What the hell is going on? Wasn't B supposed to stay in the valley outside the village?
How did he even know Naruto was in Kumogakure? And how did he find out that Naruto was taking a ship back to the Land of Fire?
Naruto had only stopped there briefly, dropped off Yugito, reported the battle details to the Raikage, and left.
B's intel is way too spot-on!
"Big bro B… why are you following me?" Naruto groaned inwardly. He already knew the Kumo ninja on this ship were doomed.
Oh man! The strongest ninja from Kumogakure actually snuck out during wartime, saying he wanted to "take a vacation," and even "kidnapped" his own teammate. If the Raikage ever found out, the consequences would be catastrophic!
"Your brother's going to…" Naruto almost said, "Your brother's going to kill you." On second thought, he might end up killing everyone involved—including himself!
After all, he'd worked hard to build good relations with Kumogakure's higher-ups and didn't want this incident to ruin everything.
"My brother won't touch me!" B said casually, completely brushing off Naruto's concern.
"I kept him running around like an idiot. He doesn't even know I'm gone." He knew the Raikage would be furious, but he wasn't scared at all. Anyway, once the Raikage cooled off, everything would blow over.
As for the Kumo ninja onboard, they'd already been ordered to patrol the coastline to stop any Mist ninja from landing. So they probably wouldn't be caught in the Raikage's fury.
Naruto glanced once more at the doomed Kumo ninja around him before sighing at B,
"I should just toss you into the sea. You can swim back."
Then again, doing that might start an unnecessary fight and cause even more trouble.
B clung onto Naruto, refusing to let go.
"C'mon, bro! Let me tag along—it'll be fun! This trip's gonna be awesome!"
"I'd rather hang out with Yugito," Naruto mumbled under his breath while shoving at B's face, trying to break free. "There're plenty of reasons why not—but trust me, you're better off not knowing."
Hearing B talk about composing songs together, Naruto shuddered. He felt like a bug on a hot stove—desperate to get away as fast as possible.
Naruto would rather go back and suffer through that hellish training than stay here with B.
******
The Konoha forces had been scattered across multiple battlefields.
"It's strange… How exactly are Konoha's forces handling themselves so well on every battlefield?" A kunoichi in Amegakure gear silently wondered while infiltrating deep into the Land of Fire.
After carefully observing the enemy's movements, she realized the Allied Ninja Forces had made a critical mistake at the start of the war.
They shouldn't adopt a defensive posture across all fronts; instead, they should concentrate their strength to break through one side first, then take out the rest one by one.
If they could breach one of the defensive lines and send their forces deep into Konoha's territory, the Konoha army would have no choice but to pull back and defend their village.
Although the Land of Fire was not the largest of the Five Great Countries, their combat forces had been scattered across various battlefields, with part of them even dispatched to assist Sunagakure in resisting enemy attacks.
"The reason Konoha has adopted this comprehensive offensive strategy isn't just because they're fearless—it's also because they want a swift and decisive resolution. They want to defeat one or two countries quickly to relieve pressure on themselves, allowing them to focus more manpower on defense without worrying about internal threats," the kunoichi analyzed silently in her mind.
If they lost Jiraiya and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, who else could they rely on to evade the enemy's assault? Should they depend on the Hokage? As she pondered, the female ninja continued forward—she needed to find Pain a safe route so he could sneak unnoticed into Konoha Village.
Once they crossed the border and reached the outskirts of Konoha, they could launch a surprise attack.
Although there were surely many ninjas deployed around Konoha, to Pain, they were nothing more than insignificant bugs.
Once an opportunity presented itself, Konoha would be finished!
He would never spare those who killed Yahiko, nor allow Konoha to continue its unchecked dominance.
To him, Konoha was the source of all evil—profiting from war while forcing others to bear its suffering.
The female ninja's name was Konan, Pain's most trusted teammate.
She would continue gathering intelligence for Pain until he needed her back.
Then, they would launch their final attack against Konoha, bringing this war to a complete end!
She would give everything—for Nagato!
******
Team 8 had been ordered to investigate the whereabouts of Otogakure ninjas responsible for attacking Konoha's logistical units. They'd already spent several days searching the forest.
However, with Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata leading the tracking efforts, they believed they would definitely locate those enemies soon.
The reason Jiraiya recalled Team 8 from the frontline was precisely for this mission.
"Woof! Woof!" Suddenly Akamaru barked anxiously.
"What's wrong, Akamaru?" Kiba asked.
"Akamaru says he smells something strange—an odor like ash and damp soil."
"Strange smell?"
"Yeah, and it's getting stronger." Kiba's tone grew serious as he clenched his fist and scanned the surroundings alertly. "And whoever it is, their chakra is powerful—we're dealing with someone strong!"
"How many people are there?" Jiraiya asked. He knew that Inuzuka clan ninja hounds could accurately detect the number of enemies based on chakra scent.
"Just one."
Hinata activated her Byakugan to verify what Kiba and Akamaru had detected.
Much to her shock, she saw someone in the nearby forest who had no reason to be there.
"No, this can't be. I thought he was dead," she whispered, stunned.
"Who?" Kiba Inuzuka asked.
Hinata faltered. How was she supposed to explain this? Should she just come out and say she could clearly see Sasuke Uchiha—exactly as Sakura and Temari had described in their reports? They'd think she'd lost her mind.
A mission report from several months ago had detailed an intense battle.
Back then, a sizable squad of ninja had been dispatched to find a missing Naruto—only to be ambushed by Sasuke and the Akatsuki. In the end, Naruto returned alone, claiming he had killed Sasuke during the fight.
Naruto wasn't the kind of person to make bold proclamations about life and death lightly. If he said Sasuke was dead, he must've meant it without a doubt.
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