Chapter Thirty-Four: "Spirit Of The Hokage"

Shizune couldn't believe what she was seeing with her own eyes. There in front of her was her uncle, standing with Nawaki, Shodai and Nidaime. But the heart-wrenching part was the reality that her uncle was brought back to life for the intent of hurting and killing both Tsunade and Naruto, the boy she loved, helped raise, train, educate and looked at as her her otouto. The young female Jounin futilely tried to hold back the tears that were coming down her face, feeling pain for herself, Naruto and Tsunade who was in love with her uncle years ago. She could only image how heart-broken Tsunade must be at seeing such a horrific sight that the man she once loved was being used to hurt her son. It hurt Shizune to see that her uncle, who was part of the reason why Tsunade decided to become Godaime, was turned into a puppet to be used by one of Konoha's worst traitors.

"Dan-jisan!," Shizune cried out to her uncle as ran to the barrier only to be grabbed and pulled back by Kakashi, "Stop this! Please Dan-jisan!"

"It's no use," Tsunade said with a saddened voice, "He won't listen to you. He and the others are completely under Orochimaru's control."

"Is there nothing we can do to break this control," Shizune asked desperately.

Meanwhile, Naruto held onto his chest while breathing in and out. He knew that in his present circumstances, he was a sitting duck and Kyuubi's chakra was completely neutralized by Shodai. Whether or not removing the necklace from his neck would have helped the blonde didn't know, but he still kept it around his neck anyway. Though he tried not to show it earlier, he was internally injured from Shodai and Nidaime's last attacks and he didn't have time to the use his medic knowledge to heal himself. Unfortunately for him, this was made clear when he coughed up some blood from his mouth while falling to one knee and hand while holding his chest with his free hand. He spat the blood from out of his mouth and onto the grass.

"Naruto," Tsunade cried wanting to run and protect him, only to be held back by Jiraiya.

"Tsunade," Jiraiya tried to reason.

"What are you all doing," Tsunade yelled angrily, "Don't just stand there! Break this barrier and get my son back! That's an order!"

Anko was to take action to get Naruto back when…

"It'll be of no use Tsunade-sama," the ANBU in pale white said, "The three of us tried that earlier after both you and Naruto-sama were captured by Shodaime-sama. Even our strongest jutsus combined couldn't make a dent in it."

Anko snarled inwardly. Though she didn't say it out loud however, she really didn't want anything to happen to Naruto. Orochimaru had already taken almost everything away from her and she didn't want to lose Naruto to him either. The Snake Jounin maintained a calm and composed bearing, not wanting emotions to cloud her judgment and reasoning.

Sandaime lowered his head momentarily. Though he didn't say it out loud, but the fact that Naruto was holding his own against not one but two Hokages surprised him. With a heavy heart, Sandaime raised his head to the Snake Sannin…

"Orochimaru," Sandaime offered, "Release the boy, and take me in his place."

Everyone around Sandaime looked at him wondering what he was doing.

"Sarutobi," Enma asked, "What are you doing?"

"Orochimaru is my former student," Sandaime said with shame laced in his voice, "As his former sensei, I saw the path he was walking and the ambition he always had in his eyes, but I chose to act like I didn't notice. During our younger days, I saw him as a rare prodigy with great potential and our village was at war then…my blind optimism led to all this. His crimes and atrocities are also my fault; it shames and disgraces me greatly to say that he was once my favored pupil."

Everyone there were surprised to hear what was coming out of Sandaime's mouth. Enma however already knew the story so he wasn't at all surprised. Jiraiya knew all too well the truth about Orochimaru being favored more so by Sarutobi over Tsunade and himself.

"It's only fitting that I exchange myself in Naruto's place," Sandaime said, "Naruto, Tsunade and many others have suffered enough because of the mistakes I've made in the past."

"Jiisan," Naruto said while still on his hand and knee, "I forgave you a long time ago. I know that you're not the same man back then and you don't want anyone to make the same mistakes you made. However…"

Naruto stood back up on his feet though he was still holding his chest as he continued, "What you're offering is something I can not agree to."

"What," Sandaime exclaimed in shock as Naruto went on, "I consciously made this choice to lock myself in this dome before throwing kaa-chan out of it. And I never start something I don't intend to see to the finish!"

"Naruto," Sandaime said sternly with no form of humor in his voice and demeanor, "As your Hokage I'm giving you an order to stand down and allow me to take your place! You're in no condition to fight anymore!"

"You surprise me jiisan," Naruto retorted, "I never thought that you of all people would underestimate me."

"Naruto," Jiraiya jumped in, "This isn't a matter of misjudging your abilities nor is this the time for you to be as hard-headed and stubborn as your father was!"

Naruto was very well aware of Yondaime's hard-headed demeanor since Jiraiya told him many stories about Minato when he was his Genin student. The blonde chuckled, "It's true what they say then…the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Na…Naruto…," Tsunade coughed, "Please…You've done enough as it is…"

"Isn't this a remarkable sight," Orochimaru taunted, "Here it is that three of Konoha's strongest shinobis are pleading, better yet, begging me to spare you. I can't recall the last time I've seen such an amazing sight."

"It doesn't matter what you think Orochimaru," Naruto replied sourly, "No matter what, you'll be dead by sun set."

Orochimaru snorted before gesturing to Dan to go after the blonde. Doing as ordered while Naruto was weakened, Dan readied his kunai and charged at Naruto.

"Dan-jisan," Shizune cried loudly, "Please stop!"

Her words fell on deaf ears as Dan continued his charged at Naruto. A few moments later, a figure burst forth from the ground and delivered a strong right hook into Dan's jaw, sending the Jounin rocketing into the air before falling backwards to the ground on his back. The fourteen-year-old kunoichi who emerged from the hole landed down to the surface in front of Naruto with her back facing him.

