Nanaki nodded slowly.
"Killing Zabuza Momochi, defeating Gaara while he was possessed by Shukaku, and even participating in the battle involving the Legendary Sannin… Naruto Uzumaki has truly become famous throughout the ninja world."
Naruto instantly brightened with pride after hearing the praise.
However, Sasuke Uchiha merely snorted from the side.
Even though he secretly appreciated Naruto's help many times before, that did not stop the two of them from arguing and provoking each other whenever they had the chance.
Meanwhile, Bug's attention was completely focused on Hinata Hyuga.
"Those eyes…" he muttered softly.
"That must be the Byakugan, the bloodline ability of the Hyuga Clan from Konoha, correct?"
Hinata nodded modestly.
Bug continued with admiration in his voice, "When it comes to tracking and locating targets, the Byakugan is one of the most powerful abilities in the entire ninja world."
Hinata's cheeks turned slightly red from the compliment.
"Thank you," she said softly, "but first, could you explain the situation in more detail?"
Nanaki and Bug exchanged glances before nodding together.
"Alright."
Nanaki took a deep breath before beginning.
"The runaway girl's name is Karin. She and her mother originally came to the Land of Grass as refugees. Eventually, they became members of the Grass Ninja Village."
"Both mother and daughter possess extraordinary sensory abilities. Their talent in medical ninjutsu is also extremely rare."
"Because of that, Karin became someone very important to the village despite her young age."
Bug added grimly, "That is exactly why we were willing to request help from other villages to search for her."
Hinata's eyes flickered slightly.
"Powerful sensory abilities and advanced medical ninjutsu…"
Naruto grinned brightly.
"Hinata, doesn't that sound a lot like you now?"
Hinata smiled shyly at the comparison.
Sasuke ignored the playful atmosphere and calmly asked the important question.
"Do you have any clues about the direction she escaped?"
Nanaki sighed heavily.
"That's difficult to determine."
"Although Karin isn't especially strong in combat, her sensory abilities are exceptional. Escaping pursuers would not be difficult for her."
"Unless someone possesses perception abilities even greater than hers…"
As he spoke, his gaze naturally shifted toward Hinata.
Bug crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"The Land of Grass is surrounded by several countries. However, the Land of Earth is filled with dangerous rocky mountains, while the Hidden Rain Village is isolated and extremely difficult for outsiders to enter."
"As for Takigakure, it is hidden behind a massive waterfall and closely protected."
"So the most likely possibility is that she fled toward the Land of Fire."
"The Land of Fire is huge and relatively flat. Once someone hides there, tracking them becomes extremely difficult."
Hinata frowned slightly while thinking carefully.
"But we already searched a large section of the border and found nothing."
"It hasn't even been two days since she escaped. She shouldn't have been able to travel that far yet."
She paused for a moment before looking toward Sasuke.
"I wonder if Sasuke's guess might actually be correct…"
Naruto tilted his head curiously.
"What guess?"
Sasuke remained silent, but Naruto excitedly answered in his place.
"Maybe Karin never left the Land of Grass at all!"
Nanaki and Bug exchanged another glance.
"That possibility cannot be ruled out," Nanaki admitted.
"However, many Grass Ninja have already searched the area without success."
"Of course… it's also possible she avoided them by using her sensory abilities."
Hinata nodded decisively.
"Then starting tomorrow, Team 7 will begin searching throughout the Land of Grass."
Naruto immediately jumped to his feet and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"Great idea, Hinata!"
"This mission is definitely going to depend on your Byakugan!"
Hinata smiled warmly.
"I'll do my best."
Outside the Grass Ninja Village, beneath the dim and hazy moonlight, a tall tree swayed gently in the cold night wind.
Standing atop one of its branches was Orochimaru.
His pale golden eyes stared toward the distant village with terrifying greed.
"Naruto… Sasuke…"
"My precious prey…"
"This time, none of you will escape."
A sinister smile spread across his face.
Moments later, his body twisted unnaturally before transforming into a massive white snake.
The creature slithered silently down the trunk and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.
Under the pale moonlight, its snake eyes glowed with a frightening yellow-green light.
Episode 152 – Naruto vs Orochimaru! The Final Battle Begins!
"Naruto-kun really never changes," Hinata said softly with a gentle smile.
"Even during missions, he never stops training…"
Not far away, Naruto continued practicing despite the late hour.
Sasuke watched quietly without responding immediately.
Part of him genuinely admired Naruto's determination and refusal to fear hardship or exhaustion.
But another part of him could not understand it at all.
"He already trained all day long," Sasuke thought irritably.
"And he still has this much energy left…"
"Only a monster like Naruto could do something this ridiculous."
"Tomorrow's mission will continue early in the morning, yet he's still consuming chakra recklessly. Isn't he afraid of exhausting himself completely?"
