Orochimaru coughed, a thin trickle of blood staining the corner of his mouth. As the Oozaru stood momentarily frozen, he seized the opening. With a seamless application of hissignature substitution jutsu, he slithered free of the beast's grip an instant before it would have crushed him. All that remained dangling from its colossal fingers was a hollow, discarded shell of his own shed skin.
When it came to evasion and survival, none could match Orochimaru. That was a fact he would ensure the world never forgot.
Even so, his Soft Physique Modification, had only mitigated the damage. The Oozaru's grip had been absolute, leaving him with ruptured organs and fractured bones that even his advanced techniques couldn't mend on the spot.
"The Four-Tails, Son Goku," Orochimaru mused, his voice a low hiss. "But sealed within the Naruto? And where's the Nine-Tails gone?"
He stared up at the monstrous form towering over him, feeling not fear, but a familiar, thrilling spark of curiosity. His long tongue flicked out, tasting the blood on his lips. "The power of a Jinchuriki...Kukuku... a truly fascinating display."
In a way, it really is Son Goku. Just different one.
"But why only a single tail?" he wondered aloud.
To an ordinary shinobi, the mistake was understandable. But Orochimaru was no ordinary shinobi. He knew the Four-Tails true appearance. Oozaru or Tailed Beast, it made little difference, facing such a creature meant certain annihilation for anyone less than a Kage.
Before he could compose himself, a cold voice sliced through the air from behind.
"O-ro-chi-ma-ru!"
A pair of Mangekyo Sharingan locked onto him, their intricate tomoe spinning with hostile intent.
'Subject... Analyzed. Neither complete human nor serpent. An incomplete soul, inefficiently bound to its vessel. Primary weakness: Genjutsu.'
--**--**
Deep within Naruto's consciousness, the Seal Space was a battlefield. Countless pitch-black chains, erupted from the shadows behind Naruto, wrapping around the rampaging Oozaru. Despite the creature's overwhelming physical power, it was helpless against the Uzumaki clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains. The instant the chains took hold, the beast went rigid, his struggles ceasing as if his will had been severed.
His glowing crimson eyes faded back to Naruto's familiar bright blue.
Figuring he'd won, Naruto prepared to sever the Oozaru's tail, a tactic he knew would revert Kid Goku to his normal self. But then, something unexpected happened. Pure, untamed energy, ki, began surging into his body through the chains.
With it came a torrent of memories not his own.
Faces from Goku's life flashed by: Master Roshi, his friend Bulma, Krillin. Adventures hunting the Dragon Balls played out in vivid detail, alongside the chaos of the World Martial Arts Tournament. There were even glimpses of his days, on planet Vegeta, an red planet where gravity crushed ten times harder than Earth's. Every moment Goku had lived rushed through Naruto's mind like scenes from a film.
This setup felt oddly familiar.
A tug-of-war for control... against a giant rampaging ape...
'This is just like in Canon Naruto, where he fought Kurama to get his chakra mode.'
The only difference was the opponent. Kurama had been replaced by a Saiyan in its Oozaru form.
A wild, thought struck Naruto. If this was a tug-of-war, and he won... could he claim the Oozaru transformation for himself?
That would change everything.
With a tenfold boost in power, he could dismantle threats like the Sage of Six Paths, the Ten-Tails, Kaguya, even Isshiki. Hell, he might become strongest being in his universe.
Could he go toe-to-toe with a fully grown Goku after that?
And if he did... wouldn't that unlock the path to his childhood fantasies?
Super Saiyan. Super Saiyan 2, 3... God... Blue...
He would master every last one.
But his power fantasy shattered as quickly as it had formed.
As he kept siphoning ki from the Oozaru, a sharp *crack* echoed through the space. A split formed in the illusory sky overhead, racing upward like a fresh wound. Once it appeared, the ki poured out in a torrent, as if a dam had burst. More fissures spiderwebbed across the surface, and by the time Naruto tried to halt the flow, the entire sky had shattered into fragments that dissolved into nothing.
The Oozaru, which had dominated the Seal Space, started to collapse inward like a balloon losing air.
His coarse fur drew back into his body in strange, rippling waves, while the jagged fangs and claws melted away. The towering frame dwindled until he was just a small, huddled form, Kid Goku, curled up and bare as the day he was born.
*Clink.* With their target gone, the Adamantine Sealing Chains retracted back into Naruto's body.
'I wasn't even done soaking it in, why did it deflate like that?' That rush of pure ki had been intoxicating. In those few moments, his own power reserves had noticeably increased. It was a gain he could achieve through training, but it wasn't the same. Nothing beat the thrill of taking power directly from a source.
Some things just tasted sweeter when they weren't yours to begin with.
"What a shame," Naruto muttered, glancing from the sleeping Kid Goku to the empty black void where the sky had been. He wasn't sure what he mourned more: the lost ki, the chance at a Saiyan form, or the mysterious sky itself.
That sky was undoubtedly the key, a link to the Dragon Ball-verse.
A Saiyan's transformation required Blutz Waves, the 17 million zenos of unique energy reflected from a moon basking in sunlight. The moon in his world was an artificial construct, a byproduct of the Sage's of Six Paths Planetary Devastation. It contained no such energy. It was artificial through and through, nothing like the natural one in Dragon Ball-verse.
If that ceiling moon stuck around, maybe there'd be a way to bridge worlds.
"As expected of you, Naruto. You even managed to tame that... thing." Kurama, who had shrunk himself into a trembling ball in a far corner, finally uncurled. He gave his fur a vigorous shake, his voice heavy with relief. "What was that? How did the brat turn into such a monster?"
With extreme caution, Kurama used one of his tails to gently scoop up Goku, depositing him on a soft cushion so as not to wake him and trigger another rampage. He then nudged the cushion to the opposite end of the space, a safe distance away.
"Kurama..." Watching the great Nine-Tailed Fox pat his chest as if he'd just survived a near-death experience, Naruto could only press a hand to his face.
The once-mighty king of the Tailed Beasts, a being whose roar could level mountains, had been reduced to a glorified house cat.
'You're supposed to be my ultimate powerhouse, you furball! Get it together!'
"What are you looking at, brat?" Kurama grumbled, flopping onto his own plush spot. He promptly produced a massive cup of cola and began slurping it through a straw while shoveling noodles into his mouth with a giant chopsticks. A low, satisfied rumble echoed in the space.
"Nothing," Naruto sighed. "Forget it."
It was clear he'd have to rely on his own strength. His partner was a lost cause.
"I can practically hear you badmouthing me in your head."
"You're imagining things."
===============
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