69novels Page 61
Page 61
In an instant, the billions of volts of high-voltage current lurking in the clouds were activated, transforming into a waterfall of lightning with a diameter of over three meters that cascaded down.
This pillar of lightning, connecting heaven and earth, dyed Sasuke's Chidori a dazzling bright blue.
A flicker of panic crossed Orochimaru's eyes as he rushed forward to try and stop Sasuke.
"What's this technique called?"
But Sasuke calmly and swiftly brought down the Chidori he had raised high: "Let's call it Kirin!"
The blinding white light swallowed everything.
The lightning bolts, drawn into the air, twisted and rearranged wildly, emitting a buzzing sound that shook the earth.
The Qilin, composed entirely of plasma, raised its head and let out a silent roar, causing all the metal ninja tools within a five-kilometer radius to simultaneously emit tiny arcs of electricity.
The terrifying shockwave instantly vaporized the surrounding burning trees, and plowed a scorched trench tens of meters long into the ground.
Naruto had to close his eyes, but he could still feel the strong electric current making the hair on his body stand on end.
When the Kirin's claws touched Orochimaru's head, the entire world was engulfed by a blinding white light.
The instant when ultra-high temperature plasma explodes on the Earth's surface.
The explosion generated a flash of light at a temperature of 30000 degrees Celsius, permanently imprinting Orochimaru's shadow on the still-unvaporized rock wall behind him.
The shockwave, spreading in a spherical shape, snapped all the trees within a hundred meters in half. As Naruto was thrown away by the blast, he saw his shadow clones disappear one after another like bubbles.
When Naruto crawled out of the mound of earth, the sight before him made him tremble.
A perfectly circular scorched earth zone with a diameter of 120 meters has appeared in the original forest area.
The bottom of the pit was in a crystallized, glassy state, still emitting a dark red residual heat.
Ionized ozone floats in the air, and inhaling it brings a stinging, bloody taste.
At the epicenter, Orochimaru's carbonized body remained in a defensive posture with his hands raised.
When a gust of wind blew by, the surface of the charred corpse suddenly cracked open with spiderweb-like patterns, revealing the newly formed pale skin inside.
However, this time the rebirth speed was significantly slower, by more than ten times.
The newly appeared Orochimaru had black bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, and for the first time, his golden vertical pupils showed an emotion called "fear".
No one could imagine that such a terrifying technique could be performed by a mere genin who had only graduated a few months prior.
However, in order to use this technique, Sasuke had already fallen into a coma, and his entire left arm was charred black.
Naruto quickly ran over and helped Sasuke up.
Orochimaru then smiled and said, "Don't worry, almost all the power was concentrated on me. He was only affected by the aftershocks."
Orochimaru spat out a mouthful of blood and sneered, "I originally just intended to test the two of you. Heh, as expected, the Uchiha are the right candidates."
Naruto asked warily, "What do you want?"
Orochimaru didn't answer, but his body gradually sank down: "That's enough for now. See you next time, Jiraiya's students."
Author: Surprised? Unexpected?
Chapter 69 Naruto's Determination
The last rays of the setting sun shone on the makeshift camp. Naruto leaned against a rough tree trunk, watching Sakura bandage Sasuke's wounds.
Sasuke, who was unconscious, was as pale as paper.
Although the curse mark on his neck was temporarily suppressed, it still twitched from time to time, causing him to unconsciously frown.
Sakura was using her not-so-skilled medical ninjutsu to do her best to repair Sasuke's left hand.
Although her medical ninjutsu was not yet proficient, she at least managed to stop the bleeding.
During the treatment, Sakura couldn't help but shed large tears: "This is so good, this is really so good, I thought I would never see you again..."
Naruto grinned, revealing a bright smile: "Of course! We're Team 7!"
His voice was loud, as if trying to dispel the unease in his heart: "Sasuke's Kirin was absolutely awesome! Even Orochimaru was driven away!"
However, Sasuke couldn't engage in verbal sparring with Naruto as usual at this moment.
Sakura wiped away her tears: "Thanks to you this time..."
These words froze Naruto's smile on his face.
He lowered his head, his golden bangs obscuring his eyes, and his fists clenched unconsciously.
Thanks to me? I was the one who dragged everyone down...
In the dead of night, Naruto sat alone by the campfire.
The flickering flames cast swaying shadows in his blue eyes, much like his chaotic thoughts at that moment.
If I were a little stronger... Sasuke wouldn't have gotten hurt...