"Perhaps I can be of some help to you," the kunoichi offered as she looked at the blonde. Orochimaru recognized the teenage Jounin since he's heard about her exploits. But he also noticed that she was fully geared in Konoha's standard Jounin uniform and gear and wearing the Konoha headband around her head. The Konoha Jounins however didn't recognize her as one of their own.

"Ryota," Orochimaru grinned, "Iwagakure's Shining Stone; or formerly one seeing that you now chose to become a missing-nin."

"So you've heard of me," Ryota said, "I guess my reputation precedes me."

The Konoha nins were shock to say the least when they saw a missing-nin Jounin from Iwa seeking to help Naruto. But what shocked them were the facts that she so boldly wore their shinobi uniform and that she somehow penetrated the barrier.

"That girl," Jiraiya said, "She's the one Naruto told Kakashi and I about."

"So she's infamous Ryota," Kakashi said, "Interesting how in spite of our villages' hatred towards each other that she's here to help. I wonder if she's doing this for something that she hopes is in it for her."

Though finding her appearance as perhaps a blessing in disguise however, Naruto interrogated, "What are you doing here and why are you geared in Jounin uniform and gear belonging to Konoha?"

"Isn't it obvious," Ryota retorted, "I'm here to help you end this bastard's life! Plus, I had these clothes for some time after I secretly broke into your village's supply unit. You destroyed my original uniform and gear with that jutsu of yours in our last encounter and you left me pitifully near naked in the Forest of Death."

The Jounins were caught off guard by this, especially the females.

"An eye for an eye," Naruto retorted, "You did me in first when you used a jutsu of your own to destroy my original clothes and gear leaving me almost naked before attacking me. I was forced to resort to using tiger-skin loincloths before I returned the favor."

"Hmm, touché," Ryota remarked, "Well that's passed history now, Naruto-kun."

Though the conversation momentarily baffled those listening to it as it served to explain why Naruto was in loincloths during the Preliminaries however, the honorific Ryota addressed Naruto with didn't go unnoticed. But what surprised Naruto was the fact that "-kun" used with his named didn't carry any form of malice and mockery in it as she used to say it before. What went through Sandaime's mind after hearing what Ryota said was how their security would be under much scrutiny again.

"Tell me girl," Orochimaru asked curiously, "How did you manage to penetrate the barrier from underneath since this dome goes underground also?"

"I didn't," Ryota admitted, "I managed to tunnel under the ground over to Naruto-kun before the barrier was set up. (Turned to Naruto) I'd have been here sooner, but I ran into some trouble on the way here after coming from the stadium. Nice fight with that Neji boy by the way; and that Hiraishin Jutsu of yours really kicked ass. I'm happy I wasn't on the receiving end of it."

Naruto said nothing, though he was surprised to learn that Ryota was among the crowd of spectators.

"It matters not to me," Orochimaru said, "Either way; you both are going to die here today."

Though she was a skilled ninja however, Naruto knew that Ryota wouldn't have a chance against them and his mind was already made up as to what he was about to do.

"Ryota," Naruto spoke seriously, "You should know that by your actions you've-"

"Naruto-kun," Ryota cut him off while keeping her emotions in check, "Regardless of our bitter past, I knew what I was getting myself into when I chose to side with you on this day. And as you warned me before, should I return to Iwa my safety isn't guaranteed, especially after my second and worst defeat to you."

"So you chose to defect from Iwa to Konoha," Naruto asked cautiously, "What about your Tsuchikage and fellow Iwa nins? Won't they come searching for you?"

"…To be truly honest with you," Ryota admitted reluctantly, "…I have nothing and no one in Iwa to go back to. My parents and my entire family are dead; and most of them were killed during the last Great Shinobi War. If I do return to Iwa after my repeated failures, I'll only go back in disgrace and face execution, if not a life-long imprisonment."

"…," Naruto said nothing to the former Iwa Jounin until, "You still didn't tell me whether or not Iwagakure will send teams of ninjas to retrieve you and me for that matter."

"Who knows at this point," Ryota answered, "As far as I'm concerned, I'm longer of any use to Iwa and I don't plan on going back."

"…," Naruto said nothing to her.

"…No matter what happens from here on out…," Ryota concluded, "I'll see this fight with you to the end."

"Surprising," Orochimaru interjected, "I'd have never known you were in such a hurry to die."

"You seem closer to death than Naurto-kun and I are," Ryota retorted, "So save me a front seat!"

Orochimaru chuckled maniacally as he looked at by Naruto and Ryota with an amused look.

"What's so funny," Naruto inquired.

"You young generation ninjas truly amuse me," Orochimaru said, "It's a pity that you both as strong as you are won't have to capacity to defeat aging."

"…," Naruto and Ryota said nothing at they looked on at Orochimaru who reached for his face and tore it off clean, to the shock of Naruto, Ryota and everyone there who were watching.

"Wh-What is this," Gai asked as he and the others looked on with horrified expressions on their faces.

"What's going on," asked one of the ANBU, "Who is that young person?"

Orochimaru turned fixing his hair and looked straight at Sandaime.

"Who are you," Sandaime yelled.

"Are you that surprised that you haven't figured it out," the person said with a younger and feminine tone, "It's me. I'm Orochimaru."

"How…" Tsunade asked with a puzzled expression, "How is this possible?"

"We Sannins are in our fifties," Jiraiya said, "That youth…And what's more, that face isn't the face of the Orochimaru we know."

Anko couldn't believe what she was seeing. She found it hard to swallow that this horrible creature in front her was once the man she once loved and looked up to as a father figure.

"You're not Orochimaru-sensei," Anko said in an undertone, "Not the one I used to know; that one died many years ago…"

"That one," Enma said, "He's finally done it…"

"You…can't mean," Sandaime said, "You had already achieved the completion of that kinjutsu."

