Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 348 Orochimaru and Rasa engage in a fierce battle with Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya.

"Run! Run!!!"

The Nine-Tails pounded wildly against the sealing cage inside Naruto's body, roaring.

At the same time, Bane turned his gaze to Naruto Uzumaki, grinning as he said, "Naruto Uzumaki, being the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox must be very difficult, right? Because of the village's fear of the Nine-Tailed Fox, everyone hates you. Now is a good opportunity to get rid of this identity. Come here, I will remove the little fox from your body, and you can get rid of this hated identity. Don't worry, this brat was very rude to me just now, so I was a bit rough, but I will be a little gentler with you and won't hurt your life."

Although Bane had a smile on his lips, Naruto only felt fear. Even though this man had just saved him, and even though he seemed to have a good relationship with Kakashi-sensei, for some reason, being stared at by him made him instinctively feel fear.

At the same time, the body is completely immobile, as if the soul and body are separated, and the will cannot make the body move.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes?" Bane raised an eyebrow, smiled, and took a step forward.

Just then, an even more frail figure suddenly stood in front of Naruto Uzumaki. It was Hinata Hyuga. Although her body was trembling uncontrollably, she was not locked by Bane's aura. At this moment, she stood in front of Naruto Uzumaki with a look of fear yet determination in her eyes, and she adopted a Gentle Fist stance.

"Please stay away from Naruto!" Hinata Hyuga said to Bane, forcing herself to stay calm.

Seeing this, Bane stopped in his tracks. Hinata's fearful yet stubborn gaze touched him slightly. After a long while, Bane spoke, "Little girl, think about it from another perspective. I'm helping him."

He had a good impression of Hinata Hyuga and admired this seemingly weak and shy girl who was actually very strong inside.

Perhaps it was Hinata's courage that inspired him, or perhaps it was because Bane unconsciously relaxed his pressure on Naruto.

In short, Naruto, who was unable to move just a moment ago, felt a sudden relief, his legs became more agile, and he could speak again.

However, instead of following the Nine-Tailed Fox's advice to run away, he pulled Hinata behind him, faced Bane head-on, and said firmly, "Uncle, although I sometimes really hate the Nine-Tailed Fox inside me, it has caused me to be feared and hated by the villagers, but I have already decided to solve these problems myself!"

Just as Bane was about to speak, Sunagakure Jonin Baki suddenly appeared behind him, scooped up the unconscious Gaara, and quickly retreated. At the same moment, Kakashi also appeared beside Naruto, saying with a slightly helpless tone, "Spirit Lord, please don't frighten our Konoha children."

Bane didn't care about Gaara being rescued by Maki. He roughly and forcibly removed Shukaku from Gaara's body, figuring that the kid was probably doomed and it wouldn't matter if he was taken back.

Hearing Kakashi's words, Bane shrugged and said, "Let's let it go this time for the sake of this brave little girl."

After a slight pause, Bane continued, "However, I will come back to take the Nine-Tails when I need it in the future, Naruto Uzumaki. If you ever change your mind and want to get rid of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, you can also come to Ryuchi Cave to find me."

Bane's words were perfectly justified, and Kakashi felt a lot of pressure listening to them. However, he didn't have any good solutions and could only think about it carefully later.

Naruto Uzumaki looked at Bane with a puzzled expression, wondering what Ryuchi Cave was and why Kakashi-sensei called this man "Spirit Lord".

Before he could figure all this out, Bane had already walked slowly toward the entrance of the clubhouse. He seemed to have no interest in the chaos at the clubhouse or in Konoha. Even though he only took two steps in everyone's sight, his figure had already disappeared.

"Kakashi-sensei, who is he?" Naruto asked curiously.

"A terrifying guy who can't discern his stance. You'd better pray you never run into him again," Kakashi said softly.

After saying that, he patted Naruto on the shoulder and said, "The village is in chaos right now. Even though you're still genin, you still have to shoulder your responsibilities and do what you're supposed to do. Teacher has to go too!"

Meanwhile, a square, purplish-red barrier stood atop the Hokage Rock in Konoha.

Outside, a large number of ninjas were fighting each other. Some wore headbands from the Hidden Sound Village, while others wore headbands from the Hidden Sand Village. They seemed to have formed an alliance and were fighting against the ninjas from the Hidden Leaf Village.

Within this barrier, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, who should have been killed and replaced by Orochimaru according to his original plan, is still alive and well, and is actually joining forces with Orochimaru to fight against the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Meanwhile, at the four corners of the barrier stood the four members of the Sound Five, excluding Kimimaro, each maintaining the chakra transmission of the barrier under their responsibility.

"The Four Purple Flame Formation?" Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in the Hokage robes, dodged Rasa's sand shuriken and stood on a rock, muttering to himself with a solemn expression.

Muttering these thoughts to himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't stop moving. He swiftly formed several hand seals, then quickly took a deep breath and exhaled, "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Scorching flames erupted, but Luo Sha on the other side reacted just as well. Without even needing to form hand seals, a large amount of gold dust surged out from the ground, quickly blocking the fire dragon flame bullet.

