Chapter 208: Orochimaru: The Eight-Headed Serpent
Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 208: Orochimaru: The Eight-Headed Serpent
Naruto flew past the horde of small snakes hissing at him, his focus locked on Orochimaru.
The man was burrowing underground at incredible speed, but he couldn't hide from Naruto's divine senses for as long as he did not leave its range. So tracking his exact position was no issue for Naruto, despite not being able to see Orochimaru with his eyes.
Naruto extended his hand, pointing at his target, and began firing a flurry of wind bullets. The potent projectiles pierced the ground with ease, ripping through everything beneath the surface. Orochimaru's speed began to slow after receiving a few hits, so Naruto prepared something stronger.
A 'Wind Release: Rasengan' formed in the palm of his hand, and with precision, he hurled it like a shuriken.
The spiraling sphere of destruction vanished into the earth, followed by a brief moment of silence...then an intense explosion erupted, flinging dirt and rock into the air.
"What is that?" Naruto murmured, expecting Orochimaru to surface to avoid the Rasengan. Instead, he appeared to have taken the hit. However, his chakra began to surge out of control.
Suddenly, something massive shot out of the rubble and lunged directly at Naruto, who had been floating a few feet in the air.
Naruto barely managed to evade the sudden attack, shifting to the side at the last moment. Only then did he get a clear view.
It was the head of a colossal snake with pure white scales and piercing yellow eyes.
Naruto immediately recognized that this was no ordinary summon. "Orochimaru… is this you?"
The white snake's head responded to his voice, and moments later, more heads began to emerge from the ground, each one lunging at him with the intent to kill him.
Naruto deftly avoided them, counting aloud as they appeared. "Eight…" He said after no more heads came out.
He hovered in the air, surrounded by the serpent. "A white snake with eight heads. Is this your true form, Orochimaru?"
The serpent gave no response beyond loud, guttural hisses. All eight heads turned to focus on him.
"Pathetic," Naruto said, his tone filled with disappointment. "Is this the pinnacle of your achievements? You've reduced yourself to a beast."
The comment seemed to enrage the serpent, and all eight heads attacked in unison.
The first head that reached him was met with a 'Fire Release: Rasengan', which Naruto forced down its gaping maw. The resulting explosion turned the creature's insides into charred meat.
But the other heads continued their assault, undeterred by this loss.
As Naruto prepared to destroy another, he noticed the head he had just obliterated was already regenerating, and it was doing so far too quickly.
Naruto pulled out a kunai, infusing it with wind chakra. "Wind Release: Vacuum Blade." He swung it at the next head, delivering a deep gash along its side.
His eyes narrowed in surprise. Despite the strength behind his attack, the blade didn't sever the head completely.
"These scales… they're tougher than the average dragon's," he muttered, watching the wound close almost instantly.
The regeneration combined with the serpent's durability was going to make this fight far more difficult than anticipated.
The heads hissed and lunged again, their movements blindingly fast. Below, the massive body coiled and shifted, keeping up with him as he dodged.
Naruto glanced briefly to the far side of the lake, where Kakashi and Yamato were probably engaged in battle with Kabuto and the Three-Tails. The dense mist obscured most of the action, but the occasional flash of chakra told him the fight was still ongoing.
'I hope Kakashi doesn't do something reckless, like trying to seal the Three-Tails into himself,' Naruto thought with a twinge of concern. This was a rare opportunity to deal with the Bijuu, and he didn't want it wasted.
His focus snapped back to the present as the serpent lunged at him again. "This is taking too long…"
Within Naruto's Mind Palace, the solid core at its center began to rotate rapidly. The golden patterns etched into its surface glowed brightly, reflecting the surge of energy within him.
A massive cloud of smoke erupted around Naruto as dozens of clones appeared, scattering in all directions.
The serpent paused briefly. Despite its monstrous form, Orochimaru's mind remained intact. Seeing the sudden amplification of Naruto's aura filled him with a mix of surprise and apprehension.
'Even after all this, he was still holding back?!' Orochimaru thought, watching the clones surround him. Naruto could have made use of the shadow clones before this but chose not to because he didn't need to.
The clones moved with flawless synchronization, each one forcing the serpent to use its eight heads to fend them off.
Orochimaru felt a growing sense of urgency. He could tell the clones were merely a distraction, buying time for the original Naruto to prepare something devastating.
'If I can't interrupt him…' Orochimaru's thoughts were clouded by worry. Transforming into this form had been a gamble. While it granted him immense power, it made escape nearly impossible.
A sharp hiss escaped one of the heads as a clone landed a deep cut along its side.
Another clone hurled a 'Wind Release: Rasengan', obliterating one of the heads entirely.
Orochimaru ignored the pain, focusing on destroying the clones. Normally, they would be a minor nuisance, but these were different. Each clone wielded enough chakra to unleash high-level jutsus, and they fought with the same skill as the original.
"Hisss!" Two more heads were destroyed, though one of the earlier ones had already regenerated.
While the clones couldn't kill him outright, they made it impossible to reach the real Naruto.
All eight heads turned skyward, sensing something ominous. In the distance, Orochimaru spotted a massive, fiery structure hovering in the air.
It resembled a giant flower, its petals glowing with intense heat.
"Infernal Lotus Blossom!" Naruto's voice boomed from above.
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