Naruto groaned as he woke up, his whole body aching.
Jumping off the bed, Naruto tripped over something near the foot of the bed.
Shizune lay there bound.
"Shizune? What are you doing here?"
Shizune opened her eyes blearily:
"Lady Tsunade! Where is she?"
"Hold on, slow down. You mean she did this to you?"
Shizune immediately headed toward the window:
"We have to find Lady Tsunade! We might already be too late to stop her!"
Just then Jiraiya rushed in:
"Where's Tsunade?"
"Whoa, Ero-Sennin, what happened to you?"
"Tsunade drugged me last night. I should've known when she acted so calm while drinking with me."
Shizune lowered her head sadly:
"Orochimaru visited us last week. He said if we restored his arms for him, he'd bring back Lady Tsunade's loved ones. Today was the day they were meant to meet—we can still stop her."
Jiraiya stood up:
"So how do we find her?"
Shizune grabbed Tonton:
"We need your help, Tonton! Can you help us find Lady Tsunade?"
The pig snorted and sniffed the ground.
"Tonton caught her scent. Come on, this way!"
---
As they ran into a field, they found Tsunade being beaten by Kabuto.
Shizune rushed to her side:
"Lady Tsunade!"
She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from Tsunade's face.
Naruto looked on in confusion:
"Ero-Sennin, is this some kind of genjutsu or something?"
Jiraiya shook his head:
"Tsunade is terrified of blood—it terrifies her so much that it leaves her helpless like this."
Naruto looked at Orochimaru and Kabuto.
He narrowed his eyes:
"Kabuto, I could've stopped your cursed sealing technique before the invasion..."
Orochimaru chuckled:
"Jiraiya, and even Naruto. What a touching reunion. What brings you two here?"
"To protect Tsunade, brat. These two are too strong for you."
"You gotta be kidding me, old man?"
"Fine... Shizune can look after Tsunade. You go handle Glasses Guy—I'll take care of Orochimaru."
Orochimaru smiled:
"You dare stand against me, Jiraiya? Aren't you the weakest of the Sannin?"
"Ready, kid?" Jiraiya glanced at Naruto.
"Yeah. For Sarutobi-sensei!"
Kabuto tore the bandages off Orochimaru's arm, letting his own blood drip onto the summoning seal:
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Kabuto and Orochimaru stood atop three rampaging snakes, moving toward Naruto and Jiraiya.
Jiraiya also performed the Summoning Jutsu. With a small puff of smoke, Gamakichi popped out:
"Oh hey! Nice to see you!"
Naruto sweated:
"You're kidding me right now?"
"Kid! Step back!" Naruto moved back as Jiraiya formed several hand seals and slammed his fist into the ground:
[Earth Release: Yomi Swamp!]
The ground blackened and became mucky, trapping the snakes.
Jiraiya cursed loudly, "Damn it! So shallow! It must be the effect of Tsunade's drugs."
Naruto shook his head.
"Ugh, I guess I'll have to do this myself."
Naruto turned to Gamakichi.
"Go keep those two women company."
Gamakichi hopped down.
Jiraiya started attacking Orochimaru.
Orochimaru kicked off and evaded Jiraiya's strike.
"I bet not being able to use jutsu without arms must be frustrating, huh Orochimaru?"
"I don't need arms to defeat you, Jiraiya. I've seen through your pathetic swamp—we're evenly matched."
---
Naruto immediately hurled kunai at Kabuto, who deftly dodged them.
Naruto quickly formed a series of hand seals.
[Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Cage!]
Kabuto stood his ground, sensing nothing out of the ordinary.
He strolled forward casually.
"You haven't fully mastered it yet, Naruto-kun. After all, you're still just a Genin."
Suddenly, a sharp electric current surged through Kabuto, pushing him backward.
"What is this?"
"You really thought I was just throwing some random kunai, didn't you?"
Kabuto turned around and noticed the kunai Naruto had thrown were scattered in a circle around him.
"I truly underestimated you."
Naruto continued forming hand seals.
[Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Cage!]
Kabuto heard crackling electricity around him, then a burning sensation struck his body, sending him crashing to the ground.
Panting heavily, Kabuto glared at Naruto while feeling Naruto's chakra surging into the electrical cage around him, causing constant sparks.
Kabuto shakily got back up but was knocked down again almost instantly.
Naruto created three shadow clones that surrounded Kabuto and launched close-range attacks.
Somehow recovering from the electric shocks, Kabuto managed to repel the clones.
Green glowing light emitted from Kabuto's hands as he healed himself.
Naruto threw a punch at Kabuto.
[Wind Release: Wind God Fist!]
A wave of air shot toward Kabuto, slamming into him violently and forcing him to roll several times before stopping headfirst.
Naruto broke into a wide grin.
"Hehehe, are you still alive?"
---
After getting splattered with blood and seeing Tsunade's blank stare straight ahead ever since, she kept watching Naruto's battle against Kabuto.
When they first met, he had been blunt and disrespectful—not because he overestimated his own abilities, but because he felt she was pitiful. A person with noble bloodline, immense talent, and legendary status could fall so far into pain and isolation.
Throughout the fight, Naruto cackled with glee, expressing his emotions openly, occasionally mocking his opponent.
Tsunade blinked away tears several times, silently watching him. His behavior reminded her of her late younger brother Nawaki.
Gamakichi hopped onto her shoulder, eagerly watching the fight.
"See? My man's showing off now!"
She gripped her necklace unconsciously as the battle continued. Perhaps, just perhaps, she could believe in someone again.
---
Naruto clapped his hands together.
[Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!]
A pair of arms burst from the ground, grabbing Kabuto's legs and arms, pinning him in place.
Kabuto struggled desperately but in vain.
"What? What is this?"
Kabuto's eyes widened as he struggled desperately. A glowing blue sphere took shape in Naruto's hand.
[Rasengan]!
Naruto charged toward Kabuto. He lunged forward, driving the glowing sphere straight into Kabuto's chest.
Blood splattered high into the air, nearly eight stories high, ripping his body apart before he slammed down like a discarded rag doll against a nearby boulder.
Naruto turned to Tsunade and Shizune, grinning like an idiot.
"That necklace's mine now, Grandma."
---
Orochimaru watched as Naruto easily defeated his trusted subordinate. His jaw dropped in disbelief.
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