The Snake Sannin smiled widely and maniacally as he giggled, "I've left Konoha more than ten years ago Sarutobi-sensei. A lot has happened during my time away."

"You terrifying inhuman creature, you," Sandaime spat in complete disgust as Orochimaru just laughed louder and more maniacally with that feminine voice.

"He's insane," Naruto said in an undertone.

"One of the reasons why I couldn't choose you to become Yondaime Hokage was because of your corrupt and twisted ideology," Sandaime said as he momentarily recalled what happened when he and his two ANBU discovered his hidden lair of experimentations years ago. He also remembered how he had his shot in stopping Orochimaru once and for all, even when Orochimaru himself waited for Sarutobi to do something against him when Enma told him that was his best chance to kill Orochimaru. Yet, Sandaime's sentiments of being his former sensei clouded his judgment thus causing him not to kill Orochimaru and instead allow him to escape; a mistake Sandaime heavily regretted ever since.

"The immortality jutsu is a spell where you anchor your spirit to this world forever," Orochimaru explained, "In other words, it's a reincarnation spell where you find a new body, enter it with your spirit and take possession of it."

"How many bodies have you gone through already," Sandaime asked.

"Hmm…This is my second one," Orochimaru admitted, "The only reason why I disguise myself as my old self is because I thought I'd let you, Jiraiya and Tsunade feel nostalgic about the past. Growing old it pointless and wasteful; that's how I feel when I look at you, sensei."

"…," Sandaime said nothing.

"I will eventually kill you and everyone else Sarutobi-sensei," Orochimaru said, "And I will get for myself a younger and more beautiful body."

"Sasuke's body," Naruto figured out, "I already know your story of you wanting to become this so-called ultimate being that has mastered and learned every jutsu under the sun. And what better way of learning jutsus the easy way than having the Sharingan eye, am I right?"

"You're smarter than I give you credit for Naruto," Orochimaru said as he placed his hand over his face and turned his face back to his original appearance.

"Freak," Ryota called Orochimaru before doing a set of complex series of hand seals. Her body momentarily glowed in mystic chakra. Naruto knew this jutsu since he had the experience of battling against it before.

"Iwa No Chikara (Rock Strength)," Ryota said as she felt the power and changes coursing through her body. After the glow died out, she charged at Orochimaru only to be intersected by the Hokages brothers with Dan and Nawaki following close by. Clenching her fist, she jumped into the air before flying downwards in the four ninjas' direction. With her fist stretched out, she landed and punched the ground with immense force, sending the four of them flying off their feet in different directions while Orochimaru jumped from the ground before the shock wave reached him as a good portion of the ground cratered and broke open.

The Konoha nins were taken by surprise from seeing this.

"So this is Ryota's insane strength enhancing jutsu Naruto described to us," Kakashi spoke.

"From the looks of it," Jiraiya spoke up, "It's like watching a younger Tsunade."

Tsunade couldn't help but see the irony in that statement, especially since she reluctantly had to go up against her revived relatives to save Naruto. Now here it was that an almost total stranger from enemy territory came to do something she herself had a hard time doing while helping Naruto; the Godaime couldn't help but feel emotions of regrets and sorrow because of her earlier actions.

Taking her fist out of the ground, Ryota stood back up as the other ninjas rose up back off the ground.

"A Tsunade imitation," Orochimaru mocked, "This ought to be interesting."

Ryota engaged all but Orochimaru in combat. Though Ryota presently appeared as a Tsunade imitation, she did quite a job in forming craters and destroying trees that Shodai were throwing at her. As she kept them busy…

Hopefully she'll buy out the amount of time I need, Naruto thought as while healing himself of all of his injuries with his remaining chakra, I better hurry; that jutsu of hers will only last as long she has the chakra to maintain it…

(In Another Part Of The Forest)

Sasuke was speedily racing through the forest but made sure not to collide with Sandaime and the other older ninjas with him. Nearly reaching his destination a while later, he changed routes and headed to another part of the forest so that he'd see the events from that end of the forest. All the while Hinata, Ino and the other Genins made tracks in following Sasuke to where he was going; it wasn't long until they all arrived at their intended destination.

When they all got there, all of the Genins stood on top of tree branches at a good enough height to see everything in front of them. Needless to say, they were shocked at the amount of chaos and damage that occurred in the opening of the forest before their arrival. Like the older ninjas standing in another part of the forest, they then focused their attention to the dome that had Naruto, Orochimaru and five other ninjas they couldn't identify.

The Genins saw Naruto standing inside the dome while an unidentified Jounin who looked to be fourteen years old was engaging four other unidentified fighters who were really giving the believed Konoha Jounin a hard time and from what they saw, it was cleared a one-sided fight. What was noteworthy though was that they were all, with the exception of Orochimaru, wearing Konoha headbands.

"Who do you supposed are the people fighting against that Jounin," Hinata asked.

"I don't know," Kiba answered, "But the two in red and blue look strangely familiar."

"I know what you mean," Chouji agreed, "Somehow I can't help but sense that we've seen them from somewhere before."

Sasuke didn't bother to join the conversation as he focused on what was transpiring in front of him and the others.

(Back Inside The Dome)

Naruto was still healing himself while the former Iwa kunoichi engaged the four resurrected shinobis while Orochimaru watched from a distance. His self-healing though was interrupted here and there whenever he had to evade flying debris and rumble that were sent in his direction as a result of the fierce combat happening inside the dome.

