Land of Rice Fields, Hidden Sound Village Underground Base.
In the cold and damp corridor, Kabuto Yakushi walked at a brisk pace.
As he pushed open the doors to the Core Laboratory,
a nauseating stench of blood mixed with a burnt scent wafted toward him.
Kabuto subconsciously adjusted his glasses, his pupils shrinking at the sight before him.
Under the dim lighting,
Orochimaru sat slumped in a surgical chair, his body drenched in sweat, with several strands of hair sticking to his pale face.
At his temples and heart, several complex seals were slowly fading away.
"Lord Orochimaru... what is this?"
Kabuto had rarely seen Orochimaru looking so weak and disheveled.
"Phew..."
Orochimaru let out a long breath.
In his golden eyes, the fanaticism from before had receded,
replaced by his usual calm and burning ambition.
"It's nothing, just a minor surgery."
Orochimaru spoke with a raspy voice, casually picking up a cloth to wipe the blood from his body.
"That inexplicable emotion was simply too much of an eyesore."
"It interfered with my thinking, making me as repulsive as a beast in heat."
"So, I reinforced my brain's defense mechanisms."
Kabuto felt a chill in his heart upon hearing this.
To maintain his rationality, he actually went so far as to perform surgery on his own soul?
As expected of Lord Orochimaru.
"Since you have recovered..."
Kabuto composed himself, pulled Naruto's scroll from his robe, and stepped forward.
"Naruto-kun asked me to give this to you."
"He said that the next phase of the plan must be carried out according to the instructions written here."
"Oh?"
Orochimaru took the scroll, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
Now that he had suppressed those blind emotions,
he wanted to see exactly what that brat wanted him to do.
If it were something boring, he would certainly refuse.
Orochimaru himself didn't realize that even though he had sealed away a portion of his feelings,
he still didn't harbor a single trace of disrespect or killing intent toward Naruto.
In his subconscious, he even felt that the greatest disrespect would be to refuse his proposal.
The scroll slowly unfurled.
Orochimaru's gaze swept over the text.
At first, his attitude was merely casual.
But gradually, his gaze became serious, until it turned into shock.
The laboratory fell into a deathly silence.
A long time passed.
Orochimaru's fingers began to tremble slightly.
It wasn't out of fear, but a visceral shiver of excitement.
"A genius... no, he is a total madman."
Orochimaru's mouth split into a wide grin.
"Kabuto, do you know? I originally only wanted to set the windmill in motion."
"But Naruto... he wants to dismantle the windmill, and then..."
He closed the scroll, gripping it tightly in his hand.
There was no need for domination, nor was there a need for emotional bonds.
The grand vision displayed by this plan itself was enough to make Orochimaru join the game willingly.
Orochimaru stood up.
Though his body was still weak, his aura was more powerful than ever before.
"From now on, fully cooperate with Naruto-kun's actions."
"I want to see for myself... exactly what the world he depicted looks like."
...
Outside Konoha Village, beneath a remote, rushing waterfall.
The thundering sound of water was deafening.
Sasuke, shirtless, was struggling to hold his ground under the impact of the current.
His body was covered in purple bruises, and his stamina had long since been exhausted,
but he still gritted his teeth and persisted like a tireless machine.
On the shore.
Jiraiya sat cross-legged on a giant boulder, writing and drawing in a small notebook,
occasionally glancing at the stubborn youth.
"Hey, kid, take a break."
Jiraiya closed his notebook and looked at Sasuke, who had crawled out of the water and was gasping for air.
"If I can't even handle this level, how am I supposed to catch up to that guy!"
Sasuke wiped the water from his face and spoke through clenched teeth.
Jiraiya looked at Sasuke.
He had been observing this boy for the past few days.
Cold, aloof, arrogant... he had all the faults of the Uchiha Clan.
But deep within this boy's heart, Jiraiya saw a flickering flame.
"Let me ask you."
Jiraiya's expression suddenly turned solemn.
"Is your thirst for power for the sake of revenge? To kill that person?"
Sasuke was stunned for a moment.
Revenge?
Of course, that was the meaning of his existence.
But... scenes of him and Naruto from the academy until now flashed through his mind.
The shame of standing helplessly behind him every time they encountered danger.
That feeling was even more suffocating to him than the need for revenge.
"Revenge is necessary."
Sasuke clenched his fist.
"But before that... I don't want to be a burden who can only be protected by him anymore."
He lifted his head, his black eyes burning with resentment and resolve.
"Power... is so that I have the right to stand by his side, or even stand before him!"
"If I can't even catch up to that dead last's back, what's the point of talking about revenge?"
Jiraiya was taken aback.
