The argument drew the attention of every student and Pro Hero nearby as Izuku and Aizawa locked eyes in open defiance.
"I'll go with you." Shiori stepped out from among the students, walked over to Deku, and stood firmly at his side. Both of them were clearly determined to find their friend.
"You'll need help." Before Aizawa could respond, Momo stepped forward and joined them. She took out her phone and showed them a satellite image of the forest. "I managed to place a tracker on one of the villains fighting Naruto. It will lead us to them."
Izuku gave her a grateful look.
"You three..." The students stopped when Aizawa spoke. "I shouldn't have to tell you that if you leave, the school may consider expelling you from U.A. You aren't only putting everyone here at risk. You're risking your own lives. Help will arrive soon, and then we can search for Ibara Shiozaki and Naruto Uzumaki."
"..." Izuku paused and looked at Shiori and Momo. Was he willing to risk everything? Could he accept being expelled from U.A. and losing his dream of becoming a hero? Could he throw away the purpose of his life for Naruto after everything that had happened?
"Being a hero has always been my dream..." he whispered, though everyone heard him.
Naruto's voice returned to him.
"Izuku... don't undervalue yourself. Your life... your goals... your dreams... I couldn't let them die, even if saving them meant sacrificing my miserable life..."
"U.A. is only an academy where you train to become a Pro Hero..." The green-haired teenager gave Aizawa an apologetic smile. "Being a hero isn't something you learn at an academy. It's about doing the right thing, and I refuse to fail a friend who needs my help."
Without another word, the three teenagers headed into the forest and ignored their classmates' shouts.
The commotion woke Mirko. Though she could barely move, she raised herself from the ground and found Mt. Lady and Ryukyu lying unconscious beside her.
"What is...?"
The Rabbit Hero tried to warn the others, but she saw XXV slowly rise and break the restraints around her wrists as though they were paper. The armored villain said nothing. She merely followed the three teenagers into the forest.
"Damn it..."
...….
Ibara considered herself an open-minded person, always aware of the possibilities the world could hold. After all, you never knew what surprises might fall from the sky. But she had never imagined that her closest friend from the past few months would turn out to be from another world, from a reality completely different from her own.
"What is the place you came from like?"
The religious teenager supported Naruto with his arm over her shoulders as the two of them slowly made their way toward the camp.
"It's hell..."
Naruto stumbled, let go of her, and fell. Then he dragged himself over to a tree and leaned against it.
"What are you doing? We have to leave." Ibara tried to pull the shinobi to his feet, but he shook his head. "You need treatment. You're in terrible condition."
"I've been worse. Believe me." The blond fell silent and looked at the girl in front of him. "You know... I lost my father when I was four. I had to kill the man who tried to hurt my little sister. I was only six when I cut his throat with a kunai. I still remember his eyes and the blood splashing everywhere."
He spoke bitterly and lowered his gaze to the ground.
"Stop talking and get up." Ibara only wanted to get him away from this place and find help, but hearing him speak that way made her heart ache.
"When I was nine, I watched my best friends and my teacher get murdered, and I couldn't do anything... Now the killer's blood is on my hands."
Naruto looked down at himself in disgust. Hidan's blood still stained his hands.
"Why do I still feel empty? Why can't I stop..." Frustrated, he struck the ground with his fists and sent up a cloud of dust.
"Feeling guilty?" Ibara finished for him. She knelt in front of the shinobi and gently took his hands. "Killing him couldn't have brought anyone back..."
"But I stopped him from killing anyone else..." Naruto abruptly pulled his hands away. "Ibara, I'm almost seventeen, and I've killed ten times more enemies than that. I did it all to create a better world, one where people could live longer and find the happiness I'll never have. That's my destiny. That's the path I chose."
"At what cost?"
"..."
"Have you ever thought about yourself? You're throwing your life away. You could be more... have more. You could start a family of your own."
Ibara offered the last possibility with a hopeful look, but Naruto only stared into her eyes.
"I think about it every day." Still leaning against the tree, Naruto tilted his head when he heard footsteps approaching. "You have to go. They're coming, and in my current condition, I can barely stay awake. You need to leave now."
"I won't leave without you." Determined, Ibara grabbed his arm and tried to force him up. "I'll take you back to camp..."
She took both of his hands and pulled, but Naruto remained against the tree without even trying to move.
"You should have left me."
Naruto slowly turned toward several shadows emerging from the forest.
"..." Without hesitation, Ibara moved in front of her friend. The newcomers were an irritated Dabi, a smiling Himiko Toga, an injured Twice, Mr. Compress limping behind them, and finally the silent XXV leading the group.
"Tonight has been a disaster, so let's finish this quickly." Blue flames rose threateningly around an impatient Dabi.
"Hmmmm! I finally found you, Naruto-kun!" Toga made no attempt to hide her excitement at finally meeting the man of her dreams. Blushing with anticipation, she tightened her grip on her knife. "But how awful of you to hold hands with another girl!"
Her voice darkened when she saw the green-haired nun embracing her beloved.
"I don't even know who you are." Naruto forced himself upright with a pained growl and took a few steps forward, placing himself between Ibara and the villains.
"Y-you don't know who I am?" The pain in the little blonde's stammer was obvious. Her small world had been painfully shaken by that single sentence from the man she loved.
"No..." Naruto felt that something was wrong with the girl. Her face seemed vaguely familiar, but nothing more. Perhaps their paths had crossed before, but that did not matter now. "I have to get you out of here..."
He spoke firmly and gently pushed Ibara behind him.
"That damned, green-haired bitch!"
The blonde's rage found a single target. Without thinking, she threw her knife at Ibara, but Naruto caught it in midair.
"Ibara, you have to leave." Naruto adjusted his grip on the knife and watched the greatest threat, XXV, approach him while the other villains spread out and surrounded them. Dabi attacked first, firing a wave of blue flames.
Green vines burst from the earth and intercepted the fire.
"You aren't the only one who knows how to protect someone, Naruto."
Ibara's vine-like hair curled around the shinobi and herself, shielding them from the flames.
[ If you want to read advance Chapters then go to Pat reon and support me there as I have already uploaded advance Chapters there.
PAT REON I'D:- Skythe ]