Jinpachi ran a hand through his hair nonchalantly and said, "You do realize you can't defeat me right now, don't you? So why not surrender? You see, I hate putting in too much effort."
The Red Devil pushed himself up, struggling to stand. "That was a 20 out of 10. A normal person would've passed out instantly from that hit." He laughed maniacally, then added, "Why should I surrender just because you're stronger and more experienced?"
Jinpachi sighed and delivered a punch to the Red Devil's face. He followed it with a strike to the stomach and continued his brutal assault, blood pouring from the boy's face.
Both Ringo and Kojirou took a few steps forward, clearly worried, but the Red Devil shouted, "Stay back! Both of you!"
They froze. "Why?" Ringo cried. "Let us help you!"
"It's obvious you can't keep fighting on your own," Kojirou added.
Jinpachi remained silent, exhaling in disinterest at the idea of more opponents.
"This is my fight! If you interfere, I'll kill you myself!" the Red Devil declared coldly.
"Tch. I hate guys like you—the ones who don't know when to stop," Jinpachi muttered. He closed his eyes, then grabbed the boy's hair and unleashed a flurry of vicious punches to his face.
Ringo shut his eyes and charged at Jinpachi. But the man let go of the Red Devil and dodged Ringo's punch, retaliating with a powerful kick that sent the boy crashing into the wall, screaming in pain as it struck his already broken arm.
Kojirou raised his gun, his voice low and grim. "We've lost. And we don't even know what you want. Just let us go."
Jinpachi stopped just before attacking Ringo again. He pulled a paper from his pocket—it was a photo of Naruto. Kojirou's eyes widened in shock.
"From that look on your face, I'm guessing we're here for the same reason. So, tell me—where is this boy?"
"We don't know either! He doesn't seem to be here. That guy over there said he's never met him." Kojirou pointed toward the gang leader standing nervously in the distance.
"I see. So he's not here after all." Jinpachi scratched his head lazily. "Damn it. All that effort for nothing?"
He placed a hand on his face, voice laced with anger now that he no longer cared to hide his intent to kill. "What a terrible day. How many of you do I need to kill to feel better?"
Terror gripped Ringo and Kojirou. The Red Devil could barely stand.
Jinpachi advanced toward him, raising his hand to deliver another blow—when footsteps echoed from the hallway.
He glanced behind him and saw a man with black hair entering the room.
Jinpachi didn't even register his features—there was no time. The man launched a kick into Jinpachi's stomach, sending him flying across the room and into the wall.
Jinpachi spat blood and dropped to the ground, coughing violently. The force of that one kick had thrown him off balance.
"My god—are you kids okay?" the man asked as he stepped toward the Red Devil.
But the boy pushed him away with pride. He glanced toward Ringo and Kojirou, who still had his gun drawn. The man, with a strange scar across his left cheek, narrowed his gaze.
"Picking on kids, huh? And you call yourself an adult?" he said coldly.
Jinpachi stood up slowly, offering the man a sideways glance. "The Chief Officer of Konoha Police—Uchiha Obito. What brings you here, I wonder?" He gestured toward the Red Devil. "Ordinary kids? That red-haired brat is stronger than most adults I've known… though I guess that's no excuse."
"If you can walk, head to the hospital. Your friends are already there. I'll handle things here," Obito said calmly, his eyes on Ringo and Kojirou.
Ringo went to help the Red Devil, who shoved him aside and muttered coldly, "Tch…"
"What a pain in the ass," Kojirou sighed.
The Red Devil gave Jinpachi a sidelong glare. "Stay alive. I'm the one who'll kill you." He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away, Ringo and Kojirou following behind.
Obito and Jinpachi locked eyes—and their battle began.
---
Some time earlier.
Lily's group had followed a blonde young man out of the gambling hall into a nearby alley.
"So, what brings you all the way out here?" the man asked, flashing a charming smile to use his good looks to his advantage.
Lily pulled a photo from her pocket and tossed it to him. "We heard the boy is hiding around here. Have you seen him?"
The man took the photo and examined it quietly. After a moment, he said, "Oh, this kid. A lady brought him here for treatment a few days ago. But she took him afterward, so I don't know where he is now."
"Is that so? Damn it…" Lily muttered with disappointment. She glanced at Carol and Kon. "This is bad. Let's check the other locations." She began scrolling through her phone.
