Chapter 15
"What did you say?!"
Naruto's blunt refusal enraged the Raikage on the spot. Lightning exploded across his body with a roar, enveloping him in his signature chakra armor. Without a second of hesitation, he shot forward.
— Lariat!
A streak of thunder barreled straight toward Naruto's face.
"So fast!" Naruto was shocked by the raw speed and was readying his counter—until, with a soft whoosh, a wall of sand erupted in front of him.
The lightning strike slammed against it and scattered harmlessly.
Raikage staggered back a step, his attack halted.
"Gaara!" he roared. "You better explain yourself right now!"
Raikage's guards, Darui and C, readied themselves. Gaara's own team—Temari with her folding fan and Kankuro with his puppets—stepped up to defend.
The room tensed like a drawn bow.
Gaara stood slowly, expression calm. "He's my friend. Let me speak with him first."
"Hmph," Raikage growled. "You've got ten seconds. After that, I'm dealing with both of you."
Naruto stared at Gaara, heart caught in his throat. He hadn't told Orochimaru or anyone, but this meeting held something far more personal for him than politics or strategies—it held bonds. Bonds like this one. The boy from the desert. The same loneliness, the same pain. But Gaara had learned to open his heart, and Naruto had helped him do that. Now here he was, blocking an attack meant for Naruto without even knowing the full situation.
Gaara took a slow breath, his fingers twitching. Seeing Naruto again had shaken him, but even now, he believed. Naruto always had a reason.
"I only want to ask you one thing," Gaara said, his voice steady. "Those two samurai—are they alive?"
Across the room, Mifune tensed, his hand gripping his katana. Clearly, the lives of his men weighed on him heavily.
Naruto nodded. "Of course. I don't kill innocent people."
The tension melted from Gaara's face. He smiled faintly, eyes softening. "Alright. Then do what you need to do. I believe in you."
Naruto clenched his fists. That one sentence… it filled his chest in ways he couldn't describe.
Raikage, however, was less impressed.
"Kazekage, what kind of childish nonsense is that?! This is a ninja summit!"
Gaara didn't flinch. "It's fine to be childish if it means protecting what matters. If you attack Naruto again, I'll stop you. I'll fight you to the end."
"Then I'll kill you first, and Kyuubi right after!"
High above, Tsuchikage Onoki hovered in the air, stroking his beard.
Only the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki remains unknown. If we eliminate him here, we ruin Akatsuki's plans and also weaken Konoha. A necessary sacrifice.
A bright cube of energy shimmered in his palms.
— Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!
Gaara's eyes widened. "Naruto, move!"
But the beam of pure disintegration shot toward him.
Naruto didn't dodge. Instead, he lifted one hand… and the cube vanished.
Onoki gasped. "What?!"
Akatsuchi's jaw dropped. "He erased Dust Release?!"
Kurotsuchi stared in awe. "No way…"
Naruto looked up calmly. "Dust Release is still as deadly as ever, Lord Tsuchikage."
Only one person in the room hadn't moved—Mizukage Terumi Mei. Her long lashes lowered slightly. Naruto's motives were unclear. But one thing wasn't: Orochimaru. A former Akatsuki, a criminal, a danger.
She raised her hands, formed seals, and opened her mouth.
— Lava Release: Melting Apparition Jutsu!
A surge of corrosive lava rained down on Orochimaru. Snakes burst from his sleeves, coiling into a shield. They hissed and melted, revealing his scalded, smoldering form.
"Rough," Orochimaru whispered. "That bloodline is troublesome."
"Chojuro!" Terumi Mei called.
"H-hai!" Chojuro stammered. Despite his nervous voice, his grip on his massive sword tightened.
Chakra surged through Hiramekarei. The blade doubled, then tripled in size.
— Hiramekarei: Full Release!
With a shout, he brought the blade crashing down. The force sent Orochimaru flying, smashing through a stone wall deep into the corridor.
Terumi Mei followed in pursuit.
Orochimaru rose from the rubble, brushing off molten debris. Lava sealed the opening behind them, turning it into a prison of heat.
"You're a threat to the world," Terumi Mei said, her voice echoing in the tight chamber. "You will not leave this place."
She formed a second set of hand signs and released a misty haze from her mouth.
— Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!
Acid fog spread like wildfire, hissing, melting everything it touched.
Orochimaru winced as his skin began to blister. Still, he grinned.
"Boil and Lava Release… Your talents surpass even Yakura's. Interested in becoming my next test subject?"
"Don't make me laugh," Terumi Mei replied, mist thickening.
Suddenly, Orochimaru's neck elongated like a serpent and shot toward her. She leapt back, but the room was too cramped.
The snake coiled around her, wrapped tightly, and fangs pierced her neck.
"Ah…"
Her body fell limp.
Orochimaru retracted, licking his lips. "A simple paralysis curse mark. And with the acid mist turned to full strength… You'll melt before help arrives."
"You…" she groaned.
His old body burned away—and he shed it like a coat. A new, pristine Orochimaru slithered from the melted remains.
Terumi Mei gasped. "You… regenerated?!"
"You're strong," Orochimaru admitted. "But you're not enough. Of all the Five Kage, only Onoki's Dust Release could truly kill me."
Whoosh.
Naruto appeared behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go."
In a flash, both vanished.
Terumi Mei slumped against the wall. She looked up at the crackling lava she had sealed the room with.
That was the Flying Thunder God Technique… He left a seal on Danzo from the start.
Cracks began to splinter the lava barrier. Her chakra was fading. The acid mist would leak into the summit chamber if she didn't act now.
I have to… stabilize the concentration…
She forced herself upright.
Outside, the tense meeting of the Five Kage had momentarily stalled.
But deep in the shadows…
Naruto was closing in on Danzo.
The final confrontation was about to begin.
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