"Heh—"
Kabuto sneered at Naruto, who had stepped in his way. "You think you can stop me?"
Naruto stared him down. "I won't let you through."
Kabuto didn't bother responding further. He moved forward toward Naruto.
"Ivysaur, block him!"
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Ivysaur quickly rushed over, eyes alert as it faced the approaching Kabuto.
At the same time, Naruto summoned a large number of shadow clones to surround Kabuto.
One clone remained by Naruto's side, beginning to shape something in his right hand.
As the clone worked, a glowing Rasengan began to form in Naruto's palm.
With determination in his eyes, Naruto charged forward.
After all this time traveling with Jiraiya, he had gained a lot—not just knowledge, but real strength.
"Ivysaur, Sweet Scent, then use Growth!"
"Vii-saur!"
Ivysaur nodded and released a wave of fragrant pink mist toward Kabuto.
But to Kabuto, Ivysaur's attack was far too slow. With a slight shift, he easily dodged it.
Still, Ivysaur didn't stop. A glow surged across its body as it grew in size, then it released another Sweet Scent.
"That kind of attack won't work on me."
Kabuto muttered indifferently and dodged again.
Whoosh—
Just then, Naruto's shadow clones swarmed in and launched their assault.
Chakra surged from Kabuto's hands, and his Chakra Scalpel instantly extended, growing from a short blade to the size of a ninja short sword.
He began spinning through the clones at high speed.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Shadow clones vanished one after another in puffs of smoke.
"Ivysaur, Razor Leaf!"
Naruto's command rang out again, and Ivysaur launched a barrage of sharp, flying leaves.
Kabuto sensed the attack and abandoned his pursuit of the remaining clones, dodging the barrage instead.
Boom—
The leaves struck where Kabuto had just been standing, slamming into the ground with a dull thud.
"So sharp?"
Kabuto looked at the scorched mark where the leaves had struck, visibly surprised.
He had witnessed the entire attack sequence. The leaves were sharper than blades—despite the impact, they left no excessive damage, just clean punctures.
"Rasengan!"
At that moment, Naruto suddenly appeared right in front of Kabuto and thrust the Rasengan at him.
Kabuto twisted his body, grabbed Naruto's arm, and hurled him at a nearby boulder with a surge of chakra.
Bang!
Naruto slammed into the rock, shattering parts of it.
Cough, cough—
He coughed twice and slowly got up. "I won't let you hurt her."
Kabuto's eyes trembled, then he sneered. "You're one stubborn brat. Then I'll just kill you."
He drew a kunai and lunged at Naruto with ruthless intent.
Shhhk—
Naruto reached out with his left hand and grabbed the incoming kunai. Blood sprayed out as it pierced straight through his palm.
"Gotcha!"
Rather than cry out, Naruto grinned.
Kabuto's eyes went wide with shock, then fear. "Why—?!"
He couldn't understand it. Why was this kid so relentless?
Naruto grinned again. "That's my ninja way—even if it costs me my life!"
Kabuto's pupils contracted. He raised his free hand and began pounding on Naruto. "Let go! I said let go!"
Naruto didn't flinch. Even as Kabuto rained punches and kicks on him, he didn't let go.
Another shadow clone appeared at Naruto's side and began forming another Rasengan.
"Rasengan!"
The chakra sphere formed once more. Naruto raised it and slammed it directly into Kabuto's body.
Kabuto had no time to dodge. The Rasengan struck him full force.
Boom!
He was sent flying, crashing hard into the ground.
Naruto stumbled and then collapsed onto the ground, panting.
But a smile spread across his face. "I did it…"
"Ivysaur!"
Ivysaur rushed over, clearly worried.
Naruto shook his head. "I'm fine, Ivysaur. Don't worry."
…
Jiraiya and Orochimaru had both noticed the outcome of Naruto's battle with Kabuto.
"Hahaha!"
Jiraiya burst into laughter. "Looks like you've lost, Orochimaru. Be a good boy and come back to Konoha with me."
"Hmph. Useless."
Orochimaru cast a cold glance at the unconscious Kabuto, then turned back to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, I'll let you go this time. We'll meet again."
With that, he vanished, reappearing beside Kabuto. He opened his mouth, released a snake, and had it swallow Kabuto's body.
He looked toward Naruto. "Brat, we'll meet again!"
"Orochimaru, don't think you can escape!"
Jiraiya quickly formed hand signs and breathed out a stream of fire.
But Orochimaru didn't even react. Staring at the incoming flames, he calmly said, "Next time, you won't be so lucky. Farewell."
Then his body dissolved into countless small snakes, slithering in all directions.
The fire engulfed them, burning them to ash, but Jiraiya didn't look satisfied.
"Damn it. He escaped. Next time, I'll make sure to bring you back."
He shook his head and walked over to Naruto.
"You okay?"
Naruto grinned. "I'm fine, Pervy Sage. I completed the mission."
Jiraiya smiled too. "Yeah, you did."
The two of them made their way over to Tsunade. Seeing her current state, Jiraiya sighed.
But Naruto stepped up with his unique ninjutsu—Talk no Jutsu.
With a passionate and heartfelt speech, he helped Tsunade overcome her hemophobia.
As a result, he earned the chakra crystal of the First Hokage—what Tsunade had once called a cursed necklace.
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