Naruto thought seriously for a few seconds, then an awkward expression crept onto his face.
How exactly did Orochimaru show up again?
In his previous life, Naruto hadn't reread the original manga recently. He only vaguely remembered that Orochimaru used killing intent to intimidate Sasuke, that Sasuke forced himself to overcome his fear by stabbing a kunai into Orochimaru's thigh, and then fled with Sakura.
That scene had left a deep impression on him.
Naruto turned to Sakura and lowered his voice."In the original story… where is Snake right now?"
"…If I remember correctly, he disguised himself as you," Sakura replied, "and then it turned into Sasuke and Orochimaru's solo act."
"Got it."
So the real problem was—how was he supposed to cooperate with Orochimaru now?
Just as Naruto was thinking, he suddenly felt a fierce gust of wind brush across his cheek, sending a sharp sting through his skin.
Then the breeze abruptly turned into a raging gale.
With overwhelming force, a massive pillar of wind swept through the area, crashing straight into the three of them!
Naruto's eyelid twitched. He remembered now—this was exactly how, in the original plot, he'd been separated from Sasuke and Sakura.
He gathered the Nine-Tails' chakra around his eyes and let the wind pillar fling him far away.
"BOOM!!!"
Naruto's back slammed into a tree, blasting a huge hole into the trunk with a deafening crack.It felt as though his internal organs had been violently rearranged. Stars exploded across his vision.
Bracing himself against the tree, Naruto struggled to his feet and leaned there for a moment.
"All right, all right. That settles it completely," he muttered irritably. If he hadn't forgotten those plot details, he wouldn't have suffered this much.
"Hm… should I go beat Gaara next? Or the Sound ninja? Or the Rain ninja…"Recalling a piece of wisdom from his past life, Naruto consciously tried to calm himself—keeping your emotions in check was good for your health.
At that moment, a low hiss interrupted his thoughts.
"Hiss—"
A massive python, several times larger than a human, was coiled around a dead tree. It flicked its tongue at Naruto, radiating a strong fishy stench. Its triangular head was raised high, dark green slit pupils gleaming with murderous intent.
"Oh, Snake-uncle came to deliver some warmth," Naruto grinned. "He even brought me a punching bag. What a kind soul."
He immediately entered Nine-Tails mode.
The giant python lifted its head and lunged straight at him. Naruto kicked off the ground, easily dodging the attack and landing on a tree trunk.
He extended the Nine-Tails chakra behind him, shaping it into a massive hand. Raising his right hand, spinning chakra rapidly condensed.
The chakra hand continuously adjusted itself around his arm.
Bzzzz—
The massive chakra kept compressing. The ground cracked, rocks shattered, and the air twisted into a vortex.Brilliant light erupted from his right hand, faintly tinged with purple, shimmering with mesmerizing brilliance.
Nine-Tails Rasengan!
"Even if it's only half-finished, it's more than enough for you," Naruto muttered, chakra gathering beneath his feet as he narrowed his eyes.
Sensing the overwhelming threat, the python roared again, circling a stone pillar at high speed as it charged!
"Bang!"
Naruto pulled out a smoke bomb with his left hand and tossed it at his feet. As the python vanished into the smoke, Naruto burst out from the side, Nine-Tails chakra forming wing-like shapes on his back as he soared toward its spine!
Boom! Thud!
A massive hole exploded open along the python's back. Naruto watched as his right hand plunged deep into its body. The Rasengan lost stability and instantly detonated, releasing terrifying energy that shredded everything around it!
"BOOM!!"
The shockwave sent Naruto flying. Just moments before crashing into another tree, he pulled a lengthened chain from his ninja pouch, wrapped it around a branch, and yanked hard, barely managing to stabilize himself on the trunk.
"Hiss…"A sharp pain shot through his arm. Looking down, Naruto saw his right hand was covered in bruises and bloodstains, which made his heart sink.
"The Nine-Tails' chakra was too strong—the Rasengan exploded mid-attack and injured my arm," Naruto muttered, completely ignoring the python that had been blown cleanly in half.
He couldn't afford to die again.
Pulling out another scroll from his ninja pouch, Naruto summoned stored medical supplies.
This was a space-time ninjutsu Tenten had taught him. By infusing chakra into a scroll beforehand and setting spatial coordinates, stored items could be instantly summoned from a linked space.
As for whether this counted as a symbol of affection—that was another matter entirely.
Naruto quickly performed basic first aid, wrapping his right hand in several layers of bandages.
"It's fine, it's fine. Even if I didn't treat it, it'd heal on its own," he joked. With the Nine-Tails' regenerative ability, it would fully recover within a day anyway.
He hopped onto the snake's corpse and scanned the surroundings for signs of human activity. Using a kunai, he carved marks into nearby tree trunks—one of the secret signals he'd agreed on with Sakura.
As long as you followed the marks, you'd find Naruto.
"Let's explore the central area first. Sasuke and Sakura shouldn't run into trouble there."
He moved toward the center, observing his surroundings and leaving markers along the way.
Then suddenly, Naruto froze.
On a tree trunk ahead, several crooked words had been carved.
…
Meanwhile.
Sasuke and Sakura stared at the "woman" before them. Wearing a wide-brimmed hat, slender in build, she fixed them with a cold, shadowy gaze.
"You have the Scroll of Heaven, so you want to obtain the Scroll of Earth from me…"Orochimaru coiled his tongue around the scroll and slowly swallowed it.
Is it just my imagination?Sakura wasn't focused on fighting at all—she was carefully analyzing Orochimaru's subtle expressions and tiny movements.
At least for now, his behavior was completely identical to the original.
"Very well, then… let's begin," Orochimaru said calmly. "Either you die—or I do—"
Whoosh!
Before he could finish speaking, Sasuke had already flashed in front of him, driving a kunai straight toward Orochimaru's eye!
"Sakura, cover me!"
Sakura's eyes widened. She hadn't expected Sasuke to be the first one to change!
Had he been controlled somehow?
Crunch!Orochimaru let the kunai pierce through his palm and grabbed Sasuke's right hand.
"You look anxious, boy," Orochimaru said, licking his lips.
Sasuke twisted his body, reached into his pouch with his left hand, pulled out another kunai, and slashed backward at Orochimaru's arm!
Slash!
Orochimaru's right arm was severed completely—in an instant.
Sakura stepped in, raised her hands, and rapidly formed seals.
"Ninjutsu: Hidden Mist!"
Dense fog erupted, instantly swallowing Sakura's figure.
She couldn't help glancing at Sasuke. There was no fear in his eyes—only pure determination to fight.
Perhaps the stimulation Naruto had caused was even stronger than in the original story, pushing this Uchiha prodigy to display unprecedented initiative during his first encounter with Orochimaru—so much so that he had even interrupted Orochimaru before he could release his killing intent.
But Sakura knew very well—
Such injuries meant nothing to Orochimaru.
As the creator of advanced substitution techniques, he could restore himself by shedding his skin and absorbing chakra. Even Amaterasu would struggle to deal lasting damage to him.
That brief close-quarters exchange had been nothing more than a test.
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "A Witty Life in the Naruto World" is 30 chapters ahead there