Chapter 35
On the other side of the forest, the chase had reached its end.
Iruka's body had already hit its absolute limit.
Looking at the figures closing in from all directions, he knew he couldn't escape anymore.
Gritting his teeth, he aimed through the dense gaps in the branches toward the direction of Konoha village and threw with the very last of his strength.
He wanted to hurl the Y-shaped kunai containing the intelligence as far as possible.
This was both to finally draw these Takigakure ninja away, making the students even safer,
and to delay the time it would take them to obtain the intelligence—just in case Konoha ninja could arrive in time and preserve it.
"Courting death!"
The lead Takigakure ninja instantly sensed Iruka's intention. His eyes sharpened: "Kill him!"
Almost simultaneously, they drew the long swords from their backs. Sharp blades thrust straight toward Iruka's vitals.
It's over…
After the kunai left his hand, Iruka watched the approaching enemies and let his arms drop powerlessly.
He emptied his mind, preparing to meet the death that was coming.
Right at that moment—
"Get AWAY from Iruka-sensei!!"
A childish yet furious roar exploded through the trees like thunder.
BOOM!
A figure burst from the branches above, stomping so hard that the branch shattered beneath his foot.
Using the recoil, he launched forward like a cannonball straight toward Iruka.
Mid-air, the person's hand extended extremely naturally—
and coincidentally caught the intelligence kunai that had just been thrown, gripping it firmly.
Immediately after came a split-second counterattack.
Borrowing the momentum of his charge, the figure twisted at the waist in mid-air and delivered two flying kicks—one to each of the Takigakure ninja on his left and right.
The enemies flew backward, crashing into trees before stopping.
At the same time, with remaining force, the figure—still holding the newly caught kunai—slashed viciously toward the lead Takigakure ninja's face.
"What?!"
The lead ninja's expression changed drastically. The sword he had been thrusting toward Iruka had to stop abruptly and pull back, held vertically to block.
Zzzzt—!
Sparks flew. Though he blocked the fatal strike, the kunai's sharp tip still sliced through his mask.
A long, thin line of blood appeared. Fresh blood soaked through the torn mask along the cut.
"Who are you?"
The lead Takigakure ninja leaped backward in embarrassment to create distance, touched the blood on his mask, eyes filled with shock and fury.
In that instant just now, he had actually been injured by this blond brat who suddenly ambushed them.
Naruto offered no explanation. He simply lowered his stance slightly, assuming a combat-ready posture, and resolutely positioned himself in front of Iruka.
"You're…?"
Iruka—having narrowly escaped death—collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, staring blankly at the orange back shielding him.
For a moment he thought the heavy injuries were causing hallucinations, hardly daring to believe his eyes.
Only when the pain in his body sharpened his thoughts did he suddenly snap awake.
"Idiot! Why are you here?!"
Iruka roared, his voice cracking from emotion: "Shouldn't you be in school doing self-study right now?!"
He couldn't understand at all why Uzumaki Naruto was here.
He had risked his life to draw the enemies away precisely to protect the other three students.
Yet right after saving three, another one came running!
And it was the most special one—Uzumaki Naruto!
"Run! Get out of here! You're no match for them!"
Iruka's eyes reddened with tears. He struggled to stand and push Naruto away.
As one of his best students in class—even with the psychological rejection caused by the Nine-Tails—
over this past year and more, Iruka had personally witnessed this child's growth and effort.
If he escaped now, with Naruto's astonishing stamina, there might still be a slim chance of survival.
But facing three ninja roughly at chūnin level at the same time—
a child who hadn't even graduated from the academy had basically no chance of living.
"If I weren't here, Iruka-sensei would definitely have been killed by them, right?"
Uzumaki Naruto didn't turn his head, speaking calmly about what had almost happened.
"Damn it! I'm the teacher! Protecting students and protecting the village is my responsibility—even if I die here, I'll have no regrets!"
Iruka's voice choked with tears, almost pleading: "But if something happens to you here, then I would have died for nothing! Do you understand? Go!"
"I'm not leaving."
Naruto faced away from Iruka, but his voice carried an unquestionable firmness.
"I came here for one purpose—to save Iruka-sensei."
"And…" Naruto gripped the kunai tighter, turning his head slightly to show a confident smile: "None of us are going to die. We'll all get back to the village safely."
"Hmph. How touching—teacher and student bond."
The lead Takigakure ninja saw they were practically chatting now.
And this blond brat's words showed he didn't take them seriously at all—his killing intent grew even stronger.
"No more talking—surround them!"
He signaled to his two teammates who had just climbed back up. They encircled Naruto and Iruka.
"The secret message is in that brat's hand. Today we're not just taking the intel—we're burying people here too!"
At this moment, behind Naruto—
Xuanming's figure floated in mid-air, calmly observing the scene and asking unhurriedly:
"Does the poor Daoist need to lend a hand?"
For Xuanming, the current situation was actually very easy to resolve.
He only needed to make a small move—provide Naruto with a bit of his own chakra—and the fight would end instantly.
"No need, Fox Sage."
Unexpectedly, Naruto refused.
He silently recited the breathing formula Xuanming had taught him. His breathing slowly became deep and steady.
"Man follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, the Dao follows Nature."
"That's how the rules of the shinobi world work. To become an excellent ninja, battle is unavoidable."
Naruto's gaze sharpened: "I can't always borrow your power. This time… I have to try it myself."
Uzumaki Naruto rejected the path of being carried.
Hearing this, a trace of appreciation flashed in Xuanming's eyes—this was Naruto's true growth.
"Good."
Xuanming did not argue, simply saying quietly: "Then I'll watch your back. Go ahead and try with confidence."
"What the hell are you mumbling about over there!"
The lead Takigakure ninja could no longer tolerate this brat's disregard.
Seizing the moment, he signaled his teammates: "Attack! Kill him!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The three Takigakure ninja burst forward almost simultaneously. Long swords gleaming with cold light slashed toward Naruto together.
"Be careful! Naruto!"
Exhausted, Iruka could only sit on the ground and watch, desperately thinking of anything he could do to help.
Honestly—watching real blades and killing intent right in front of him, Naruto still felt a little afraid inside.
After all, before this it had always been Fox Sage helping, or friendly sparring with Neji and Sasuke that stopped short of real harm.
There had never been actual danger to life.
This time was truly the first time he would fight an enemy to the death using only his own strength.
One mistake really could mean death.
"Haa…"
Naruto exhaled a breath of turbid air. While taijutsu was his strongest suit, close-quarters blade combat was also taught at the academy.
"Come on!"
Naruto no longer hesitated. With strange, flowing footwork, he raised the kunai in his hand and charged forward to meet them.
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