Boom!
The two siblings, who had been fast asleep, were suddenly jolted by the shockwave of an explosion.
However, Kanon was already used to it.
"Deidara-nii... stop the explosions... I want to sleep a little longer..."
Kanon rolled over, scratched her backside, and pulled Sasuke's quilt over herself as she turned away.
Hearing Kanon's dazed voice, Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at his younger sister with a touch of doting affection.
"It seems she hasn't had a good rest in a while." Having spent the most time with Kanon, Sasuke understood her routine best. Usually, she wasn't one to slack off or stay in bed; today was likely an exception.
Meanwhile, beyond the battlefield, the fight between Orochimaru and the Four-Tailed Naruto was reaching its climax.
Sakura, Sai, and Yamato watched with heavy hearts as they beheld a battered Orochimaru and Naruto, who had completely entered his Four-Tailed state.
At that moment, the Four-Tailed Naruto was condensing high-density chakra to manifest a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Seeing such a concentrated mass of chakra, even Orochimaru was slightly taken aback.
"Taking a hit from chakra that dense would certainly be fatal."
Then, before everyone's eyes, Naruto actually swallowed the massive sphere of chakra!
His entire body collapsed inward. What was already a massive crater gave way to an even deeper pit.
"He ate it?!" Yamato exclaimed in shock.
But Yamato was merely a bystander; his analysis was nowhere near as sharp as Orochimaru's, who stood directly opposite the beast.
"Wielding chakra of such high density will surely make his movements sluggish."
"How do you intend to fight me now?"
In the next heartbeat, the Four-Tailed Naruto gave him his answer.
Naruto suddenly expanded, his body bulging like a sphere. His cheeks puffed out as thick smoke began to billow from his form.
"I see. So that's the trick," Orochimaru said, a slight smirk playing on his lips. He had seen through it!
He bit his thumb, drawing blood.
Indeed, Orochimaru prepared to use Rashomon to block Naruto's Tailed Beast Bomb!
Finally, amidst the suffocating tension, the Four-Tailed Naruto finished condensing the energy. It was a massive sphere of pure destructive power. It erupted from his mouth, emitting a blinding light.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Accompanied by a shrill scream from the Four-Tailed Naruto, the powerful energy sphere flew toward Orochimaru with lightning speed. The air itself distorted violently from the high-speed rotation, and the surrounding earth trembled.
"Triple Rashomon!"
Orochimaru summoned his ultimate defensive ninjutsu. Yet, in the face of the Tailed Beast Bomb's overwhelming power, the nearly unbreakable gates of Rashomon were torn apart as easily as wastepaper.
With a deafening roar, the Tailed Beast Bomb exploded against Orochimaru, releasing an endless torrent of light and heat. The shockwave radiated outward, reducing the surrounding structures to ash. As the light gradually faded, Orochimaru was left sprawled on the ground amidst the wreckage of the battlefield.
Suddenly, the Kusanagi Sword shot out from the ground. To everyone's astonishment, the great blade pierced Naruto's chest, thrusting him back thousands of meters and carving a massive trench into the earth.
Naruto was propelled across the distance, eventually slamming into a cliffside.
"It seems continuing the fight with the Kusanagi Sword won't yield any results," Orochimaru mused.
As he retracted the blade, Orochimaru realized that these kinds of attacks were simply ineffective against Naruto in this state.
Naruto let out a roar that made everyone present wide-eyed with fear. But Sakura, heedless of the danger, rushed toward the monster that Naruto had become, tears streaming down her face.
"Stop, Sakura! Don't get close to him like this!" Yamato shouted.
She didn't want Naruto to turn into a monster, and she didn't want him to suffer such pain just to keep his promise to her. In the past, she had always cried in front of him, unable to do anything. Now, she finally had the strength to change things.
"Naruto! That's... that's enough!"
"I will definitely save Kanon and Sasuke!!"
"So... Naruto, you've already..."
Sakura stumbled, tears flowing down her cheeks, as the Four-Tailed Naruto turned his gaze toward her.
"Oh no!" Yamato quickly wove hand signs, but it was too late.
