Chapter 89: Aerial Chase! I Just Want to Hit Your Mount
"Kakashi-sensei! Faster! Go even faster!"
Naruto turned into a streak of golden light, weaving through the treetops while keeping his eyes locked on the shrinking white dot in the sky.
That was Deidara riding his giant clay bird, with Gaara hanging beneath the bird's beak like a piece of luggage.
"Hmm? These guys are still chasing?"
High above, Deidara glanced back, his lips curling into a scornful sneer. "What a bunch of barbarians. If you want to chase me, I'll let you taste the exhaust of true art!"
Whoosh! The giant clay bird flapped its wings violently, its speed suddenly surging as it widened the distance once again. This "kiting" tactic was practically unbeatable against Ninjas who couldn't fly.
"Damn it!" Naruto stomped, shattering a thick tree branch. He glared at Deidara in the sky, grinding his teeth in frustration.
He had become stronger, but he still couldn't fly!
[Damn you, Deidara! This playstyle is so cheap!]
As he sprinted, Naruto complained frantically in his mind, and his thoughts were immediately transmitted to the minds of his old acquaintances via the heavenly curtain.
[Just because you have a mount, you think you can bully the infantry, huh? If I had a plane, or even just a hang glider, I'd drag you down myself!]
Kakashi, panting, caught up from behind and advised, "Naruto, calm down. The distance is too great; Ninjutsu won't reach. I'm gathering my Chakra to prepare that technique..."
As he spoke, Kakashi placed his hand over his left eye, hidden beneath his forehead protector, his expression solemn. Kamui was his trump card, but the preparation time was long, and aiming was also a major issue.
"That technique?" Naruto glanced back at the slow-moving Kakashi and curled his lip.
[By the time you open that eye, he'll have already flown to the Land of Earth to eat ramen!]
[It would be great if there were a sniper right now... preferably one with an eight-times scope.]
In Naruto's mind, the image of that shy girl who always lowered her head and possessed a pair of Byakugan flashed by.
[If only Wife Hinata were here.]
As soon as this thought appeared, far away in Konoha Village, Hinata, who was practicing her Gentle Fist in the courtyard, suddenly froze, nearly disrupting the rhythm of her Chakra.
Naruto-kun... is thinking of me at a time like this?
Before she could even blush, Naruto's next inner voice made her feel like she was about to burn up.
[Hinata's Byakugan... forget a few hundred meters, that's like clairvoyance! I heard that if you master the Byakugan, you can see how many moles are on an enemy's butt from eight hundred miles away!]
[If she were here, using those beautiful and precise eyes to help me lock onto that clay-playing blondie, and give him a "super aim"...]
[Then I'll fire off... a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, and turn his bird into a roasted chicken! That scene would be absolutely badass!]
"Eight... eight hundred miles... seeing... a butt..."
Hinata's face turned beet red in an instant, and white steam began to rise from the top of her head.
What is all this nonsense! The Byakugan doesn't have the ability to see moles! And... why the butt?!
Although she was so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole to crawl into, a strong thought suddenly emerged in Hinata's heart.
Naruto-kun is very troubled right now.
He is looking at the sky, and he needs a pair of eyes that can help him see the target clearly.
"If... if I could really help..."
[Ding!] The System's notification sound echoed over the Hyuga family mansion.
[Detected host Hinata (Remote), received a strong craving from the core target regarding "ultra-long-range sniping assistance" and "absolute vision lock."]
[System Judgment: Your sweetheart wants a pair of eyes that can see through everything, so even if separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, you must send this gaze over. This is called... a meeting of minds!]
[Reward granted: Byakugan Bloodline Advancement · Divine Perspective (Remote Support Version).]
[Effect Description: True love ignores distance, and vision can be shared. You can project your ocular power across space onto the retina of the person with whom you share a connection. In this moment, I am also watching the world you see!]
"Activate!" Hinata abruptly lifted her head. Although she was looking at the familiar walls of Konoha, blue veins instantly bulged around her eyes, and a golden light shimmered within her pure white pupils.
