30 Chapter 30: Fox vs Snake

Naruto threw a punch at Orochimaru, who quickly dodged to the side, allowing the tree behind him to get smashed to pieces. Seeing this, Naruto opened up his palm and created a Rasengan and swung his arm toward Orochimaru. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes as he looked away and opened his mouth wide, allowing him to escape by shedding his skin. Naruto's Rasengan blasted the discarded skin away after hitting it. He then looked over and stared at Orochimaru in frustration. His anger giving rise to more and more of Kurama's chakra to seep out.

After getting to a safe distance, Orochimaru stared at Naruto in amusement as he licked his lips. As much as he wanted Sasuke, there was a small desire for Naruto as well, just seeing the raw chakra that Naruto could wield caused him to desire him. But he restrained that thought as he remembered the Akatsuki and their goal of acquiring the Tailed Beasts. But no matter, he thought, he could at least play with the boy a while longer, he wasn't in a hurry to find Sasuke just yet.

Seeing Orochimaru's expression only further caused disgust to swell within Naruto. He grit his teeth as he created several clones. Then he sent the clones toward Orochimaru as he watched carefully to get a better understanding of how Orochimaru fought. The clones flickered to where Orochimaru was and each sent a punch toward him. Orochimaru quickly spread his arms out sending a snake out of each sleeve to wrap up the clones, then he swung his arms, sending the clones flying. A third clone appeared behind him and brought both of his hands up above his head to swung them down onto Orochimaru's head. The blow connected, and it sent Orochimaru flying toward the ground.

Two more clones came out and kicked Orochimaru back up into the sky where a sixth clone was waiting with a Rasengan that he hit Orochimaru in the stomach with. Launching him to where the original Naruto was standing. Naruto gathered up his chakra into the palm of his hand, but this time, he gathered up even more chakra then what he normally used.

<Giant Rasengan>

He thrust the giant Rasengan toward Orochimaru who stared at the swirling sphere in surprise and apprehension. The amount and density of the chakra within the sphere shocked Orochimaru who quickly summoned snaked to delay the attack while he escaped again. Seeing Orochimaru escape yet again caused further anger to swell within Naruto and slowly, the red chakra started condensing and formed a bubbling chakra cloak in the image of Kurama around Naruto. Orochimaru stared at Naruto's new appearance in both curiosity and apprehension, he had noticed that as the red chakra became more and more dense around Naruto, his strength and ability would rise up.

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The clouds above were dark and menacing as it slowly began to start raining. Thunder boomed over head as lightning struck randomly. Neji concentrated at the sky with his Byakugan but wasn't able to see anything, all he could tell was that chakra was slowly going into a single point in the sky, but he had no idea what it was or why this phenomenon was happening.

"Neji... What is it?" Tenten asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not good." Neji replied.

"We need to find Lee."

"Right, what are we going to do once we find Lee?" Tenten replied.

"We'll hurry to find the scroll we need and make our way to the tower, there's no need for us to get involved in whatever is happening." Neji said as he began scanning for Lee.

"Let's go!"

The two took off as they went searching for Lee.

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Kiba pat Akamaru's head in concern as the small dog hid within his coat.

"I've got a bad feeling about this weather, it's really scaring Akamaru." Kiba said as he looked over at Shino and Hinata.

"What do you see Hinata?" Kiba asked.

Hinata was focusing up at the clouds with her Byakugan before looking away.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's in the sky. I can see streams of chakra going up and gathering there." Hinata replied as she pointed in the general direction of where the chakra was gathering in the sky.

"I have a bad feeling about it...." Hinata replied.

"Then I say we move away from it and find the scroll we need." Kiba said.

Hinata and Shino nodded, but just as they turned away to leave, Hinata stopped. She looked back toward it then in the direction below where the chakra was forming. She didn't know why, but she felt like she shouldn't ignore what was happening.

"I.... I think.... we should check it out.." Hinata hesitantly said.

Kiba and Shino turned and looked at Hinata like she was crazy.

"But didn't you say you had a bad feeling about it? Why should we check out what's happening?" Kiba exclaimed.

"I-I don't know.... I just have this feeling that we should...." Hinata said meekly.

Kiba and Shino were quiet as they stared at Hinata. Suddenly, Kiba sighed out as he started walking toward the direction of the phenomenon. Hinata blinked her eyes in surprise as she stared at Kiba.

"Well, if you feel like we should check it out... then as teammates, we should believe you and trust your instincts." Kiba replied while scratching his cheek.

Hinata smiled after hearing Kiba's words. "Thank you Kiba" She bowed as she thanked him.

Kiba waved if off and the trio started making their way toward the source.

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Naruto flickered behind Orochimaru and swung his arm, his movements caught Orochimaru by surprise as he was swatted by the chakra claw that formed around Naruto's hand. Orochimaru landed onto the ground and rolled several times before slowly coming to a stop. Large trees within the path he was sent flying in were shattered as his body broke through them from the force. He slowly got up as he glared at Naruto who glared right back at him. As the two stared each other down, Orochimaru felt he was being gazed at by the Nine-Tails itself.

