Chapter 4
Kabuto's anger exploded. "What?! They swapped out my photos???"
Originally, Root had allowed Kabuto and Nonō to stay in contact through letters. But under Danzō's orders, Root tampered with the letters Kabuto sent to Nonō. As a result, after years apart, Nonō could no longer recognize the boy she had raised… her son!
Yes, even though they weren't related by blood, there was no doubt they were mother and child in every way that mattered.
Nonō was even more emotional than Kabuto. She sprinted toward him without hesitation. She had waited years—she wasn't willing to wait another second.
In the darkness, the Root ninjas exchanged glances, murder clear in each other's eyes. Some random Uzumaki Naruto had popped out of nowhere and ruined Lord Danzō's plan!
Orochimaru, however, did not reveal himself. His original scheme had been to personally tell Kabuto the truth and then recruit him. Thanks to Naruto's interference, that plan was completely ruined.
At the same time, Orochimaru had zero desire to fight Naruto right now. He didn't know why the boy had suddenly aged several years, but he was well aware that this kid was the jinchūriki of the strongest tailed beast—the Nine-Tails. If Naruto ever went berserk, even Orochimaru would have to seriously consider his own safety.
Swish, swish, swish!
Kunai sliced through the air, completely blocking Nonō's path forward.
Seeing this, Kabuto's pupils shrank. His voice trembled as he shouted, "Careful!!"
After learning Nonō's identity, Kabuto had clearly started to panic.
But Nonō was a veteran ninja. There was no way a few sudden kunai would hit her. With a graceful twist, she dodged the attack and slid backward, steadying herself.
Swish, swish, swish!
Six masked Root ninjas appeared from the shadows, surrounding Kabuto, Nonō, and Naruto.
Kabuto couldn't accept what was happening. "Why is Root doing this?!"
He knew these weren't regular ANBU—they were Root.
Nonō didn't need to think too hard. "We know too much."
Nonō and Kabuto stood back-to-back. Naruto was a short distance away.
Although Kabuto was stronger than Nonō, he lacked her experience. He turned to Naruto and demanded, "Who are you? How do you know all this?"
Nonō reminded him, "Surviving comes first."
Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly, exactly. Good luck, you two!"
He gathered chakra in his legs, crouched slightly, then stomped hard enough to crater the ground. With a powerful leap, he landed on a distant boulder.
He had already prevented Kabuto and Nonō from killing each other. Now he could just watch from the sidelines. If they really couldn't handle it, he could always sneak-attack later.
That's right!
He, Uzumaki Naruto, was a total noob. He just had a ton of chakra. What else could he do besides ambush?
Truthfully, the huge burst of chakra he'd just released was pure bluffing—fox pretending to be tiger.
After all, the current Naruto didn't know a single offensive ninjutsu!
Six Root ninjas vs. Kabuto + Nonō. 6 vs. 2!
The Root members exchanged a quick glance and decided to ignore Naruto for now. That explosive chakra release proved Naruto wasn't weak. If the three of them teamed up, the Root squad might actually lose.
Better to eliminate Kabuto and Nonō first, then deal with Naruto later.
Bang! Bang!
Fists and feet collided, weapons clashed—the fight instantly turned brutal.
Against six Root operatives, Kabuto and Nonō were clearly at a disadvantage. Remember, the two of them had already been fighting each other for a while…
They were gradually overwhelmed and could be killed at any moment.
Just as Naruto was wondering what to do, Orochimaru appeared!
Holding the Grass-Cutting Sword (Kusanagi), Orochimaru carved through the Root ninjas like they were vegetables. In seconds, all six lay dead.
Afterward, Kabuto and Nonō stared at him warily. They both knew Orochimaru and Danzō were connected, so they didn't trust him at all.
Kabuto demanded, "Orochimaru! What do you want?"
Orochimaru smiled faintly. "To save you."
"Everything Uzumaki Naruto said is true."
Kabuto was confused. Orochimaru was supposed to be on Danzō's side—why would he help them?
Orochimaru continued, "I need a talented subordinate."
Kabuto and Nonō exchanged a glance. They understood exactly what he meant.
From his perch, Naruto heard the system prompt:
"Ding~ Mission complete. Reward issued: Wind-Style Chakra Mastery."
Warm currents surged through Naruto's body and mind before fading away.
At the same time, he could clearly feel his chakra had become much more obedient.
Raising his hand, Naruto tried gathering chakra in his palm.
The result…
A blinding, deep-blue chakra flare lit up the entire battlefield. An overwhelming sense of danger instantly swept over everyone.
Even Orochimaru felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Kabuto, Nonō, and Orochimaru all whipped their heads toward Naruto.
Naruto smiled awkwardly and casually waved his hand to disperse the gathered chakra.
He hadn't expected a simple test to be so effective. This felt… awesome!
However…
The chakra he waved away transformed into powerful wind just half a meter from his hand.
BOOOOM!
A massive, palm-shaped Wind Release blast erupted from Naruto's side, expanding outward with unstoppable force. Trees were uprooted, the river was sliced in half…
The giant palm-shaped wind jutsu grew larger as it flew, finally slamming into a distant hillside with a deafening roar.
Only after a long while did the aftershock finally settle.
Not far away, a bead of cold sweat rolled down Orochimaru's forehead.
If that attack had been aimed at him… how could he block it?
He couldn't. He'd only be able to run!
Orochimaru could tell that Naruto's terrifying power came purely from his monstrous chakra reserves.
At such a young age, he already possessed elite jōnin-level chakra volume. If he weren't constantly suppressing the Nine-Tails inside him, his reserves would far exceed even a Kage's. Absolutely terrifying.
The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled upward as he stared greedily at the boy standing atop the boulder.
Naruto had no idea that his actions tonight would affect this world's Orochimaru so deeply that, later during the Chūnin Exams, he would plant the Heaven Curse Seal on this world's version of Naruto…
But that was a problem for another time.
Having finished testing his new power, Naruto asked the system inwardly, "How do I get back?"
"Ding~ Would the host like to initiate traversal?"
"Traverse!"