Sasuke let out a faint snort of disapproval.
Hinata only smiled softly.
"That's just how Naruto-kun is. He never wastes time that could be used for training."
"Still, you're right, Sasuke. Very few people could endure what he's doing."
At that moment, Naruto was using the power of the Yin Seal to repeatedly stimulate every cell in his body.
The process damaged his cells continuously before healing them again with stored chakra.
It was an extremely painful method of training.
Even Naruto occasionally cried out in pain during the process.
But the results were equally terrifying.
His physical strength and cellular vitality were improving at an unbelievable rate.
As Tsunade once explained, Naruto's natural cellular activity was already over one hundred times greater than an ordinary person's.
After enduring this brutal training repeatedly, that number was now slowly approaching two hundred times.
This was the minimum requirement for mastering the Wind Release Chakra Mode.
Naruto understood this clearly.
As long as he trained harder, endured more pain, and used every available moment efficiently, he could begin mastering the technique far sooner than expected.
That was why he refused to waste even a single opportunity.
Although his body felt exhausted and battered, Naruto still smiled faintly through the pain.
As long as he could see progress, every hardship felt worthwhile.
Panting heavily, he muttered to himself,
"My cellular activity should be around one hundred and eighty times greater than normal by now…"
"At this rate, I should fully meet the requirement within ten to twenty days."
"Once that happens, I'll be able to activate every cell in my body using Wind Release chakra instead of ordinary chakra…"
"And that will finally allow me to use the true Wind Release Chakra Mode."
Hidden within the darkness nearby, Orochimaru silently observed everything.
"So that's what Naruto is training…"
"The Yin Seal…"
During the previous battle involving the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru had already witnessed Tsunade using that technique.
Now he finally understood.
"With Naruto's enormous chakra reserves combined with the Yin Seal…"
"He could practically obtain endless chakra while strengthening his body to monstrous levels."
A dangerous smile appeared on Orochimaru's lips.
"So Tsunade truly intends to cultivate Naruto as her greatest disciple…"
Still, Orochimaru did not attack immediately.
It was not because he feared Team 7.
Nor did he care in the slightest about the Grass Ninja Village.
Instead, he patiently waited for two reasons.
First, he wanted to personally observe the current strength of Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata.
Second, he intended to use Hinata's Byakugan to locate Karin.
After all, Karin herself was also one of Orochimaru's desired targets.
He slowly licked his lips.
Then his figure vanished silently into the darkness once again.
At that moment, none of Team 7 realized they were already being watched by the eyes of a serpent.
The following morning, Team 7 officially began their search around the Grass Ninja Village according to the plan they had discussed earlier.
Hinata glanced worriedly toward Naruto.
"Naruto-kun… are you alright?"
Even with his incredible recovery abilities, he still looked somewhat exhausted.
"You didn't spend the entire night training, did you?"
Naruto immediately waved his hand and forced a cheerful grin onto his face.
"Of course not!"
Even if he wanted to, the system would never allow him to push himself beyond a certain limit. It always forced him to get the necessary rest and sleep.
"Don't worry. I'm completely full of energy right now!"
Sasuke snorted coldly.
"You really love showing off."
Naruto instantly exploded.
"What did you say, Sasuke?!"
"Come fight me right now if you've got a problem!"
Sasuke ignored him completely and leapt ahead first.
Hinata covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"Naruto-kun really changes whenever Sasuke is around."
Naruto blinked in confusion.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Hinata gently touched her chin as she thought about it.
"Well…"
"When Sasuke isn't nearby, Naruto-kun is actually very calm and mature."
"But the moment Sasuke appears, you immediately become childish again."
Naruto stared blankly.
"Really?!"
Hinata giggled before nodding.
Naruto folded his arms stubbornly.
"Hmph. That guy just naturally annoys me."
"Come on, Hinata. We can't let him get ahead of us."
"Alright."
The three of them continued searching through the forests surrounding the Grass Ninja Village.
At the same time, several ANBU teams from the village also joined the search effort after hearing Team 7's theory.
The search continued for an entire day.
Hinata's recent training under Tsunade had clearly produced remarkable results.
Not only had she mastered enhanced strength techniques, but her medical ninjutsu had also improved dramatically.
Her chakra reserves had increased significantly as well.
Still, compared to Naruto's terrifying stamina, the difference remained enormous.
As night gradually fell once more, Hinata finally reached her limit after maintaining the Byakugan continuously for such a long time.
Naruto immediately noticed the exhaustion in her expression.
"Let's rest for a while, Hinata."
Hinata hesitated before slowly nodding.
"We're very close to finishing the search around the Grass Ninja Village."
"If we stop now, we'll have to restart the search pattern tomorrow."
"This is exactly when my Byakugan is most useful…"
"I don't want to give up yet."
Naruto looked at her quietly.
"Hinata…"
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