Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 217 The King of Endurance

If you spend enough time with someone, you can sometimes recognize them instantly just by their silhouette or a faint scent. This is exactly the situation the Third Hokage is facing right now.

Although the face in the crystal ball was unfamiliar, its unique sense of familiarity... made it impossible to mistake it for someone else!

What on earth is going on?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart was in turmoil. He never imagined that he would meet his disciple again, who had betrayed him and left the village many years ago, under such circumstances.

Orochimaru!

Even putting that aside, the only person who could stand atop a summoning serpent of that level, besides Orochimaru, is someone the Third Hokage could only imagine.

Several days prior, Kakashi's report had already served as a warning—Sunagakure had infiltrated the Chunin Exams disguised as a genin using the One-Tailed Jinchuriki. The Third Hokage knew that Sunagakure likely harbored ill intentions and planned to break the alliance.

But...start a war? Aren't they afraid that madman will come knocking on their door?

The image of that eerie fox mask flashed through his mind, and the Third Generation couldn't help but shudder. The terror brought by the devastating Great Spiral Wheel of the [Jin] organization's leader still lingered in his heart.

What exactly is Sunagakure plotting? And what role does Orochimaru play in it all?

Questions swirled like a tangled mess, but the Third Hokage knew that this was no time to wait and see. Now that Orochimaru had appeared, he had to act immediately and try to capture him before his misguided disciple caused even more damage… especially before Naruto might accidentally kill him.

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In the Forest of Death, the battlefield has been reduced to a desolate, scorched wasteland.

With the giant tree where Naruto and his friends stood as the boundary, everything within a hundred meters in front of them—towering ancient trees, jagged rocks, shrubs and grass—vanished, leaving only a huge, deep crater and fine dust permeating the air and penetrating the soil.

Sakura Haruno stared blankly at the unimaginable scene of destruction before her, then her gaze involuntarily shifted to the crimson "monster" beside her.

"Naruto...you...you...what is this...?"

Under the immense, suffocating pressure of that crimson chakra, Sakura's face turned deathly pale, and she instinctively took half a step back. This was the most primal, instinctive reaction of a human facing a terrifying power far beyond their comprehension.

However, when she saw Naruto, who had transformed into the Nine-Tails, turn around—on that beast face made of pure energy, his blue eyes were completely different from the crazy and violent aura around him, still maintaining an astonishing clarity and rationality.

In addition, she realized that Naruto's body had been steadily blocking her and Satsuki from all dangers the entire time.

Realizing this, the fear stemming from the unknown began to recede slowly like the tide.

"..."

Naruto felt a little relieved after confirming that Satsuki and Sakura behind him were safe and sound. He turned his gaze back to the battlefield that had been razed to the ground and carefully examined it using the life perception ability shared by [Gold Experience]—there was no trace of life left within the area.

Then, the tailed beast chakra covering his body began to recede and dissipate like a receding tide. The crimson light gradually faded, revealing Naruto's original appearance and figure. Since this use of tailed beast chakra was entirely based on Kurama's voluntary consent and cooperation, rather than being forcibly extracted or going berserk, this initial tailed beast transformation mode was almost effortless for Naruto. His clothes remained intact, undamaged by the violent energy.

"Satsuki, Sakura, stay alert and watch your surroundings!" Naruto said, his gaze sweeping over the scorched earth. "Take care of yourselves. I'm going to check on that guy."

Although he could no longer sense Orochimaru's life force, Naruto was well aware of the opponent's numerous ways of saving his life and escaping in the original work, and he did not believe that this dangerous opponent would perish so easily.

He strode towards the most charred area at the center of the explosion—the very spot where Orochimaru had stood. All that remained was a patch of ground scorched and completely vitrified by the intense heat. The enormous summoning serpent had vanished without a trace, completely vaporized and reduced to ashes by the destructive energy of the Tailed Beast Ball.

Under such widespread devastation, Orochimaru's escape technique of "I spit out snakes, snakes spit out me..." should be impossible. There were no signs of escape in the air either, so the only possibility is...

After a brief moment of deduction, Naruto quickly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release: Great River of Earth Release".

As his chakra flowed into the earth beneath his feet, the scorched, hard soil in front of him churned and surged like water, parting to the sides to reveal the relatively fresh, untouched soil beneath.

Among the turned soil, several strange objects that did not belong to the natural environment stood out—and the most eye-catching was a complete, pale, and huge snake molt.

Naruto walked forward with a serious expression and pulled the empty snakeskin from the soil. The snakeskin was cool and slippery to the touch, with a peculiar texture, and there were still some unsettling traces of chakra remaining on it.

What kind of bizarre ninjutsu is this? It seems Orochimaru really did escape. Naruto examined the snakeskin in his hand, a sense of absurdity welling up inside him.

This feeling is just like in a movie, where the protagonist defeats a powerful enemy after a fierce battle, only to discover in the post-credits scene that the producer has already escaped and set up a sequel...

"Naruto!"

A hurried call came from afar. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in a black combat suit, was leading dozens of Konoha Anbu members to the scene. Kakashi Hatake followed closely behind.

As Kakashi's gaze swept across the battlefield, whose terrain had been completely reshaped and ravaged by natural disasters, a fine layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

This child... is terrifying.

He looked at Naruto standing in the middle of the scorched earth, holding the snakeskin, and felt a chill of fear. Now that he thought about it, he was glad that he had specifically mentioned that Naruto should not use this power during the bell-stealing test...

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(Thanks to the awesome boss, the truly righteous Ilud, for the verification and the bonus update!)

(Thanks to the amazing verification from the hysterical yet elegant boss!)

(Thanks to the amazing verification from Lysis's Adventure Boss!)

(Thank you everyone! The gifts from the bosses will be included in the bonus chapter. If the author missed any, please remind the author in the comments section. The author will sincerely apologize and express gratitude!)

(More updates today)