On the other side, Orochimaru raised his hand and threw out several kunai, shuriken, and other weapons, attacking Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!" Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately summoned the Earth Flow Wall to block Orochimaru's ninja tool.

He leaped onto the earthen wall and said in a deep voice, "Rasa, as the Fourth Kazekage, how could you join forces with Orochimaru to do such a thing to our Konoha? Don't you feel ashamed?"

Today, he invited Rasa to visit the Hokage Rock, but before they could even exchange a few words, Rasa suddenly attacked him, almost succeeding in killing him. Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could say anything, Orochimaru appeared and, with his subordinates, set up the Four Purple Flame Formation barrier, sealing off the surroundings and trapping him in this place.

Meanwhile, a major disturbance has broken out in Konoha. The ninjas of Sunagakure and Otogakure have joined forces to attack the ninjas of Konoha, and battles are now erupting all over the village.

Rasa was also a ruthless person. Perhaps knowing he was in the wrong, he didn't say a word, his eyes filled with killing intent, and his violent golden sand kept attacking Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Not far away, Orochimaru said with a sinister smile, "Master, don't waste your time. We won't stop until we've killed you."

A shadowy glint flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes as he said with a hint of regret, "If I had known you would commit such a crime today, I should have killed you on the spot."

After using several Body Flicker Techniques to evade Rasa and Orochimaru's attacks, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his palm into the ground and exclaimed, "Summoning Jutsu!"

As the smoke exploded, Hiruzen Sarutobi's summon beast, Enma, appeared in the Four Purple Flames Formation, holding a small toad in its hand.

Seeing this, Orochimaru's eyes flashed with surprise, and he immediately said, "Oh no, it's Rasa, the toad from Mount Myōboku."

But before he could finish speaking, the toad suddenly swelled up and spat out a white-haired man covered in slime.

Clearly, this man was Jiraiya. He shook his head vigorously, getting rid of all the slime on his body, and said in a deep voice, "Old man, I'm here to help you."

Jiraiya Rasa's expression also became more serious.

The title of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha is quite prestigious; otherwise, he wouldn't have cooperated with Orochimaru so easily.

"Orochimaru, it's been a long time," Jiraiya said, looking at Orochimaru.

A complex look flashed across Orochimaru's eyes, but soon a cold smile appeared on his lips as he said, "You still have that meddlesome look on your face, Jiraiya."

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"It's not like I'm meddling in Konoha's affairs. But you... although I had many fantasies about you before, I have no choice but to kill you with my own hands now," Jiraiya said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

He regarded Orochimaru as his beloved friend and family, but unfortunately Orochimaru attacked Konoha, which crossed Jiraiya's bottom line.

"If you can do it, then give it a try," Orochimaru said calmly.

Just as Jiraiya was about to make his move, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Jiraiya, today I'm going to clean house. Rasa is in your hands!"

Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, and just as he was about to say something, Hiruzen Sarutobi moved. The monkey demon transformed into a vajra staff that could be long or short. Hiruzen Sarutobi wielded the vajra staff and attacked Orochimaru directly. The master and disciple put on a ninjutsu battle, which was incredibly flashy.

Seeing this, Jiraiya did not hesitate. He formed a hand seal and unleashed his most proficient Fire Release technique, attacking Rasa. The two fought a very exciting battle.

As the four figures passed each other, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya's eyes met for a fleeting moment.

Upon landing, Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand seals, unleashed a water dragon from his mouth, and shouted, "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

At the same moment, Jiraiya also formed hand seals and roared, "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet Technique!"

These two techniques with completely opposite attributes struck Orochimaru at the same time. Orochimaru reacted very quickly, his body transforming into a lithe snake, sliding across the ground in a strange and swift manner to avoid the two techniques.

The next second, the water dragon bullet and the fire dragon bullet collided with the ground. The water and fire merged, quickly evaporating a large amount of white mist and water vapor, obscuring everyone's vision.

Luo Sha immediately shielded Jin Sha to his side, intending to guard against any attacks that might emerge from the mist.

However, at the same time the mist rose, Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi worked in perfect unison, with one of them attacking a corner of the Four Purple Flames Formation.

"Rasengan!!!"

"Explosive Kong!!!"

Although Orochimaru's four underlings were decent enough, they were clearly no match for the sudden attack from the Third Hokage and the Toad Sage. Jirobo, Sakon, and Ukon were directly struck by the Adamantine Staff and the Rasengan, and the Four Purple Flame Formation shattered.

Through the mist, Orochimaru naturally noticed the situation. His expression darkened, and he sighed softly, saying, "I wasn't really keen on using this technique that hasn't been fully developed yet."

As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru crouched down, placed his hands on the ground, and hissed, "Summoning Jutsu!"

It wasn't some kind of summoning technique like Ten Thousand Snakes; it simply summoned three coffins on the spot.

Two of them were labeled "First Generation" and "Second Generation" respectively, while the third was labeled with the character "Rain".

In the original story, Orochimaru also summoned three coffins, but one of them was suppressed by Hiruzen Sarutobi midway through.

Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi is focused on breaking through the Four Purple Flame Formation, but he has failed to stop Orochimaru.

(End of this chapter)