Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 94 Battle

[Hey Zhishui-ge! Got some time? Come to the woods outside the southwest wall!]

"What's wrong? Are you going to fight?"

"Please keep an eye on Sasuke, a fight is about to break out here."

〖……oh.〗

In just a few words, Shisui's emotions shifted from happiness to excitement to complete indifference, inexplicably becoming more active. Why does it seem like he's actually looking forward to a fight? Was Shisui always this belligerent?

However, the current situation didn't allow Naruto much time to investigate, as they had finally caught up with Orochimaru and were in a standoff. It wasn't until Orochimaru left the underground that Naruto realized the malice underground didn't actually come from Orochimaru; he was "very" familiar with this state of being able to sense malice but not chakra.

Isn't this a characteristic of Black Zetsu?

Naruto immediately activated his super-sensory perception to its maximum. Depicting the pitch-black underground was no problem for him. He clearly "saw" a mass of dark liquid separated from the White Zetsu. The main part was more than fifty meters underground, but a thin line connected it to the ground, used to observe the situation above. This thing was located at the boundary between the forest and the grassland. If it weren't for malicious perception, even he wouldn't have been able to detect it.

Naruto had long known that Black Zetsu was incredibly good at hiding, but he hadn't expected this method of hiding. Upon discovering that arrogant guy, Naruto's anger was starting to get the better of him, but he couldn't show it. Then, because he was distracted, he was hit by Kabuto's chakra scalpel, and the pain made him even more irritable.

No, he had to stay calm. Now wasn't the best time to kill Black Zetsu… but this thing that hadn't appeared for so many years had suddenly appeared, occupying such a delicate location. Tanabata Street was a melting pot of all sorts of people, so of course there were White Zetsu disguised as people operating there, and Naruto couldn't openly snipe these clones. The information that the Sannin were about to confront them would definitely be relayed to Akatsuki. And in the forest, there was Sasuke fighting the Sound Ninja! Black Zetsu might be watching the Sannin fight, but who knew if he would turn around and harm Sasuke! This guy had been watching Indra's reincarnations without missing a single one!

"Naruto, is this all the talent you have? Are you only good at running away, which is why you survived Orochimaru's clutches?" Kabuto, who thought he was all that great, mocked.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya were locked in a fierce fight. Tsunade lost her fighting ability after drawing blood. Shizune wasn't a combat type, and although she was covered in poisoned projectiles, they were useless if they couldn't hit her. With Naruto's attention completely elsewhere, Kabuto was indeed able to control the pace of the battle and even gain a slight advantage, but he just had to resort to his sarcastic remarks.

The chakra scalpel only touched Naruto's left shoulder. Kabuto intended to sever the heart muscle and chakra pathways, but Naruto dodged it by sidestepping. Severing a deltoid muscle is nothing to a Jinchuriki. After creating some distance, Naruto calmly moved his shoulder, startling Shizune so much that she let out a loud bang.

Doctors can't stand people treating them so casually!

"Oh, did Orochimaru tell you how many times I blasted him away?" Naruto didn't give Shizune a chance to check. He stomped his foot on the ground, and a patch of sharp rocks sprouted from the ground in front of him, forcing Kabuto to retreat continuously.

Although the information stated that Naruto did not need to form hand seals to cast the technique, it is too outrageous to release such a large-scale earth release in an instant!

The situation reversed instantly. Kabuto, skilled in close combat, was overwhelmed by a wide-range ninjutsu, leaving Tsunade stunned and trembling. This fighting style, which disregarded chakra consumption and created artificial wonders at will, was so familiar. Wasn't this how her grandfathers fought?

"I'm sorry, Tsunade, you need to grow up quickly." The black-haired man, whose memory was already blurred, gently stroked the top of her head. "Grandpa will become an old man in the future and won't be able to walk anymore. When that happens, you'll have to protect the village."

What did she say back then?

"Grandpa will never become an old man! Grandpa will always be this handsome!"

"Haha, everyone gets old."

"No way! I want to invent a ninjutsu that prevents me from aging!"

"Really? Then how about teaching Grandpa when Tsunade invents it?"

"It's a word."

……fraud.

The God of Shinobi did not age; he died that winter. So, at that time, had the dream of his predecessors already been passed into her hands? Nawaki and Dan both gave their lives to protect this dream, yet she herself was consumed by grief and never set foot on that dreamland again for over a decade.

Ha, isn't that like being a coward?

"Kabuto, call him over." Orochimaru, who has lost both hands, is also at a disadvantage. If the fight continues, he won't be able to escape, and he might even lose his life.

Kabuto hesitated for only a moment before forming hand seals in mid-air. With the successful execution of the summoning jutsu, a fair-skinned boy appeared and quickly reacted to the oncoming wind release.

The boy's skin darkened instantly, but his arms were covered by white, hard bones that grew rapidly, transforming into something resembling both a shield and a drill. The boy and Kabuto used that shield to withstand a wind jutsu that ripped the ground apart; the dense wind blades could only leave scratches of varying depths on the bones.

The Bone Forest near the border of the Land of Fire was a legendary tourist destination until his death, a spectacle left behind by Kaguya Kimimaro with her life. Naruto knew very well that Kimimaro's days were numbered, but he also knew just how formidable he was.

The Bone Forest was a good place to test the hardness of materials for a long time...

How do you fight this thing? I guess only Dust Release and Truth-Seeking Balls can break through its defenses, right? He doesn't even know how to do those.

As Naruto pondered, Kimimaro's barrage of ten finger-shaped projectiles flew towards him. Naruto cautiously chose Earth Release to defend, as Tsunade and Shizune were behind him with their movements restricted. However, his earthen wall was built behind him, and he himself dodged the bone bullets using his speed.

Kabuto has returned to Orochimaru's side, and Kimimaro will likely be used as a price to pay for his escape. To completely defeat Orochimaru, he must end the battle as soon as possible.

"Shadow Clone Technique".

The orange figure split into four, but from the enemy's perspective, only two Narutos appeared, rushing towards him from two different directions, because two shadow clones had appeared behind the earthen wall. The transformed body was quite cumbersome, but Naruto's speed was astonishing; he instantly appeared in front of Kimimaro in a few blinks. Kimimaro was ruthless; he didn't hesitate to discard his bulky "shield," using instantly growing bone spikes to meet the two Narutos' kunai. And this was exactly what Naruto wanted.

"Rasengan!" Instantly, a blue sphere condensed in the hand of the two Narutos who were not holding kunai. This dangerous ninjutsu, formed from high-density chakra, slammed into the white bones.

"Click"

The white bone that could withstand the wind blades made a crisp sound and snapped in two.