Orochimaru raised the kunai.
There was neither doubt nor pity in his eyes. Only the cold calculation of a researcher estimating how to most effectively use valuable samples of such an unusual body.
"Farewell, Jinchūriki. No need to say goodbye to your friends; you'll meet them soon."
Naruto looked at the blade.
The surroundings suddenly slowed down.
He couldn't do anything. The Chakra Absorption Barrier had stripped him of the Bijū Cloak, and his own channels were empty.
Inside, in his Dantian, the Pseudo-Core continued to rotate methodically.
It was no longer a small clot, as when it first formed. Over the past months of training and fighting, it had grown, turning into a weighty, heavy sphere of viscous, liquid energy. It occupied the entire space, pressing against the walls of the Dantian.
But now, facing Orochimaru, this energy was far from enough. The Qi lacked both density and quantity to bridge the chasm separating their levels.
In this state, I will lose. I will die, and they will die. Slowly and painfully. All because of my weakness.
Faces flashed in his mind. Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Chōji. They believed in him.
Naruto made what might be his final decision.
The only chance for victory was to become much stronger right here and now. To kill the Sannin, or, at the very least, force him to retreat.
He needed a breakthrough to a new level.
Chance of success... one in five, his Qi-accelerated mind coldly assessed. If I make even a slight mistake—the Dantian won't hold and will explode; I'll be torn apart from the inside. But if I don't do this—death is guaranteed.
The choice was made.
Naruto closed his eyes.
He didn't defend himself. Instead, he directed his will inward.
He grabbed the expanded sphere of dense, rotating Qi and began to compress it even harder.
Pressure inside the Dantian instantly spiked to critical levels. His body shook; blood seeped from his pores. To compress such a volume of already compressed energy even further—it was like trying to hold an explosion with bare hands.
Compress! Naruto roared mentally. Denser! Harder than diamond! Harder than death!
The Pseudo-Core resisted; the sphere of energy continued its rotation, trying to maintain its shape. But Naruto's will was unshakeable.
Finally, after an instant of real time but an eternity of internal struggle.
A sound rang out inside his stomach.
PING.
The thin, crystal ring of a snapped string, heard even by Orochimaru.
The expanded Pseudo-Core disappeared.
In the center of the resulting void flared a tiny, pea-sized, but absolutely solid material point.
Golden Core.
Naruto opened his eyes.
The blue color was gone. His irises shone with an even, blindingly white light.
EXPLOSION.
A pure kinetic wave of density.
A bright radiance burst from his body like a shockwave.
The purple symbols on the ground—"Chakra Absorption Barrier"—flared up. The barrier tried to absorb this energy too, but its density was beyond limits. The technique's structure couldn't withstand the overload and collapsed.
The symbols burst and burned out.
Orochimaru was thrown back. He plowed the ground with his feet, stopping ten meters away. His eyes widened.
"What... is this?" he hissed, looking at the boy. "A new trick? The Nine-Tails' final gift?"
Naruto slowly rose.
The wind around him died down. The air became heavy and viscous, distorting light. A bright white glow emanated from his body—not an aura, but "solid light."
"No," Naruto's voice sounded different. Deeper. Resonating with space. "This is my own power."
Orochimaru smirked. Irritation gave way to greed.
"Curious. So this is the true form of your hidden power? I'll simply take it by cutting open your chest."
The Sannin attacked head-on.
He formed a seal.
"Striking Shadow Snake."
A stream of giant snakes erupted from his sleeve, striving to bind and crush the enemy.
Naruto didn't move.
He raised his right hand. Palm toward the enemy.
No seals.
Around him, from concentrated blinding white light, three objects wove themselves into existence.
Swords.
Not of steel. Of pure, radiant energy condensed to the state of matter. They hovered in the air, humming with tension.
Qi Control: Projection. Blades.
A wave of the hand.
Three glowing streaks.
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH.
The snakes were sliced to pieces before they could even get close. The cuts were perfectly smooth, cauterized by "solid light" with high vibration.
Orochimaru didn't stop. He spat out the Kusanagi sword, grabbed it, and rushed into close combat.
Naruto met him with the Blades.
The ringing of metal against energy compressed to matter echoed through the forest.
Orochimaru was faster and more technical, but Naruto's Blades moved by the power of thought. There were three of them, and they attacked from impossible angles.
One blade passed through the Sannin's shoulder.
"Argh!"
Orochimaru jumped back. The wound smoked.
