Chapter 357: Infinite Sasuke Alliance
"Go for it, Fox Spirit Hero! Show them the same energy you used to beat me up!"
Inside the lantern placed on the ground, Clown Sasuke cheered for Naruto, who was locked in battle—but in the next instant, Naruto was kicked to the ground right beside him.
Panting heavily, Naruto scrambled back to his feet, looking a bit battered.
Still, the fight hadn't been completely in vain—he had gathered some valuable intel.
Force Warrior No. 1 had the ability to move objects without physical contact. Since Force Warriors were also considered scientific ninja tools—thus technically "objects" themselves—they could be moved too. However, Naruto's ninjutsu attacks couldn't be manipulated this way, possibly because chakra-based techniques were made of energy, not matter.
Force Warrior No. 2 could control people. Though it only managed to control Naruto for about a second, that moment was enough to put him in serious danger during battle. Fortunately, there was roughly a one-minute cooldown between control attempts.
Force Warrior No. 3 had a healing ability—so long as it wasn't a completely devastating attack, its injuries would instantly regenerate.
Each of their abilities was problematic on its own, let alone when all three targeted Naruto together.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto created three shadow clones and charged at the Force Warriors, while his real body used the opportunity to grab the lantern and flee in the opposite direction.
From the earlier fight, Naruto had already concluded that he was no match for them.
His three shadow clones barely lasted a second before vanishing.
"Little fox, they're right behind us!"
Overhead, the spherical scientific ninja tool was tracking them. No matter where Naruto fled, the three Force Warriors would inevitably follow.
Unless he destroyed that sphere in the sky, his location would remain exposed. But if he stopped to do that, the three Force Warriors right behind him would catch up instantly.
Just as Naruto was at a loss for what to do, a black arrow shot through the air and pierced the sphere, destroying it.
"That was awesome!"
Clown Sasuke exclaimed with admiration.
"Susanoo?!"
Naruto looked in the direction the arrow had come from and saw a soft pink Susanoo emerge before his eyes.
"Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi!"
Forming arrows of black flames, the pink Susanoo fired three shots in quick succession, each hitting one of the Force Warriors pursuing Naruto with pinpoint accuracy.
The arrows pierced through their chests and instantly erupted in black flames.
"Over here, hurry!"
The woman who had opened a space-time tunnel with her Rinnegan called out to Naruto.
Without time to think, Naruto dashed toward her.
"Thanks."
"No need to thank me… Naruto."
As he got closer, Naruto realized the woman looked vaguely familiar.
"She's a version of me from another parallel Shinobi World. In her world, she married you… kinda makes you jealous—no, I mean… fine, yeah, I'm jealous," said Clown Sasuke from inside the lantern in Naruto's arms. "But now, she should be the jealous one. I'm the one you're holding!"
Clown Sasuke wore a smug expression.
"It's been so long, Naruto…"
Looking at the familiar figure before him, Transformed Sasuke [female Sasuke from another world] could no longer hold back. She threw herself into Naruto's arms. Even though she was a powerful ninja, she was still a woman—and after meeting someone she could rely on, she finally let out the emotions she had been holding in.
"Hey, hey! I'm still here! Naruto's mine! Let go of him already!"
Trapped between them, Clown Sasuke shouted from inside the lantern. But shouting was all he could do.
Held by Transformed Sasuke, Naruto wore an awkward, overwhelmed expression.
Trying to compose herself, Transformed Sasuke let out a small laugh at Naruto's goofy look and said, "We should get moving. Otherwise, more Force Warriors will be here soon."
The space-time portal led underground.
"Everyone, look who's here!"
Transformed Sasuke shouted joyfully.
"Naruto?!"
This world's Sasuke—dressed in the Hokage's robes, the Seventh Hokage—looked genuinely surprised.
"Big Brother!"
In this version of the Shinobi World, Minato Namikaze never became the Fourth Hokage. Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha remained good friends. After the Uchiha Clan's downfall, Sasuke was raised by Minato, eventually overcoming his emotional scars and becoming Naruto's younger brother.
"Uh… hey, everyone…"
Looking at this world's Sasuke, Naruto was completely dumbfounded.
"Even now, there are still other versions of you showing up…"
The Infinite Sasuke Alliance, a group formed entirely by different versions of Sasuke to fight against Skynet Naruto, numbered around a thousand. Among them were: Civilian Sasuke, Kid Sasuke, Blind Sasuke, Sasuke who killed Itachi during the Uchiha Massacre, and so on. The leader of this alliance was Hokage Sasuke.
Under the leadership of Hokage Sasuke, Brother Sasuke, and Transformed Sasuke, Naruto toured their underground base and met the other Sasukes.
"This is Uzumaki Sasuke—your son."
"Dad! I can't believe I'm seeing you again!"
A silver-haired elderly man with both Naruto's and Sasuke's features stared at Naruto, deeply emotional.
"What are you all planning to do next?"
After somehow making it through the awkward reunion with a son older than himself, Naruto turned to ask Hokage Sasuke.
"What now? Honestly, I don't really know. As you can see, with the development of the underground city, people seem to have grown used to living down here…"
Hokage Sasuke replied with a sigh.
Later that night, Naruto was alone with Clown Sasuke.
"Looks like I really am the one you love," Clown Sasuke said proudly. Earlier, Transformed Sasuke had tried to ask for the lantern containing Clown Sasuke's head, but Naruto refused—prompting that comment. "She definitely wanted to take me away from you forever!"
Naruto didn't know how to respond. But from his observations, it was clear the Sasukes here had largely lost the will to resist Skynet Naruto.
If resistance wouldn't change the outcome, then why not adapt instead?
"…What should I do?"
"Hm? Are you asking me, little fox? This is the first time you've actually taken my advice. Just follow your heart—same as I always wanted to play around with you."
"My heart… yeah, this world is messed up. Living underground like this—how can they still call themselves human?"
"Exactly, Fox Spirit Hero! That's the spirit! You stand for justice! Of course you're the one to oppose evil!"
Clown Sasuke cheered.
"Then let's go."
Naruto stepped out of his underground tent—only to run straight into Transformed Sasuke.
-------
[Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxx_real.]
[WN Exclusive Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, +1 chapter.]