Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 399 The End of the Battle

The distortion that appeared on Hiruko's chest rapidly expanded. This distortion wasn't caused by any elemental force, but rather by ripples generated by space itself. When the distortion reached its peak, a black dot appeared in space, and that dot actually snapped Hiruko's neck in two. Having accomplished all this, space instantly returned to its flat state, as if nothing had happened.

But neither Sasori, who was attacked, nor Itachi, who witnessed everything, could ignore this sudden attack. Sasori was shocked by what kind of bizarre ninjutsu this was; it was practically a weapon of assassination. Itachi, on the other hand, was shocked by how familiar the spatially distorting vortex looked—it was practically a carbon copy of that mysterious person! However, the mysterious person's technique could only affect himself, while Kakashi's could distort space dozens of meters away!

Is this a Sharingan technique used by Kakashi-senpai? Can the Sharingan really cause a qualitative change in outsiders? This can't be right!

Kakashi was unaware that his new technique had caused such a stir; he simply thought "Kamui" was more suitable for ambushing distant targets. It wasn't that he hadn't seen Sasori escape from the tortoise shell; the technique had already been activated, and if he didn't destroy the puppet, what if the creature went back inside?

During the recent surprise attack, the three devised a plan while escaping. When the enemy's attention was focused on one spot, Kakashi's Earth Release would allow him to stealthily move closer to the enemy. The one running on the ground was a shadow clone; his real body had already burrowed underground, going against the flow and heading directly towards the puppeteer. Sure enough, the attack's range didn't extend to this area; after all, the iron sand was finite.

Next, they all knew that Sasori's weapon was poisoned, and Sasori himself should be particularly confident in the power of the poison. As long as Chiyo could protect Sakura from being seriously injured, feigning poisoning might be enough to trick Sasori into releasing his puppet to finish her off.

As expected, Sasori, who was used to killing with puppets, sent out the Third Kazekage, so his defeat was inevitable.

"Wow, that's a fierce fight." Kakashi secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the familiar voice beside him. Only then did he realize that, without him noticing, Naruto had become everyone's support, and even he couldn't help but sigh, "If Naruto had been here just now, things would have been much easier."

Sasori, wielding his Puppet Mastery, was eager to use this unexpected reinforcement. However, his teammate clearly didn't share the same view, as Itachi's blood-red eyes had just met the sky-blue Sharingan head-on. He even hesitated for a moment before deciding to activate Tsukuyomi; this bad habit of directly confronting Sharingan eyes needed to be corrected.

However, the technique was activated, but nothing happened. Naruto's steps as he walked across the water didn't even falter at all; he was completely unaffected by Tsukuyomi!

The densely packed puppets looked like an army, but Naruto, charging along their path, seemed unconcerned. His beard had widened, sharp canines peeked out from the corners of his lips, his eyes had changed from blue to scarlet beastly pupils, and even his eyeliner had deepened. A surge of orange-red chakra erupted from his body, spontaneously coalescing and enveloping Naruto in the shape of a fox's head.

Red and blue hues rose from the water's surface, and tiny, peculiar chakra gathered in the fox's open mouth, quickly transforming into the prototype of a purple sphere.

Itachi recognized the technique; he had been fortunate enough to witness it before, saving his life at the cost of his comrades. But this time, he wouldn't be so lucky, nor would Sasori.

"Hmph, a futile struggle." Naruto's voice was hoarse, sounding completely unlike that of a boy. Then, the fox swallowed the Tailed Beast Ball and opened its mouth as the explosion's light illuminated the scene. In just an instant, the puppet army and the hollowed-out mountain in front of them vanished. The Tailed Beast's devastating power perfectly resolved the obstacle that would have required a great deal of energy to clear.

"Itachi-san, is it over already?" Kisame saw Itachi open his eyes, and the time was even shorter than he had expected. He even suspected that Itachi hadn't exerted any effort at all before returning.

"Maybe," Itachi replied expressionlessly, though his heart was in turmoil.

Konoha hasn't publicly announced that Naruto is the perfect Jinchuriki. Akatsuki's information so far is entirely based on summaries of various intelligence reports; they only vaguely guessed this outcome. He was someone who had seen the Nine-Tails from afar and knew very well how difficult that giant beast was to tame. He never expected Naruto to activate Tailed Beast Mode so easily, and even seemingly release the Nine-Tails directly, letting it fight in his place... How incredibly audacious!

However... with such a high density of chakra and such a powerful explosive impact... Sasori probably won't be coming back.

"The opponent used a Tailed Beast Ball." Itachi explained the technique he used to deal with him, stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "We should go."

"The ultimate technique of the Tailed Beasts?" Kisame had only heard of the descriptions of the Tailed Beast Ball and had not experienced it firsthand, but he would probably be able to experience it directly soon.

Deidara and Sasori's capture plan failed, but the leader did not call off the other groups' missions. They still needed to cross the border of the Land of Earth to find the Four-Tails Jinchuriki hiding in the valley. As previously agreed, the Four-Tails was skilled in Lava Release, which required Kisame's Water Release to counter it.

That tailed beast is Kisame's prey; hopefully, this operation won't go wrong again.

At this moment, Kakashi, standing on the shore gazing into the distance, was devastated. Naruto had so many powerful ninjutsu, yet he chose the one with the greatest destructive power.

Is this really necessary?

Naruto blinked innocently and said, "Kurama has been unhappy lately, so it's good to let him vent."

Chiyo nearly slipped when she heard this conversation. She had watched generation after generation of Shukaku jinchūriki go mad and found it hard to imagine a peaceful coexistence between humans and tailed beasts.

However, right now she only cares about one thing.

"Is Scorpion...dead?"

Naruto laughed and said, "If I said no, would you believe me?"

The other three were startled at the same time and almost immediately formed a defensive formation.

"Don't be nervous. He's not completely dead, but he's not so bad as to dare to attack again." Naruto pointed to the still intact forest on the side of the explosion and said, "He's over there, running away, but not very fast."

Is this what perception is? It's a bit too terrifying. And what exactly has that Scorpion kid been researching? Did he turn himself into a human puppet?

Chiyo was filled with mixed emotions, unsure whether she was more impressed by her ally's outstanding successor or by her own rebellious grandson.

"Should we go after them?" Sakura, focused on finishing the mission as soon as possible, didn't notice the change in atmosphere and asked this sensitive question directly.

Naruto simply looked at Chiyo, neither urging nor persuading her, waiting for her to give an answer.