He noticed with surprise that regeneration was working slower than it should. The wound edges didn't fuse instantly as usual. The white energy left in the wound continued to burn cells, blocking recovery chakra.
This isn't just a cut... this power disrupts my connection to this flesh, the Snake realized. Dangerous.
"Rashōmon!" the Sannin barked, slapping his palms on the ground.
Giant demonic gates grew from the ground with a crash, shielding him from the next attack.
"Useless."
Naruto brought his fingers together.
Three blades merged into one giant sword.
Strike from top to bottom.
WHOOSH!
The steel gates, capable of withstanding a Bijū attack, were cleaved in half like a bamboo wall. The sheer density of the Golden Core's Qi ignored the technique's durability.
Orochimaru was no longer behind the gates. He used the second of delay to break the distance.
"What's the matter?" the blonde spoke up. "Afraid of getting cut?"
The Sannin was breathing heavily. The new body ached from burns that refused to heal instantly.
"Brat..." he hissed. "You are becoming a problem."
But Naruto was no longer listening.
He met the gaze of the Snake's vertical pupils.
And used his new weapon.
Qi Control: Genjutsu. Mental Hammer.
It wasn't a standard illusion or deception of the senses. It was a strike of will.
Naruto gathered the full power of his consciousness, sharpened by the Golden Core, and struck directly at Orochimaru's mind.
The Sannin froze.
Darkness fell in his head. Sudden paralysis seized his body.
The sword froze in his hand.
That instant was enough.
Naruto clenched his fingers into a fist.
The giant White Sword split into five smaller blades, and they, spinning, struck from all sides.
SQUELCH. SQUELCH. SQUELCH.
They pierced the Sannin's body through.
Two in the shoulders. Two in the thighs. One—straight into the stomach, pinning him to the ground.
Orochimaru collapsed to his knees, coughing blood.
He looked up.
There was not a trace of emotion in the youth's glowing eyes. Only cold white radiance.
"You lost," Naruto stated, raising his hand for the final Qi strike. He concentrated, intending to erase the enemy's body completely this time.
Orochimaru's thoughts raced.
This brat... He is comparable to me in this state. His energy... it destroys the connection to the body, making my regeneration practically useless. And again that sickening feeling. Like back then in Tanzaku. As if Providence itself is grinning in my face, protecting him. If I continue—I will lose this vessel, and maybe the next one too.
The choice was obvious.
The Sannin smiled with a bloody mouth.
"You win this time, Uzumaki. But don't think this is the end."
His body suddenly disintegrated into thousands of small white snakes.
Naruto's blades hung in the air, holding empty clothes.
The snake stream poured over the ground, bypassing Naruto.
Sasuke, lying by the tree, saw everything. He saw the white glow. Saw Naruto suppress the Sannin. Shock and confusion were readable in his eyes.
But he couldn't move.
Snakes wrapped around the Uchiha, and the ground beneath him opened up.
"NO!" Naruto shouted, realizing the plan.
He punched the ground, sending a Qi impulse to crush the burrow.
But the Golden Core inside suddenly flickered at the most inopportune moment.
The light went out.
Naruto swayed.
His body, not yet accustomed to the Core's colossal density, struggled to withstand the overloads. Meridians burned; muscles cramped slightly. The stability of the newborn core wavered, limiting the flow of power.
The ground closed up.
Orochimaru disappeared along with Sasuke.
Naruto remained standing in the middle of the destroyed section of the forest.
The blinding radiance faded. His eyes became blue again.
In impotent rage, he punched.
The nearest tree crashed down with a crack from the residual release of power, but it brought no relief.
Silence.
He defeated one of the legendary Sannin. Reached the Master level.
But he lost a friend.
A rustle was heard from behind.
Shikamaru and Kiba jumped into the clearing.
They froze, looking at the destruction. Scorched earth, holes in boulders, fallen trees. And Naruto, breathing heavily, in the middle of this apocalypse.
"Naruto..." Shikamaru exhaled, looking at the devastation. "What happened here? Where is Sasuke?"
Naruto slowly turned to them.
His face was calm, but a new, cold determination froze in the depths of his eyes.
"Taken," Naruto said.
"Orochimaru."
He placed a hand on his stomach. He felt the solid, heavy Golden Core slowly pulsing inside his Dantian. A source of incredible power that for now lacked control.
"I became stronger," he uttered quietly. "But it is still not enough."