She couldn't see the forest in the Land of Rivers, but she could "see" Naruto.
That was the clearest coordinate in her heart.
In the forest of the Land of Rivers, Naruto, who was sprinting, suddenly felt his vision blur, and the entire world became incredibly clear. The tree shadows that had been blurry due to high-speed movement were now sharp in every detail.
He could even see the clay debris falling from Deidara's clay bird as it flapped its wings a thousand meters in the air!
[Holy crap?! What's going on?] Naruto was startled by this sudden change and rubbed his eyes vigorously.
[Since when were my eyes this awesome? Did I get a radar installed in my head? Could it be that my longing for Wife Hinata is so strong that it moved the heavens?]
He focused his gaze, and Deidara in the sky instantly magnified in his eyes. He could even see the smug expression on Deidara's face and the bag full of clay on his waist.
This vision would even automatically lock onto targets and adjust its zoom according to his thoughts; it was even smarter than a fire-control radar.
Although he didn't know what was going on, for Naruto, who only cared about the results, this was a godsend!
[Whatever! Since I can see you clearly, I'm going to knock your broken bird down!]
Naruto glanced at Kakashi, who was still running hard in front.
[Kakashi-sensei! Let me borrow your shoulder for a second!]
Kakashi felt a chill down his back, and before he could turn around, he felt a heavy weight stomp hard onto his shoulder.
"Off you go—!" Naruto shouted, his feet erupting with Chakra as he used Kakashi as a stepping stone.
"Pfft—" Poor Kakashi was nearly forced to his knees by the stomp, half of his body sinking into the dirt. "Naruto! You guy..."
Borrowing this force, Naruto shot toward the sky like a cannonball.
Under the enhancement of the "Divine Perspective," Deidara's flight path, the direction of the airflow, and even the timing of the clay bird's next wing flap were all within his calculations.
[I see it! That's the spot! The connection point at the base of the wing!]
In mid-air, Naruto held his right hand high. Blue Chakra rotated and compressed frantically, instantly condensing into an enormously huge Rasengan.
This wasn't an ordinary Big Ball Rasengan, but one mixed with the obsession to make the bragging he did in front of his girlfriend a reality!
"Hmm? How did this brat jump so high?"
Deidara, who was feeling smug, suddenly felt a flash of golden light before his eyes. He instinctively wanted to maneuver the giant bird to dodge, but the blond youth seemed to have anticipated his thoughts, his figure tracing a bizarre arc in the air.
Their gazes met in the air.
Deidara saw a pair of azure eyes, but they radiated a pressure similar to that of the Byakugan.
"Get..."
Naruto's roar drowned out the sound of the wind.
"Down!"
BOOM—! The huge Rasengan slammed squarely into the base of the giant clay bird's left wing.
There was no suspense.
The clay bird let out a rumble, and half of its wing was ground into dust instantly.
The massive shockwave of the explosion dispersed in the air.
"Oh no—! The art is going to lose control! Forget it, I'll just retreat. I've already got the Ichibi anyway."
The giant bird, having lost its balance, spun in the air, trailing a long plume of black smoke as it crashed deep into the forest.
Naruto, having completed this "anti-air interception," adjusted his posture and landed steadily. He clapped his hands, watching the smoke rising in the distance, feeling smug:
[Hehe, as expected, a man's intuition combined with longing for his wife is invincible! This is what they call a meeting of minds, a force that can cut through metal!]
[That eight-hundred-mile shot, so satisfying!]
Far away in Konoha, Hinata finally collapsed onto the corridor, exhausted, panting heavily with sweat soaking her clothes. But upon hearing Naruto's final words, "a meeting of minds," a radiant smile appeared on her weary little face.
Only Kakashi, who had just pulled himself out of the dirt, looked at this scene, covered in dust, his eyes glazed over.
"The prediction... and that jump height..."
"In that moment just now, his eyes... why did they feel so much like that little girl from the Hyuga Clan?"
Kakashi rubbed his shoulder, which was throbbing with pain, and sighed once again that he might really be getting old. These days, can even single-celled idiots like this pull off such high-tech coordination in a fight?