Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 396 Encountering Unexpected Changes

Although they were prepared for an encounter after opening the rubble, the towering waves that would follow were not part of their plan. Just as Sakura, who was closest to them, was about to be caught in the crossfire, Granny Chiyo's strings suddenly flew out, using puppetry techniques to help Sakura and pull her away from the danger zone.

The three stopped a short distance away. Kakashi stood in front, Chiyo was already clutching a scroll, and Sakura, having just escaped danger, was being protected by her two seniors at the back. Kakashi was quite nervous at this moment, because in the original plan, this was precisely the time when Naruto's real body was unusually absent. Although Naruto had left shadow clones in four directions, their failure to return immediately meant they must have encountered other trouble.

“Gaara has my mark on him, but it’s sealed away. Akatsuki’s target is the Tailed Beasts, and they likely have a way to extract them. We need to rescue Gaara as quickly as possible to ensure his safety.”

"So, you mean you plan to fly directly into the enemy's encirclement the moment the barrier breaks?"

"Kakashi-sensei, you know very well what kind of ninjutsu the Flying Thunder God Technique is. You are the only one who shouldn't question my speed."

He had indeed witnessed the pinnacle of the Flying Thunder God Technique; the light that traversed the battlefield was the blade of death. Even if the enemy knew who they were about to face, even if they struggled frantically and fought with all their might, the moment the mark was placed on them, they were already corpses.

This is the yellow flash that can end the battle once it arrives on the battlefield.

Now, Naruto has inherited this ninjutsu, and he may already be stronger than his father. While Minato was skilled at using marks to kill, Naruto prefers using marks to save lives. All the ninjas he's close to carry a talisman bearing the Flying Thunder God mark.

However, Naruto is only one person, and there are times when he can't get away from things, like right now.

"Watch out, there's a lot of chakra in the water!" Kakashi's Sharingan had already lit up, and before he could even see how many enemies there were, he first spotted the blue light spreading towards his feet. He first threw a kunai crackling with electricity, accurately hitting two white clay birds that were heading this way. Then the explosive tags attached to the kunai's tails exploded, and all the team members used the smoke as cover to retreat to the shore.

Neither Deidara nor Sasori are likely skilled in Water Release techniques, so there's only one answer: Akatsuki reinforcements have arrived. This large-scale Water Release style is very similar to Kisame Hoshigaki's, and Akatsuki members always travel in pairs. Could we speculate that the ninja who caused him such a great loss is also here?

That's really troublesome.

The attack from the opposite side did not stop. The sound of air being torn apart rang out ahead, even creating dense holes in the smoke that was obscuring the view. The unusual sound did not sound like any kind of weapon. Kakashi instinctively used the Water Wall, while Chiyo reacted much faster. She immediately pulled out the two puppets she was holding. One of the puppets flew directly in front of Kakashi, while the other activated the mechanism on its arm, releasing a large amount of chakra to form a shield, firmly protecting herself and Sakura.

After the dust settled, the rescue team did manage to retreat to the riverbank, but the two puppets they had released were stuck and unusable.

"It really was that move." Chiyo couldn't help but murmur, even a ninja with such a strong will couldn't help but be distracted.

The whereabouts of the Third Kazekage have always been a mystery. He simply vanished from Sunagakure, taking with him the title of the strongest Kazekage. Now, she finally knows where the Third Kazekage went; this signature ninjutsu can only be used by one person.

Unfortunately, there's no time for sentimentality now. Facing the real Akatsuki, even a moment of distraction can be fatal.

One after another, sharks leaped from the water—not real sharks, but forms made of water. Kakashi had no time to thank the puppets that had blocked many attacks; an earth wall rose from the ground, attempting to stop the shark swarm, but it was ultimately futile. The "fish," with their gaping maws, devoured the earth wall and inexplicably grew even larger!

"Damn it! That's my prey! Ugh!" A disgruntled shout came from ahead. Deidara, riding a bird, swaggered in, clutching a bunch of clay spiders, seemingly unafraid of becoming an obstacle to his companions' attack.

Cooperation is impossible; to defeat the opponent, each of us must rely on our own abilities!

Just as one side was suffering defeat after defeat while the other was advancing triumphantly, an unexpected variable shattered the balance. Everyone heard an extremely piercing sound; the thing was coming from upstream and was rapidly approaching.

Sensing something was wrong, Akatsuki scattered and fled. Only Kisame sensed the immense chakra and excitedly summoned back the sharks that had rushed ashore. In an instant, all the water sharks merged into one, opened their enormous mouths, and swallowed the chakra creation that flew in from the horizon, resembling a giant shuriken.

However, he somewhat overestimated the body's strength. After the shark swallowed the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, it did not break down and devour the chakra as he had expected, but instead disintegrated completely!

This wasn't just a matter of the White Zetsu's body's limits; it was also because the density of that chakra was simply too high, and the destructive power of its instantaneous burst was too strong. Even if he were holding Samehada, he would have to be in a fused state to swallow that thing.

"Oops, I got a little carried away." Kisame's jutsu ended, and he opened his eyes on the distant border of the Land of Earth, feeling a mix of regret and a bit of itchiness. Strong individuals like them spend their lives searching for opponents who can bring them enjoyment, and Kisame, known as the Tailed Beast without a tail, genuinely enjoys opponents with massive amounts of chakra.

Wouldn't it be even more exciting to consume chakra this way?

However, although his technique is broken, Itachi's is not. I wonder if Itachi will be able to witness the final result.

The attack was launched by Naruto, but not his main body; it was one of his clones that had been sent out. After the "forbidden" talisman was removed, the accompanying traps were also activated, and a Naruto appeared wherever the clones were. This was a mirror-image technique, which should theoretically be able to copy the abilities of others, but it didn't seem to be very effective against Naruto. Naruto's clones did indeed quickly eliminate these creatures, but they were also slowed down and suffered considerable losses.

For example, the clone that threw the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken disappeared after the situation was resolved.

To conserve chakra, these clones did not use the Flying Thunder God Technique for rapid arrival, but instead opted for speed. With the first clone's self-destructive attack as cover, the remaining three clones arrived one after another, surrounding the river section at the entrance of the cave where the battle was taking place.