"Is that really possible?"
The moment Sakura spoke, Orochimaru's snake-like pupils flared with frightening light. Excitement overflowed from him.
He even extended his long tongue and slowly licked across his face.
"That would be… absolutely wonderful."
From the very first moment he saw Sakura Haruno, an uncontrollable research impulse had surged within him.
Now that she had personally proposed becoming a research reference—
To Orochimaru, it was like rain falling from heaven.
"As long as you can revive Naruto," Sakura repeated calmly.
"Of course, of course!" Orochimaru nodded repeatedly, unable to hide his smile. But beneath it lay pure, cold scientific mania.
"I will spare no effort. I will use all my knowledge and resources to create the most perfect, most powerful, and most suitable 'new body' for Uzumaki Naruto."
"This will be my finest masterpiece."
"Then what are we waiting for? Naruto is dead!" Neji urged, panic creeping into his voice. He looked at Naruto's increasingly cold body with burning anxiety. "OrochimaruLord, please begin! If we delay any further, will his body—"
Orochimaru let out a soft chuckle and cast Neji a sideways glance.
"You just said Naruto is already dead."
"A corpse—no matter what happens to it—how much worse can it get?"
The words were cruel.
But undeniably rational.
Neji fell silent.
"Yes… he's already dead."
"But," Orochimaru continued smoothly, not wishing to push the two youths any further into despair, "time is indeed valuable—especially with a specimen killed by such unique energy."
His hands began forming seals.
"Summoning Technique."
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke dispersed, revealing several peculiar pieces of research equipment summoned from a scroll.
"First, we require sufficient original tissue samples…"
Murmuring to himself, Orochimaru did not hesitate to move a scalpel toward Naruto's body.
Across the Shinobi World
The atmosphere shifted subtly.
"So… Naruto might not actually stay dead?"
"Don't forget Uchiha Itachi! He died too, didn't he? And Orochimaru still brought him back."
"In the end, it's the madman who breaks the rules who saves the day."
"But if Naruto comes back after this—after being killed, after being betrayed by Karin—will he still insist on destroying the world?"
"Hard to say. His descent began because he believed chakra was a poison that needed purging. Now he knows he's a 'fish' in a 'pond'—and maybe even bait."
"He could become more extreme… or maybe he'll finally see through everything."
"But one thing's certain."
"If Orochimaru upgrades him…"
"His strength will skyrocket again."
That realization made countless scalps tingle.
"Orochimaru just took tissue samples. He's planning enhancement."
"And with Sakura as reference? That's even more terrifying."
Sakura's displayed power and cosmic awareness already felt godlike.
If Naruto revived with even fragments of her system integrated—
His future potential would be utterly unpredictable.
"Orochimaru… is creating a monster," someone whispered.
Fear and anticipation intertwined.
Konoha Training Grounds (Younger Timeline)
"W-WHAT?! I… I died?!"
Young Naruto—face swollen from earlier scuffles with Sasuke, resembling a bruised pig—stared at the heavenly curtain showing his chest being pierced.
His face went pale.
Seeing your own death was a uniquely horrifying experience.
"Shut up, dead last."
Young Sasuke rubbed his slightly reddened knuckles and cast Naruto a cold glance.
"Didn't you see? Orochimaru said he could save you. He even took your… tissue samples."
Even Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly at the phrase.
The "dissection-style" research was unsettling.
"Oh… right…"
Naruto scratched the back of his head in relief.
Then his shoulders slumped.
"But I still died once! That looked painful!"
He rubbed his chest instinctively, phantom pain lingering.
Then, as always, stubborn fire returned.
He clenched his fists and shouted at the sky:
"Damn you, Karin! You ambushed me! When I get stronger, I'm gonna punch you flat! I swear it!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes so hard it almost hurt.
"Idiot. Forget future 'Demon Child' Karin. Even current Karin—the younger one—"
He paused, voice colder.
"She's capable of wiping out an entire village alone."
"And you want to punch her?"
Naruto's bravado deflated instantly.
He knew full well he couldn't even beat Sasuke right now.
But Uzumaki Naruto specialized in stubbornness.
"I don't care!" he barked, puffing up. "I'll get stronger! Super strong! Then I'll send her flying! Believe it!"
Sasuke's expression twitched again.
Arguing further was pointless.
He turned his gaze instead toward someone else—
Haruno Sakura.
Young Sakura was still completely immersed in admiration of her future self.
Her green eyes sparkled.
Her cheeks flushed pink.
She was muttering unconsciously:
"So cool…"
"So amazing…"
"So strong…"
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