Chapter 56 (Patreon)

An hour later, Naruto suddenly raised an eyebrow.

He glanced over his shoulder, and the corner of his mouth lifted into a faint smile as his thoughts began to turn.

Ten minutes later, a two-headed giant snake appeared before the group with a thunderous crash.

Orochimaru stood atop one of its heads, his useless arms hanging at his sides. He gazed down at Naruto and the others with a sinister expression before speaking in his hoarse voice.

“Tsunade, the day we agreed upon has not yet arrived. Do you intend to leave?”

Tsunade and Jiraiya narrowed their eyes at the sight of their former teammate.

“Hmph. Orochimaru, I won’t heal you!” Tsunade declared with a cold snort. She was already in a foul mood, and seeing him only made it worse.

“So, you’ve decided to return to Konoha and become the Fifth Hokage.”

A predatory gleam shone within Orochimaru’s serpentine eyes. Killing intent rolled from his body, heavy enough to make the air itself feel oppressive.

“Orochimaru, you killed our teacher.” Jiraiya stepped forward and confronted him without hesitation. “I haven’t settled that debt with you yet.”

“Then it seems I have no choice but to use force.”

Orochimaru’s voice turned cold as chakra erupted from his body.

“Please wait, Lord Orochimaru!”

Kabuto—ever the consummate actor—hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.

“The other two members of the Legendary Sannin are standing before us. In your present condition…”

“Hmph.” Orochimaru cast him a cold glance. “Have you forgotten Tsunade’s weakness?”

Kabuto adjusted his glasses. A sharp glint passed through his eyes before he finally nodded.

“Very well. I’ll do everything I can to hold off Lady Tsunade and her apprentice. As for Naruto…” A dismissive smile touched his lips. “He poses no threat.”

According to the information Kabuto had gathered, Naruto possessed no more than Chūnin-level strength. Kabuto, on the other hand, was an elite jōnin whose abilities rivaled Kakashi’s.

“Go!”

The two-headed snake surged forward with Orochimaru and Kabuto standing upon it, charging straight toward the four travelers.

Naruto’s figure flickered and disappeared.

Jiraiya swiftly leaped backward while forming hand seals.

“Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!”

The earth beneath the giant snake instantly softened and transformed into a vast swamp. Its enormous body sank rapidly into the mire until it disappeared beneath the surface.

Orochimaru leaped from the snake’s head and rushed straight at Jiraiya.

When only ten meters separated them, Orochimaru’s neck stretched forward without warning. His head crossed the distance in the blink of an eye, his fangs aimed directly at Jiraiya’s throat.

“Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!”

Jiraiya reacted immediately and activated his unique defensive ninjutsu.

His long white hair expanded in an instant, wrapping around his entire body. Countless hardened spikes protruded from its surface, transforming him into an enormous white hedgehog.

Orochimaru’s head was moving too quickly to stop. He crashed face-first into the spikes, and his already pale features twisted with pain.

However, Orochimaru still had another weapon.

A long blade suddenly shot from his mouth, piercing through Jiraiya’s hardened hair and plunging into his body.

Sensing mortal danger, Jiraiya twisted aside at the last possible moment. The blade missed his throat, but it still pierced the upper left side of his chest.

It was another Sword of Kusanagi—an exceptionally sharp and durable weapon capable of penetrating the defense of Jiraiya’s Needle Jizō.

Jiraiya was forced to retreat. He released the technique and clutched the upper left side of his chest with his right hand. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to breathe.

The blade had punctured the upper lobe of his left lung. The wound was severe.

Jiraiya had been careless. He had never expected Orochimaru to produce a sword from his mouth. As far as Jiraiya knew, Orochimaru had not mastered such a sinister technique before abandoning Konoha.

Tsunade immediately moved to treat him, but Kabuto darted in front of her and blocked her path.

“You think a brat like you can stop me?” Tsunade asked coldly.

“Facing Lady Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, places me under considerable pressure,” Kabuto replied. “But I have no choice.”

