The Forest of Death!
Sitting on a rock, Menma remained with his eyes closed, his consciousness immersed in the sealed space. Beside him, Sasuke Uchiha was also deep in thought.
The other two teams, receiving treatment from Sakura Haruno, curiously observed Menma. Through Ino Yamanaka's retelling of Naruto Uzumaki's boasts, and Sakura's additions, they now basically understood what kind of person he was: stronger than the teachers, kind to his own people, and extremely cruel and violent to his enemies.
It could be said that any ninja who offended Naruto and caused Menma to emerge… except for Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin who had only been severely injured… the grass on everyone else's graves was probably three meters high by now. This included top-tier ninjas like Jōnin and Elite Jōnin!
"I never imagined that Naruto, that clumsy loser from before, would have such an amazing alternate personality! That's so cool!" Kiba Inuzuka's eyes sparkled as he looked at Menma.
"Seriously, do two personalities become this extreme?" Ino stared at Menma and Sasuke with a lovesick expression. "One's a clumsy loser, the other's an incredibly handsome genius! This is such a stark contrast! Ah! I'm going to die~"
After three months, Naruto's nutrition had improved significantly. He was no longer the pale, thin, and listless ordinary man he once was. Plus, with the change in his hairstyle and demeanor after Menma's emergence, his looks were arguably on par with Minato Namikaze's.
Hinata Hyuga was so captivated that another glance would make her explode, and getting too close would melt her.
Meanwhile, in the distance, in the low bushes, the three Sound Ninja who had been ordered by Orochimaru to kill Sasuke looked utterly defeated as they peeked out, their eyes narrowed.
"Are we… really still going to kill Sasuke?" The black-haired Sound Ninja named Kin couldn't help but turn to her companions, her face filled with fear. "Hey, you all saw what just happened! The blond one was emitting terrifying red chakra, attacking so many people like a ferocious beast! Then green chakra appeared, each strike carrying wind pressure, even creating a huge crater in the ground! And Sasuke, also emitting golden-red chakra, was so fast I couldn't even see his movements! And after taking a blow that shattered the ground, he was completely unharmed!"
Hearing Kin's trembling voice, the two beside her remained silent, their faces grim. After a long while, the male ninja named Zaku Abumi spoke. With a black, spiky hairstyle and hands riddled with holes like wind tunnels, his expression was resolute.
"This is a mission given to us by Lord Orochimaru! Even if it means death, we must complete it according to his orders! We've lived this long and possess such great strength; it's all thanks to Orochimaru!" Zaku's face held a determination to die. After all, if Orochimaru hadn't saved him, he would have been beaten to death as a child while stealing food!
"That's right, Zaku! Compared to Jin, that cowardly piece of trash, I definitely prefer you a little more." Dosu Kinuta, clad in a spiked raincoat with his head bandaged, revealing only one eye, slowly stood up and walked out of the bushes. He hunched over, tilting his head to bring his single eye close to Kin's, a chilling killing intent emanating from him. "If you want to escape, I don't mind killing you right now. If you join us in a sneak attack, you might have a chance to survive, and your family won't be implicated!"
The chilling words and gaze made Kin shudder involuntarily. She quickly tried to explain, "Don't look at me like that, Dosu, I won't run away! Right, Zaku, explain for me!"
"Hmph." Zaku snorted coldly, about to say something, when a cold, emotionless male voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Sound Ninja scum, you're blocking the way!"
"Who is it!?" They belatedly realized who it was and quickly jumped out of the bushes, then turned to look at the source of the voice.
It was Gaara, arms crossed, carrying his gourd, followed by Kankuro and Temari.
"So it's those three Sand Ninja!" Upon seeing who it was, they breathed a sigh of relief. They almost thought their spying had been discovered by Sasuke or Naruto in the distance!
"We don't have time for you now. Get lost if you don't want to lose your lives!" Zaku waved his hand.
Hearing this, the vein on Gaara's forehead bulged. But his expression remained unchanged. "Stop talking nonsense, make your move. I'll give you a chance."
Knowing about the alliance, Gaara had originally planned to let these three Sound Ninja henchmen go. But he hadn't expected them to be completely unaware of his identity and dare to speak so disrespectfully to him. For such insignificant and annoying underlings, he'd just kill them for peace and quiet.
"Since you're courting death, then I'll grant your wish!" The hot-tempered Zaku couldn't hold back any longer and took a step forward. "Don't touch him! I'll shatter him with my own sound!"
With that, Zaku crouched and suddenly lunged forward! As he drew near, he raised his hands, revealing sound holes. A piercing sound and a surge of wind pressure, stirring the air ahead, erupted rapidly from the hole!
"Decapitating Airwaves! Die!"
Seeing Gaara frozen in place, as if terrified, Zaku laughed triumphantly. However, Pop—Bang!
"What!?" Zaku's smile froze on the spot. Gaara stood motionless before them, enveloped in a solid shell of sand! His attacks struck, only stirring up a few specks of sand that flew through the air!
"How can this be?! He blocked my sonic waves and air pressure so easily, without being affected at all!"
Unconvinced, Zaku took several steps, changing direction and unleashing deafening sonic waves and air pressure. But each strike was blocked by the automatically rising Sand Shield.
"Is this your air pressure and sonic attacks?" Beneath the eggshell-like Sand Shield, Gaara's face was hidden in darkness, only his eyes, filled with murderous intent, revealed. "Let me demonstrate for you the attack of pressure and the sound of screams! Sand Binding Coffin! Sand Burial!"
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