Chapter 75
"What about Uzumaki Naruto?"
"He's being protected."
Yūgao had intended to tell Sako the truth, but then a thought struck her, and she decided to tease her.
"It's uncertain when he'll come out again…"
"Ah… that's understandable." Sako couldn't help but feel disappointed. "By the way, did he have anything he wanted to tell me?"
"No." Yūgao Uzuki shook her head. "Well then, goodbye."
The other person quietly left.
The door clicked shut softly.
"…"
Sako sat on the hospital bed, gazing at the clean white bedding in front of her.
She couldn't help but think of her past interactions with Naruto.
"Being protected… means being watched, right? He might even be subjected to inhumane experiments and torture, like a lab animal. Even if not, he'll definitely face malice from others. Because everyone thinks that guy is the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox…"
As she thought about it, Sako began to sob and shed tears.
She pitied Naruto, and even more so, because of her, he was trapped and lost his freedom… "Maybe, he'll die at any time…"
"Hmm? Who died?"
The door was pushed open again.
Naruto swaggered in with an arrogant, heedless stride.
"Naruto, of course, Uzumaki Naruto!"
As Sako spoke, she suddenly realized something.
"Huh?!"
"What's wrong?" Naruto tilted his head. "Is there a problem?"
Naruto, holding a bunch of wildflowers he had casually picked from the roadside, walked to the bedside table, tossed out the expensive flowers from "Yamanaka Flower Shop" brought by other visitors, and then placed the wildflowers in the vase.
He then dropped a few small pebbles, also picked from the roadside, into the bottom of the vase.
"That's so perfunctory~~!" Sako couldn't help but retort.
"How rude! I put a lot of effort into picking these from the roadside… they're far superior to artificially cultivated ones…"
Naruto argued.
It's all my fault, it's my mistake… The apologies were on the tip of her tongue but wouldn't come out.
Finally, Sako shouted, "Where have you been these past two days, you jerk?!"
Though her words were accusatory, a joyful smile spread across her face.
Looking at Sako, whose favorability towards him had clearly increased.
Naruto believed that he could definitely save the Uchiha.
So.
The third round of confrontation began.
Itachi, you don't like me interacting with your sister?
Sorry, I will definitely interact with her more.
And then… completely make Sako Uzumaki Naruto's possession.
Chapter 15: The Clever Kotoamatsukami
That night.
A crimson moon hung in the sky.
Red moonlight poured down, illuminating the Land of Fire.
Scattered sparkling colors belonged to the Ice Release… a clan that should have vanished.
"A monster from the Yuki clan…"
The injured Juzo mumbled.
They were clearly wiped out by Hidden Mist long ago, so why had they reappeared?
And… they were even colluding with the Hidden Mist guys.
"Zabuza-sama, he's already incapacitated…"
The masked youth spoke in a gentle, androgynous voice.
Subsequently, the kubikiribōchō was forcefully taken from Juzo's hand.
"Heh heh heh… well done, Haku. From now on, I am the new master of the kubikiribōchō."
Zabuza, with black spiky hair and the lower half of his face wrapped in bandages, admired the kubikiribōchō with a terrifying expression.
"Cough cough… If only I hadn't been injured…"
Juzo clutched his wound, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
After being injured by that Nine-Tailed brat, he had escaped by following the swift current.
But after emerging, he encountered pursuers from Hidden Mist's tracking unit.
Juzo, who had anticipated this, was not surprised by his predicament; after all, those guys from Hidden Mist were just like that.
"Hurry up and do it…"
Juzo said to Zabuza.
The brat from yesteryear had now become a renowned assassin.
Known as the "Demon," Zabuza Momochi, who mastered silent killing techniques.
I'll be waiting for you in hell… Just as Juzo was ready to die, Zabuza turned and left.
"Kill you? Although every holder of the blade has to kill the previous one to obtain it. But I'm different… I want you alive…"
Taking a blade from a living person is much harder than taking it from a dead one.
"This will further highlight my prestige… Haku, let's go."
"Cough cough…"
Juzo coughed again.
"You, too, are indeed not suited for Hidden Mist, just like me…"
Zabuza: "Less talk, I will sooner or later take over Yagura's position… and I will transform Hidden Mist into my own kingdom!"
After uttering these harsh words, the Hidden Mistpursuers quietly departed, leaving only Juzo's injured body.
Losing the kubikiribōchō also meant losing the title of one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
In that case, would he still have the face to continue living in this world?
"Regardless, I'm afraid I'll have to consider leaving the Akatsuki…"
Juzo coughed, beginning to seek another way out in his mind.
Leaving the Akatsuki was no simple matter.
Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, was ten thousand times more terrifying than Yagura.
To leave that organization, he could only flee, as far away as possible… "Based on past years, it's almost time for the 'Mōryō' in the Land of Demonsto wreak havoc again. The most dangerous place is the safest place; perhaps fleeing there would be a good idea…"
Dragging his injured body, Juzo walked step by step towards an unknown destination… the northeastern border of the Land of Fire.
Uchiha Base.
Frontline against Kumogakure.
The border conflict continued, and with Kumogakure sending the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Konoha's front line suffered devastating blows.
The foreign girl, only in her teens, wreaked havoc everywhere, and no one could stop her.
Although the Uchiha Base, as a strategic center, had not been attacked, the frontline was already in a state of panic.
In order to resolve this problem.
Uchiha Fugaku convened a wartime meeting and specifically devised a plan to counter the enemy.
The main executor of the plan was Uchiha Shisui, known as "Shunshin Shisui" within the clan.
Only he could keep up with the Two-Tails' extreme speed.
And only the Sharingan's dōjutsu might be able to counter the Tailed Beast's power.
The dōjutsu, which couldn't be tested on the night of the Nine-Tailed Demon Foxs Attack, would soon be put to the ultimate test.
The plan was about to be implemented, but then intelligence came from the reconnaissance personnel outside.
Kumogakure's main force, led by the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, was launching an assault on their position!
"!"
Uchiha Fugaku and the others quickly went outside.
At this point, Kumogakure's forces had entered the 10-kilometer range detectable by the Byakugan.
"Captain!"
Shisui, originally the leader of the secret operation, immediately realized that a major battle was about to erupt.
If it really broke out, the losses would be severe.
Therefore… "Let me try."
With that, Shisui charged out.
"Shisui!"
Uchiha Fugaku quickly called for people to stop him.
However, Shisui's speed was incredibly fast, and only a few could keep up with him.
As the two sides' forces drew closer, the shouts from behind grew louder.
"Uchiha Shisui, stop now!"
Anbu and Root members intertwined, attempting to stop Uchiha Shisui's recklessness.
"Only I… can resolve this war…"
Shisui murmured to himself, deciding to use his hidden power.
It was the true power of the Sharingan.
After a moment, the two forces finally met.
Leading them was a teenage foreign girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a single braid hanging down her back.
Clearly, she was the Two-Tails Jinchurikimentioned in the intelligence… Nii Yugito.
"Yo, you think just a few people can stop us? Even if you're that 'Shunshin Shisui,' don't you think you're being a bit overconfident?"
Yugito waved her arm, signaling her team to halt.
She wanted to see if this Shunshin Shisui with thick eyebrows and large eyes was as formidable as the legends claimed…