Chiga calmly suspended the Truth-Seeking Orb above his palm, his voice soft yet laced with deadly finality.
"Truth-Seeking Orb—a fusion of Yin, Yang, and the Five Nature Transformations. It holds the power to reduce all creation to nothingness. Would you like to experience that, Orochimaru?"
Orochimaru was drenched in cold sweat. Panic clung to his body like a second skin as he backed away slowly.
"C-Chiga-sama must be joking. I… I could never bear such power…"
"Orochimaru-sama!"
Kabuto, who had been sent flying earlier by Naruto, sprinted back to Orochimaru's side. When he caught sight of Chiga, his face paled in shock.
"Chiga!? How is this even possible?!"
Chiga smiled calmly. "Ah, Kabuto. It's been a long time."
The two had once shared a positive relationship. In fact, it was from Kabuto that Chiga had first learned the Mystical Palm Technique. Kabuto wasn't present the day Orochimaru had betrayed Chiga. Later, when he asked about him, Orochimaru only said he had died.
Kabuto had mourned him privately—Chiga had been one of the few who understood him and treated him as a friend.
As he stared at the man's long white hair and the glowing Rinnegan, Kabuto couldn't help but ask,
"Chiga… what happened to you? You look… different."
Chiga chuckled. "You should thank Orochimaru for that. Without his betrayal, I wouldn't have reached this level."
Kabuto opened his mouth to say more, but Chiga raised a hand. An invisible force pushed Kabuto gently aside.
Orochimaru had taken the opportunity to flee, putting significant distance between them. But such tricks were meaningless.
Chiga stretched out his hand in Orochimaru's direction. His voice was calm.
"Shinra Tensei."
In an instant, Orochimaru was yanked back through the air by an overwhelming force, landing directly in Chiga's grasp, his throat caught in an iron grip.
Gasps erupted from the spectators.
No hand seals. No build-up. Orochimaru had simply been pulled through the air like a ragdoll and caught by the neck.
Chiga looked down at him with faint amusement.
"Orochimaru, what's the rush? Stay a while."
As he spoke, a Truth-Seeking Orb floated silently toward Orochimaru's face.
Unable to endure the terror any longer, Orochimaru formed hand signs frantically. His Chakra flared wildly.
"Eight Branches Technique!"
Orochimaru's body ballooned, bursting free from Chiga's grip. He transformed into a massive white serpent with eight heads and eight tails—a technique once hailed as his ultimate form.
Yamato and Sakura stood frozen, awe-struck. At this point in the timeline, few had ever seen a jutsu this powerful. Even Kabuto, who remained loyal to Orochimaru, stepped back in fear.
But he couldn't help the dread growing in his heart—Chiga had once been his only friend.
Orochimaru didn't hesitate. All eight snake heads lunged at Chiga in unison, aiming to devour him.
Chiga remained still, expression calm and composed. He didn't even activate his Rinnegan. He simply closed his eyes.
From behind, Yamato panicked. "Chiga-sama! Watch out!"
In the next instant, time seemed to slow.
Chiga gently laid Naruto on the ground, then blurred forward. One clean punch exploded against Orochimaru's enormous serpent body—shattering it into countless pieces, the heads crumbling into flailing white snakes.
Chiga landed silently, his black cloak swaying.
From the grass, a tiny white snake slithered frantically.
With a flick of his wrist, Chiga used a gravitational force to pull the creature into his hand.
The snake's small face contorted in human-like fear. Chiga smirked.
He had held back on purpose, choosing not to erase Orochimaru with the Truth-Seeking Orb.
He eyed the squirming snake and casually tied it around his waist like a belt, forming a loop and a knot—an Orochimaru sash.
The snake hissed in protest, but when Chiga summoned another Truth-Seeking Orb, he immediately fell limp, resigned to his fate.
Chiga's voice was low and cold. "Struggle again and I'll erase you. Be still."
With Orochimaru handled, Chiga turned back to Naruto, who lay unconscious. His skin was red, torn, and faintly bleeding. The aftereffects of his Four-Tails transformation were severe.
Sakura rushed over and immediately attempted healing with medical ninjutsu. But to Chiga, her speed was painfully slow.
He knelt and placed a hand on Naruto's chest, channeling Yang Release—flooding Naruto's body with a surge of vibrant life energy.
Naruto's wounds began to close at incredible speed. His skin healed, and within moments, he bolted upright.
Sakura and Yamato flinched in surprise.
Sakura stared at Naruto, stunned. Her extensive medical training suddenly felt laughably ineffective in comparison.
Yamato, however, looked at Chiga with deep respect. "Chiga-sama…"
Chiga's gaze lingered on Naruto's messy blond hair. He murmured to himself, "He really does look just like him…"
Naruto blinked, still disoriented. He stared up at Chiga with confusion.
"Who are you?"
Chiga smiled, gentle and warm. "I'm… a friend of your father."
"Nani!?"
Naruto pointed at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding me!? You look way too young to be my dad's friend! And how would you even know who my father is?!"
Sakura quickly pulled Naruto aside and whispered urgently,
"Be polite, Naruto! Captain Yamato said this Chiga-sama is from the same era as the Fourth Hokage. He's the one who defeated Orochimaru just now. That little snake on his waist? That's Orochimaru!"
Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief. He turned and stared at the snake coiled around Chiga's waist. The creature glared back at him, its slitted eyes full of menace—definitely Orochimaru.
Naruto's gaze returned to Chiga, his voice trembling with emotion.
"Chiga-san… you said you knew my father? Can you… tell me about him? Please!"
Yamato tensed. While most of the ANBU knew the truth—that Naruto's father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze—the village elders had forbidden anyone from revealing it.
Yamato opened his mouth to stop him, but Chiga paid him no attention.
Instead, Chiga looked Naruto in the eye and spoke clearly.
"Your father… was Minato Namikaze—the Fourth Hokage."
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Milestones
100 Power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
200 Power stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
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