Before anyone could recover from seeing Orochimaru beheaded, his discarded body began to move.
A fresh Orochimaru emerged from it, glistening with mucus.
"Disgusting…" Naruto watched him with interest. "But I like it."
His female avatar had already learned that body-replacement technique from the [Snake Ninjutsu] scroll she had forced Orochimaru to hand over.
Once this mission was over, Naruto intended to sign the Ryūchi Cave summoning contract himself and learn it too.
"You've become quite capable, Naruto." Orochimaru studied him with a faint smile. "Did your mother teach you?"
The others turned toward Naruto in surprise.
His mother?
Naruto had been an orphan since infancy. What was Orochimaru talking about?
Most assumed he had been given false information.
Kakashi, however, watched Naruto closely.
She survived? How could that be?
But if she did… that might explain a few things.
Naruto's expression remained unchanged.
Orochimaru was deliberately hinting at things he wanted kept secret. Kakashi could watch him all he liked; Naruto wasn't going to give him anything.
Inside, however, his anger sharpened.
Cutting off your head wasn't enough, was it?
Orochimaru took in their reactions, clearly enjoying himself.
"One of my test subjects has gone missing," he continued. "Would you happen to know anything about that, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
So that's why he attacked me.
"I didn't see a test subject," he replied. "I saw a girl covered in injuries who'd escaped from your base."
He remembered Karin's arms, the wounds and bite marks covering her skin.
His voice grew cold.
"It takes a monster like you to do that to someone."
The Leaf shinobi exchanged uneasy looks.
Naruto hadn't mentioned any girl in his report.
What else had he left out?
And what had Orochimaru meant about his mother?
With every word, it became clearer how much Naruto was keeping from them.
"Human, monster…" Orochimaru sounded indifferent. "Call me what you like. You understand nothing of this world's secrets."
His amusement faded into impatience.
He formed a series of hand seals.
With a heavy rumble, a coffin rose from the ground.
Kakashi and the others immediately recognized the technique.
Impure World Reincarnation.
The same forbidden jutsu Orochimaru had used against the Third Hokage during the Chūnin Exams.
Kakashi and Asuma exchanged a glance.
Before the lid could open, Kakashi exhaled a dragon-shaped stream of fire. Asuma released a fierce blast of wind beside him.
The wind fed the flames.
The fire dragon swelled, engulfing the coffin.
"Move!"
The jōnin gathered the younger shinobi and immediately began retreating.
Orochimaru chuckled.
"Trying to run?"
He bit his thumb, drew blood across his arm, and formed the seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
An enormous shape appeared above the retreating shinobi and crashed down.
They scattered.
Chōji reacted a moment too slowly. The impact caught him and sent him tumbling across the ground, leaving him hurt.
Once they regained their footing, they saw what had landed in their path.
A gigantic serpent.
Its sheer size made the younger shinobi freeze. Fighting something like that was difficult even to imagine.
Chōji's and Ino's legs trembled.
Akamaru burrowed into Kiba's jacket and shivered.
During those few moments of confusion, the coffin lid opened.
Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, stepped out.
The Fourth Hokage's soul was still trapped inside the Shinigami after his use of the Reaper Death Seal. Orochimaru couldn't reanimate him while it remained sealed.
The First and Second Hokage were unavailable for the same reason. During the invasion, Hiruzen had sealed their souls along with his own.
In the story Naruto remembered, Orochimaru would eventually discover how to release them and bring back all four Hokage.
That discovery hadn't happened yet.
The Third Kazekage had also escaped Orochimaru's control during his confrontation with Sasori. He had broken free of the reanimation and returned to the Pure Land. Orochimaru hadn't brought him back since.
But Rasa alone was enough to make the Leaf shinobi's expressions darken.
Soon after the Chūnin Exams, Sunagakure had discovered the Fourth Kazekage's real body and realized Orochimaru had deceived the entire village.
Learning the truth had done nothing to erase the suffering he had inflicted on either village.
"This is bad," Kakashi muttered.
He glanced at Asuma, Guy, and Kurenai.
Their expressions were equally grim.
Rasa might not have been among the strongest Kage, but he had repeatedly subdued the rampaging One-Tail, Shukaku.
He was a dangerous opponent.
And Orochimaru had Manda with him.
Kakashi and Asuma were elite jōnin. Guy could match them even without opening the Gates.
Kurenai, however, was badly injured. At best, she could currently fight at the level of an elite chūnin.
Shikamaru, Shino, and Lee had roughly chūnin-level fighting ability. Kiba, Ino, Chōji, and Tenten were still genin.
Even without Guy resorting to the Eighth Gate, they might be able to hold their own.
Getting everyone through the battle alive was another matter.
The younger shinobi understood that too.
Behind Orochimaru, Sasuke watched with bright, intent eyes.
I made the right choice.
This was the power he had come here for.
Only then did the others notice that two people were missing.
Naruto and Hinata.
Neither had been seen since Manda appeared.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive cloud of smoke erupted directly above the serpent.
A gigantic toad in a coat dropped onto Manda, pinning him beneath its weight. The huge short sword in its hand drove through the snake's mouth.
Gamabunta.
Naruto stood on his head.
One surprise attack had taken Manda out of the fight.
It wasn't proof that Gamabunta was stronger. Naruto had summoned him directly above the serpent, leaving Manda almost no time to react.
Still, Naruto had never been especially impressed by Manda's performance in the original story.
For all his arrogance and threats, he seemed to spend much of his time getting beaten or forced to retreat. Eventually, Sasuke had used him as a shield, leaving him to die in his place.
Gamabunta was far more dependable.
He came armed, looked the part, and could be counted on when it mattered.
Manda let out a muffled cry of pain.
He seemed ready to unleash a stream of threats, but with his mouth injured, he couldn't get the words out.
A moment later, he disappeared in a burst of smoke.
Orochimaru's expression darkened.
"Naruto, where's Hinata?" Kurenai asked anxiously.
"Somewhere safe!"
Naruto grinned down at her from Gamabunta's head.
When Manda appeared, he had immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Hinata to the Land of Snow.
He wasn't going to risk her being caught in the coming battle.
No one from Konoha had noticed. Even if someone had caught a glimpse of him disappearing, they could easily have mistaken it for the Body Flicker Technique.
Orochimaru, however, knew enough to suspect what had happened.
His gaze settled on Naruto.
"Flying—"
"I'll send you flying!"
Naruto cut him off, bringing his hands together.
Dozens of wind blades tore toward Orochimaru.
Then he looked down at Gamabunta.
"Boss! Give me some oil!"
Gamabunta opened his mouth and unleashed a powerful stream.
Naruto's hands moved through the final seals.
He exhaled a fire dragon into the oil.
The entire stream ignited.
An enormous, blazing dragon surged toward Orochimaru—and toward Sasuke and Sakura standing nearby.