The next morning, sunlight streamed into Rorin's room. He raised his right hand slightly to shield his eyes and slowly opened them.
"Morning already?"
Everything had been calm last night. Rorin guessed that Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki hadn't yet reached the vicinity of the Hidden Sand Village.
After stretching, Rorin used Flying Thunder God to teleport to his secret cave in the Land of Fire. Then he formed hand seals.
Shadow Clone Technique!
"From today onward, you'll monitor Jiraiya's situation in real time," Rorin said seriously to the clone. Then he connected to the system and transferred the live feed channel for the clone to supervise.
The clone nodded slightly and immediately got to work, staring intently at the live stream while also turning on recording to review later, just in case anything important was missed.
After making the arrangements, Rorin returned to his home in the Hidden Leaf Village to wash up. When he came back to his room in the Hidden Sand Village again, three people were already standing inside.
"You scared me!" Rorin jumped. "Seriously, how can you just enter someone's room without saying anything? What if it's not a good time?"
He let out a quiet sigh of relief, thinking how lucky it was that he had already placed the clone in the secret cave.
"Rorin, we knocked for a long time but got no response. We came in through the window to check on you—we thought you might be in danger," Rock Lee said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"Then we thought maybe you noticed something and left in a hurry, so we stayed here waiting for you," Tenten added, poking her head out.
Hearing that, Rorin put on a "serious" expression and said,
"Yeah, I did have a bad feeling, so I went to patrol around the Hidden Sand Village."
The others glanced at him suspiciously but didn't press further. As long as he was safe, that was enough.
"Did you find anything unusual, Rorin? Do you need me to use the Byakugan to check?" Neji stepped forward and asked softly.
Rorin shook his head. "Nothing unusual for now, but I just have a bad feeling. It's bothering me."
"In that case, let's stay extra alert today! The sun is shining bright—let's give it our all! That's youth!" Might Guy encouraged everyone.
"Yes! Guy-sensei, I'll give it my all!" Rock Lee responded energetically.
The four of them then left Rorin's room together, full of fighting spirit as they headed out on their mission.
...
Meanwhile, Naruto and his group, who were searching for Sasuke, were leaping through the forest.
Pakkun, leading the way, sniffed the air and turned to Naruto.
"Sasuke should be nearby! But his direction feels a bit strange."
"Got it!" Naruto nodded, not really listening to the second half, and quickly formed hand seals.
Multiple Shadow Clones!
In an instant, hundreds—thousands—of Narutos appeared. Soon, all the clones scattered in every direction to search for Sasuke.
About five kilometers east of Naruto's position, in another part of the forest, Sasuke, Karin, and Suigetsu were heading toward the Hidden Leaf Village.
Stopping under a large tree to rest, Karin closed her eyes and used her sensory ability to scan the surroundings.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes, adjusted her glasses, and glanced toward Naruto's direction.
"Sasuke-kun, there's a group approaching us from nearby."
Sasuke frowned slightly. "How many?"
"Two people—no, wait, plus a large number of shadow clones. Too many to count. Oh, and there's a ninja dog too."
A large number of shadow clones? A figure appeared in Sasuke's mind. He muttered softly,
"Naruto… what a hassle."
"What should we do next, Sasuke-kun?" Karin asked.
Sasuke replied calmly, "We'll wait here for a while and see what they want. Might as well deal with the nuisance so they stop following us."
The three of them stayed where they were, quietly waiting.
Fifteen minutes later, one of Naruto's shadow clones spotted them—and at the same time, Sasuke noticed it.
Their eyes met. After confirming Sasuke's group had stopped—
Poof!
The shadow clone disappeared, its information returning to Naruto. His eyes lit up with excitement.
"Found Sasuke!" Naruto shouted happily.
He glanced at Yamato, who nodded. The two of them, along with the ninja dog, rushed toward Sasuke's location.
Another fifteen minutes later, Naruto arrived in front of Sasuke.
"Sasuke, long time no see! I heard you killed Orochimaru recently!" Naruto said excitedly.
Seeing that Sasuke hadn't left since they first noticed each other, Naruto thought Sasuke had come to his senses and was waiting for him.
"You came all this way just to say that?" Sasuke said coldly. "Then I've received your congratulations. You can leave now. Stop following me."
Naruto's expression dimmed. He stepped forward and asked,
"Sasuke, can't you let go of the hatred in your heart?"
Sasuke frowned. "My business is none of yours."
"Why are you so fixated on Itachi? Even if you kill him, your clan won't come back. Instead of drowning in hatred, why not try letting go? There has to be a better solution," Naruto said sincerely.
Hearing this, Karin and Suigetsu exchanged glances, both thinking: Who's Itachi? Isn't our target Danzo? Why don't I understand what he's saying?
They both shook their heads in sync.
Sasuke grew impatient and cut Naruto off. Drawing his Kusanagi Sword, he pointed it straight at Naruto.
"If you're done talking, step aside. I have my path, and you have yours. Instead of clinging to me, you should focus on improving your own strength."
For some reason, Sasuke suddenly recalled the scene where Itachi and Rorin had deceived him that day… If that had been true…
Naruto clenched his fists, his voice firm.
"Looks like words won't work. I'll bring you back to the Hidden Leaf Village myself!"
Behind him, Yamato stepped forward as well, preparing for battle.
Meanwhile, Karin and Suigetsu exchanged another glance, thinking: What is he talking about? Isn't our destination the Hidden Leaf Village anyway?
They shook their heads in perfect sync again.
Seeing Naruto's serious expression, Sasuke raised his head slightly and gave a faint smile.
"Oh? You think you can do that?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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