Chapter 386: Chapter 386: Land of Iron — First... Then...
"The mark Sasuke left... is actually messing with my control?" Orochimaru frowned. The next second, his chakra flared again, pouring everything into the Gedo Statue.
As the massive chakra surged in, one of the Gedo Statue’s eyes slowly cracked open—just a sliver, but it was definitely moving.
Right when the Tailed Beast Bomb was almost complete, the Gedo Statue suddenly went wild. It let out a huge roar at Kurama—and the next second, a giant purple chakra dragon shot out of its mouth, lunging at Kurama, who was on its back.
Kurama’s expression changed instantly. Without thinking, he abandoned the Tailed Beast Bomb and jumped away to dodge the strange chakra dragon.
Missing Kurama, the chakra dragon flipped midair and chomped down on the unstable Tailed Beast Bomb. It tore it apart and swallowed the whole thing, now just pure chakra, before quietly returning to the Gedo Statue’s body.
"Looks like you’re not unbeatable after all." Orochimaru stood the Gedo Statue up again, half-smiling at the clearly frustrated Kurama.
Kurama didn’t say a word. He just gave Orochimaru a dark, cold stare.
No doubt about it—that chakra dragon was definitely his natural enemy.
The Gedo Statue’s greatest weapon wasn’t its huge body or its insane toughness. It was that purple chakra dragon it just spat out.
If we go by the setting, that thing is basically the chain that binds all Tailed Beasts. It can instantly suppress a beast’s chakra and even suck it out. On top of that, it carries powerful sealing abilities—it’s made specifically to fight Tailed Beasts.
Yeah, it’s the same thing as those chakra chains Madara used in the original story to tie up the Tailed Beasts.
Those chains were the early version of Adamantine Sealing Chains, only useful against beasts and Jinchuriki. But this chakra dragon can absorb chakra from anyone—it’s just especially effective against Tailed Beasts.
Even though Kurama’s much stronger now and should, in theory, be able to resist that kind of suppression, the moment he saw the chakra dragon, he turned and ran without thinking—like some old survival instinct hidden in his DNA kicked in.
"My natural enemy? Yeah, you could say that—but not completely." Kurama glared at Orochimaru. "Still, this thing isn’t something normal people can handle."
"Being able to use it like that... I’m really curious. How long have you had the Rinnegan? You’ve studied it this deeply?"
"Maybe longer than you think." Orochimaru didn’t give a direct answer.
As he spoke, Orochimaru once again had the Gedo Statue open its mouth, and that chakra dragon came out again. It wasn’t huge, but it moved like a sneaky snake, heading straight for Kurama.
Kurama instinctively wanted to dodge. It was a reaction from his DNA, and hard to resist—but not impossible.
He forced himself to stop moving back. As the chakra dragon came close, he reached behind him, grabbed a Truth-Seeking Orb, and swung it hard at the incoming attack.
The orb in his hand shifted shape rapidly, turning into a sword over a hundred meters long. With one slash, it cut the chakra dragon clean in half.
Kurama let out a breath of relief and looked at the long sword in his hand. It had blades on both sides and no hand guard—not quite what people in Japan would call a sword. "So it looks like the Sage of Six Paths’ power is basically the perfect counter to the Gedo Statue, huh?"
That line was clearly aimed at Orochimaru—a jab more than a comment.
Orochimaru didn’t seem bothered. He recalled what was left of the chakra dragon without changing expression. "As expected of the Sage’s power. I’d really love to study it."
As he spoke, he licked his lips with his tongue, and his eyes almost seemed to glow.
Kurama felt a chill go down his spine.
He let go of the sword, letting the Truth-Seeking Orb return to its round shape and float behind him. Pointing at Orochimaru, he said, "Without any moves that can restrain me, what exactly do you think you are?"
The Gedo Statue had long since stopped being a threat to Kurama. Even though it was made to deal with tailed beasts, it couldn’t hold him down anymore. As long as he could ignore the strange fear that came from his DNA, neither Orochimaru nor the Gedo Statue were anything to be afraid of.
"Well, that’s a real problem," Orochimaru said with a smile that didn’t match his words.
Kurama was annoyed.
As the two talked, the Gedo Statue charged at him again—same angry roar, same raised fist, like it had learned nothing from last time.
"So annoying," Kurama said, frowning. "I’m not wasting more time with you, Orochimaru!"
As he said this—
Kurama suddenly jumped into the air. His massive body soared up, floating in the light. Looking down at the Gedo Statue, he said, "I don’t know what you’re planning, Orochimaru, but in the face of true power, all your tricks are useless!"
He pressed his claws together, and a huge amount of chakra started to gather. A Truth-Seeking Orb floated into the air above him, absorbing more and more chakra.
Orochimaru looked up, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smirk.
Minato’s face was full of worry, but the curse from Edo Tensei kept him from saying a word.
The orb began to spin. The red chakra turned pitch black under its energy, and white rings of chakra spread out like a planetary ring. A giant Tailed Beast Ball started forming right above the Gedo Statue.
Bigger... and bigger...
These guys can’t fly. Shouldn’t he go all-out on them?
"Kurama! Are you trying to blow up the Land of Thunder too?!" Naruto’s angry voice came through their mind link, stopping Kurama mid-charge.
With that much chakra gathered, it was impossible for Naruto not to notice. He was pissed. He had *just* told Kurama not to do this, and here the fox was again.
Blowing up the Land of Iron wasn’t enough—now he was aiming for the Land of Thunder?
Kurama coughed awkwardly and looked at the huge Tailed Beast Ball in front of him. Yeah... maybe this was a bit much. "I stopped, didn’t I? I swear I wasn’t trying to blow up the Land of Thunder... I swear on the name of the Nine-Tails."
Like, seriously, if you’ve got a problem, go find the Nine-Tails—not me, Kurama.
"Really?" Naruto stared at Kurama with doubt, watching the huge spinning ball through his eyes. "That much chakra... and with the Sage’s power too... I even felt the Truth-Seeking Orb... You’re not lying to me, are you?"
Naruto gave Kurama a long, suspicious look.
Kurama quickly put on a serious face. "Do I look like that kind of fox to you?"
Naruto: "..."
Look into my eyes. What do you *think* I’m gonna say?
"Ahem... That really hurts, you know."
Kurama awkwardly pulled back the chakra he was about to gather.
But honestly, this amount was more than enough.
To deal with someone like Orochimaru, this kind of power—heck, forget Orochimaru, even the whole Land of Iron would get blown sky-high.
Oh wait.
The Land of Iron *has* already been blown sky-high.
Well, then that’s settled.
Land of Iron: Rest in peace.
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