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The moment the white-scaled, black-haired snake's icy fangs, carrying Orochimaru's ecstasy and determination, fiercely bit into "Naruto's" neck.
A sudden change occurred!
The branch in the Shadow Clone's hand, coated with Chakra, sliced into Orochimaru's snake body.
A fierce glint flashed in the white-scaled snake's eyes.
This brat was completely intent on trading lives with him, but his goal was to control his body, not to kill him.
This body will soon belong to me...
Wrong!
Orochimaru's eyes widened.
That Naruto, who had just severed his snake body and whose neck he had bitten, suddenly began to become transparent and blurry, and then...
With a "poof," Naruto turned into a dense cloud of white smoke and quickly dissipated into the air.
Shadow Clone!
This was not Naruto's Main Body at all.
He had been played!
"Hiss—"
The white-scaled, black-haired snake, now only half its length but still conscious, let out a shrill and venomous hiss.
Its golden slit pupils stared fixedly at the dissipating smoke, filled with the humiliation and rage of being toyed with and outmaneuvered.
"Ugh!"
It suddenly opened its large mouth again, and from the depths of its throat, spat out another figure, covered in viscous, transparent liquid and curled up like a newborn baby!
The newly emerged Orochimaru lay wretchedly on the ground covered in fallen leaves and bloodstains, gasping for air, his body still coated in snake mucus.
He raised his head, looking toward the direction where the "Naruto" Shadow Clone had dissipated, then glanced at the severed, lifeless white-scaled snake body on the ground, as well as the shattered remains of the female corpse not far away...
"Damn it..."
He gritted his teeth, squeezing out a voice suppressed with extreme anger and frustration from his throat, cold flames burning in his golden slit pupils.
"It was actually... a Shadow Clone?"
Even the Uchiha Clan and the Ōtsutsuki from the later Boruto era could not see through the difference between a Shadow Clone and the Main Body with this technique.
Even an existence like Uchiha Madara could only judge a Shadow Clone based on experience; Orochimaru really hadn't realized at first glance that this Naruto was actually a Shadow Clone.
This Uzumaki Naruto... his strength, cunning, and the various secret techniques he had mastered far exceeded the scope of the intelligence reports, making him an absolute, immeasurable variable.
Orochimaru slowly climbed up from the ground; although his new body was in a wretched state, his basic mobility and Chakra remained.
He gloomily assessed the current situation.
It seems the Old man has been training him quite a bit in secret!
The strength the opponent displayed was completely different from the Uzumaki Naruto in the intelligence reports he had received, who was supposedly useless except for his Taijutsu and diligence.
"Uzumaki Naruto..."
Orochimaru whispered the name, a complex light flickering in his eyes.
Using the Orochimaru-style Substitution Jutsu twice in a row was a bit much even for Orochimaru to handle.
Toward Naruto, he felt anger, apprehension, and frustration, but deep down, that greed and longing for a "precious vessel" and "research material" became even more intense.
The top priority was to readjust the plan, recover his strength, and... deal with this unfathomable blond youth with more caution.
Based on Orochimaru's understanding of Minato, before Minato died, he must have sealed the Nine-Tailed into his own son.
This meant that if the opponent were pushed into a corner, he might enter a Tailed Beast state; wouldn't that be convenient?
The Konoha Crush Plan required Shukaku to go on a rampage; if the Nine-Tailed also went on a rampage...
Wouldn't that be a double blessing?
He didn't want to miss out on Naruto's body either, so he would just have to do it this way.
"Uzumaki Naruto, we... will meet again."
Orochimaru took one last look at the chaotic battlefield, his figure slowly merging into the shadows of the Forest of Death, disappearing from sight.
After reuniting with Team Eight and Neji's group, Naruto received the memories transmitted back by his Shadow Clone.
It really was Orochimaru who had been pursuing them earlier.
Naruto did not stop his pace.
Their four teams now had a total of three heaven scrolls and four earth scrolls, which meant they were still missing one heaven scroll to all enter the tower in the center of the Forest of Death.
Therefore, the twelve of them began to sweep through the Forest of Death wantonly.
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The afternoon sunlight shone through the window into the clean and tidy living room.
Hanabi was holding a rag, standing on tiptoes, trying hard to wipe the dust from the high parts of the bookshelf.
She had volunteered to help clean up.
Meanwhile, Karin watched Hanabi busying herself, feeling a bit awkward; she wanted to help but couldn't find a way to pitch in, so she could only help by handing her things.
With sufficient nutrition over the past few days, Karin's hair had become even more vibrant red, and the wounds on her body had almost healed.
After finishing the bookshelf, Hanabi diligently ran into Naruto's bedroom, intending to tidy up the bed as well.
When she lifted the bed board, she discovered that the spare bedding and mattress under the bed seemed to have been used; their placement and the way they were folded were different from what she had seen before.
The little girl's curiosity was immediately piqued.
She went to the living room, looked at Karin sitting on the sofa, blinked her large, pure white eyes, and asked in a tone that seemed like a casual question:
"Sister Karin, do you... sleep on Big Brother Naruto's bed at night?"
Karin, who was zoning out, nodded subconsciously upon hearing this: "Yes."
Recalling the scene from the night before last when Naruto gave up his bed for her and slept on the floor, a warmth welled up in her heart, and a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on her face as she added:
"Naruto-kun is a very gentle person. He was afraid I would be scared alone, so he gave the bed to me and slept on the floor nearby..."
Although she had requested it at the time because she was scared, Naruto-kun had still agreed.
She paused, recalling the details from last night that made her feel incomparably at ease, her voice becoming softer, carrying a trace of imperceptible dependence and sweetness:
"...And, when he sleeps at night, he even holds my hand while sleeping... He really is a reliable person who can bring people a sense of security!"
She was speaking entirely in a mood of sharing warmth and gratitude, with no other intentions.
However, to Hanabi, especially the words "holds my hand while sleeping," it was like a thunderclap exploding in her little mind!
Holding hands while sleeping?!
Hanabi's pure white eyes widened instantly.
She stared fixedly at Karin, the innocent expression on her face instantly disappearing, replaced by a complex look mixed with shock, disbelief, and a certain sense of crisis.
Seeing Karin touching her gradually reddening face, looking intoxicated by the memory, the veins at the corners of Hanabi's eyes suddenly bulged.
She activated her Byakugan!
Hanabi's voice suddenly rose, carrying an oppressive feeling that didn't fit her age, almost like an interrogation:
"So that means... Big Brother Naruto really likes holding Sister Karin's hand while sleeping, huh?"
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