While healing himself Naruto took into account and analyzed the present situation and everything that transpired thus far. He knew that S-rank jutsus required a lot of chakra, as did summoning animal bosses. And the fact that Orochimaru was forced to engage Tsunade in combat only added to the amount of chakra he had to use. Naruto's question on that matter was how much chakra did Orochimaru now had left. Though he's a Sannin however, so was Tsunade and seeing her condition earlier after she summoned Katsuya, fought with Orochimaru and used her Sōzō Saisei, he knew that Orochimaru didn't have much chakra left, and neither did Tsunade.

Then there were the four Oto Jounins making the barrier to contain them inside. Naruto was aware that the four of them were battling the three ANBU earlier and though he only saw bits and pieces of their fight, he knew that the ANBU keep them on their toes and didn't give them an easy time. He figured that the four of them used a lot of chakra fighting the ANBU but seeing that they still managed to form the barrier made him see that they still some chakra left, though he didn't know how long the barrier would last considering they look to be making an earnest effort to maintain it.

And now Sandaime, Jiraiya and all of the ninjas with them were presently standing right outside the dome. The way things were one would think that everything was now in Naruto's favor. However there were several other facts that he couldn't take lightly or ignore. For one thing, Sandaime and Jiraiya were up very earlier in the morning with other ninjas in their divisions battling large armies of Suna and Oto nins and Naruto saw that Sandaime summoned Enma, the monkey boss. Naruto didn't know how much chakra they and the other ninjas with them had used up already and had left, especially since they had to travel this large distance to get here, but he wasn't willing to take a gamble on it.

Finally there were the four revived ninjas, and to Naruto, they were worst. Because of the jutsu used, Naruto knew that they couldn't be defeated that easily. And regardless of how much damaged was done to them; they'd just reconfigure back together and still have chakra to fight with. It would be an ongoing fight and many of his fellow Konoha ninjas would perish by their hands as a result of chakra depletion. Naruto acknowledged that something had to be done to stop the four revived ninjas and minimize the chances of casualties, and he especially wanted to stop Orochimaru once and for all, especially for what he had done to his family's name and honor.

Turning his attention back to the fight, Naruto looked to see what was now going on. The blonde noticed that while everyone was looking on at the fight taking place, Orochimaru sneakily reached into his pocket and retrieved a small item which he placed into his mouth before chewing and eating it.

Crap, Naruto mumbled mentally, I didn't take into consideration that Orochimaru would use a soldier pill. Bearing in mind the reputations of the Sannins, they very rarely use them, if at all in the past. But seeing the current circumstances, I suppose that Orochimaru isn't taking chances.

Naruto saw how Orochimaru looked more revived and strengthened than he did just moments ago.

I better watch myself carefully, Naruto thought, One bad mistake and it's all over.

During Naruto's mental deliberation, Ryota was presently dealing with the youngest of the four summoned ninjas. Nawaki didn't serve to be that big of a problem to the girl as he was more of a distraction and annoyance. Shodai and Nidaime on the other hand did more than hold their grounds against her as she was being doubled teamed. Many of her attacks were either evaded or countered, with only so much of her attack doing real damages.

Like Naruto, she had to deal with wood and water clones. Dan and Nawaki decided to stand back as they waited for the best time to strike.

"Damn," Ryota swore in frustration, "What will it take to beat you guys?"

After doing some hand seals, Ryota summoned her boulder-sized spike mace. She swung her mace to get a feel for it before launching it at the Hokages.

Shodai however did a hand seal and tree branches grew from out of the ground and grabbed the spike mace tightly.

"What," Ryota said before her mace was pulled from out of her hands as Shodai did another hand seal, causing sharp branches to shoot from the ground and into the ball, destroying and breaking it to pieces.

"So much for that idea," the kunoichi remarked before summoning her rock sword. Nawaki now charged at the girl with his kunais in hand. He hacked and slashed at the girl who countered and parried every strike he threw at her. During the distraction, Nidaime signaled to Dan and he nodded. Naruto saw this and he didn't like where this was leading, though he was currently unable to do anything at this point since he wasn't fully healed yet.

Nidaime got in position some distances away and did a few complex hand seals before placing his hands together.

"Suiton: Suidōkan (Water Release: Waterpipe)," Nidaime said as he focused eye sight on where Nawaki and Ryota were. Nawaki threw his kunai directly at Ryota who easily caught it before it could do any harm to her. The resurrected Genin flipped and stood away from her. The girl then felt wetness under feet. Before she could ponder on this, water burst from underneath her like a geyser, completely drenching her…

"Raiton: Rai Kan-Pō Shageki No Jutsu," Dan yelled at lightning came coursing out of his arms and down upon the steel part of the kunai that was in Ryota's hand. Ryota scream in sheer pain while being thoroughly electrocuted, with the water emerging from under her feet serving to intensity the electrocution.

With an explosion, Ryota was then sent flying backwards, before crashing hard and brutally into a nearby boulder several feet from Naruto. The teenage girl sustained several burns, bruises and cuts and parts of her clothes were torn. But other than that, she was still alive. She coughed out some blood from her mouth, which was now trickling down from both ends of her mouth.

Nidaime-sama created an underground water channel and directed it in Ryota's direction, Naruto contemplated, Ryota's affinity is clearly earth and all of her jutsus are earth based. Having both my great granduncle and Dan-san double team her like that…she didn't stand a chance, especially since earth affinity and earth jutsus are useless against lightning types, and adding water to the mixture only make things twice as bad.

"…Shit…," Ryota coughed while trying painfully to pull herself together, "…Those two in red and blue armor…really put their all into their blows. And those other two with them make things worst."

"They're Hokages," Naruto told her, "Shodaime-sama and Nidaime-sama, my great-grandfather and great-granduncle."

Ryota looked at Naruto as if he grew another head as she asked with a puzzled look, "How can that be? Those two died years ago!"

"I know," Naruto remarked "They're my dead ancestors brought back to life for the sole purpose of fighting and killing me and kaa-chan."