Memories flooded back—Orochimaru's cold fingers, Sasuke's eyes, and that painful groan.
Every detail felt like a knife stabbing into his heart.
"I'm such an idiot..." Naruto muttered to himself, "Even with Dad and my father around, I'm still so weak..."
He recalled his cultivation during this period.
Because I've gotten used to it in life, I feel like I have three "fathers" inside me to protect me.
Madara's taijutsu instruction, Minato's ninjutsu skills, even the Nine-Tails' chakra... He was like a spoiled child, knowing that no matter what, someone would always be there to protect him.
Sasuke, however, is different...
That arrogant guy, who clearly doesn't have any cheat-like "fathers".
Yet he managed to develop a ninjutsu like "Kirin" on his own.
Even in the most dangerous moments, his thoughts were still on protecting his companions...
Naruto's fingernails dug deeply into his palm, but he felt no pain.
An unprecedented emotion surged within my chest.
It wasn't anger, nor sadness, but a suffocating sense of self-blame and resentment.
"Dad, Dad, Uncle Nine-Tailed Fox..."
Naruto finally spoke in his heart, his voice more earnest than ever before: "I want to become stronger."
My mental world suddenly went quiet for a second.
"It's good that you have the intention."
Ban was the first to break the silence, revealing a rare expression of relief.
However, what Naruto said next startled him: "Then the training volume will be doubled... Let's just start training at the level I was at back then."
Naruto was like a cat with its fur standing on end: "That could kill someone!"
The training scenes from Ban's memories flashed through his mind.
Running along cliffs with boulders on their backs, enduring the immense pressure of waterfalls, and engaging in near-suicidal physical training...
Naruto quickly retorted, "I have no problem with doubling the training volume now, but the training in your era, Dad, was practically murder!"
Minato chuckled from the side, "Madara-senpai, that joke is scary."
He ruffled Naruto's blond hair, just as he often did when he was alive. "But Naruto, I'm very pleased that you recognize your shortcomings."
Ban then said, "This kid has been relying on our strength all day long. We need to teach him a lesson."
The nine-tailed fox behind the iron gate sneered: "Speaking of arrogance, you were the most arrogant one back then."
It pointed at the arrogant black-haired guy: "One sentence: In this world, no one can stop me except Hashirama!"
Ban Que scoffed, "I have that kind of strength!"
"Then, when it controlled me to fight Hashirama, it said, 'Hashirama, I can hit the other side now!'" As it spoke, Kurama even imitated Madara's tone of voice from back then.
This made Madara blush: "What... how did you remember that?"
At that time, the Nine-Tails should have been completely under his control, so how could he still have memories?
Nine-Tailed Fox flicked its tail: "Originally, I shouldn't have had that memory, but I don't know if it's because you slept on my head for too long, but I actually remembered the memory of you controlling me in my dreams."
Madara unfolded his Susanoo skeleton: "It seems necessary to keep your amnesiac state."
Minato quickly stepped between the man and the beast: "Alright, alright... the focus now is on Naruto's training plan."
Naruto looked at the three "fathers" arguing and suddenly found it somewhat amusing.
The heavy feeling I had just experienced has gradually dissipated.
"Um..." he raised his hand hesitantly, "Could I make a request?"
The three (or beasts?) turned to look at him at the same time.
"I want to start learning about changes in properties."
"Sure, but let's talk about it after the exam."
Meanwhile, Mitarashi Anko stood at the edge of the deep pit, the scorched earth beneath her feet still radiating a scorching heat.
Her brown trench coat fluttered in the night wind, her pupils reflecting the land before her, ravaged by lightning.
"Was this really... caused by a genin?"
An undercover agent crouched down, his fingertips touching the ground, the vitrified soil cracking softly under his touch.
Hongdou frowned, her gaze sweeping over the circular crater, which was over a hundred meters in diameter.
The rock strata at the bottom of the pit had crystallized, exhibiting an eerie blue-black luster, as if they had been directly struck by divine lightning.
The air was filled with the smell of ionized ozone, mixed with the lingering burnt odor.
"Has the chakra residue been detected?" Red Bean's voice was lower than usual.
"Yes, it's confirmed to be Lightning Release."
Another ANBU member put away the detection scroll, his voice behind his mask grave: "But its strength far exceeds the range of normal A-rank ninjutsu, almost approaching the destructive power of an S-rank forbidden technique."
Hongdou's fingertips unconsciously caressed the handle of the bitter gourd.