Blazing flames burned in the darkness.
As the sound of crackling fire echoed through the air, the Otogakure shinobi inside the laboratory turned pale.
"An intruder?!"
Several adult shinobi from Otogakure, with serious expressions, began moving cautiously toward the source of the firelight.
One step, two steps...
As they got closer to the heart of the blaze, their faces suddenly changed dramatically. Without hesitation, they formed hand seals:
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" (Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu)
"Suiton: Suishōha!" (Water Style: Water Colliding Wave)
"Suiton: Suiten Hōfutsu!" (Water Style: Heavenly Water Release)
All of them used Water Release techniques, trying to douse the spreading flames with torrents of water.
"Ah~ so they're all Kirigakure shinobi…"
A voice came from within the flames—Naruto's voice—carrying a hint of surprise as he looked at them.
He hadn't expected this. Despite Otogakure being founded by Orochimaru, most of its shinobi turned out to be former Kirigakure ninja.
Was it due to the Blood Mist policy that drove so many from the Village Hidden in the Mist into exile?
That thought crossed Naruto's mind, but he didn't let it slow him down. Facing the incoming waves of water, he slammed both hands onto the ground and shouted loudly:
"Kagutsuchi no Hashira!" (Flame God Pillar)
A torrent of violent fire erupted from his body.
The intense blaze formed a towering column of flames, one end scorching the ground and the other blasting through the ceiling.
Under such overwhelming firepower, the Otogakure shinobi's water techniques were instantly evaporated before even reaching the flames.
Naruto gave them no chance to respond. His figure flashed past them like a lightning bolt.
In the terrified gazes of the Otogakure shinobi, as Naruto left, a sea of flames followed behind him and consumed them.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Screams of agony rang out within the inferno.
The shinobi could be seen struggling with all their might, but their cries gradually faded into silence.
Back in the laboratory, the children who noticed the chaos began to panic.
"You look at me, I look at you."
Noise and fear flooded the room.
"What do we do?! Someone's invaded, and Lord Orochimaru isn't even here…"
"We have to run! He must be here for revenge! As long as we escape, we'll be fine…"
"Orochimaru isn't a good person either. He brought us here for his experiments. If he's not here, it's the perfect chance to escape…"
"Fire! The fire's everywhere! Several rooms have already been engulfed…"
"..."
Amid the panicked shouts, many of the children turned to look at a mature-looking woman.
She had blue hair, wore a green robe, brown gloves, and boots that exposed her pale toes.
Noticing everyone staring at her, the woman subconsciously swallowed hard.
"I... I probably can't beat him…"
Even from this far away, she could feel the intense heat and pressure coming from the flames.
From not too far off, loud crashes continued.
Walls were being smashed through by the fiery shockwaves, and chakra signatures were being incinerated into nothingness.
And if I escape now... maybe I could finally break free of Orochimaru's control…
A glimmer of hope flickered in the woman's eyes.
"Guren, come with me and stop him."
A boy with white hair, wearing white robes—young Kaguya Kimimaro—spoke calmly.
"I just used Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) to inform Orochimaru-sama of the situation. He'll be back soon."
The woman named Guren's pupils shrank as she noticed the serpent coiled around Kimimaro's arm.
"You used Orochimaru's blood to deliver the message?"
Guren bit her lip.
But in the end, fear of Orochimaru prevailed, and she nodded in agreement to Kimimaro's plan.
Meanwhile
In a dim cave somewhere in the shinobi world...
Standing atop one of the fingers of the Gedo Mazo (Demonic Statue of the Outer Path), Orochimaru's face grew darker and darker.
He extended his long tongue and hissed like a serpent:
"Hehehe… How interesting. Who could be invading my Otogakure base?"
He didn't bother hiding anything.
After all, based on Kimimaro's message, his base was already exposed.
Upon hearing him, several figures standing on other fingers of the statue looked over. One of them spoke in a cold, low voice:
"Orochimaru… So Otogakure is your domain, huh? That means you must have quite a stash of money."
Orochimaru glanced over, a flicker of wariness in his eyes.
The speaker was none other than Kakuzu, the S-rank immortal rogue-nin—a member of Akatsuki he was particularly wary of.
It was said he had fought the First Hokage before...
"Need help, Orochimaru?"
Another voice chimed in. This time it came from a bulky man dressed in a black Akatsuki cloak with red clouds, speaking in a raspy voice.
"If you're willing to give me your body afterward for research, I might be willing to lend a hand."
Orochimaru shot him a look.
Sasori—S-rank rogue-nin from Sunagakure.
This man once single-handedly assassinated the Third Kazekage, considered the strongest in Sunagakure's history.
He was now devoted to developing puppets capable of destroying entire nations.
Another highly dangerous figure.
At the center finger of the Gedo Mazo stood a man with deep orange hair, black rods pierced through his body, and eyes glowing with the Rinnegan.
He asked coldly:
"Orochimaru, who is the intruder?"
Hearing all these voices, Orochimaru's eyes flickered.
He shook his head slightly.
"No need. I can handle this alone."
He had no intention of letting these maniacs go.
If he did, the invader wouldn't be the only one in danger—everyone might be wiped out by them.
With that, Orochimaru bit his thumb and slammed his hand to the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Manda!" (Summoning Jutsu: Manda)
With an explosive sound, a massive cloud of white smoke erupted.
From it, a gigantic purple serpent emerged.
Meanwhile…
Naruto burst into a particular room and, upon seeing what was inside, a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Inside was a water-filled glass tank.
Oddly enough, though the water appeared still, it continuously churned and surged.
As if it was trying to shatter the tank—but ultimately lacked the power to do so.
Naruto walked forward, raised his right index finger, and said:
"Busoshoku!" (Armament Haki)
Covering the knuckle of his index finger in black, he lightly tapped the tank's surface.
Crack!
The glass shattered like brittle ice.
The water inside gushed out wildly, threatening to flood the laboratory.
Naruto paid it no mind. Watching the torrent flow toward the door, his smirk deepened.
"Hozuki Suigetsu. If you don't want to get roasted into a dried corpse, you'd better keep crawling forward."
(End of Chapter)
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