Chapter 273: Reunion After a Long Separation
"There is a way," Kakashi said, looking at Neji who had come to find him, and nodded. "But it's rather troublesome, and I don't know when I'll be able to contact him."
"Then I'll have to trouble you to pass on a message for me," Neji said. "If he doesn't come back this time, then he can forget about ever stepping foot in the Hyuga clan compound for the rest of his life."
"Alright," Kakashi nodded. "I will let him know what's happening here as soon as possible, and have him come to support you and Sasuke."
"Then I'm counting on you," Neji said, bowing deeply and formally.
...
Mount Myoboku, inside the training pool for Sage Mode. Naruto, sitting cross-legged on a stone slate, suddenly opened his eyes. Around his eyes, a layer of red eyeshadow glowing with a golden light slowly appeared.
"Success!" By the side of the training pool, a look of joy instantly appeared on Sage Fukasaku's face.
Naruto leaped up from the stone slate and came before everyone. Jiraiya looked the current Naruto up and down and also nodded with satisfaction, "Not bad at all. To achieve the most perfect Toad Sage Mode right after completing the training."
"Do you think everyone is like you?" Sage Shima at this moment jumped up and hit Jiraiya on the head with her cane. "So many years have passed, and your Sage Mode is still in that half-baked state."
"Big Sister! Give me some face in front of the kid," Jiraiya said, clutching the spot where he was hit.
"Lord Jiraiya, there's an urgent message from Konoha," at this time, a messenger toad rushed to the side of the training pool and said to Jiraiya.
"An urgent message from Konoha? For me?" Jiraiya asked.
"No, it's for Lord Naruto," the messenger toad handed a scroll to Naruto. "It's a letter from the Konoha Guard Unit Captain, Kakashi."
"Big Brother Kakashi is looking for me?" Naruto took the scroll and scratched his head with some confusion. But after opening the scroll, his face changed drastically.
"Did something happen in the village?" Jiraiya's face also showed a hint of gravity as he looked at Naruto's expression.
"Yes, someone attacked the village and abducted Hinata," Naruto's expression also turned completely cold. Although he was a bit slow in matters of affection, after so many years, he could also feel the difference in how Hinata treated him compared to others. Now that Hinata had been abducted and Neji had sent him a request for help, he had to go back no matter what.
"Grandpa Jiraiya, I'm going back to the village for a trip. You and Gaara don't run around for these few days. If possible, bring him to Mount Myoboku to stay for a couple of days," Naruto said.
After speaking, Naruto formed the seal to release the Reverse Summoning.
"Hey! Naruto, wait a minute!" Jiraiya, upon seeing this, wanted to chase after him, but Naruto had already disappeared from the spot.
Jiraiya also released the Reverse Summoning and returned to the camp where they had set up with Gaara. However, when he returned, Naruto was already gone, leaving only traces of a massive chakra explosion in his place.
"Gaara, where's Naruto?" Jiraiya hurriedly looked at Gaara, who was guarding the bonfire.
"He said he had something urgent and left," Gaara said.
"Couldn't you have stopped him a little?" Jiraiya said.
"How could I have stopped him? He ran off as soon as he appeared," Gaara said innocently with his hands spread.
"Forget it. That kid's strength now should have far surpassed mine. We probably wouldn't be much help even if we went," Jiraiya shook his head helplessly, then said to Gaara. "For these few days, you can come with me to Mount Myoboku and wait for him to come back."
"Alright," Gaara nodded.
...
In just one night, meteors fell six times. And Uchiha Douhuan's Susanoo also appeared in the sky above Konoha six times. The residents of Konoha also went from initial panic, to sticking their heads out the window to watch the excitement whenever there was a commotion, and finally, to being completely used to it.
Some of the troublemakers of Konoha, who had lived in Konoha from the very beginning and had undergone the "Three Purities Education" but remained incorrigible, secretly spread the outrageous theory that these meteors were divine punishment from the heavens, angered by Uchiha Douhuan's tyranny.
However, before this public opinion could even ferment in the village, this group of troublemakers was taken away by the Guard Unit to receive the "Three Purities Re-education."
