Chapter 837: Naruto's True Love!
Chapter 837: Naruto's True Love!
At the Heavenly Earth Bridge.
Swish!
Do's head was abruptly severed by Kakkuzu's swift strike with a chakra scalpel.
"The sand you planted in my brain, Orochimaru already helped me remove it long ago!" Do declared, addressing the headless Scorpion.
To be honest, even without Orochimaru, he wasn't afraid.
Tang Ping had already sent a message through Yanoo, assuring him that he could handle the Sand Control Technique.
However, Do believed this was an excellent opportunity to gain Orochimaru's trust, so he didn't opt for Tang Ping's solution.
Tang Ping and his team didn't give Do any specific instructions for this encounter; they merely wanted him to play along with his character's design.
Of course, if something unfortunate were to happen, there was no need to worry.
Precautions had been taken, and a trigger would activate upon his death.
As a subordinate of the Asuma clan, Tang Ping would spare no effort to ensure that Do wouldn't fall into the hands of the Six Paths Sage.
Without the threat of death, there was no need for special protection.
But just as Do finished speaking, he frowned, took a step back, and widened the distance between them.
He had realized that the person he had just beheaded was not Scorpion.
Fortunately, he was already aware that Scorpion wasn't ordinary, so despite his ruthless and lethal moves, he didn't think he could easily defeat the renowned 'Red Sand Scorpion'.
If Scorpion was that easy to deal with, he wouldn't have earned such a formidable reputation.
"You're not Scorpion. Who are you?" Do demanded coldly.
As he spoke, three figures swiftly emerged from the forest on the other side of the bridge and landed in front of 'Scorpion'.
The middle one had dead fish eyes, the one on the left had a pale face with a forced smile, and the one on the right was a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy with six fox whiskers on his face.
Taka, Sai, and Naruto! It was Team Seven.
"So, it's you guys. Did you come to find me... or should I say, to cause trouble for Orochimaru-sama? It seems that Scorpion has already met his end at your hands, right?" Do instantly recognized their identities and deduced that Scorpion was dead; otherwise, they wouldn't have disclosed this meeting time and location.
"Give me Sasuke back!" Naruto interrupted Taka before he could respond, seizing the moment.
It could only be said that he was the protagonist.
If an ordinary ninja had spoken out of turn in front of their leader like this, it would have been a sign of overconfidence.
"Sasuke? He's not planning to return to Konoha, which destroyed the Uchiha clan!" Do chuckled lightly, shaking his head.
He naturally understood Sasuke's mindset.
After learning the truth about the clan's annihilation, Sasuke was completely opposed to the Hokage. It was already a surprise that he hadn't directly attacked Konoha; expecting him to return was nothing but a dream.
"Regardless, you're not leaving here today!" Taka interrupted Naruto's next words.
Time was of the essence; any questions could be asked later. The longer they delayed, the more time they gave their opponent to respond, which was unacceptable.
Whoosh!
Sai, coming from the Root, understood this principle well. He threw several shuriken and then drew his ninja sword, charging forward.
According to the intelligence, the opponent was a medical ninja, so his close combat abilities shouldn't be strong... right? (There was no original plot of him overpowering Tsunade, and Do's strength had never been demonstrated.)
However, after a few exchanges, Sai wanted to kill the intelligence gatherer.
Was this considered weak in close combat?
The opponent's exquisite body technique, combined with the chakra scalpel, nearly severed Sai's throat.
Even so, his left hand, which had been slashed by the chakra scalpel, was now unusable due to nerve damage.
Nerve Disorder!
The chakra scalpel had this effect when it sliced through.
Especially with the opponent's bizarre reaction speed, it was hard to believe they were medical ninjas.
"Be careful, their close combat skills are strong, and you must avoid being injured by the chakra scalpel, or it will cause nerve damage!" Sai warned as he continued to calmly defend against the attacks.
"Wood Style!" Taka shouted lightly, and several thick wooden poles sprouted from the bridge planks, then coiled like pythons.
After learning that the opponent's body technique was not weak, Taka wouldn't continue with close combat. Instead, he opted to use Wood Style.
With Wood Style, even against a Shadow-level Master, Taka was confident he could hold his own for a while.
