with Orochimaru.
Yakumo nodded in excitement.
Very quickly, the two girls were hoisted onto Naruto's shoulders as he dashed across the terrain like a lightning bolt.
In just two days, they reached Otogakure.
What stood before them was a dilapidated village, recently constructed, sparsely populated, mostly with young boys and girls.
As the three approached, two hostile-looking shinobi blocked their path.
"Stop. Who are you three?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow, glancing at the two in mild surprise.
"You guys… are missing-nin, huh?"
Though he hadn't seen these two before, the killing intent they carried was not that of ordinary ninja.
Otogakure was a newly founded village, only two or three years old, so it wasn't hard to guess.
Their expressions changed instantly.
"Are you from Kirigakure? Here to kill us?"
"Just as I thought..."
Naruto grinned.
"Nope. I'm here to find Orochimaru. Where is that guy?"
The two shinobi exchanged a look. Murderous intent gleamed in their eyes.
Not giving Naruto a chance to speak further, they leapt back without hesitation. One of them formed hand seals and shouted coldly:
"Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique)
A thick mist enveloped the surroundings, reducing visibility to zero.
Because the mist was infused with chakra, not even sensory techniques worked well inside.
But these two were used to this tactic.
Pulling out kunai and senbon, their eyes glinted with bloodlust as they threw their weapons toward Naruto and the girls.
They were already imagining the sight — the three young ones screaming and bleeding as they collapsed in agony.
But reality could not have been more different.
Thanks to Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), Naruto's perception wasn't hindered at all by the mist. He saw both of them clearly.
"Figures. It's Otogakure — guess we'll have to fight our way in."
With that, he gently set Yakumo and Karin down.
Just as the weapons neared them, flames erupted from Naruto's body.
The searing heat vaporized the mist instantly — and the steel weapons melted into molten slag before even reaching him.
"What!?"
The two rogue ninja from Kirigakure turned pale.
They immediately tried to flee. As defectors, they had no loyalty to Otogakure and didn't hesitate.
But Naruto didn't give them the chance.
Raging flames roared from his palm, evaporating the mist entirely.
As the two shinobi looked on in terror, Naruto launched a single, explosive punch — fire engulfing everything.
"Boom!!!"
With a thunderous blast, the two ninja were sent flying, slamming into a wall which shattered on impact.
Their bodies were consumed in flame. They didn't even have time to scream.
Within the village, many young shinobi saw this and were stricken with fear, fleeing deeper into Otogakure.
Naruto strolled in casually, activating his Kenbunshoku Haki.
Buildings filled his vision — but strangely, nothing seemed out of place. It felt like just a normal village.
"Could it be… Orochimaru hasn't taken over this place yet?"
He was puzzled, but then quickly realized — if Orochimaru weren't here, those two rogue Kirigakure ninja wouldn't have reacted like that.
"Orochimaru... A snake. And what do snakes do...? They go underground."
Naruto swiftly expanded his Haki downward.
At around seven or eight meters below, he finally found it — Orochimaru's lair.
A vast, sinister underground laboratory.
Within, all kinds of unknown machines buzzed eerily.
Large glass tubes lined the walls, filled with green liquid and floating… grotesque human parts.
Deeper in the facility, a prison loomed — housing numerous monstrous beings.
"Found it."
Naruto's lips curled into a smirk.
He clenched his fist, coating it in Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), and punched the ground hard.
"Boom!"
The earth trembled. Dust and debris scattered. The impact tore open a massive crack — punching straight through to the ceiling of the underground lab.
"You two wait here. I'm heading down to collect a few things."
With that, Naruto's body became engulfed in firelight, and he descended through the fissure — diving straight into Orochimaru's lair.
(End of Chapter)
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