Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

In the swaying cabin, the light was dim and the air carried a chilling coolness.

Yuhi Kurenai and the three members of Team 8 were tied up in a corner. All of them were wounded, their clothes stained with blood.

Only Asuma stood in front of them, acting as a shield. He was the only one relatively unharmed.

"Bai, what do you think? Should I cut him up?" Orochimaru asked, his voice slow and chilling.

A moment of silence followed.

The "him" in question was Asuma.

The boat rocked gently, yet Bai remained still, her entire aura exuding coldness. She wasn't sure what Orochimaru meant by "cut him up."

But it didn't sound good.

Considering Orochimaru's twisted smile, and the grim memories of the underground lab in Tanokuni, it was clear his "cutting" was a cruel form of punishment.

Anyone who dared to touch what belonged to Naruto-sama deserved to be tortured by Orochimaru. Still, Naruto-sama had once said not to go overboard with cruelty.

After a moment of hesitation, Bai finally gave her verdict: "Be gentle. Don't kill him. If he dies, we'll have a hard time reporting it."

With Bai's reluctant approval, Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue, eyes glittering with twisted excitement. Several snakes slithered up Asuma's body, binding him tightly like ropes.

Asuma had long since been sealed by Orochimaru. At this point, he couldn't use a single drop of chakra—let alone his strength. He was helpless.

"Orochimaru, you betrayed the village, murdered your teacher, and now you've brought outsiders to attack Konoha. You're insane. One day, you'll pay for this!" Asuma growled.

But his words didn't anger Orochimaru. He never cared about how others judged him.

No matter how depraved or monstrous his actions were, Orochimaru believed survival came before all else.

Now that his life was in Naruto's hands, he was doing everything he could to prove his loyalty.

"Haha, don't be in such a rush. As the son of my former teacher, I wouldn't kill you," Orochimaru said with a sinister grin.

Asuma kept struggling and swearing. "You lunatic! You'll burn in the deepest level of hell!"

Growing bored of the verbal abuse, Orochimaru waved his hand. A thick snake slithered into Asuma's mouth, gagging him completely.

The sight made everyone in the room visibly uncomfortable.

Yuhi Kurenai stared at Asuma with conflicted eyes. As a fellow comrade, she wanted to help. Even if she resented him, she couldn't just sit back and watch him suffer.

But her chakra had been sealed, and she couldn't move a muscle.

What she didn't realize was that Bai, standing beside her, had noticed her expression—and didn't like it one bit. Bai had originally planned to take Kurenai with her, but now, that no longer seemed necessary.

"How dare you look at someone else with such disloyalty toward my Lord!" Bai hissed coldly.

"If he hadn't told me to go easy, you'd already be dead."

Without further warning, Bai released a stream of ice needles—thousands of them—toward Kurenai and Hinata's necks, knocking them out instantly. She then hoisted their limp bodies and prepared to leave.

Asuma's eyes widened in horror. He struggled with everything he had, but the more he resisted, the tighter the snakes coiled around him.

Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino forced themselves to their feet and staggered after Bai.

"Stop! Ungh—!" Kiba shouted, but was immediately kicked in the gut by Zabuza. He collapsed with a grunt, eyes rolling back.

Shino fared no better. He was sent flying with a single blow.

Now, none of them could even stand. Asuma, Kiba, and Shino could only watch helplessly as Bai carried Kurenai and Hinata away.

What they didn't know was that their nightmare was just beginning.

Orochimaru commanded his snake to lay Asuma on a wooden table. Then he pulled out a small, sharp knife and slowly approached.

Zabuza, having not heard the earlier conversation between Orochimaru and Bai, asked curiously, "What are you planning to do?"

"Just a little surgery," Orochimaru replied, loosening Asuma's belt with the snake's help.

"What kind of surgery?" Zabuza asked warily.

Orochimaru chuckled. "You'll see soon enough."

Zabuza didn't ask again. As a former Mist ninja, he had his own code. It was foolish to pry too deeply into another person's madness.

Still, he muttered inwardly, This guy's so damn cryptic, and leaned against the wall to watch the infamous Sannin at work.

A live experiment? Trying to extract some ability?

That's what Zabuza thought—until Orochimaru made his first cut.

Then his mind went blank.

Zabuza stood frozen in place, stunned.

Not just him—Kiba and Shino, too, were in shock. Their pupils shrank and their thoughts scrambled.