Do's true expertise wasn't in combat, so his fighting prowess was only at the Jonin Specialist level. Facing Taka's Wood Style, he couldn't withstand it, so he jumped several times to escape the attack range and ended up behind a slowly emerging figure.
Shoulder-length hair, cold golden eyes, and a distinctive appearance instantly caught the attention of the Seventh Team members, and they recognized him in an instant.
"Orochimaru!" Sakura exclaimed, startled, as she emerged from Scorpion's shell.
She never expected that while trying to capture a spy near him, they would encounter the real Orochimaru.
Their plan was to capture the spy first, learn Orochimaru's whereabouts from them, and then launch a full-scale assault.
But now, Orochimaru himself had appeared, making all those complicated procedures unnecessary.
Taka's heart raced with excitement.
The target's presence here meant they could save a lot of energy.
Furthermore, they had set up an intricate trap in the surrounding area, gaining the home-field advantage.
He didn't make any sudden moves, as the team leader was aware that the Seventh Team had backup support.
Once they saw Orochimaru, they would take action; there was no need for him to interfere.
All he had to do was stall for time to give them more time to prepare.
That was the plan.
But when Naruto saw Orochimaru appear, he gritted his teeth, and a dark red Tailed Beast Cloak materialized on his body, along with a Chakra-formed Tailed Beast that emerged.
He was in the One-Tail state! It had to be said that he truly loved the Second Mizukage.
Usually, he could control himself, but when it came to the Second Mizukage, he would explode like a bomb.
Whoosh! Naruto, clad in the Tailed Beast Cloak, charged straight towards Orochimaru.
To be fair, even the Orochimaru from the original storyline, in a state of disabled hands, could still dominate Naruto.
Now, this was the 'intact' Orochimaru.
The condition of his hands significantly influenced a ninja's strength.
So, even though this body was nearing its limit, Orochimaru's strength was not something the original storyline could compare to.
"Naruto, you do resemble someone I once knew!" Orochimaru said.
"The same naivety!"
...
As Orochimaru dodged Naruto's attacks, he engaged in verbal sparring.
Indeed, he saw a reflection of his former disciple in Naruto.
Bang! As he spoke, he kicked Naruto away.
Without using any ninjutsu, his pure Taijutsu overwhelmed Naruto in the One-Tail state.
Orochimaru was no ordinary ninja.
Whether it was his physical prowess or his ninjutsu, he had no apparent weaknesses.
Although his soul had a vulnerability due to not undergoing the Impure World Reincarnation, it wasn't something an ordinary ninja could exploit.
At the very least, it would require a Mangekyo Sharingan user with expertise in Genjutsu to accomplish this; ordinary Genjutsu would only result in being overwhelmed by Orochimaru's Genjutsu.
"Naruto, calm down!" Taka reminded Naruto as he noticed his eyes beginning to transform into the Beast Eyes.
They had already set up their trap and didn't need the Seventh Team to defeat Orochimaru; they just needed to stall him.
"I know, Taka-sensei!" Naruto nodded slowly.
However, a second red Chakra tail appeared behind him.
Taka had no choice but to join the fight, as it had already begun, and he couldn't just stand by and waste time.
He quickly formed hand seals and chanted.
"Wood Style: Tree Sea Birth!"
He immediately unleashed a powerful move.
Knowing that his opponent was Orochimaru, he understood that he had no right to hold back, so he gave it his all from the start.
The ground began to shake, and thick vines, as wide as water buckets, broke through the earth and rapidly grew, crushing a large area.
"Such a weak Wood Style!" Orochimaru smirked as he weaved through the vines.
His experimental Wood Style, though not weak, was qualitatively inferior to the true Wood Style.
After witnessing the Wood Style of the First Hokage, he naturally looked down upon Taka's Wood Style, even when compared to other Kekkei Genkai, it still fell short.
Now, Orochimaru understood that the true strength lay not in the Wood Style but in the First Hokage himself.
As the battle intensified, Naruto quickly entered the Three-Tails state, a zone of uncontrollable chaos.
At this point, the battle truly began, passing the prologue.
Furthermore, at the edge of this area, a massive flame barrier suddenly appeared.
(End of Chapter)
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