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Hidden Sound Village.
Orochimaru's Underground Base.
"Lord Orochimaru, ever since Sasuke arrived at the base, I've assigned him intensive training. His progress has been remarkable lately," Kabuto reported respectfully.
Suddenly, a massive flood surged in from outside the base, completely submerging the underground facility.
Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke scrambled out from beneath the earth in a panic.
"Bastard! Who's responsible for this?!" Orochimaru roared furiously, drenched and livid. "Rebuild the base on higher ground next time!"
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto replied promptly, bowing repeatedly.
"Look over there!" Sasuke shouted, pointing at a group of figures crawling out of the muddy debris. It was the trio from the Fūma Clan.
The two surviving Fūma lackeys, drenched and shivering, looked up in relief. "Lord Orochimaru, please! Our comrade is dying! He risked his life trying to capture Konoha shinobi for you!"
Orochimaru sneered in disgust. "What have you ever done for me? You think you're entitled to my help just because you failed to accomplish anything?"
"We've always worked for you, Lord Orochimaru!" the lackeys protested, eyes wide in disbelief. "We were ambushed during the mission to capture the Konoha shinobi. That's why we were swept away by the flood!"
"Hmph. That was your own wishful thinking. Wait—flood?!" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "Kabuto!"
"Yes!" Kabuto nodded and walked toward the injured Fūma Clan members.
Suddenly, a scream echoed from the mountains in the distance.
"Huh?" Naruto perked up, ears twitching slightly. "Did you hear that?"
"Nope," Jiraiya replied with a shake of his head.
"How long until we reach the village, Sasha?" Naruto asked.
"Almost there! We just need to cross that ridge," Sasha answered. "Thank you, Naruto-san, for helping me. My cousin Lan is my only family left."
"It's nothing. Leave it to us!" Naruto and Naruko said in unison, giving her thumbs-up.
Sasha blinked. "???"
Meanwhile.
"It seems your former comrades still haven't given up on you," Orochimaru said, glancing sideways at Sasuke.
"Hmph. Pathetic," Sasuke scoffed, crossing his arms.
"Go and prepare. We're leaving soon," Orochimaru ordered Kabuto.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto acknowledged and turned back toward the flooded ruins of the base.
"That's Orochimaru's base," Sasha informed Jiraiya, Naruto, and Naruko as they approached.
The group looked ahead to see a soaked and exposed underground entrance.
Without hesitation, Naruto marched forward.
"Wait, Naruto! You can't just barge in like that!" Jiraiya called out. "We need intel first. Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof! Gamakichi appeared in a puff of smoke.
"AHH!" the little toad shouted as he landed, then proceeded to slip and bounce around in panic.
Naruto sighed, deadpan, and casually scooped Gamakichi up, tossing him back to Jiraiya. He then clapped his hands. "Earth Style: Core Tremor!"
The ground trembled violently as Naruto's jutsu lifted the entire underground base to the surface, destroying all the traps within.
Inside the now-exposed underground chamber, Dragonfly and Lan stood frozen in place, caught mid-act.
"Lan!" Sasha rushed forward.
Lan raised her arm, stopping Sasha mid-run. "I'm sorry, Sasha. I'm no longer the same person. I've absorbed the body and jutsu of Fūma Jonin Fūren. I've become the strongest shinobi!"
Suddenly, two bodies—Cannon Fodder 1 and 2—erupted grotesquely from Lan's back, twisted and fused into her.
On the other side, Dragonfly threw out a web of chakra threads, wrapping tightly around Jiraiya.
"Why…?" Sasha whispered, stumbling back.
Naruto stepped forward, shielding Sasha behind him.
Jiraiya calmly took a few steps forward despite the restraints. He felt an ominous chill crawl through his chest as Dragonfly held up a still-beating heart in his own hand.
"For the honor of the Fūma Clan," Dragonfly hissed, "you'll all die with me!"
Jiraiya frowned, unmoved.
Dragonfly continued with manic glee, "I've bound your chakra network to mine. Once my heart stops beating, your chakra system will collapse! You'll die with me! This is one of the Fūma Clan's ultimate forbidden techniques—Chakra Binding Threads. Once linked, they can't be severed!"
Before he could finish, Jiraiya calmly raised one hand and channeled nature chakra into his fingers, forming a fine-edged blade.
"This is a chakra scalpel... just a more advanced version," Jiraiya said coldly.
He slashed—cleanly severing the threads.
Dragonfly's face twisted in disbelief. "...Huh?!"
He looked down at his heart, hesitating as if wondering whether he could put it back in.
On Naruto's side, a Shadow Clone suddenly appeared next to Lan and grabbed her by the shoulders.
Natural energy surged from Lan's body and was absorbed by the Shadow Clone. Slowly, the bodies of Cannon Fodder 1 and 2 detached from Lan, restoring her original form.
Poof! The Shadow Clone, overwhelmed by natural energy, dispelled. Naruto's eyes briefly flashed with Sage Mode pigmentation before fading.
"Naruto…" Sasha panicked at the clone's sudden disappearance. Then she realized—"Shadow Clone?"
She turned to look at Naruto, who coughed twice, a little sheepishly. "Ahem, your cousin is fine. You should go to her."
Tears brimming, Sasha rushed to Lan's side. Without the interference of cursed chakra and the Earth Dragon Sage Technique, Lan regained her senses.
"I'm sorry, Sasha," she whispered. "I wanted so badly to restore the Fūma Clan's former glory... I only brought you terrible memories."
Lan looked to Naruto. "Arigato."
A subtle wave of chakra rose around her as she activated a suicide seal. Before anyone could react, she took her own life in a final act of atonement.
Naruto stepped forward and helped Sasha to her feet. She collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
"Though we lost so much... at last, our Fūma Clan is free from Orochimaru's grasp," said Hanzaki, one of the Fūma survivors, bowing to Jiraiya. "Thank you, Lord Jiraiya."
"Looks like you're all starting over from scratch," Jiraiya replied with a warm smile.
"As long as we're still alive, the Fūma name will rise again," Sasha said firmly. "Thank you... for everything."
Then, Sasha turned to Naruto.
Naruto awkwardly turned his head away, scratching the back of his neck.
Sasha let out a soft laugh. "I forgive you."
Naruto grinned and in a flash appeared next to Hanzaki. He pressed a scroll into the older man's hand and whispered something before vanishing again.
Jiraiya looked at him curiously. "What did you give him?"
"Guess," Naruto said with a cheeky grin.
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That night...
The Fūma Clan gathered under torchlight, carefully unrolling the scroll Naruto had given them.
Inside, it detailed a complete archive of Wind Style ninjutsu—ranging from D-rank to S-rank.
Hanzaki's hands trembled. "This... This is priceless. I, Hanzaki, hereby recognize Naruto Uzumaki as the official son-in-law of the Fūma Clan!"
The crowd burst into cheers.
Sasha blinked again. "???"
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