Chapter 227 : The tacit understanding between fools and idiots#
Naraku, who had been hiding in the shadows, reappeared before the audience.
He drew his ninja sword, and as lightning-style Chakra coated it, the blade glowed with a dazzling blue electric light.
In a close-up of his eyes, his dark pupils suddenly turned red.
The camera zoomed out, revealing seal patterns rapidly growing like vines, coiling around his entire body.
Arcs of electricity crackled from the blade, and in the next instant, Naraku's feet shattered the ground as he plunged into the battlefield like lightning.
The electric light followed the blade's trajectory, carving a pale bluecrack in the air.
Where his afterimage streaked, dozens of Chakra threads controlling spider-like puppets snapped, and the puppets fell like stalks of rice cut at the waist.
[Opening his Sharingan right away, Naraku, do you really have to go all out like this?]
[Healing Seal: Get to work, brothers! Hold on!]
[As soon as the seal incantation appeared, Naraku was suddenly imbued with a wild beauty.]
[That sword slash was incredibly cool!]
[Inheriting the fighting styles of both Uchiha and Sakumo, it's hard not to be cool.]
[From this day forward, Uchiha Naraku will make a name for himself in the Ninja World!]
Naraku unleashed a Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation, roaring towards the enemies, eliminating several Sunagakure Ninja who had lost their puppets.
His dazzling performance forced the opponents to gather their puppets once more to confront him.
The Sunagakure advance captain controlled his puppets to spray poison gas above Naraku's head, thinking he had an easy win, but discovered that his target had already used agile movements to jump and weave across the puppets, escaping his designed encirclement.
Crimson eyes flickered among the cold puppet horde, announcing the young man's identity.
Flames incinerated all the poison in the air, and puppets fell in swathes the moment his blade flashed, sending both them and their puppeteers to the underworld.
The Sunagakure captain realized that the earlier smooth operation was all a ruse by Naraku.
He had intended to fight hard to turn the tide, but never expected to be defeated by the young man in a single move.
-- Have the puppets' movements... already been seen through by his Sharingan? -- Why can Konoha always produce monsters like the White Fang?
-- The world... is truly unfair...
The Sunagakure captain, lamenting the unfairness of fate, fell from the tree.
At the same time, the camera shifted its focus from him to Naraku nearby, allowing the audience to clearly see his startlingly moving eyes.
[It feels like Naraku hasn't regressed at all?]
[Not only has he not regressed, his movements are even faster than before, and his hand signs are completed almost in the blink of an eye.]
[Maybe he grew up? A long time has passed since then.]
[There's also a possibility that Naraku has never slacked off his training, even if he couldn't do much, he never thought of giving up.]
[Wuwuwuwu, my Naraku! How much more effort do you have to put in to break fate? o(╥﹏╥)o]
[Yes, the world is inherently unfair QAQ]
Two massive fireballs rushed past Naraku's original position, only hitting the dancing dust in the air.
Sharp-eyed viewers immediately recognized this special Ninjutsu as Pakura, the Sunagakure strongman's, signature technique: Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder.
Naraku dodged again, but the two fireballs were relentless, so out of necessity, he could only wrap his blade in lightning-style Chakra and clash head-on with the Scorch Release that had caught up to him.
While the collision of the two Ninjutsu created a large amount of smoke, obscuring vision, Naraku used his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to sense a special Chakra and launched a surprise attack towards its location.
The audience flooded the screen with comments, saying their palms were sweating from tension, fearing Naraku would suffer a loss against Pakura.
Unexpectedly, after he dodged the Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder with a Substitution Jutsu, he defeated his renowned opponent with just one move: [Demonic Illusion: Kyoka Suigetsu].
[Isn't this Extremely Steaming Murder? A Ninja of Pakura's caliber is in the advance team?]
[There must be someone who can protect the puppeteers in close combat.]
[Naraku only hasn't learned Water Release and Earth Release, how will he fight this?]
[Holy crap, so bold, going straight for Pakura???]
[You're telling me he's in this state after not fighting anyone for two years? I don't believe it!]
[Beautiful!!!]
[Wait, he instantly defeated her? Pakura was instantly defeated???]
[It feels quite reasonable (laughing crying.jpg)... He used this move to take down Sakumo two or three years ago, and Sakumo was much more formidable than Pakura.]
[If you hadn't said anything, I would have almost forgotten, Naraku's Genjutsu is indeed overpowered.]
Several Sunagakure Ninja tried to retrieve Pakura, but they also met the same fate, falling into the intricate dream woven by the exquisite Genjutsu.
Just as they struggled to break free, a sizzling burning sound reached their ears.
The scene switched to the perspective of these Sunagakure Ninja: several Kunai were stuck at their feet, with exploding tags attached, emitting dazzling light.
Boom boom boom!!!
The audience, equally blown away, cheered excitedly, watching Naraku wreak havoc among the Sunagakure ranks.
Whenever those eerie red eyes emerged from the shadows and poison, the blade would carry cold light and swift wind like a shadow, accurately piercing the gaps in mechanical joints, slashing open the enemies' vulnerable chests and throats.
Seas of fire and roaring thunder surged relentlessly, forging an insurmountable wall with the enemies' blood and lives.
The air shimmered with rolling heat, burning even souls to a scorching temperature.