The moment he finished speaking, Kabuto drew a kunai and drove it through his left hand.

Blood poured from the wound.

Kabuto watched Tsunade with confidence and contempt. As a fellow medical ninja, he looked down upon someone of her stature being rendered helpless by the sight of blood.

Now all he had to do was wait for her to panic. Once she did, he could defeat her at his leisure.

Tsunade’s face paled for an instant.

Then it returned to normal.

She immediately launched a kick at Kabuto.

Alarm flashed across his face. Had Orochimaru’s information been wrong? Or had his master deliberately sent him forward as bait?

Without her hemophobia, Kabuto knew he had no chance of defeating Tsunade at her full strength.

However, after exchanging several moves with her, his expression changed again. This time, a trace of relief—and even delight—appeared in his eyes.

Tsunade’s taijutsu was only roughly equal to his own.

Watching from concealment, Naruto frowned.

In the original story, even before Kabuto used blood to trigger Tsunade’s hemophobia, the two had fought at roughly this same level.

Tsunade had spent years away from battle, wandering from place to place and losing herself in gambling. Far too much of her former strength had deteriorated.

“Shizune, handle him! I’ll treat Jiraiya!”

Tsunade gave a cold snort and rushed toward the injured Jiraiya.

Their priority was Orochimaru. Tsunade knew that her own combat ability had declined, so defeating him would depend upon Jiraiya.

Kabuto tried to stop her, but Shizune intercepted him.

Unfortunately, Shizune’s strength was only that of an ordinary jōnin. Against Kabuto, an elite jōnin, she was quickly overwhelmed. After only a few vicious exchanges, Kabuto knocked her to the ground.

It seems Tsunade never intended to train Shizune as a true combat ninja, Naruto thought. She taught her medical ninjutsu, but apparently not even chakra-enhanced strength.

In the next instant, Naruto appeared behind Kabuto.

A Rasengan spun within his right hand as he drove it toward Kabuto’s back, directly over his heart.

However, Kabuto was still an elite jōnin with extensive combat experience. He sensed the attack, twisted aside, and rapidly opened the distance between them.

The two landed facing each other.

“Well, this is unexpected, Naruto Uzumaki.” Kabuto adjusted his glasses and studied Naruto with interest. “It seems you’ve learned quite a bit while traveling with Lord Jiraiya.”

His smile sharpened.

“But those skills aren’t enough to kill me.”

Kabuto suddenly lunged forward. Chakra gathered around his right hand, forming a razor-sharp Chakra Scalpel that swept toward Naruto’s heart.

If the attack connected, it would sever the heart’s muscles and stop it from beating. Survival would be nearly impossible.

Naruto reacted without hesitation.

His figure vanished in a flicker. At the same moment, a violent whirlwind formed around Kabuto and trapped him within its spiraling currents.

Surprise crossed Kabuto’s face, but he immediately escaped the whirlwind and slipped beneath the earth.

Without warning, two hands coated in Chakra Scalpels burst from the ground beneath Naruto’s feet. The blades sliced through both of his Achilles tendons, instantly crippling his legs.

Kabuto erupted from the earth, seized Naruto by both ankles, and slammed him into the ground. A disdainful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Whoosh!

The captured “Naruto” suddenly dissolved into countless cyan wind blades.

They surged toward Kabuto from point-blank range, engulfing him in an instant.

The disdain vanished from his face. His expression changed drastically as the storm of wind blades filled his vision.

This was the [Wind Clone], a new technique Naruto had recently developed. It followed the same principle as Kakashi’s [Lightning Clone], turning the clone itself into an attack when it was struck.

Boom!

Kabuto activated the Body Replacement Technique and escaped, leaving a wooden log in his place. In the next instant, he reappeared some distance away.

Although his reaction had been swift, he had not escaped unharmed. More than a dozen cuts covered his face and the front of his body, blood steadily flowing from each wound.

“How careless of me,” Kabuto said between heavy breaths, laughing quietly at himself. “I never expected your Wind Release ninjutsu to be this dangerous.”