fynovel Chapter 285 Catching the Snake
Chapter 285 Catching the Snake
Outside Konoha Village, on a high cliff.
Jiraiya put down his binoculars, watched the fighting and smoke gradually subside in the village, and let out a long sigh of relief. He had originally just found a perfect vantage point, intending to leisurely enjoy the final showdown of the Chunin Exams.
Given his status in Konoha, securing a VIP viewing seat would have been a simple matter, but he chose a method more in line with his own style, staying alone at a distance. Little did he expect that, as he watched, his binoculars would inadvertently "slip" towards the nearby women's bathhouse…
By the time he turned his attention back to the arena, Naruto's match had just begun. He was watching with satisfaction when the attack suddenly erupted without warning.
"Good job, Gamaken." Jiraiya patted the large, taciturn, purplish-red toad at his feet.
"It's alright, I'm clumsy too anyway," Toad Ken replied in a low voice. Beneath its mountain-like body was a giant psychic snake that had been beaten to the point of near death.
In the surrounding woods, many Sound Ninja and Sand Ninja lay scattered about, tightly bound by the Frog Binding Technique—this was the "result" Jiraiya had achieved by quickly throwing himself into the battlefield after the chaos erupted.
However, the occasional, loud explosions that had been heard in the distance not long ago didn't seem to be caused by Konoha's regular ninjutsu... Could it be that the mysterious [Jin] organization had intervened? This was something that Jiraiya was quite concerned about.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure—his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was darting alone into the dense forest outside the village at an incredible speed!
An old man? Where is he going?
Jiraiya immediately formed hand seals, dispelling Gamaken's summoning jutsu. The giant toad vanished in a puff of white smoke, leaving only the unconscious giant snake and the captive on the ground. He flashed forward and quickly gave chase.
"Hey! Old man!" Jiraiya closed the distance in a few leaps and shouted at the figure in black combat gear in front of him, "Is the war over? Although I'm not the official Hokage yet, you, the soon-to-be-retired Hokage, haven't finished the cleanup work yet!"
Upon hearing the voice, the Third Hokage didn't stop, only glancing quickly behind him. Seeing it was Jiraiya, he immediately turned back, his tone grave. "Jiraiya, you've come at the right time. Now is not the time for idle chatter! Orochimaru escaped in the end; your tracking skills shouldn't have deteriorated yet, right? Come with me; this time, we must bring him back no matter what!"
Ultimately, the brief, probing conversation with "Menma" ended with a clear denial. Those of that level of strength rarely stoop to lying about such matters of identity. However, the Third Generation remained burdened by unresolved doubts and anxieties.
But the moment he confirmed that Orochimaru had escaped, he forcibly suppressed all his chaotic thoughts. After ordering the Anbu to clean up the battlefield and appease the people, he chased after Orochimaru alone.
Seeing this, Jiraiya immediately suppressed the slightly frivolous look on his face. He did indeed have countless questions in his mind—about that organization, about that mysterious Menma… In particular, the old man's contact with "Jin" this time dispelled the conjecture that Menma might be Minato.
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What exactly is Orochimaru up to?!
Upon arriving, Naruto successfully launched a surprise attack with a Rasengan and immediately entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode again! A dazzling golden light burst forth, making him appear like the sun and dispelling the darkness in the forest.
"Bang!"
Just as Orochimaru was blasted away by the Rasengan and his body was still flying backward in mid-air, Naruto suddenly raised his right hand and swung it down hard. A giant golden chakra fist of unparalleled concentration appeared out of thin air and smashed down on the giant snake's body that was biting him back!
"boom!"
A huge hole was instantly pierced through the giant snake's tough body, and blood mixed with shattered internal organs splattered everywhere! It let out a short and mournful hiss, its massive body convulsed violently a few times, and then went completely limp, losing all vitality.
Naruto didn't even glance at the dead summoning beast. With a flash of golden light, he instantly appeared beside the still-rolling snake head and carefully helped Gaara, who was curled up in the snake's mouth, looking dazed and confused. He planned to take Gaara to safety first, and then turn back to settle scores with Orochimaru.
But… what’s wrong with Orochimaru?! Naruto was filled with confusion. Wasn’t this guy always obsessed with the Sharingan and various bloodline limits? Why has he suddenly turned his attention to the tailed beasts?
Recalling the three people Orochimaru summoned using the Impure World Reincarnation technique—Mito Uzumaki, Kushina Uzumaki, and the Fourth Kazekage Rasa—all of them were ninjas with extremely strong abilities to counter tailed beasts.
From that moment on, Naruto had a vague suspicion that Orochimaru's actions seemed to be aimed at him.
Now, seeing Orochimaru kidnap Gaara, he was completely certain. This guy's original goal was probably to capture him! He only turned to Gaara as a second choice because his plan was thwarted.
This feeling of "settling for second best" is very similar to the situation in the original work where Orochimaru, after being humiliated by Itachi Uchiha, turned his attention to Sasuke Uchiha.
Is it the butterfly effect? Did my appearance and actions cause Orochimaru's research direction to shift, and he began to take an interest in the power of the tailed beasts?
As for why Naruto was able to find this place so accurately, it was thanks to [Gold Experience]'s keen perception of life energy. After the battle subsided, he immediately began scanning the battlefield and quickly discovered two familiar life energies, but their state was extremely weak, like candles flickering in the wind, clearly on the verge of death.
Fortunately, Naruto always keeps a large quantity of dishes made with his [Pearl Jam] ability, which have all-purpose detoxifying properties.
After all, he could treat physical injuries and defects at any time, but detoxification and the production of specific antibodies were not the strengths of those two stand-ins, and there was no time to develop a vaccine on the spot. Thus, the two siblings from Sunagakure who came out to search for their brother were saved by Naruto, who came out to "catch" him.
Despite their weak but anxious pleas, Naruto calmly replied, "Even if you don't tell me, I will still go to save him." This brought a slight sense of relief to the two who were almost in despair.
"How...how did you find me...?"
Gaara, supported by Naruto, finally spoke, his voice hoarse and dry as if his vocal cords had been rubbed with sandpaper.
Naruto was surprised to find that Gaara's face was as pale as paper, his eyes had lost all their light, leaving only an emptiness and numbness as if he had been completely destroyed, and his body was trembling slightly.
"The Flying Thunder God mark will not disappear." Naruto gave a reassuring smile. "I told you, I will protect you." He gently patted Gaara's shoulder, where a Flying Thunder God seal, unique to him, was shimmering with a barely perceptible chakra glow.
After gently placing Gaara behind a relatively safe tree, Naruto slowly turned around. His gaze met that of Orochimaru, who had just emerged from a damaged "shell" and stood up again not far away.
Eyes facing each other.
Naruto clearly saw that Orochimaru's snake-like eyes were burning with undisguised jealousy and possessiveness, fixed intently on him.