c23: Sasuke Defected
The first Anbu mission was indeed bloody for Naruto, and it forced him to witness firsthand the political darkness that lay beneath the surface of the shinobi world. But to Naruto, these were things that naturally existed in an age where every nation sought advantage, and such incidents probably occurred every day across the continent. Joining the Anbu gave him more real combat experience, and this undeniably helped him improve far faster than ordinary genin. Tsunade had a clear understanding of Naruto's strength, and the first mission she assigned him was deliberately chosen to be within his capabilities, so Naruto completed it with relative ease.
However, Sasuke who was always compared with Naruto as a fellow "genius rookie" of Team 7 had recently been shaken. Ever since Uchiha Itachi's sudden appearance in Konoha, Sasuke's confidence had been deeply damaged. Witnessing Naruto grow at an abnormal speed only increased his frustration. Carrying the trauma of his clan's extermination, and bearing the weight of his desire for revenge, Sasuke's desperation for power became impossible to ignore. His enemy was Itachi one of the most feared shinobi alive so the pressure on Sasuke was far greater than anyone else could understand.
Orochimaru, who had always sought the Sharingan, saw all of this clearly. From the moment he bit Sasuke with the Cursed Seal of Heaven during the Chūnin Exams, he had predicted that Sasuke's hunger for power would eventually drive him to seek him out. Just as Orochimaru anticipated, the temptation of strength, combined with Sasuke's growing frustration, caused him to willingly activate the second stage of the curse seal. The Sound Four placed him into a massive sealing barrel designed to stabilize the mutation process, and they set out to deliver Sasuke safely to Orochimaru's hidden base in the Land of Rice Fields.
Konoha discovered Sasuke's disappearance shortly after. Tsunade immediately summoned Nara Shikamaru who had just become a chūnin and ordered him to assemble a pursuit squad to retrieve Sasuke before Orochimaru took him. Naruto was not enthusiastic about the mission. Sasuke left voluntarily in pursuit of power; even if they caught up with him, Sasuke might refuse to return. And from a combat-growth standpoint, Naruto believed that training under Orochimaru would make Sasuke stronger, which could be beneficial later.
However, when Shikamaru personally came to ask Naruto to join the squad, Naruto knew that refusing would be unreasonable given their bond. So after a quick gathering, the five-man team Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Chōji, and Neji departed. Naruto had already come to admire Shikamaru's analytical ability and had no objections to his command. Kiba and Akamaru handled tracking through scent, Neji was responsible for long-range vigilance with Byakugan, while Naruto intentionally kept some distance behind the team to prevent the entire squad from being ambushed at once.
After pursuing the enemy for some time, Kiba confirmed through scent that they were close to the Sound Four. Shikamaru ordered the group to advance with extreme caution, but the abilities of the enemy were unknown, and the Sound Four were Orochimaru's personal bodyguards each dangerous in their own way. Despite their careful approach, the team soon triggered Jirōbō's Earth Release barrier trap. A massive dome of earth sealed off Shikamaru, Kiba, Chōji, and Neji, trapping them inside the Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness. Their chakra was being drained rapidly; if it continued, they would be completely incapacitated.
Although his teammates were in immediate danger, Naruto didn't rush to reveal himself. Each member of the Sound Four possessed a cursed seal and specialized jutsu, and there was no telling what coordinated tactics they might attempt. And their mission was not to fight they were prioritizing transporting Sasuke to Orochimaru. It was impossible for all four to remain behind. Naruto knew the most reliable strategy was to force them to split up and defeat them one by one.
Sure enough, seeing that Shikamaru and the others were all trapped, the others left with Sasuke's coffin. Seeing the others leave, Naruto created two shadow clones, one of which rushed straight at Jirōbō, while the other used Rasengan to smash the domed Earth Prison. Seeing Naruto move separately from the team surprised Jirōbō. He had expected Konoha's squad to act together. At this moment, if he dodged the clone, he would leave an opening and the prison would be broken; but if he focused on guarding the prison, the Rasengan would tear through it. Jirōbō quickly jumped back and kicked one clone away, engaging it with raw taijutsu, but Naruto's Rasengan shattered the Earth Prison, allowing Shikamaru and the others to escape.
The clones were soon destroyed under Jirōbō's brute strength amplified by the curse seal. Naruto immediately created ten shadow clones to surround him, while Shikamaru and the others withdrew to reassess the situation. Naruto began weaving hand seals, unleashing multiple wind-enhanced chakra blasts combined with fire from the clones, creating a spiraling heat vortex still a crude, unstable collaboration technique, but powerful enough to distort the surrounding air with intense turbulence and heat.
Jirōbō instantly sensed the destructive force. He activated his Curse Seal Level Two and slammed his hands into the ground. Multiple massive Earth Release walls rose up to shield him. But the turbulent wind-fire vortex tore through each wall, blasting them apart layer after layer until thick dust engulfed the battlefield, obscuring vision completely. Naruto signaled Neji, who activated his Byakugan and calmly reported, "He's at nine o'clock." When Jirōbō finally halted Naruto's technique, panting from enormous chakra loss, Naruto burst from the airborne dust behind him with the sharp whistle of compressed wind.
Naruto slammed a Rasengan into Jirōbō's back. Despite Jirōbō's huge, curse-mutated physique, the spinning chakra sphere drove him into the ground, carving out a deep crater. Though critically injured, Jirōbō managed a strained, disbelieving voice: "To think I'd fall… to you Konoha brats. Blond one… are you really the so-called dead-last they talked about?"
Shikamaru and the others were stunned after witnessing Naruto's new cooperation technique and seeing him defeat such a monstrous opponent in single combat. A breeze tugged at Naruto's bright cloak, and his confident grin made his presence feel different in the eyes of the team. Kiba and Neji, who viewed him as a rival, silently thought, "Naruto keeps improving every time. Is the gap getting wider?"
After defeating Jirōbō, Naruto's group continued their pursuit. To avoid exposing certain trump cards, Naruto avoided using anything too recognizable, relying instead on variations of shadow clones and wind-style chakra shaping, even though it made quick takedowns harder. The enemy still had three members left, and overwhelming them wouldn't be easy; a strategy was necessary. Shikamaru suggested transforming into Jirōbō to trick the Sound Four and snatch Sasuke. Everyone agreed except Naruto.
Naruto reasoned that the Sound Four had long-term teamwork and coordination, making it nearly impossible to deceive them. Even if they grabbed Sasuke, escaping four curse-seal shinobi would be nearly impossible. But if they pretended to have barely defeated Jirōbō, the enemy would likely leave one member behind to stall them while the others carried Sasuke ahead, allowing them to defeat each foe individually.
Shikamaru was the appointed leader, but after hearing Naruto's logic, he reconsidered and calmly refined the idea. Combining Naruto's observations with his own tactical insight, he formed a new plan. After discussion, the team unanimously agreed to carry it out.
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