"Heh, if I wasn't already planning on getting Sasuke, I would probably choose you." Orochimaru grinned.

Naruto stared at Orochimaru with even more anger as a second tail slowly started forming within his cloak.

"Hoh? Is the cloak responding to your anger? But we've only just met, why do you have such hatred for me?" Orochimaru asked.

"Shut up!" Naruto growled as the second tail fully formed.

He then jumped and vanished before appearing a second later in front of Orochimaru and threw a punch. Orochimaru jumped out of the way at the last second but then the chakra cloak extended out of the arm as a claw lunged toward Orochimaru. So the cloak responds to his intent and acts on it's own. Orochimaru analyzed.

He then shot his arm out and a large snake extended and wrapped around the chakra cloak but as soon as he did that, two more chakra arms emerged from the cloak and rushed toward Orochimaru. He bit his thumb and began forming hand seals.

Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram

<Summoning Jutsu>

Suddenly, a large smoke screen appeared and a snake's head rose up out of it with Orochimaru standing on top of it's head. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he gazed up at the snake towering above him.

"Lets see what kind of capabilities you possess!" Orochimaru grinned.

Naruto frowned after hearing Orochimaru's words getting irritated by his words.

"If you want to see what I can do, then I'll show you exactly what I can do!" Naruto growled. Then he bit his thumb and started forming hand seals quickly.

Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram

<Summoning Jutsu>

Another large smoke screen appeared and suddenly, a figure jumped out of the smoke and landed away from the giant snake Orochimaru was on. The figure was none other than Gamabunta. He slowly looked around and narrowed his eyes when he saw Orochimaru.

"Brat! Looks like you called me out to face a troublesome opponent!" Gamabunta grunted.

Then he sensed the chakra surrounding Naruto and couldn't help but blink in surprise. He's using the Nine-Tails chakra? Since when did the seal start cracking? Gamabunta wondered.

"No time for chatting Gamabunta! Here he comes!" Naruto warned as the snake started moving toward them at great speed.

Gamabunta frowned as he gazed at the snake and jumped high into the air. His stomach inflated just before he finally shot two water bullets toward Orochimaru and the snake.

Orochimaru gazed at Naruto who was standing on top of Gamabunta with a frown. He truly didn't expect Naruto to know the summoning technique, let alone be capable of summoning Gamabunta. Looks like he's met Jiraiya before and was taught the technique. Which also explains the Rasengan as well. He thought, then he smiled widely as Naruto's prowess only further drove a desire to have him within Orochimaru's mind.

Looks like we'll be able to have some more fun than I thought, Orochimaru smiled to himself as he licked his lips.

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Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto's clone were steadily making progress as they neared where the large explosion happened. However, as they approached, Naruto's clone suddenly stopped and fell to the ground in pain.

"Eh? Naruto?" Sakura called out in surprise catching Sasuke's attention as well.

The two of them turned around and jumped over to where clone Naruto was lying down on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked in concern.

"You guys have to turn back now, it's too dangerous now!!" Clone Naruto grunted before dispersing into smoke.

The two of them stared in shock at where the clone had been originally. Just what was happening? They wondered.

"Sasuke, we're still going... right?" Sakura asked suddenly.

Sasuke thought for a moment before replying.

"Yeah, we're still going." Sasuke affirmed.

Sakura turned around with a determined expression on her face as she looked at Sasuke.

"Good, because this only means Naruto's in trouble! It's time for us to pay him back from before in the Land of Waves!" Sakura said.

Sasuke was slightly surprised at Sakura's response, he half expected her to have doubts about going now. He knew she's still go regardless, but he hadn't expected to see her have no doubts about it. He smirked in response toward Sakura as the two nodded to each other. Then they started making their way ever closer to the direction from before.

As they moved Sakura clenched her fists tightly together. This time Naruto, this time I won't just sit on the side line watching you and Sasuke take care of everything. If you're really in trouble, then I'm going to help you! She grabbed her forehead protector that she normally wore on top of her head and took it off. Then she wrapped it around her forehead properly as she stared ahead, her hair flying behind her in the breeze as the two of them moved.

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Gamabunta swung his blade, blocking the teeth from the giant serpent as they clashed again. The snake swung it's lower body, attempting to wrap Gamabunta up, but missed as Gamabunta jumped into the sky again.

"We can't keep doing this forever, we need to pin them down!" Naruto said in agitation.

"I'm working on it brat!" Gamabunta snapped.

Orochimaru stared at Naruto in amusement as the snake and toad clashed again. Naruto on the other hand was only growing more agitated by the second. He glanced up at the sky and saw the changes that were occurring, and knew that at any moment, the World's Construct would come down from the sky and start interfering. Slowly, a third tail began emerging from the cloak, causing Orochimaru to stare in fascination toward it. He was curious to see how many tails would appear before Naruto finally lost control. Or was it possible that Naruto had complete control over the Nine-Tail's chakra.