Even Akamaru began trembling violently.

Oh God.

This... this Orochimaru is a complete maniac!

We absolutely cannot mess with this guy!

That same fear gripped every man in the room.

Just moments ago, Shino and Kiba had been thinking of sneaking in an attack to help, but now, they sat as still as statues, afraid to even draw Orochimaru's gaze.

Asuma, the unfortunate recipient of Orochimaru's "minor surgery," looked deathly pale.

The physical pain wasn't unbearable—Orochimaru was skilled—but what had been taken from him... was something no man could live without.

He stared into the void, tears trailing silently from the corners of his eyes.

"The surgery was a success," Orochimaru said with a low chuckle, placing the scalpel back into his tool pouch.

When he turned to leave, Zabuza flinched instinctively and averted his eyes. The man who once faced Orochimaru with a fearless sneer now trembled inwardly.

Never cross someone like Orochimaru unless you're ready to die.

Asuma had now become the first eunuch in the ninja world. No one wanted to be the second.

That thing... it was like a nuclear warhead.

You can go without it—but you can't live without it.

"Zabuza, you stay here and keep an eye on them. I have other business to attend to," Orochimaru ordered with a grin.

Zabuza nodded quickly. "No problem. Watching a few trash bags with sealed chakra? Easy."

"Good." Orochimaru glanced once more at Asuma, who lay motionless on the floor, then turned and walked to the far end of the cabin.

On his way, he passed the room where Bai had placed Kurenai and Hinata. Inside, food and clean clothes had been set out on a small table.

"Still a child at heart, that Bai," Orochimaru muttered with a twisted smile. "Trying to be kind while doing something like this..."

"Well, it's up to us adults to show them the truth."

"Sorry, Bai. I'm taking credit for this one."

With a glimmer in his eyes, Orochimaru formed a series of hand seals and layered multiple genjutsu illusions over the two unconscious women.

Orochimaru, the same man who once lured countless young talents, knew better than anyone how to manipulate people.

The skies over the Land of Fire were thick with dark clouds. Harsh winds howled across the forest.

The calm before the storm wasn't calm at all.

A giant white bird soared through the sky. On its back stood a blond young man whose long hair blew wildly in the wind. He looked down at the forest below, frowning at the people wearing Iwagakure uniforms.

Not one of them recognized the bird.

Despite once being hailed as the most likely successor to the Tsuchikage, Deidara was now a rogue ninja.

"Who the hell is this poser? Why's he dressed like he's from Iwagakure?"

"Let it go. You're not part of Iwagakure anymore. Our job is to find Haku and Zabuza."

"How are we supposed to find them? No destination, no trail. This is such a pain."

Deidara slumped across the back of his clay bird, looking utterly annoyed.

They had chased Haku and Zabuza from the Land of Waves to the Land of Fields, and now from there to the Land of Fire—nearly into the Land of Wind—and still had no leads.

Deidara was ready to give up and tell their leader he was quitting the mission.

As he stewed, he suddenly turned his bird around.

From inside a massive puppet, Sasori observed the maneuver and asked coldly, "What are you doing?"

"I'm bored. Let's make some art."

Deidara flung a handful of clay spiders toward the Iwagakure impersonators below. A wild grin spread across his face.

"Hah."

An instant later, a fiery explosion tore through the forest, engulfing the fake ninjas.

"Art is an explosion!" Deidara shouted joyfully as his bird soared away.

Far off, Naruto stood atop a dense tree canopy, watching the white bird disappear into the sky—and the enemy ninjas scream as they burned.

"Saves me the trouble," he muttered and resumed his search for the Konoha forces.

Along the way, he'd already run into three separate groups wearing Iwagakure attire. At this point, he was certain.

They weren't from Iwagakure at all.

They were from Kumogakure.

Naruto's reasoning?

Simple.

Because he'd received a system notification:

[Trigger Event Activated!]

[While escorting prisoners, you are ambushed by a large-scale assault from Kumogakure. This attack poses a serious threat to you and your close allies. What will you do?]

No paid members are joining. If this continues, I'll have no choice but to drop this fanfic.

*********************************************************************************************************Hey everyone! Want to read ahead and unlock up to 100 early-access chapters? 📖Plus, enjoy even more exclusive novels! Join my Patreon now and dive into the adventure!

patreon.com/sabu19