Chapter 66: Kisame: Guess Who I Saw?
Chapter 66: Kisame: Guess Who I Saw?
"Naruto!"
Shikamaru looked at Naruto, who was completely uninjured, no, he should say that any injuries he sustained healed remarkably fast.
At this moment, aside from the Sunagakure rescue squad that had just arrived, Naruto was the only one among them who still had his battle prowess intact.
"What is it, Shikamaru?" Naruto, who was about to team up with Gaara and the others to take down the Sound Four, turned his head in confusion and asked.
Shikamaru took a deep breath, surveyed the scene, and decided, "Naruto, you don't need to participate in this battle anymore. Leave immediately and go find Sasuke."
"Sasuke..."
Naruto did want to find Sasuke as soon as possible, but the battle here wasn't over yet, and he didn't want to leave his companions behind.
Understanding Naruto's mindset, Shikamaru calmly explained, "Don't forget that our mission this time is to bring back Sasuke. In the current situation, including me, the other squad members' physical conditions can't keep up with your speed. Don't worry about the battle here, we will achieve the final victory. Naruto! Whether this mission succeeds or not depends on you."
"After all, among all of us, the only one who truly has a chance to persuade Sasuke to turn back is you, Naruto."
Naruto remained silent for a few seconds, then nodded firmly, "I will definitely bring Sasuke back!"
With that, he flashed and continued towards Sasuke at an incredibly fast speed.
On the other side, with the addition of the Sunagakure reinforcements, the Sound Four could only watch helplessly as Naruto left, as they were struggling to protect themselves.
The pursuit continued.
Konoha had analyzed the intelligence and roughly determined that Sasuke was most likely heading towards Valley of the End.
As the true protagonist of this incident, Sasuke did not encounter much trouble along the way, but in order to evade the Konoha ninjas on his trail and due to his limited stamina, he had to keep stopping to rest, making his progress much slower than Naruto, who seemed like an unstoppable machine.
Finally, after crossing a hilly area, Sasuke could see that the Valley of the End was not far away, and he was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a very familiar shout rang out from behind him, "Sasuke!"
Sasuke frowned and turned his head to see a sweating Naruto running towards him at full speed.
Noticing that Sasuke had turned around, Naruto waved happily and shouted, "Sasuke! What are you doing here? Come back with me!"
"Idiot!" Sasuke glanced at Naruto indifferently, turned back, and continued on his way without paying any more attention to him.
Ever since he left the village, there was no turning back for him.
And Naruto still talked about "going back"?
Going back to face punishment as a missing-nin?
The child's play of ninja games was well and truly over.
"Sasuke..."
Seeing that Sasuke completely ignored him and looked at him as if he were a stranger, Naruto was stunned for a moment, then clenched his fists tightly and shouted resolutely, "Sasuke! No matter what it takes, I will definitely bring you back!"
His voice was so loud that it startled a flock of birds.
It also attracted the attention of a figure with a black and red cloud pattern not far away, who was about to pass by unnoticed.
"This voice sounds somewhat familiar," Kisame said as he stroked the Samehada on his back, a hook forming at the corner of his mouth, "Interesting."
As he finished speaking, he turned and headed towards the direction of the persistent shouting, like a beacon, a voice that had not stopped.
"Sasuke! Stop right there!"
"Why did you leave the village?"
"Even if I have to break your arms and legs, I will definitely bring you back!"
"...'
Naruto kept chasing while shouting at Sasuke.
Just as he was about to say something again, a somewhat familiar voice interrupted.
"Well, well, what a delightful series of surprises. And who do we have here?"
Suddenly, Kisame's figure appeared in Naruto's line of sight, greeting him with a shark-like smile:
"It's you again, little Nine-Tails."
Naruto came to an abrupt halt, his pupils narrowing as he looked at the newcomer:
"It's you!"
Although he didn't know the man's name, Naruto remembered that it was this person who had tried to capture him before. If it weren't for Jiraiya's timely arrival, he would probably no longer be in Konoha.
And!
The guy in front of him also had a companion, none other than Uchiha Itachi! As he thought of this name, Naruto instinctively glanced in Sasuke's direction.
At the same time, Sasuke, noticing the arrival of an outsider, turned his head and froze.
Obviously, he was thinking the same thing as Naruto.
"Itachi's little brother is here, too. It's a shame Itachi isn't here."
Kisame also noticed Sasuke at this point.
After a quick glance, he casually mentioned it and, with no intention of getting involved with the brothers, he ignored Sasuke and turned back to face Naruto.
"Although this mission has nothing to do with the Nine-Tails, the Nine-Tails is still one of the targets for our team. Since you've presented yourself to us, it would be a waste not to take you in."
Kisame gripped Samehada on his back and smiled slyly, "Little Nine-Tails, it's the same offer as before. Should I cut off your hands and take you away, or will you come with me willingly?"
Time seemed to rewind back to that moment at the entrance of the inn room.
As Kisame held Samehada in one hand, Naruto wasted no time in performing the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
"Don't underestimate me now!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A large amount of white smoke rose.
Seeing the numerous Naruto shadow clones appear before him, Kisame wore an expression that said, "Just as I thought," and remarked,
"Your sealing speed is indeed much faster than before."
"Since this is your answer, then—"
"The Nine-Tails capture plan is back on!"
Kisame took a powerful step forward, appearing in front of the Naruto clones before they could react, and with a sweep of Samehada, the clones turned into white smoke.
"This guy..."
Seeing his shadow clones being dispersed one after another, with no chance to fight back, Naruto gritted his teeth, feeling the pressure.
He glanced in Sasuke's direction.
Sasuke was no longer there, having apparently taken this opportunity to leave on his own.
"Sasuke..."
Muttering to himself, Naruto noticed Kisame rapidly closing in. His eyes filled with determination as he continued to perform the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Once again surrounded by countless clones, Kisame shook his head indifferently, "It's pointless to keep resisting like this. I'll have to put in a little more effort this time. I'll cut off your arms and legs. After all, a jinchuriki won't die that easily."
"Don't underestimate the ninja of Konoha, you bastard!"
At Naruto's command, the army of shadow clones charged at Kisame once more.
As one clone after another was picked off and dispersed, the real Naruto closed in, sprinting forward with a rapidly spinning blue chakra sphere in his hand, which he forcefully pressed against Kisame.
"Rasengan!"
(End of Chapter)
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