Naruto: Reborn with the Template System

Author Note:

Here's the BONUS CHAPTER as promised—thanks for the support, and let's keep this energy going!

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"This is... way too over the top."

Namikaze Minato, standing beside Guts, couldn't help but swallow hard.

He had just spent several minutes unleashing wave after wave of high-level techniques, gradually cracking the powerful Four Violet Flames Formation. And then Guts showed up... and obliterated the entire barrier with one punch.

Minato was sure of one thing...even if the barrier had been at full power from the start, it wouldn't have withstood that blow.

Sssshhh

The sound of rustling paper echoed eerily in the air.

Minato's sharp eyes noticed it immediately. The three Kage who had been shattered into pieces were now reassembling from dust, reforming their bodies.

Without hesitation, he vanished in a yellow flash.

In under a second, Minato reappeared midair above the reanimated Kage.

"Four Symbols Seal!"

A glowing seal array expanded around his arms as he slammed his palms down, cutting off their movement.

Although Edo Tensei bodies regenerate quickly, a strong enough sealing jutsu could halt that process. It wasn't perfect, but it bought time and time was all they needed right now.

"Lord Third Hokage!"

Minato immediately teleported to Hiruzen's side, dropping to his knees.

He placed two fingers on the old man's neck.

His brows instantly furrowed.

"His pulse is weak… breathing is shallow. He doesn't have long."

Footsteps crunched through the wreckage.

Guts arrived, glancing around the ruined compound of the Sarutobi clan.

His tone was calm, but his words pierced the silence like a blade.

"Don't even bother hiding. Your little trick doesn't work on me. You really thought you could pull that same stunt and I wouldn't notice?"

All around, countless tiny snakes slithered together and reformed into Orochimaru's human form.

Guts's face twitched in disgust.

"Yup. Disgusting as ever."

Orochimaru stood, brushing the dust from his robe with a sly grin.

"You've gotten stronger again, haven't you, Guts-kun?" he remarked, though a flicker of worry crossed his expression.

Guts could feel it too, his Observation Haki picked up on Orochimaru's faltering chakra flow. That last Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique had cost him more than he let on.

"Your planning was clever," Guts admitted, eyes narrowing.

"Even I'll give you credit for that. But I hope you planned your funeral too."

Orochimaru clutched his side, but still smiled.

"You think I'd come back to Konoha without preparing for the possibility of meeting you? Hehe…"

In a blink, Guts disappeared from sight.

Orochimaru's eyes widened. He felt it...murderous intent, right behind him!

He spun...

BOOM!!!

Too late.

Guts's fist smashed into Orochimaru's face the moment he turned, a raw, devastating blow with no Haki enhancement, just pure physical power.

The ground quaked.

Time felt frozen for a heartbeat.

And then...

KA-THOOM!!!

The impact detonated like a mountain-shattering explosion.

When the dust finally settled, the Sarutobi clan's land had been carved into a massive crater, hundreds of meters wide and dozens deep.

[Achievement Unlocked: "Kill Orochimaru" – Template Character: Issei Hyoudou – Completion Rate: 8.99%]

Guts stared at the notification in his mind and frowned.

"...That's it? Only 8.99%?"

Minato, landing beside him, looked hopeful.

"Did that finish him?"

Guts shook his head.

"I killed him, sure. But that wasn't all of him."

Even with Observation Haki, Guts couldn't sense any life left in Orochimaru's body.

And yet... the reward was far too small. A Sannin should've pushed his system further.

Which could only mean one thing.

"He's not done yet. He's used his Cursed Seal as insurance. Probably had a backup host somewhere."

Far from Konoha

Inside a dark room in the hidden Sound Village, Yakushi Kabuto stood in front of a kneeling Kimimaro.

The cursed seal glowed on Kimimaro's neck.

Kabuto performed a long series of hand signs, then laid his hand on the seal.

"Release: Evil Binding Seal!"

A twisted python emerged from Kimimaro's body and in the next moment, reshaped into Orochimaru.

Panting, soaked in cold sweat, Orochimaru collapsed into a nearby chair.

"He got me good… I didn't expect to be humiliated like that."

"Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto and Kimimaro cried out in unison.

Orochimaru held up a hand to stop them.

"Kabuto…" he rasped.

"It's time to bring Sasuke to me."

Kabuto hesitated.

"He's still too weak to become your next vessel. And with Guts in Konoha, we can't exactly force him out either."

Orochimaru coughed and gave a pained chuckle.

"That's where you're wrong. You're forgetting one thing, Kabuto...human nature."

He narrowed his eyes, voice growing colder.

"That boy Guts, he doesn't care about those he has no connection to. He'll never lift a finger if the one in danger doesn't matter to him."

Back in Konoha

With Orochimaru's defeat, the truth about the Fourth Kazekage's death was revealed.

The Sand Village surrendered.

Their ninjas laid down arms. The remaining Otonin forces were arrested on the spot.

Namikaze Minato wasted no time.

"Evacuate the injured! Send the Sarutobi clan survivors to Konoha Hospital immediately!"

Inside the compound, the damage was catastrophic.

Biwako Sarutobi, Hiruzen's wife, was confirmed dead on the scene.Rumor had it she used her own sealing jutsu to create a barrier that let Asuma escape.

Somehow, despite being gravely wounded, Asuma survived.

Now, Hiruzen was being rushed to emergency surgery.

But Guts, arms crossed and face impassive, wasn't hopeful.

"At this point, it's already beyond saving," he muttered.

Behind him, Nara Shikaku knelt respectfully.

"Lord Guts, the reports are in."

"Lay it out."

"Thanks to Lady Tsunade and Mizukage-sama intercepting the enemy at the gates, and your quick suppression within the village—"

He paused to clear his throat.

"The total death toll is just over a hundred. The wounded are around four hundred. Most are from the Sarutobi clan."

Compared to the original anime's massive Konoha Collapse Plan, these losses were shockingly low.

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