The Four-Tailed Naruto flicked his tail, instantly swiping Sakura away. He was on the verge of a total rampage right in front of Kabuto and Orochimaru.
"Damn it, am I not going to make it?!"
Just then, Yamato's Wood Release finally reached the spot, binding the Tailed Beast state Naruto.
"Hokage Style Elder Jutsu: Kakuan's Tenth Edict On Enlightenment!"
"Ha!" Yamato slammed his palm against Naruto's chest, forcibly suppressing the out-of-control power.
Sakura opened her eyes, watching as the chakra receded and Naruto slowly reverted to his human form before finally losing consciousness.
"It's over."
Later, Orochimaru received Sai's message and brought him back to the hideout.
When the three arrived, they saw Sasuke standing in the main hall. Dressed in white, he cut a cold, imposing figure. The flickering light of the torches cast his face into shadow, leaving only the crimson glow of his Sharingan visible in the dark.
"You're late."
However, Sai merely smiled and spoke softly to Sasuke.
"First time meeting you. My name is Sai. You must be Sasuke Uchiha."
"Get lost," Sasuke said flatly.
Hearing this, Sai could only shake his head helplessly.
"Even when I force a smile, I'm always disliked."
"I'm always making Naruto hate me, too."
Predictably, once Naruto was mentioned, Sasuke finally looked at the boy.
"Though, compared to Naruto, you seem much easier to get along with."
Suddenly, Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan spun. A terrifying genjutsu plunged Sai into a world of ice; he felt as though he were being stared down by a horrific, primordial brand. He collapsed to the floor, drenched in a cold sweat.
"Sasuke!" Kabuto was taken aback. What was Sasuke doing?
"Cold sweat..." Sai wiped his face, only then realizing he was perspiring. He then locked eyes with Sasuke.
But Sasuke's expression remained unchanged, utterly indifferent.
"You'd best not provoke Sasuke."
"He's even more dangerous than I am," Orochimaru warned with a smirk.
Sure enough, Sasuke spoke:
"I don't have time to deal with people like him."
"Let's go train, Orochimaru. Now."
Just as Sasuke finished speaking, Sai chimed in again.
"In these past three years, it seems he's been looking for you the whole time."
"So that guy is here too." Sasuke remained silent for a moment, then looked at Orochimaru, appearing entirely indifferent to the news about Naruto.
"Let's go, Orochimaru."
Sasuke began to turn away.
"Naruto to you... I heard from Sakura that Naruto views you as a true brother."
"My siblings... there is one man I wish to kill, and one sister I cherish most."
"Only those two!"
With that, Sasuke vanished from the spot. Orochimaru turned to give Kabuto his instructions.
"I'm going as well. Kabuto, use this to make a detailed report for me."
"Understood. I'll get to it then."
As Orochimaru departed, Kabuto pulled out the list and looked at the information, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Oh? This is a copy of the roster for Konoha's Anbu, the unit directly under the Hokage."
A playful, cute voice rang out from beside Kabuto.
The sound clearly startled both Sai and Kabuto. For someone to approach them so silently was enough to make their skin crawl.
Having discarded her Akatsuki cloak like Sasuke, Kanon appeared, wearing a short-sleeved shirt adorned with the Uchiha crest and the mark of Ryuchi Cave.
She remained as exquisite and captivating as ever. At fifteen, her silhouette had begun to mature; while not as pronounced as Tsunade or Hinata, she was already more developed than Sakura.
Kanon's growth and the curves of her figure were nearly perfect. Even the emotionless Sai couldn't help but swallow hard, momentarily captivated by her beauty.
"It's you..." Kabuto also swallowed nervously.
"This list doesn't look like intelligence the likes of you could just stumble upon."
"Let me guess... the only person who could directly hand over the names of the entire Hokage's Anbu would have to be a high-ranking official in Konoha."
"It seems Konoha truly is corrupt. To think information on the Hokage's personal squad would end up with Orochimaru."
"Honestly, a broken village like that... it might be better off destroyed."
"Don't you agree?"
In an instant, a Kusanagi Sword was pressed against Sai's throat. Gazing into Kanon's three-tomoe Sharingan, even Kabuto's pupils shrank in fear.
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