Although the starting point was still his pride, this will to protect his comrade was genuine.
"Doesn't want to be protected, huh..."
Jiraiya murmured to himself, then a bold smile curled on his lips.
"While I don't like gloomy kids like you, and I don't like the Uchiha,"
"I have to say, I rather admire your grit!"
He pulled a massive scroll from behind him and spread it out before Sasuke.
"Do you want to get stronger? Do you want to catch up to that monster?"
"Then sign this!"
"This is the contract for the Path of Sages, the Mount Myōboku Toad Contract!"
Sasuke looked at the scroll before him, his pupils shrinking slightly.
He knew what this meant.
This was the legacy of one of the Sannin, a shortcut to becoming a powerhouse.
Without any hesitation, Sasuke bit his finger.
He didn't want to lose.
No matter what kind of power it was, even if it meant paying any price.
"Uzumaki Naruto... I will never lose to you again!"
Slap!
A bloody fingerprint was pressed onto the scroll.
The contract was established!
...
Uzumaki Shrine.
Two figures sat at a table, the floor covered with draft papers filled with complex seals.
"It's finished..."
Kakashi put down his pen, his voice carrying unmistakable fatigue and shock.
He looked at the final draft of the sealing technique diagram before him.
The dense runes on it formed an exquisitely designed closed-loop system.
"Using the Four Symbols Seal as a foundation, we've constructed a new, improved seal."
Kakashi looked up at the calm Naruto across from him, his eyes filled with relief and expectation.
"Naruto, with this seal, when the Nine-Tails' violent chakra surges out, the excess will be automatically filtered, leaving only pure energy."
"It can even regulate the output of chakra volume."
"You might truly be able to... perfectly control the Nine-Tails' power."
Naruto picked up the final draft of the sealing paper, a grateful smile appearing on his face.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."
"Without your help, this technique wouldn't have been completed so easily."
Speaking of which, Naruto seemed to think of something.
He put down the diagram and looked at Kakashi's covered Sharingan.
"To repay your help, Sensei... let me help you with something as well."
"Hmm?" Kakashi was taken aback.
"That Sharingan must be a heavy burden for someone not of the Uchiha Clan, right?"
Naruto walked up to Kakashi, a faint blue chakra light gathering at his fingertips.
"By adding a small Regulating Curse Seal,"
"it can act like a valve, cutting off the Sharingan's unnecessary chakra consumption normally, while lifting the restriction at critical moments."
"Sensei, do you want to try?"
Looking into Naruto's clear eyes, a warm current surged in Kakashi's heart.
Had this child actually thoughtfully considered my physical condition while researching such a complex sealing technique?
"Since it's an Uzumaki Clan sealing technique, I'll accept your kind offer, then."
Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing the crimson Sharingan, and said with a smile, "I'll leave it to you, Naruto."
"It's no trouble."
Naruto extended two fingers and pressed them lightly against Kakashi's eyelid.
As the faint light from his fingertips seeped in,
Kakashi felt the constant heaviness in his left eye vanish instantly.
The flow of chakra within his body became smoother than ever before.
"How does it feel?"
Naruto withdrew his hand, his smile bright.
"It's perfect... my body feels much lighter."
Kakashi moved his shoulder, feeling his refreshed state, and his gaze toward Naruto became even softer.
"In exchange, do you need me to help you draw the seal on your abdomen?"
Kakashi asked.
"After all, modifying the Eight Trigrams Seal carries some risk if you do it alone."
"No need."
Naruto refused with a smile, quietly putting away the diagram.
"An outsider's chakra intervention might irritate that fox; I'll just use a Shadow Clone to do it."
"That's true."
Kakashi didn't doubt him; the Nine-Tails' rejection of others was indeed very strong.
"Since it's done, I'll head back first."
"The finals are tomorrow, so get some rest early."
Kakashi stood up and patted Naruto's hair.
"Good luck, Naruto."
"I will, Sensei."
Kakashi left.
The shrine doors closed once again.
The smile on Naruto's face slowly faded.
"Control the Nine-Tails? No, that can wait until later."
He walked to the mirror and unbuttoned his collar, revealing the three pitch-black tomoe on his neck.
"The top priority now... is to accept this gift."
Naruto summoned a Shadow Clone and, without hesitation, inscribed the seal he had just completed around the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
As the seal was completed,
the will full of slaughter and madness was stripped away and crushed.
Only pure Natural Energy remained to flow into Naruto's meridians.
"Phew..."
Naruto felt the power surging within him, a smirk curling on his lips.
"Kakashi-sensei, you've really been a huge help."
"Thanks to you, Orochimaru's gift... belongs entirely to me now."