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!

--------------------------------------

Hearing Guts's words, Manda's enormous body radiated a chilling wave of killing intent.

An unnervingly human expression of irritation flickered across his reptilian face.

"What did you just say, boy?"

Manda hissed, voice like grinding stone.

Guts, standing calmly on Manda's cold, dry scales, smirked.

"With this much snake meat, I'd say I'm set for at least a month."

"You've got a death wish!"

Manda roared, fangs bared, ready to swallow Guts whole.

BOOM—!!

A wave of invisible pressure erupted from Guts's body.

Unlike the previous year, when he could barely control it, this time the force was sharp and precise. None of the nearby Konoha shinobi were affected.

It was as if his Conqueror's Haki had condensed into an invisible arrow, aimed squarely at Manda.

The massive snake froze mid-attack, dread creeping into his slitted eyes.

Guts tilted his head with a dangerous smile.

"Calm down, bad snake. Can you listen now?"

Manda slithered back slightly. His pride refused to let him answer, but the low grunt he gave made it clear, he understood.

Orochimaru watched quietly, a rare gleam of amusement in his eyes.

"This power really is convenient…" he mused.

Unlike Jiraiya and Tsunade, Orochimaru had always summoned Manda knowing the serpent was a wild card, powerful, but obstinate.

A bit like the future Uchiha Sasuke: talented, arrogant, and convinced no one could defeat him.

Orochimaru spoke coldly, his voice cutting through the tension.

"Manda, all I need from you is to support Guts-kun in a one-on-one against Ōnoki. Ensure no one interferes. Got it?"

"Tch… Who do you think you're talking to—"

BAM!

Before he could finish, Manda let out a roar of pain.

Guts had calmly walked over and punched the massive snake's side, drilling a hole into his scales.

Compared to Manda's size, the injury was like being pricked with a needle.

Yet Manda screamed in agony.

The pain wasn't just physical. It was real, the kind that sent a message.

Guts cracked his knuckles.

"Understood, bad snake?"

"…"

Manda didn't speak. But his silence, this time, was as good as a nod.

From the back lines, Katsuyu, perched at Tsunade's feet, murmured in disbelief:

"Incredible… Someone actually managed to suppress Manda."

Tsunade smiled faintly. Her hands moved quickly into a familiar seal.

"Katsuyu: Great Split Technique!"

In the next instant, the massive slug split into countless smaller forms and dispersed, crawling onto wounded Konoha shinobi and beginning emergency treatment.

"Kinda gross,"

Uchiha Shisui muttered, glancing sideways as one climbed onto his shoulder.

Guts leapt onto Manda's head and pointed forward.

"Let's go."

WHOOSH!

Manda slithered forward with terrifying speed, gliding across the ground like a living avalanche.

With strength rivaling Toad Bunta and Katsuyu, and greater speed, he surged toward the enemy ranks.

Beside Ōnoki, Kitsuchi's eyes widened.

"Be careful! That's Orochimaru's summon!"

The front line of Rock Shinobi immediately sprang into action, performing seals in sync.

"Earth Style: Yellow Mud Thorns!"

Huge spikes shot up from the ground, turning the terrain into a forest of deadly barbs.

Guts narrowed his eyes.

This reminds me of Kimimaro's final attack on Gaara… though this scale is nothing compared to that.

Even with a hundred shinobi, the coverage couldn't match Kimimaro's full power.

PFFF—!

Manda lowered his massive head and burrowed underground in a blink, disappearing into the soil.

"He's underground! Flip the battlefield—NOW!" Kitsuchi ordered.

The Rock shinobi formed seals again.

"Earth Style: Earth Core Shift!!"

The battlefield buckled like a boiling pot, soil being stirred and churned.

Suddenly—BOOM!

Manda burst from the mud, launching straight at Ōnoki in mid-air.

"Tch. What can a beast like that do?"

Ōnoki scoffed, hovering with his Dust Release forming between his palms.

"Size alone makes you a bigger target!"

"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!!"

A beam of white light shot forward—precise, deadly. It pierced clean through Manda's body.

Cheers erupted from the Rock army below.

But only for a moment.

Their celebration turned to horror.

The snake's body, split open, slumped, and peeled away like shed skin.

"A decoy…!"

BANG!!

The ground exploded again as the real Manda launched from behind.

His massive tail whipped like a storm, sweeping away dozens of shinobi as if clearing dust from a shelf.

"Hold the line!" Orochimaru barked.

Konoha shinobi surged forward, positioning themselves like an unbreakable wall.

The Rock ninjas, dazed and airborne, found themselves unable to regroup.

Meanwhile, Guts leapt from Manda's head. With Geppo, he soared toward Ōnoki, floating at eye level. He wore a composed smile.

"Time to make good on that promise, Ōnoki."

Ōnoki narrowed his eyes.

"So you're separating me from my army? Trying to assassinate me, are you?"

He snorted. "You think this will be easy?"

Guts shrugged.

"The Third Raikage said something similar. Now he's nothing but ashes on the wind."

Ōnoki growled.

"You arrogant brat! You don't know the sky from the ground!"

His hands formed a new seal.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Barrage!"

The ground twisted into a massive swamp, forming a mud dragon that lunged toward Guts with a bellow.

Guts didn't flinch.

"And you don't know how wide the universe really is, old man."

With a flick of his fingers, index and middle, he struck three times in rapid succession.

SCHING! SCHING! SCHING!

Three arcs of force sliced through the air, cleaving the dragon into chunks that splattered across the battlefield.

--------------------------------------

Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and Exclusive R-18 Content!

--------------------------------------

Update schedule: 7 chapters/week

Every 100 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter

By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.