And Uchiha Douhuan, after dealing with another meteor falling from the sky at seven in the morning, also looked at the direction where the moon had disappeared, his eyes narrowed in thought. According to the intelligence sent back from various border locations this one night, it seemed that Ōtsutsuki Toneri had specifically targeted their Konoha. No other place in the ninja world had been attacked by meteors.
Therefore, Uchiha Douhuan couldn't help but start to suspect whether the other party was colluding with some conspirators hiding in the shadows.
"Douhuan, do we need to declare a state of lockdown during the day?" After Uchiha Douhuan returned to the Hokage's office, Kakashi, who was waiting here, asked.
"Let's have a lockdown," Uchiha Douhuan said. "But this time, be a bit gentler. At the same time, have the ninjas in the village distribute necessary living supplies to every resident who is staying at home. As for the supplies, I will have Gato and their business association prepare them."
"Yes," Kakashi nodded.
At the same time, inside the Scientific Ninja Tool Research Institute, Tenten was staring intently at the screen, searching for the signal sent back by the life monitoring device that Hinata was carrying.
"Deputy Director! We've received a signal!" At this time, a loud shout suddenly sounded in the research institute. A genin came running towards Tenten, holding a portable screen. "The enemy seems to have a special method to block the signal from the life monitoring device. However, just now, our detection device received a signal sent back from the south of the Land of Fields, but it disappeared again very quickly."
"Mark the position on the map!" Tenten, who hadn't slept all night, said hurriedly, rubbing her dark circles.
Soon, on the electronic map in front of everyone, a location was marked.
"Is it here?" Neji's eyes sharpened.
"Sorry, Neji. At present, we can only narrow down the range to this extent," Tenten said, rubbing her tired eyes.
"It's fine. Leave the rest to me," Neji said, rubbing Tenten's head with a forced smile.
"Take this with you," at this time, Tenten took out a scroll from a nearby drawer, and then took out a grenade-like object from it. "This thing is something the research institute recently developed from the armor of the artificial human corpses that Lord Hokage brought back. It can create a 1-second chakra-decomposing field. But you must be careful when you use it. The coverage of this thing is 15 meters. Be careful not to come into contact with the field yourself."
"As for the other equipment, I've already maintained it last night. The distance is too far this time, so I can't provide direct support. So, you be careful yourself," Tenten said.
"Okay," Neji nodded, a trace of tenderness also appearing on his face. "I was originally planning to have my uncle go to your house to propose in a few days, but then this happened. But don't worry, when I..."
Just as Neji finished speaking, Tenten's face instantly changed. She reached out and covered Neji's mouth, then pouted and said, "You'd better shut up for me. Don't you go casually raising this kind of death flag!"
"Alright, alright," Neji shook his head helplessly. "I won't say it."
"In any case, bring Hinata back early," Tenten said, looking at Neji slowly.
...
Neji, fully armed, after getting the map, went to the Hokage Tower to say hello to Uchiha Douhuan, and then went to the village gate. Sasuke was already waiting there.
At this moment, Sasuke's eyes were covered with a white cloth. At his waist hung Shiden. A strange aura emanated from his entire body, as if some powerful force was brewing.
"You... are you alright?" Neji asked with some hesitation, looking at Sasuke's blindfolded eyes.
"It's fine. I'll recover soon," Sasuke said. "Let's go. Don't waste time."
After the two had walked some distance out of the village, Neji suddenly stopped and said loudly, "Since you're here, then show yourself. There's no point in hiding."
In the next instant, a golden-haired figure jumped down from a nearby tree.
"Neji, Sasuke, long time no see," Naruto came before the two, forcing an awkward smile.
"Hmph, what are you doing back?" Sasuke, after sensing Naruto's presence, was first overjoyed, then put on a straight face and said. "Aren't you afraid that we, a rogue ninja, will capture you and bring you back to the village?"
"After I received Neji's message, I immediately rushed back to the village. I made it just in time," Naruto said.
"Why did you ask him for help? Our Konoha hasn't fallen to the point where we need a rogue ninja to help, right?" Sasuke turned his head and said to Neji.