Ryota's eyes widened on hearing that as Naruto continued, "The young boy is Nawaki-jisan my kaa-chan's little brother and the man next to him is Dan-san, my kaa-chan's late fiancé. Like my great-grandfather and great-granduncle, they too died years ago during the Great Shinobi Wars."

(Back With The Genins)

"His dead ancestors," Kiba said aloud in perplexity, "…Those two in armor are Shodaime-sama and Nidaime-sama? The great Hokages who built Konoha!"

"How's that possible?," Sakura asked louder than she should only to have her mouth grabbed and covered by Ino, "Not so loud Forehead! You want us to be spotted by the others?"

"I'm guessing that a high-level kinjutsu of some sort was used in bringing back Naruto's ancestors," Shikamaru explained.

"Naruto-kun have to fight against Orochimaru and four of his ancestors alone," Hinata said almost on the verge of tears at the traumatizing thought to being forced to fight dead family members, "Is there nothing we can do?"

"Right now," Sai spoke with a neutral tone, "All we can do is watch and see what'll happen."

(Inside The Dome)

"Impossible," Ryota said in disbelief, "How is this possible?"

"Never mind that," Naruto replied as he took a few steps forward, "You've done enough and I appreciate that. I'll take it from here."

Naruto turned to Orochimaru who licked his lips sinisterly.

"So you intend to challenge me," Orochimaru shot.

"Though you gave my family a cruel blow Orochimaru," Naruto stated, "That in time will heal. The blow I intend to give you on this day however is one that will never heal! Not ever!"

"Bold words Naruto," Orochimaru said confidently, "But from what I saw, you used the last remainder of chakra in healing your wounds and injuries. This won't be much of a fight. You'll die here and there's nothing anyone here can do about it."

Saying nothing, Naruto closed his eyes and placed his hands together as he formed a seal of some sort. While standing, he posed himself in a meditative stance never breaking his focus.

What is he doing, was the question on everyone's mind. Orochimaru had an amused look on his face as he watched what he believed was Naruto's last ditch effort to summon what little chakra he had left in him. His smile however eventually died out when he saw a blue aura appear around Naruto's form and growing stronger every second. The familiarity of the aura radiating from the chakra surrounding Naruto was potent to Orochimaru and the older ninjas looking on. The Genins likewise sensed that aura; it was the exact same one they felt when Naruto entered the building to take the Preliminaries that day. As they looked on, they all waited to see what was going to happen.

Orochimaru snarled when he recognized that aura. Moments later, the chakra grew and shaped around Naruto's body and took the shape and appearance of an all too familiar figure. The older generation recognized that figure anywhere.

"That chakra," Kurenai said in disbelief, "It took on the form and appearance of…"

"Yondaime," Asuma finished for her, "Konoha's Yellow Flash. How is this possible?"

"What a feat," Gai exclaimed, "His passionate youthful flames is strong enough to even radiate with the spirit of our late Yondaime Hokage."

Naruto soon opened his eyes again; but the eyes he now had weren't his normal blue eyes. Rather, they were the hard blue eyes of a ninja who's experienced many battles, seen hundreds deaths and slaughtered many enemies who dared challenged him. Those eyes belonged to a man who's been renowned and feared by seemingly countless people and whose name has been made taboo in enemy territory. Though he tried to hide it, but Orochimaru felt fear from within his being.

What is he, Ryota thought as she looked on in astonishment, What an incredible power!

Minato, Jiraiya thought as he and the other Konoha ninjas looked at the chakra around Naruto.

Naruto focused that chakra into himself before the glow around him gradually died out.

"Great grandfather, great granduncle, Nawaki-jisan, Dan-san," Naruto spoke with a calm and more mature voice, "(Sincerely) Please forgive me…I won't hold back from here on out. But this must be done…(Turned to Orochimaru) And I especially won't hold back from crushing you."

"Holding back," Orochimaru scoffed at the blonde, "You mean to say that you've been holding back against them this entire time? That's a nice bluff Naruto. But it won't do you any-"

The Snake Sannin was cut short when a fist was implanted deep into his face, sending him flying off the ground and through several large tree branches before hitting the ground with a thud. Shodai and Nidaime moved in to attack Naruto, however Naruto moved and appeared behind Nidaime and punched him in the back of the head before using Godaime-like strength to kick him into his older brother, sending the both of them off their feet. Not giving them time to regain control, Naruto move in and somersault and kicked them both from behind, sending them flying away from him and crashing separately into the ground.

Dan and Nawaki rushed in to apprehend Naruto, however both of them met the brute end of the blonde's fists, which sent them into a collision course with nearby trees. The sheer speed and strength Naruto used against the five of them stupefied everyone watching to no end.

It was so fast, Ryota mentally shouted, I couldn't keep up with it! It's unreal!

If Sandaime, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi and the other Jounins weren't there they wouldn't have believed what they saw with their own eyes that looked like they wanted to pop out of their sockets.

"DID THAT JUST HAPPENENED?," Kiba yelled with his mouth wide opened, "THAT CAN'T BE THE SAME NARUTO WE WENT TO THE ACADEMY WITH! HE'S SCHOOLING TWO HOKAGES, A SANNIN, A JOUNIN AND A GENIN AT THE SAME TIME!"

Chouji was lost for words as he dropped his bag of potato chips.

"Naruto's flames of youth have reached levels far beyond any I've ever seen," Lee commented in amazement with his right fist clenched tightly, "It's truly awe-inspiring! His dedication to hard work and perseverance has truly paid off! Truly he's reaping in the fruitages of being a genius of hard work!"

"If that's the real Naruto," Chouji added after regaining his ability to speak, "Then he's been going extremely soft on us during our academy days."

