Changing Fate As Naruto

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh? What an amusing little brat. If he ever met that idiot, they'd probably hit it off and end up as master and disciple… Come to think of it, only that idiot would be so stubborn as to chase me, a missing-nin, across the world without giving up. Even our teacher chose to believe that senile geezer's nonsense rather than hear me out…"

Looking at the small figure in front of him—clearly in danger, yet still prioritizing the safety of his comrade—Orochimaru couldn't help but faintly see a certain white-haired dead-last who had been chasing after him for years, persistently trying to convince him to return to the village.

For a moment, his expression turned dazed, lost in thought. Yet deep in his eyes, there flashed a warm smile that sharply clashed with his usual eerie demeanor. He quickly buried it again, returning to his cold exterior as he clasped his hands behind his back. His raspy voice echoed once more, and at the same time, he silently decided: he'd try not to hurt this interesting kid. Instead, he'd bring him back to his base—perhaps toss him to that stubborn idiot later as a favor.

'Hmm? Come to think of it, that guy hasn't come to pester me for a whole year now… Has he finally given up? Even that muscle-brained fool lost faith in me?'

"Impressive spirit, kid… but aren't you forgetting something?"

Orochimaru's lips twitched slightly as he suppressed the odd emotions rising in his heart. After a short pause, he once again opened his mouth, tone mocking and laced with sarcasm.

'Did I just… see wrong? Did Orochimaru… smile just now? No way… Don't tell me this guy came all the way back to the village on a whim—not to cause trouble for me?'

Ever since declaring battle, Naruto had locked his gaze on the lazy, unconcerned Orochimaru before him. And thanks to the keen instincts he'd developed over the past three years, he immediately noticed the strange shift in Orochimaru's attitude. But before he could figure out whether there was some hidden scheme behind it, that fleeting warmth in Orochimaru's gaze vanished like it had never been there.

The stark contrast made Naruto second-guess his own perception—was he mistaken? A hallucination?

Half-suspicious, he furrowed his brows and cautiously responded, "Forget… what? What do you mean by that?"

"Oh my, isn't it obvious? Surely you realize… you don't have even the slightest hope of beating me. And on top of that, you've got to protect your comrade, who's so frightened he's lost the will to fight."

Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, glancing at Sasuke—who was cowering behind Naruto, only daring to peek out with a small part of his head. Something about it felt off, but the striking contrast between Naruto's bravery and Sasuke's fear still made Orochimaru scoff and shake his head.

"In this situation, how long do you think you can last against me? One move? Two?"

Despite not attacking, Orochimaru's words were clearly trying to get Naruto to surrender. He wasn't even hiding it. He asked for Naruto's name out of curiosity, and then coldly pointed out his current disadvantage… Compared to the cold-blooded killer he was during the Chūnin Exams in the original timeline, this version of Orochimaru was almost unrecognizable.

It made Naruto feel something was terribly off—and that sense of danger didn't lessen at all. If anything, it deepened.

'Did history really change so much that even Orochimaru turned into a good guy? No no no, what the hell am I thinking? That overwhelming smell of blood—he clearly just killed a bunch of people with his own hands. He's probably just in a good mood and wants to mess with me for fun. I should stop daydreaming and focus on how to handle this freak.'

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Naruto took a deep breath to suppress his growing unease. He replied to Orochimaru in a calm, steady voice—though his fingers were already forming the cross-shaped seal.

"You're right, Orochimaru-sama… but you never know unless you try, right?"

As soon as he spoke, a series of popping sounds and a swirl of white mist appeared. In the blink of an eye, hundreds—no, thousands—of Narutos burst into existence all around him. Their expressions and mannerisms were nearly identical, making it impossible to tell the original from the clones. Deliberately or not, they formed a solid wall of bodies that completely shielded Sasuke from view.

"Multi Shadow Clone Technique?!" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "Impossible! He's just a brat who isn't even a Genin—how can he use such an advanced jutsu?"

As a ninjutsu fanatic, Orochimaru instantly recognized the hand seal and what it meant. But Naruto's appearance was far too misleading—he would've never guessed the boy could perform the technique so smoothly.

Caught off guard, Orochimaru hadn't moved to stop him, and Naruto seized the opportunity to unleash his trump card unhindered.

"Uzumaki Naruto… Uzumaki… Are you perhaps… a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan that was wiped out long ago?"

"Heh! Only now you realize something's off? Isn't that a bit too late? I'm the proud heir of the Uzumaki Clan! When it comes to chakra reserves, even adults might not have more than me! This is the moment for a grand reversal—the Great Uzumaki Naruto Army has arrived!"

Seeing Orochimaru's stunned face, Naruto's clones stood tall, fists clenched and full of confidence. Hands on hips, they all shouted in unison:

"Hmph! How about that? Now you know just how awesome Uzumaki Naruto is, right? I've got the numbers advantage now! So if you don't want to get your face smashed in, move aside and let us go home already!"

"Oh, I see… So this is the trump card you're relying on to challenge me…"

Orochimaru scanned the dense crowd of cocky little clones. After a moment of silence, his lips curled up in rare, genuine amusement. Before Naruto could react, Orochimaru's hands blurred into motion, forming the exact same cross-shaped seal used for Shadow Clones.

"But didn't you just say… you have numbers?"

As his mocking words echoed, the same popping sounds and white mist began appearing around him. In just a few breaths, the number of Orochimaru clones matched Naruto's—and didn't stop. In fact, they kept increasing steadily, forming a thick wall that surrounded Naruto's army from all sides.

All the Orochimarus spoke in unison, loud and mocking:

"Little brat… I have some reservations about that."

'I—I f*cking knew it! I was just trying to act cool, and he slapped me in the face this fast?!'

In a flash, the situation flipped again. The smug grin on Naruto's face froze in place. Watching the overwhelming number of Orochimaru clones closing in, it was like hearing a series of crisp slaps echo in his head. All that bravado—gone in a heartbeat.

'You're a full-grown man, Orochimaru! Picking a fight with a mentally fragile child like me... You're one of the Legendary Sannin, and you're bullying a kid! Do you even have any shame left?!'