The more Orochimaru thought about it, the more he wanted to find out. He already figured out that the Nine-Tail's chakra responded toward Naruto's anger, so he was more than happy to provide a source to further cause more anger and hate to swell within Naruto. While none of this had been his original goal, it was a pleasant surprise for him nonetheless.

"Gamabunta! Try to get me as close to that snake's head as you can, I'll try and get a hit in on Orochimaru!" Naruto said.

"Are you crazy brat!? That's Orochimaru, do you have any idea who he is?!" Gamabunta yelled.

"Yeah, I do, just trust me on this." Naruto replied.

Gamabunta was quiet for a moment before sighing. "Fine, but if I think things are going badly, I'm getting you out of here!"

"Alright, let's do this!" Naruto yelled as he crouched down and focused.

Gamabunta dodged the snake again by jumping to the side. Then he shot several more water bullets toward the snake before jumping on top of it. He landed onto the body of the snake and pressed his blade against the snake's body.

"Now's your chance!" Gamabunta shouted.

"Right!" Naruto replied before flickering to Orochimaru and throwing a punch at him.

Orochimaru dodge Naruto's punch and spun, kicking Naruto in the stomach. Naruto gasped out but then reached out and grabbed Orochimaru's leg and threw him off the snake. Just as Naruto did that, the snake managed to free itself from underneath Gamabunta.

"Gamabunta!" Naruto shouted as he saw the toad fall over.

"Focus on Orochimaru brat! I've got this!" Gamabunta replied as he dodged the snake's attack again.

Naruto turned back to face Orochimaru as he landed on the ground. This time, thing's wouldn't be so easy for the old snake, he thought to himself.

Orochimaru wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth before he looked back at Naruto and grinned.

"Such a waste! All this chakra and power is wasted being used by the likes of Sarutobi-sensei!" Orochimaru hissed.

"Why don't you come over to me Naruto! I could provide you a much better environment to use this chakra than Sarutobi ever could!" He grinned widely opening his arms wide.

Naruto became even more angry after hearing Orochimaru's words. "How dare you talk about old man third like that?!" He growled.

"There's no way in hell that I'll ever join you, and I'll never let you touch any of my friends!!" He said as the chakra around him flared up.

The wind began howling as a small crater formed around where Naruto stood due to the chakra density he was creating. The wind swirled around Naruto and howled as it scrapped the bark off the nearby trees. Orochimaru frowned after hearing Naruto's words, especially since they implied that Naruto knew his goal. The only question was how had he learned about it? Orochimaru was curious about the method Naruto had used to figure out his plans.

Orochimaru grinned as he spoke. "I won't have to touch your friends, they would come willingly to me if they are seeking power."

Suddenly, something within Naruto snapped. A fourth tail began emerging from the cloak surrounding him and he grunted as he faced the ground in pain. As the tail emerged, his skin began to peel off of him and burn to ash after reaching the surface of the cloak. His pupils were completely red as he struggled against the rage that was taking hold of him. Slowly blood began seeping from his body and burning as it touched the cloak, creating a black mist the began to swirl around Naruto's body.

Orochimaru stared at the entire process intrigued by it all. Soon, Naruto could no longer be seen as a black sphere shrouded him entirely. A black smoke began rising into the sky for all to see.

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Hinata, Kiba, and Shino stared at the black smoke rising into the sky. None of them said a word, but they all had a bad feeling about it. But they still continued on, what surprised the other two was that Hinata for some reason increased her speed and moved faster toward it.

Please let my bad feeling be just a feeling, Hinata thought as she got a bad premonition about what was happening.

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Shikamaru, Choji and Ino stared at the rising smoke from a distance.

"I have a really bad feeling about whatever that is.. not to mention how bad this weather has gotten." Shikamaru said.

The other two nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, since we all agree that it can't be anything good, let's just go the other way!" Ino tried suggestion to the other two.

Choji agreed as well.

Shikamaru continued to look at the rising smoke, then he stared up at the clouds. When he started turning around a figure appeared in front of them.

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Naruto reared his head about as he yelled. Red chakra surrounded him as the surrounding trees were blasted away by the pressure. A crater formed as the trees were sent flying and everyone felt the large gust of wind blowing toward them and quickly dodged as the broken remains of trees and other debris were sent flying outward with Naruto at the center. As the dust settled and cleared, Orochimaru slowly got up from being blown away and stared at Naruto's current form.

"Truly unbelievable... the things this child can do.." Orochimaru grinned.

Naruto had turned into a smaller version of the Nine-Tails only covered in blood and with four tails instead of nine. He growled as steam exhaled from his mouth, his gaze focused entirely on Orochimaru who stood in front of him.