Hinata, Sakura, Tenten and Ino looked on at Naruto in a whole new light. That power and speed he wielded with such control was so uncanny yet…astounding. It was unlike anything they've ever seen in their entire life.

Sasuke looked on with disbelieving eyes.

Is this truly the real Naruto, Sasake contemplated, It can't be real, can it? The ability to take on fighters of Sannin and Hokage level simultaneously…How could Naruto…have reached this level before me? What have I been doing all this time?

Sasuke then remembered Naruto's words from the past: "Yondaime is the Hokage I intend to surpass…in just about everything…"

How could I have not been able to keep up with him, Sasuke thought as he continued watching the fight in front of him.

(Meanwhile)

"Kill him," Orochimaru ordered after getting back up off the ground, "I want him in a thousand pieces!"

Doing as ordered, Shodai and Nidaime got back up and rushed at Naruto, who in turned rushed at them, engaging them in what was considered Kage-level mortal shinobi combat. Nawaki and Dan jumped in to help overpower Naruto. However the sheer speed and strength Naruto was using against them made this a feat easier said than done as he repeatedly toppled them.

Shodai went through a series of hand seals before branches burst from the ground and dashed after Naruto. After forming a Rasengan in his hand, Naruto charged through the branches as they kept coming unrelentingly. Soon, an arsenal of branches with spikes at the front were formed and sent charging at Naruto with eye-popping speed as the branches surrounded him in all directions. Naruto saw that he was cornered and seconds later the branches plunged through him, only to have him puff out of existence in a white cloud of smoke.

"Kage bushin," Anko realized, "But when did he…"

Anko never got to finish when Naruto appeared behind Shodai from out of nowhere, giving Shodai only enough time to turn around to receive a roundhouse kick to the face, sending him off his feet and to the ground. After running through a series of hand seals, Naruto took a deep breath and…

"Katon: Karyū Endan," Naruto yelled before blasting flames from out of him mouth and over to Shodai, completely engulfing him in flames. The blonde canceled out the jutsu seeing that Shodai was momentarily down for the count.

"Fire burns wood," Naruto commented before turning to his next opponent. Nidaime stepped in and engaged Naruto. After the required hand seals, Nidaime started spitting powerful rapid beams of water at Naruto, each beam tearing through and destroying whatever it came in contact with. The blonde raced around the beams being careful not to touch them seeing how they were cutting through objects like energetic lasers. Running behind boulder with Nidaime's shooting beams following close by, Naruto punched and shattered the boulder, causing its pieces to be sent flying into Nidaime's direction.

"Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Wall)," Nidaime yelled as he created a large cyclone of water around himself to repel the debris flying at him. His actions were interrupted when a pair of hands speedily came from out of the ground by his feet and grabbed him, pulling him into the ground until the only part of his body that could be seen was his head sticking out of the ground.

"Earth drinks water," Naruto remarked before punching Nidaime square in the face. Dan and Nawaki came charging at Naruto after his popped out from out of the ground. Both of them tried to double team him as he stylishly parried and evaded all of their assaults as they attacked at the same time. Dan resorted to using his lightning affinity to strike and electrocute Naruto. Forming a ball of chakra in his hand, Naruto changed at Dan and…

"Rasengan," Naruto yelled as he plunged the attack through the lightning and into Dan's chest. The spiraling ball exploded on the Jounin and sent him flying backwards, quite a distance in fact before coming to a dead stop by crashing into a tree.

Nawaki raced after Naruto from behind before stabbing him deep in the back with both of his kunais. What everyone thought was Naruto at that moment proved to be a wooden log that puffed in Naruto's place.

"Kawarimi (Replacement)," Tsunade acknowledged just before Naruto appeared in front of Nawaki. Not giving the Genin time to react, the Kage-level blond-haired shinobi grabbed and threw the Genin hard and far away from him, causing him to bounce off and skid across the ground several times only to be stopped by a large rock in his way. The young Genin was about to get back up when he saw that a kunai with an exploding note was at his side. He didn't get the time to wonder when Naruto threw it at him before it exploded on him, sending him into a collision course with another large rock.

Orochimaru saw that he was left standing with Naruto standing some distance from him. The Snake Sannin didn't like the situation one bit.

"Unbelievable," one of the ANBU commented, "Looking at the way he fights is like seeing a fusion of Yondaime-sama and Godaime-sama."

"Insane speed and insane strength," Kakashi added, "A most deadly combo."

(In Another Part Of The Forest)

The Genins were looking on with stupefied expressions on their faces. They saw how Naruto strategically battled with his four opponents and effectively took them down. If anything, doing this was no easy task they acknowledged, but the fact that he actually did it made it even more amazing to them.

Sasuke watched the event before him in utter disbelief. For a long time he always regarded Naruto as a rival and someone he had to topple and defeat. This was fueled even more so after Itachi's encounter and defeat to the blonde two years ago.

What's the source of Naruto's powers, Sasuke wondered, What's his secret? How was it that Naruto, the village clown, attained a power that I worked so hard to try to achieve all my life whereas I, an Uchiha with great promises, am forced to be an eye witness to this?

(Back In The Dome)

Naruto then turned his attention to Orochimaru, who was now holding his Kusanagi sword in his hands.

"You're really something gaki," Orochimaru smirked, "But I won't go down that easily!"

The blonde was to about ready himself to take on Orochimaru when…

"Naruto-kun," Ryota called out as she ran and jumped into the air and over to him, "Henge!"

Ryota burst into a puff of white smoke before transforming to a long steel staff with a long and large blade at the front end of it. The blonde jumped into the air and caught the staff before swinging it a couple of times before getting the feel of it as he landed down on one of the tree branches. Shodai, Nidaime, Dan and Nawaki, after pulling themselves together, surrounded Naruto on different branches with Orochimaru in front.

