A few minutes earlier.
Naruto was kicked flying by Orochimaru, crashing into a thick tree and snapping it in half.
He fell into the dust and debris.
Such speed. Such power. His whole body felt like it was about to fall apart.
Is this really the enemy Sasuke is facing?
A flood of confused thoughts flashed through Naruto's mind.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in his sight.
A boy dressed neatly in a suit, wearing a plain white bow tie, looked cute and mischievous.
He squatted beside Naruto, resting his chin on his hand, watching Naruto's painful expression with a faint, teasing smile.
"I told you long ago, don't come back."
The boy showed his sharp teeth and laughed like he was watching a show.
"Well~ now you should understand, right? I didn't lie to you."
"Demon... Devil."
Naruto's abdomen suddenly cramped with pain.
Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and insisted,
"Help me... please."
"Sure, of course I don't mind~"
Lu Mingze smiled slyly and said, "Well then, according to the contract, you need to pay a quarter of your soul, and in return, I will grant you one wish. Deal?"
A quarter of his soul.
Naruto suddenly remembered — he had a contract with this 'devil.'
The price of the contract was that every time he fulfilled a wish, he had to pay a quarter of his soul.
After four wishes, the 'devil' would take his entire soul!
An unexplained resistance rose deep inside Naruto's heart.
It was as if some voice was warning him, telling him not to agree to the 'devil's' terms.
Never give up your soul, or you will regret it for life!
Looking at Naruto's troubled face, Lu Mingze seemed to have expected this.
He knew Naruto wouldn't agree so easily.
Then, the boy's eyes glanced subtly toward Orochimaru and said meaningfully, "Naruto, you better make your choice quickly. There's not much time left for your teammate. If you wait any longer, I can't guarantee she'll still be alive."
Right, right—Sasuke!
Naruto suddenly snapped awake and turned sharply to look at Sasuke.
Sasuke, who had seemed alive just moments ago, now had extinguished flames in her eyes. Her whole body was stiff and pale, like a corpse that had been dead for days.
"The 'resentful spirit' inside her is slowly devouring the girl's consciousness," Lu Mingze explained to Naruto in a very 'considerate' tone.
"Hmm, by my estimate, in about three minutes? No, one and a half minutes, she'll be completely taken over by the spirit."
"Taken over? Then what will happen to Sasuke?" Naruto asked, confused.
The boy sneered coldly, "Sasuke? Of course, she'll cease to exist."
The cold words stabbed into Naruto's heart like a sharp blade, leaving him stunned.
Cease to exist... that means Sasuke... will die?
The thought of Sasuke possibly dying filled Naruto with deep guilt. On his face, rough with stubble, sadness and confusion appeared.
"It doesn't matter, he's just a teammate anyway," Lu Mingze added sarcastically.
"For one teammate, sacrificing a quarter of your soul isn't worth it, right? Better to just give up and pretend you never saw it. After all, she's the target, not you—what does it have to do with you?"
"No!"
A fire was ignited inside Naruto's heart. He clenched his teeth.
"No, it's Sasuke who saved us! If it weren't for Sasuke, we'd already be dead!"
"So... will you make the deal?"
Lu Mingze stopped joking around and said seriously, "You need to think carefully—Is giving up a quarter of your soul for someone else really worth it?"
Naruto fell silent.
Yeah, is sacrificing a quarter of his soul for Sasuke really worth it?
This question, he kept asking his own heart, questioning his soul, and the answer was always simple, just two words.
Worth it!
"Say what you do, never give up on any teammate—that's my ninja way!"
Naruto's bright blue eyes shone with determination as he looked firmly at Lu Mingze:
"If I give up on Sasuke here, my soul will break. How can I talk about becoming Hokage in the future or gaining everyone's approval? So… take it, devil!"
"Then… tell me your wish."
Lu Mingze's pupils looked like molten gold—boiling, blazing, and dazzling—too bright to look at directly.
"I want to… kill that bastard!"
Naruto gritted his teeth, struggling to control his trembling lips, refusing to let the shout from deep within his soul escape his body.
He was scared, terrified, as if in this moment, he would lose something very important.
But… he couldn't refuse.
He had to save Sasuke, defeat that bastard, and survive with everyone!
"Contract… made!"
Lu Mingze smiled and opened his arms, as if embracing Naruto's body, 'merging' with him.
At this moment, Naruto clearly felt a violent, overwhelming power filled with terrifying life force forcefully taking over his consciousness.
And from the depths of his soul, something was pried away.
Time returned to the present.
"Ahhh—!"
Naruto shouted, his pupils quickly overtaken by a golden glow.
In an instant, he seemed like a different person. An extremely terrifying power surged into his body, like a giant beast awakening from the ancient wild era.
Orochimaru's pupils suddenly shrank sharply.
Looking at those golden eyes burning like molten lava, he felt a strange illusion—as if he were being stared down by a hunted prey.
"What kind of eyes are those?!"
Confusion filled his mind.
He even used the "White Tower" pathway's method, the Beyonder ability of a Sequence 6 Polymath, trying to analyze that power.
However, without any proper "knowledge," forcibly analyzing the unknown was like staring directly into a "star."
The profound power within instantly backfired, burning Orochimaru's eyes and draining his spiritual energy like a floodgate bursting open!
"Hiss—!"
Orochimaru quickly stopped the analysis, but the heavy loss of spiritual energy made his temples twitch, and twisted illusions appeared before his eyes.
He knew well this was caused by excessive spiritual energy consumption, and the Beyonder Characteristics inside him was showing signs of losing control.
What on earth was that?!
Just a glance almost made a Sequence 5 Polymath like him lose control of his spiritual power!
What exactly was happening to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki boy?!
But before he could think further, Naruto slammed his foot on the ground.
The sound exploded like thunder, pushing his body like lightning forward, wrapped in a terrifying air blast!
"Ten Thousand Snakes Formation!"
Orochimaru was truly a kage-level ninja.
Even though caught off guard, he reacted quickly.
He raised his arms and sleeves.
Countless dense snakes rose like a tidal wave connecting earth and sky, forming a snake wall several meters high, rushing endlessly toward "Naruto."
Black clouds pressed down, ready to crush the city!
"So many snakes?!"
Naruto was startled but quickly calmed down.
That's right, he had power now.
No matter how many snakes there were, what could they do?
Watch me break through!
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