Naruto crossed his arms and barely blocked the kick.
Boom!
The impact shoved him back several meters, boots carving two ugly trenches into the dirt.
He immediately widened the distance.
Standing between him and Kakashi now…
Was Konoha's Blue Beast.
Might Guy.
Elite jōnin. Taijutsu monster. Eight Gates master. Professional youth preacher.
Naruto's eyelid twitched.
With his current strength, fighting full-power Guy?
Yeah right.
Even the Sixth Gate would beat the crap out of him.
Taijutsu monsters like Guy were disgusting to deal with.
Genjutsu? Useless.
Most ninjutsu? Tanked head-on.
Basically: pure "punch you until you regret being born" style.
After forcing Naruto back, Guy didn't chase. He turned anxiously to Kakashi.
"Kakashi! Can you still fight? Let's team up and take down the ninja who attacked the village!"
Kakashi painfully sat up and waved his hand.
"He's not an enemy… he just wants to leave Konoha."
"…Huh?"
Guy blinked.
"Who is he? I don't remember this kid in the jōnin ranks. Root? ANBU?"
Kakashi coughed awkwardly.
"He's still a student. Ninja Academy."
Guy: "…"
He stared at Naruto's face.
Baby cheeks.
Blond hair.
Still looks like he should be doing homework.
"…So this is youth nowadays?" Guy muttered.
Then he clenched his fists dramatically.
"Correcting a junior's wrong path is ALSO part of youth! I will beat some sense into him with love and passion!"
He started stretching like he was about to enter a boxing ring.
Kakashi scratched his head lazily.
"…Kai. While you were giving your speech, Naruto already escaped. The one in front of you is just a shadow clone."
Guy froze.
"…Eh?"
His brain clearly rebooted.
Then he slapped his thigh.
"Then hurry! Summon your ninja dogs! Track him by scent!"
Kakashi slowly stood up and stared at the clone.
"…Forget it."
"If Naruto wants to leave, forcing him back won't change anything."
"His guardian is the Third Hokage. Let the old man deal with it."
Guy looked even more confused.
"The Third is his guardian?"
Kakashi sighed.
"Not just that… he's also connected to the Fourth Hokage."
"And damn, that brat hits way too hard. If that Rasengan landed clean, I'd be hospitalized for half a year."
He said it casually — but also loud enough for the shadow clone to hear.
The clone didn't react much.
It simply lowered the kunai… and walked over slowly.
Guy instinctively tensed up, but Kakashi stopped him.
"Relax. He's not attacking."
He looked at Naruto.
"Anything else you want to say? We've known each other for half a year, after all."
Naruto smiled.
A weird, meaningful smile.
"Kakashi-senpai… I'm looking forward to the day you defect too."
"…Defect?"
Kakashi chuckled.
"That'll never happen. Besides Konoha, there's nowhere else for me."
Naruto shrugged.
"Don't be so sure. I think you hate this village just as much as I do."
"If you learn the truth one day… you might run faster than me."
Before Kakashi could reply—
Whoosh!
A slicing gust tore through the air.
The shadow clone was shredded instantly and turned into smoke.
Both men turned.
Standing there with a cane and bandaged eye…
Cold, expressionless…
Danzō Shimura.
Behind him, Root members lined up like ghosts.
"Kakashi. Guy."
His voice was icy.
"Why did you let the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki escape?"
"He attacked the Hokage Building. He is now a traitor."
"Kill on sight."
Guy stiffened.
Kakashi answered calmly.
"Whether he's a traitor or not is for the Third Hokage to decide."
Danzō snorted.
Of course he knew Naruto's value.
He just wanted the kid under Root control.
A weapon. Nothing more.
Without another word, Danzō led Root toward the Forest of Death.
The air felt colder after he left.
Guy swallowed.
"…So where do we go now?"
Kakashi groaned, clutching his shoulder.
"Hospital first. I'm about to die."
"…Then the Third is near the Uchiha district."
Guy nodded.
Even he could tell the village atmosphere lately was sketchy as hell.
Best not get dragged into politics.
Youth didn't cover civil wars.
Meanwhile.
Inside the Uchiha compound.
With the support of Yashiro, Inabi, and others, Shisui Uchiha successfully took over leadership of the clan.
Fugaku Uchiha's cooperation helped a lot.
If Fugaku had resisted, they might've ended up solving things the old-fashioned way…
Mangekyō eye contest.
Thankfully, the man simply stepped down.
After taking power, Shisui immediately announced:
"We evacuate Konoha."
Boom.
The entire hall exploded.
"What?!"
"Evacuate?!"
"Wasn't the plan a coup?!"
The clan nearly lost their minds.
Shisui didn't argue.
Didn't persuade.
Didn't debate.
He simply said:
"Those who trust me — come."
"Those who stay — deal with the consequences yourselves."
Cold. Direct. No babysitting.
After dismissing the meeting, he led an elite squad to the security building.
They needed time to evacuate civilians.
Which meant…
Someone had to distract the higher-ups.
A high-mortality mission.
Naturally, Shisui would lead it himself.
As they suited up—
Space suddenly twisted.
A vortex formed.
Out stepped a man in a black robe and a tiger-striped mask.
The masked man swung a sickle without a word.
CLANG!
Shisui blocked with his short blade and counter-stabbed with a kunai—
But the blade passed through empty air.
"…Space-time ninjutsu."
He vanished instantly with the Body Flicker.
Reappearing beside his clan members, he warned:
"He can phase through attacks."
"Only the moment he strikes is real."
"Stay close. Don't fight alone."
His eyes sharpened.
"…This guy's dangerous."
Very dangerous.
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