"This ought to be interesting," Orochimaru stated at his held and aimed his sword at Naruto.

"Let's go Ryota," Naruto said as he swung the staff Ryota turned into a few times.

"I may be as hard as stone Naruto-kun," Ryota said, "But that sword of his will still hurt me."

Naruto charged and flipped to another tentacle-like branch before running across it. He soon jumped off it and flipped backwards as he threw two kunais with exploding tags on them in the Sannin's direction. Orochimaru jumped and flipped away from the kunais before they hit the ground and exploded, blowing off dirt and chunks of the ground into the air. Landing down on the ground, Naruto then swung and waltzed the staff around him as though he was dancing with it. Orochimaru smirked as he moved around and readied himself for the blonde's next attack.

Finding his moment, Naruto held the staff and rushed at Orochimaru as he took a swung at the Sannin's head. Orochimaru ducked as the blade passed over his head before Naruto jumped into the air and over to him. Once they met up, a fierce sword and staff combat commenced between them. Their blades clashed against each other with every swung and slash they threw at one another. It was like a deadly dance of tango and neither looked willing to surrender to the other. Soon they clashed their blades against each other again and started what looked like a tug of war, placing strength into their weapons in order to overpower the other.

Naruto looked to be having the upper hand when his eyes turned to see Shodai coming to ambush him. Just as Shodai was about to swing kick him at his feet, Naruto teleported away and reappeared behind Shodai as he slashed at him. Shodai however turned and caught the blade with both of his palms stopping the blade from hitting him.

Nidaime came and kicked the staff from out of Naruto hands and high into the air as Shodai took the initiative to charge and punch Naruto hard in the chest, knocking him backwards. Seeing his chance, Orochimaru rushed at Naruto with his sword aimed at his heart. Before the sword could even pierce thought the fabric of his clothes, Naruto shunshin'd over to Dan up in the trees. The Jounin turned in time to see a fist sent into his jaw, sending him into the air where the staff was falling. As Dan reached the staff, Naruto shunshin'd again to where Dan was and grabbed his staff as he somersaulted downwards with his right leg stretched out, plunging it into Dan's stomach. Dan was rocketed into the ground between where Nidaime and Shodai were.

Before the Hokage brothers could do anything, Naruto teleported between them and slashed them both with his staff. Nawaki came in and started throwing shurikens at the blonde. Naruto however parried all of the shurikens with the staff. When that was done, the blonde then dashed and body crashed into the Genin, causing the boy to go flying off his feet and into the trees.

Frustrated with how things weren't going in his favor, Orochimaru went down to the ground on his chest and opened his mouth, letting out myriads of snakes. The snakes coming out from his mouth ranged from constrictors to vipers of many sizes. The dome from Orochimaru's end from side to side was getting filled very fast with many thousands of snakes and venomous serpents that were sent into Naruto's direction.

Seeing the danger, Naruto stayed calmed as he focused his wind affinity into himself though the snakes were hurriedly making their way over to him. After a couple of moments, Naruto raced through a series of hand seals with his hands moving in blur vision. When he was done…

"Katon: Shiroi Gōkakyū No Jutsu," Naruto yelled as he opened his mouth, revealing a flash of white light that appeared from inside his mouth. Seconds later, a large powerful ball of bright white fire blasted from out of Naruto's mouth and into the direction the myriads snakes were coming from. A huge explosion occurred, rocking the entire forest area. Sandaime, Jiraiya and the others had to cover their eyes from the intensity of the brightness of the flames while a strong wind blew passed them and the trees. The Genins in the meantime used their arms as blinds while trying to make out what was now happening.

Eventually the chaos died out, returning the land back to calmness. When everyone opened their eyes to see what happened, what they came across was a shocking sight. A massive portion of the forest was vaporized and burned with a huge and very long dugout created from where Naruto fired his attack. Smoke was still coming from out of the burned areas and all of the snakes were gone.

Surprisingly the dome was still tact, though Naruto figured that the Sound Four momentarily created an opening in the dome from where the blast was to be released. The deaths of two of them would have more than likely been imminent had they not gotten out of the way of the blast. Sections of the land within the dome were destroyed also as a result of Naruto's attack.

"Astonishing," Asuma remarked, "He concentrated and combined his wind affinity with Gōkakyū! Since wind amplifies fire, Naruto using and fusing his affinity with Gōkakyū created a new version of that jutsu! An attack of that magnitude could destroy a small village and wipe out an army!"

"Naruto's youthful flames are truly an inspiration," Gai added while looking on in amazement like the others, "I must train much harder to achieve such youthful fires as the ones he possesses!"

"That's my prized and favorite Yondaime-gaki for ya," Anko grinned widely with her chest out, causing the others to sweat-drop at both her and Gai.

Naruto, Jiraiya thought in wonder as he looked at the boy he helped raise and train over the years.

Naruto was holding his chest and catching his breath at the moment. He wasn't going to lie to himself; using and upgrading one of the Uchiha's prized fire jutsus really took a toll on him since it required a lot of chakra and a concentrated amount of his wind element. He looked around and saw that Orochimaru was nowhere in sight. However he didn't dare let his guard down, especially since the barrier was still up. Speaking of the barrier, Naruto saw that the Sound Four were weakening and he knew it wouldn't be long until the barrier collapsed from chakra depletion.

Before he could do anything else however, the ground in front of him burst open as a monstrous looking figure appeared from out of it. What Naruto and everyone now saw was a body that looked like a large compilation of white snakes with Orochimaru's head now looking more serpent-like on top of it (A/N: if you read chapter 344 of the manga, you'll know what I'm talking about). Naruto's eyes widened in shock at seeing the horrific creature Orochimaru turned into.