"Hey! That's going too far! I ran for half the night!" Naruto's face also showed a look of dissatisfaction upon seeing Sasuke's attitude.
"Hmph!"
"Hmph!"
The two snorted coldly almost at the same time.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing for now!" Neji, seeing that the two were about to start fighting again after meeting for the first time in nearly a year, also hurriedly acted as a peacemaker. "Do me a favor. Can we save Hinata and Hanabi first before we talk?"
"Fine," Sasuke nodded, then continued. "After this is over, I'll break this guy's legs and then drag him back to the village."
"Hmph, what a braggart. Have you forgotten how you lost to me last time?" Naruto immediately retorted.
"Sigh," Neji rubbed the bridge of his nose, also having a massive headache. If it weren't for the fact that this operation to rescue Hinata and Hanabi really needed Naruto's power, he really wouldn't have wanted to call him back to the village. "In any case, our Team 7 has temporarily reassembled this time."
The two more or less gave Neji, this Team 7 captain, a little bit of face. On the way to the designated place, the two walked on the left and right, silent.
During a break, Naruto nudged Neji and asked, "What's wrong with this guy's eyes?"
"I don't know either. But he said it's fine, so it should be fine," Neji said. "If you're really curious, why don't you go ask him yourself?"
"I don't want to talk to this guy," Naruto pouted.
"However, it looks like you haven't been doing so well outside," Neji said, pointing to Naruto's long-unattended hair and his tattered jacket.
"It's okay, I guess," Naruto waved his hand. "Living in the open is always like this. It can't compare to the situation in the village."
"Why don't you come back to the village after this is over?" Neji tried to persuade at this time.
And at this time, Sasuke also pricked up his ears on the side.
"No," Naruto shook his head. "The things I need to do are not finished yet. But when the war starts, I will come back immediately."
"Hmph, what are you talking to him for, Neji? In his eyes, we comrades are not important at all," at this time, Sasuke said insidiously.
"Bastard! What did you say! You want a fight?" Naruto immediately stood up and roared.
"A fight it is! Last time was just because I didn't want to hurt you! Do you really think you are my match?" Sasuke said, not yielding an inch.
"Both of you, shut up!" Neji couldn't help but shout at this time.
"Hmph!"
"Hmph!"
The rest time was thus passed unpleasantly. The three continued on their way and soon arrived at the location marked on the map, the last place where the life monitoring device on Hinata's body had sent a signal, in the evening.
"Is this the place?" Naruto looked around. "It looks very ordinary."
"In the depths of that cave, there is a special chakra fluctuation," Neji also opened his Byakugan at this time, scouting the surroundings, and soon made a discovery.
"Then let's go," Naruto nodded. However, in the next instant, his face changed instantly, and he shouted loudly, "Be careful! Enemy attack!"
Naruto almost instantly entered Kurama Mode. The giant chakra hands extending from his back grabbed Neji and Sasuke on the left and right, and then his whole person leaped high.
And at this very moment, from the depths of the cave that Neji had mentioned, which had a special chakra fluctuation, a huge beam of chakra shot towards the position where the three had been before.
In the next instant, mounds of earth began to continuously rise from the ground around them, and then one by one, they transformed into human shapes.
"Puppets?" Neji saw through the true nature of these people transformed from mud at a glance and was immediately surprised. "Puppets supported purely by flowing chakra? Without even the chakra transmission lines necessary for puppets? No wonder the Byakugan couldn't discover their existence just now."
"You want to compete in numbers? I'm not afraid!" Naruto shouted loudly, using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Dense figures of Naruto covered in a golden chakra flame descended from the sky, each entangling one of these puppets that had appeared out of thin air.
"Lightning Release: Fudō Myō-ō!" Sasuke, who was brought to a safe place by Naruto, also began to fly through seals at this time. Although his eyes were temporarily blind, one after another, bolts of lightning fell from the sky, accurately finding every puppet that was entangled by Naruto's shadow clones, and blasting them into pieces of mud one by one.
However, Neji, who was overlooking the battlefield from a high place, discovered that every time the two dealt with a puppet, the scattered mud would quickly gather to form a new puppet, as if they were endless.
(End of chapter)
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