Darkness. Heat. A strong, musky scent of scales and damp earth.
Naruto blinked in the suffocating wetness of the snake's throat, surrounded by the rippling, undulating muscles squeezing around him. The walls of flesh clenched tighter, trying to force him further down.
He sighed.
Why was this snake attacking him?
"Release me," he said flatly, voice muffled by the thick meat around him. "Or I may have to kill you."
A low, hissing rumble vibrated through the beast.
"I am sorry," the snake's voice slithered around him, an odd vibration more than actual words. "But my master ordered me."
Naruto tilted his head, feeling the way the muscles in the snake's throat tried to crush him further.
"How unfortunate."
Then he moved.
No grand wind-up. No preparation. Just pure force.
A single punch.
The snake's body exploded.
Blood, flesh, and viscera erupted in every direction, the force of the impact rupturing the massive summon from the inside out. The entire creature detonated, sending chunks of meat and shattered bone flying through the trees like shrapnel.
Naruto landed lightly on the forest floor, his feet touching down in a pool of blood. He shook off the scraps of meat clinging to his clothes, blinking up at the mess.
Huh.
He sniffed the air.
The thick, iron-rich scent of blood filled his nostrils. His own kill, sure—but beyond that, he smelled something else.
Something wrong.
His glowing sapphire eyes narrowed.
A powerful shinobi was attacking Sasuke and Sakura.
Should he help?
Maybe he should.
Without another thought, his body moved.
Troodon speed.
Chakra enhanced.
Naruto vanished.