Sandaime, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Anko and the others with them were shocked and horrified at the sight. Sandaime couldn't help but feel disgusted and ashamed at the fact that the creature in front of him was once his former apprentice. Anko couldn't believe that creature was once her teacher.

The Genins gasped in horror at the thing that was now facing Naruto. Naruto's opponent was no man, but a monster that had once been in human form. They couldn't believe that the creature that Naruto now had to fight was once one of the famed Sannins of Konoha.

"Orochimaru," Sandaime said with horror-struck, "So this is your true body! You became so obsessed with immortality and body-snatching that you even experimented on your own body! You're nothing but a sad shell of your former self!"

"Say what you will of me Sarutobi-sensei," Orochimaru hissed, "When I'm done killing this brat, I'll come for you next!"

Shodai, Nidaime, Dan and Nawaki burst from out of the ground from different directions after taking cover from Naruto's last attack. They readied themselves to engage Naruto again. Orochimaru knew that the attack Naruto used required a lot from him, and the Sannin was now going to use this opportunity to finish him off.

"You truly are quite a ninja Naruto," Orochimaru hissed, "That attack you used against me forced me to resort to this form. You've been a thorn at my side long enough. It's time we end this!"

"Yes indeed," Naruto agreed as he jumped and landed down on one of the tree branches and stood there. After placing the staff behind him…

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu," Naruto said as four clones came to life, two at each side.

"What is he doing," the ANBU in pale white said in surprise, "Why did Naruto-sama create kage bushins? He used a large amount of chakra throughout most of his battles today and with that fire jutsu he used. And now he just dispensed his last remaining chakra among his clones."

"Foolish boy," Orochimaru mocked, "You really became reckless this time. You must be in a hurry to die aren't you?"

"Naruto," Sandaime yelled when a horrible revelation dawned on him, "Wait! What are you doing?"

Not giving Sandaime a reply, Naruto went through a very complex series of hand seals while chanting each seal he performed in an undertone before he clasped his hands together in prayer form.

"That seal sequence," Sandaime said as he felt his heart drop, "Naruto's actually trying to use that jutsu!"

A second later, ghostlike shards of energy started accumulating together above and behind Naruto. Soon the form of a phantom entity appeared behind Naruto, this entity wearing ragged blackish blue robes and a hood over his face. In the phantom's right hand was a blade shaped as a key of some sort and around phantom's left arm was a set of chains and shackles that wrapped around a purplish blue crucified-like spectral form of Naruto that was being projected from the real Naruto in front of the phantom entity. An eerie laugh of some sort was heard by Naruto alone after the entity fully took form.

This must be the thing summoned with this jutsu, Naruto mentally noted as he turned his eyes to the creature without turning his head around, Since I'm the only one who made the contract with this jutsu only I can see it…Shin'engami!

"Naruto," Orochimaru spoke, "You've proven to be more of a problem for me than I counted on. I'll take pleasure in watching you die before I return and destroy Konoha and everyone you hold dear."

"That's not going to happen," Naruto challenged, "Konoha is my home and as a Konoha shinobi, I'll do whatever I must to protect it and everyone there."

Holding his staff, Naruto jumped off the tree with his four clones following close by.

"Genjutsu: Kokuangyō No Jutsu (Illusionary Arts: Infinite Darkness Technique)," Nidaime said after forming a seal and causing entire area inside the dome to be filled with nothing but total darkness.

"You have spirit Naruto," Orochimaru's voice said through the darkness, "But that will do nothing to stop the inevitable destruction of the organization known as Konoha."

Naruto was then punched by Shodai, Dan and Nawaki unseen in the darkness. After regaining his ground…

"Henge," Ryota said before transforming into a shield that Naruto held with his right hand. He stood and held his shield for his defense as the attacks continued.

"The destruction of Konoha will never happen and it's not some organization as you so call it," Naruto spoke with determination as recalled all those he regards as important to him and the time he spent with them, from family (Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, Sandaime, Kakashi, Yondaime), his closest friends (Hinata, Ino, Anko), friends and associates (Ayame, Teuchi, Haku and all the rookie Genins)…

"I came to look and love Konoha as a society of precious people! Although we're not related by blood, I consider all of them as important-"

Naruto deflected another attack as he continued using the shield Ryota transformed into to deflect the oncoming attacks from Shodai, Dan and Nawaki. Despite this he was still recalling why and for whom he was doing what he was doing:

Teachers (Iruka, Kurenai, Gai, Asuma), future generations (Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon), and every other shinobi and villager of Konoha, be it clan leaders, Special Jounins and so forth…

"Important family! Something worth protecting with everything I got and all that I am!," Naruto shouted.

"Family," Orochimaru's voice mocked through the darkness, "Such a wasteful concept. I'll crush you and all of your endeavors."

"Hmph," Naruto countered as he wiped his lips, "I'm the one who inherited the will of fire of this village, a fire that'll never be put out by the likes of you or anyone else! I am the son of Yondaime and Godaime Hokage! Even if some leaves should fall, newer and stronger ones will sprout and blossom in their places and continue to help strengthen Konoha together! Such ones will continue to make this village stronger than before! (Calmer) Isn't that right Konohamaru? (Strongly) Orochimaru, I will now show you an original jutsu you've never seen before!"

Naruto clasped his hands together in a seal form and exclaimed, "Behold! Fūin Jutsu: Fuchi Fūjin!"

After an intense battle, Naruto, seeing no other choice, used a new jutsu that no one has ever seen before! What will result from this course of action and what does this new jutsu do? Stick around to find out!

Katon: Shiroi Gōkakyū No Jutsu (Fire Release: Great White Fireball Technique)

Shin'engami (Void God)

Fūin Jutsu: Fuchi Fūjin (Sealing Technique: Deep Abyss Seal)