[If this Genjutsu can't be dispelled, will they just freeze to death?]
[Yes, that's how Genjutsu kills people.]
[╰(*°▽°*)╯ ~ Surprise!!!]
[Too strong, one trap after another, the Sunagakure Ninja had no time to react.]
[It makes me so excited.]
[So cool, so cool! A typical Uchiha fighting style, it's been a long time since we've seen it after Mirror disappeared!]
[I was there, I can testify that Naraku was truly, truly handsome.]
[Naraku got MVP!!!]
[Can't argue with that, definitely the best of the whole match.]
Sunagakure suffered heavy losses and retreated disconsolately, leaving behind a chaotic battlefield.
Naraku quickly handed Pakura over to another Jonin for safekeeping, then rushed back to treat Ebisu, using a high-level Medical Ninjutsu like the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
In the animation, the rescue process took less than half a minute, and he had already rescued the person from the Shinigami with his superb skills.
The atmosphere of the entire scene began to relax.
Ebisu, slowly regaining consciousness, still looked a bit dazed.
Inuzuka Tsume was discussing battle plans with another small team of Jonin, while Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, and Hyuga Hizashi were busy cleaning up the battlefield.
Only Naraku silently stood with his back to everyone, his shoulder leaning against a tree trunk, pressing most of his body weight onto it.
[Ebisu has a strong life force; if Naraku wasn't here, he would have just died.]
[The importance of having a battlefield medic in the team.]
[Naraku seems like he can't stand anymore?]
[Our Baby Naraku is a patient, have you all forgotten? Wuwuwuwu.]
[Traveling for a day and a night, participating in battle as soon as he arrived, and then having to use Medical Ninjutsu to save someone... Even a healthy person couldn't handle all that, let alone him?]
[Wuwuwuwu, no one noticed TAT]
Ebisu's head spun, feeling terribly dizzy and disoriented.
His pupils, dilated from the poison, had not yet recovered, so he couldn't see clearly, only a blurred silhouette standing to his left.
That shadow leaned against the tree trunk and trembled twice, and a cough seemed to be carried on the wind.
-- Naraku?
He desperately wanted to ask if the other person was injured, but his body, having just purged the toxins, was extremely weak, unable to even speak, only emitting a hoarse gasp.
The other person noticed he wanted to speak, gently patted his shoulder, and softly comforted him: "Don't rush, Ebisu, you'll probably be able to speak and see clearly in about half a day."
The person in front of him was indeed Naraku, but his voice sounded relatively normal, so he should be fine, right?
Ebisu's muddled brain made this judgment.
So he relaxed, nodded with effort, and then leaned against the tree to rest with his eyes closed.
[Is Baby Naraku spitting blood? QAQ]
[I really wish Inuzuka-sensei would discover this scene and send him to the rear.]
[The battlefield is full of blood, Inuzuka wouldn't be able to smell it.]
[It was the same when he went to save Shisui; no matter how much pain his body was in, Naraku could keep his voice steady to deceive people.]
[Ebisu, don't fall for this little fool's trick ahhhh... T-T]
[If only Kakashi were here, Kakashi would definitely be able to tell that Naraku is about to collapse wuwuwuwu.]
[Only Kakashi in the whole world can see through Naraku's lies at a glance.]
The next moment, the camera moved to the front line of the Konoha and Iwagakure confrontation.
The much-anticipated Kakashi appeared on screen, swiftly taking down the last enemy.
The mission was complete, but he still looked very tense, muttering "Something's wrong."
Excluding reasons like the enemy having more ambushes or a mission oversight, Kakashi realized that this unsettling feeling of unease seemed to be completely unfounded.
-- But was it really unfounded?
If there was no immediate danger, then it was some kind of resonance from his soul warning him.
-- Could it be... Naraku?
Kakashi's heart tightened, recalling Naraku's mission to infiltrate the Land of Rain, where he had experienced the same sudden premonition, the same restless anxiety.
-- No, it can't be.
Last week's letter still contained a photo of Naraku; Aunt Mikoto said he was doing well.
-- The Sharingan Reincarnation Seal is also operating normally, so he's fine... He could only comfort himself this way.
Otherwise, what could he do? Abandon everything on the front line and return to Konoha Village as a deserter?
For a moment, Kakashi really wanted to do that, and his body had already reacted, but reason desperately pulled back his agitated emotions, burying this impulse in the most unreachable depths of his heart.
[What kind of telepathy between close friends is this... Greatly shocked.jpg]
[After all this, you still insist these two are close friends?]
[Is it telepathy between XQL? Hachika, you guy...]
[Trust your instincts, Kakashi o(╥﹏╥)o]
[It reminds me of the line 'My seven-foot body is already pledged to the nation, I can no longer pledge it to you.']
[If he abandoned his comrades and left, he wouldn't be Hatake Kakashi...]
[If Naraku were here, he definitely wouldn't leave the front line for his own selfish reasons; they are both such foolish idiots.]
— —
Naraku somewhat suspected this was another montage technique by the animator, pasting Kakashi's reactions from a certain period here, making it seem like the two had telepathy... But in the depths of his own unconscious mind, a faint flicker of anticipation mysteriously lingered.
Because having someone in the world who worries about you so deeply is such a bittersweet and happy thing.