Orochimaru was nearly finished replenishing his chakra. Soon he would be recovered enough to mount his final attack on Konoha. His puppet, Kakashi was staring into space, no orders having been given to him by Orochimaru. Orochimaru knew Naruto would fight Kakashi just as he knew that Tsunade had probably found a way to excise his chakra. Naruto had shown an amazing ability to resist Orochimaru's chakra but that was when the chakra was being assimilated in his body slowly. How much resistance would he mount when an enormous dose of Orochimaru's chakra was absorbed in his body? With Naruto under his control, Orochimaru would finally realize his ambition to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village! He opened his eyes and stood up from his position on Kakashi's shoulder, his hands already moving in the by now familiar hand signs.

"Forbidden Jutsu! Mind Corruption: Battle!"

Kakashi's eyes suddenly lit up and he got to his feet, moving towards Konoha. He was determined to find Naruto, his last remaining opponent, and finish him off once and for all! Orochimaru laughed as they moved, knowing it would all be over soon enough...

As Kakashi and Orochimaru made their way back into the Leaf Village, Tsunade was finishing examining Choji, her last patient of the former giants. Sakura had been watching her, taking note of all her techniques, hoping to learn as much as she could from them. Tsunade checked all the charts she had regarding the patients and said, "This is odd..."

Sakura asked, "What's odd?"

Tsunade handed Sakura a few of the charts and said, "There seems to be a strange abnormality in all the ninja."

"What kind of abnormality?" Sakura asked, looking the charts over.

"I'm not sure. It seems that they're bodies have all been changed permanently by the Forbidden Jutsu." Tsunade said, making a note on the charts in her hand.

"Is it bad?" Sakura asked.

"No, it doesn't appear to be detrimental." Tsunade said. "It looks more like a change Orochimaru wasn't planning on."

"So what does it mean?" Sakura asked, not gaining much information from the charts.

"We'll have to just wait and see." Tsunade said. "But I wouldn't worry. Beyond this abnormality and a few cuts and bruises, they're all doing exceptionally well."

Sakura handed back the charts and couldn't help but wonder what was happening to the former giants' bodies. Would it turn out to be a problem? Or was Orochimaru's jutsu not fully developed when he used it? Only time would tell.

Back in the training field, Jiraiya was hiding in the brush, watching the seventy five foot Naruto shadow clone as he waited for Orochimaru. He knew Orochimaru would attack soon. He wouldn't want this opportunity to be missed. Suddenly, a voice called out, "Chidori!"

Jiraiya and the shadow clone both looked up and saw Kakashi, Sharingan revealed, descending on the clone with one hand raised, the Chidori clearly visible. The clone barely managed to avoid the shot which created a crater that radiated for at least a hundred feet on all sides. The training field had been obliterated in one shot! The hundred foot Kakashi stood up straight, looking for his opponent. The clone suddenly attacked from the top, with a kick aimed directly at Kakashi's head. Kakashi grabbed the clone's foot at the last second and tossed it to the ground. The fight was on. But who would come out on top?