BOOM!
A plume of smoke, hundreds of meters high, billowed into the sky. From within the dense cloud, a massive purple snake head emerged, terrifying in its scale. The nearly two-hundred-meter-long body churned violently within the smog.
Manda.
The leader of the snakes under the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave. Four horns faintly protruded from its head, signaling its transformation into a dragon and the immense power it now wielded.
"Orochimaru's Manda!?"
Outside the examination hall, Anko Mitarashi spotted Manda's towering, cloud-piercing form. Shock and fury warred within her. She immediately turned to the other proctors, shouting, "Go inform the Hokage! I'm going in to stop Orochimaru!"
Without waiting for a reply, she vanished in a Body Flicker.
On the other side, Manda lowered its massive head. It didn't look at Orochimaru immediately; instead, its gaze fixed on Naruto.
"This is... Nine-Tails chakra!"
Seeing Naruto's appearance, Manda whipped around to glare at Orochimaru. "Why do you always drag me into your messes? Watch out, or I'll eat you first!"
Orochimaru was already used to Manda's threats and didn't flinch. If he could actually defeat the giant snake, he would have been swallowed years ago. However, he needed the snake's help now. He gently patted Manda.
"Hold this brat off for me. I'll give you fifty fresh blood sacrifices."
"Fifty offerings!" Manda's eyes lit up. Orochimaru was rarely this generous, which meant he was in a hurry.
The giant snake flicked its tongue and slithered closer to Orochimaru to bargain. "I want a hundred. And they must be the chakra of fresh, delicious children."
Orochimaru's eyes turned cold, his smile vanishing instantly. "I only have forty left. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind killing you and letting the White Snake Sage choose a new leader."
The current Orochimaru was not the version whose hands were sealed, but defiant and strong.
"Hmph. You?" Manda snorted in disdain but turned its head back toward Naruto. "Fine. Forty it is, but they can't be older than fifteen."
Orochimaru didn't reply. He leaped forward, chasing Sasuke's escape route.
Whoosh!
"No! You! Aren't! Going!"
Naruto landed on all fours. His muscles, shrouded in pale red chakra, tensed violently. The immense force shattered the ground beneath him. Like a released arrow, he crashed down in front of Orochimaru, blocking his path.
Seeing Naruto ignore its attempt to stop Orochimaru, Manda roared in anger and surged forward.
"Your opponent is me, brat!"
BOOM!
As Manda's massive body twisted, it stirred up pebbles and rubble, crushing swathes of trees and thickets. It tightly coiled around Naruto, who was currently in One-Tail Chakra Mode.
Orochimaru seized the opportunity to leap away, disappearing in the direction Sasuke had fled.
"Come back!!"
Naruto targeted Orochimaru's retreating figure, using all four limbs to pursue at high speed. But Manda, prepared in advance, lashed out with its tail, slamming the airborne Naruto into the ground.
"I told you, brat. You're not getting past me right now!"
Manda swooped down again, using its head to propel Naruto in the opposite direction Orochimaru had gone.
BOOM!
A massive cloud of dust instantly enveloped the area. The giant snake's body carved a deep, tunnel-like pit into the muddy ground.
"Not enough... I want more!"
"Nine-Tails!!!"
Naruto, being pushed along, roared toward the sky.
Inside his mind, Menma nodded at the Nine-Tails. "Giving Naruto two tails doesn't require dispelling the hatred it carries. If you want to use this power, you must bear the price it brings. Let Naruto see for himself the insatiable killing intent and destructive desire within his own heart."
Kurama's eyes gleamed with excitement at the words. "You could easily have solved this by taking over his body. You really have a twisted sense of humor... But I like it! In the end, we're kindred spirits."
The Nine-Tails, now close at hand, unleashed a massive wave of chakra without restraint.
"ROAR!!!"
Naruto, pushed by Manda, let out a roar that was barely human. He stomped his feet into the ground, forcefully halting Manda's immense thrust.
At the same time, the pale red chakra on his body turned deep red. Two chakra tails swayed wildly behind him. His teeth and nails grew longer and sharper, and the last vestiges of reason in his pupils vanished completely.
The next second, Naruto's arm muscles bulged. He grabbed Manda's head and lifted the massive snake completely off the ground.
Then he slammed it down.
The earth shattered and cracked instantly, rock and dust exploding everywhere. Even the entire Forest of Death trembled as if the ground were shaking.
"Damn brat!"
Manda, seeing stars from the impact, angrily coiled its body and burrowed into the ground. Then, the ground beneath Naruto's feet collapsed, and a gaping maw rose rapidly from below.
"Die! You'll slowly dissolve and be digested inside my belly!"
GULP!
Naruto had no time to dodge—or perhaps he didn't even try. He was swallowed whole by Manda.
But before Manda could rejoice, the snake's stomach, rubbery and tough, was being relentlessly pounded open from the inside. It was like a sea urchin had been stuffed inside him, the belly bulging as if it might burst at any moment.
Manda wasn't one to be trifled with. While controlling its intestinal peristalsis to squeeze, its body began to roll rapidly on the ground. If Naruto still had his senses, he would have been dizzy and unable to muster strength.
But Naruto was now driven by pure bloodlust. Manda's rolling was useless; in fact, its belly had already bulged to almost half its body length.
"This won't do. Orochimaru's price only buys this much time!"
Not wanting to be ripped open, Manda opened its blood-red maw once more. After a series of throbbing movements, it vomited Naruto out of its stomach. Then, before Naruto could attack again, it vanished with a thud, returning to Ryūchi Cave.
Although there were no enemies left, Naruto, now in a berserk state, didn't stop. Menma within his consciousness showed no intention of switching personalities, allowing Naruto to dash off in a random direction, unleashing his destructive desires.
Hokage's Office
Hiruzen Sarutobi, using his Telescope Technique, clearly saw Naruto's current state. Previously, because of Jiraiya, he hadn't been able to spy on him. But ever since Jiraiya was seriously injured and brought back for treatment, Hiruzen had been keeping a close eye on Naruto.
"Instead of letting Menma fight, they successfully used the Nine-Tails' power?" Hiruzen muttered. "But this level of control is useless—completely lacking the effortless control Menma displayed. It's not even half as good."
"And Orochimaru... what is he planning to do back in the village?" The Third narrowed his eyes. "He's actively approaching Naruto and the others... could it be that he's with Danzo..."
Thinking of Danzo retreating to his lair and peacefully avoiding further trouble with Naruto, Hiruzen hesitated. After a long pause, he gave a grim order to the darkness.
"Have Yamato deal with the out-of-control Naruto."
(Yamato's codename in Root is Kō; Tenzo is the Hokage's direct ANBU member.)
"Also, send two squads to monitor Orochimaru and find out his purpose."
"Yes, sir."
The ANBU members emerged from the darkness, bowed, and then vanished.
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