"If that's all, would you mind leaving? I'd rather not be accused of exploiting children or something." The blonde smiled awkwardly as he handed the photo to Kon.
"Ah, yes. Thanks for your time. We'll be going," Carol said politely, bowing slightly. The three turned to leave.
As they reached the entrance of the hall, a girl stood nearby, looking around in confusion.
She noticed them and called out, "Hey, you three! Have you seen a blonde boy around here?"
Lily paused. "You mean the owner of the hall? We just talked to him. He went back inside."
The girl's expression sharpened. She approached Lily. "What? You talked to that guy? Did he do anything suspicious?"
Kon quickly answered, "No, nothing at all. We were just asking about a friend who might've been here."
"A friend? You mean Naruto?" she asked.
"Yes! How do you know him?" Carol asked, surprised.
"I'm looking for him too! A friend told me some kids would be searching for him and that I should help. So, was Naruto here?"
"The guy said he saw him a few days ago, but he's not here now," Kon replied.
"I see. That leaves two more places. Let's head to the nearby clinic."
"Wait—how do you know all this about our plan?" Lily narrowed her eyes.
"I told you, a friend explained it. We're Naruto's friends too."
"Hard to believe, honestly."
The girl sighed and began explaining everything—exactly as Kakashi had told her, down to the search plan and possible locations.
"Is that enough to convince you? If so, let's hurry and find Naruto." She turned to leave, but Carol's voice stopped her.
"Maybe I'm wrong… but are you Nohara Rin? The karate champion?"
"That was long ago. I'm just 'Rin' now," she replied gently, closing her eyes before walking ahead.
"Really? That Rin? How does Naruto know someone that famous in all of Konoha?" Lily's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Who said I'm that important? That was in the past…" Rin's cheeks turned red at the praise.
"Oh, don't be so modest! No one can claim they're number one in karate if you say you're number two!" Lily laughed. "When this is over, how about you fight me?"
"Haha, we'll see. For now, let's hurry," Rin deflected, picking up her pace. The others scrambled to keep up.
---
After walking for a while, Shino's group arrived at the hospital. Their plan was to drop off Sasuke and then head to the clinic where Sakura and Kiba were.
As they reached the entrance, they saw a woman carrying Naruto in her arms, climbing the stairs.
Everyone froze.
"Ino gasped, "Naruto?!"
His entire body was wrapped in bandages—except for his hair and parts of his face. The woman holding him was a beautiful blonde in her thirties.
"Hey, you! Why is Naruto with you? Were you the one who kidnapped him this whole time?" Shino asked coldly.
"Kidnapped? I was kind enough to save his life."
The woman ignored them and continued toward the hospital. Rock Lee, carrying Sasuke on his back, stepped in front of her.
"Hold on! Don't you know what's going on? Everyone is searching for Naruto! It's dangerous to show yourself like this!"
She smiled and looked back. "There's nothing dangerous for me. None of you pose a threat. Not even those White Fang punks." And with that, she walked on.
Ino followed. "How did you save him? And what do you mean by 'White Fang punks'?"
Shino walked behind her, calm as ever, while Lee struggled to keep up.
"Why should I tell you? Are you going to pay his medical bills?" she said, smiling slyly.
"Huh??"
"If not, then we've got nothing to talk about. Now get out of my way."
"Thanks for saving Naruto, but we'll take it from here," Shino replied coolly, stepping in front of her.
The woman scowled. "You'll take care of him? A brat like you? That's not even funny." She moved closer to him, voice sharp. "Do you even know what kind of danger being around him brings? Are you ready to stand against this entire nation for him?"
Her words left the trio speechless. Ino understood the gravity of what she was implying—but Shino and Lee didn't know the truth about Naruto yet.
The woman sighed, brushing past them. "If you understand, then go home and let the adults handle this."
She took a few steps, then froze at a distant voice shouting, "Sensei!"
She turned and saw three teens running toward her—Kiba, Izumi, and Sakura.
Ino smiled. "You're all okay! That's great!"
Sakura ran to her and grabbed her hands. "Ino! What happened to you? Who did this?!"
Ino smiled proudly. "Hehe, I fought the White Fang gang! Can you believe it?"
"That's not funny, idiot! Look how bad your wounds are!"
"I'm fine. He protected me…" she blushed, glancing at Sasuke, unconscious on Lee's back.
Sakura's eyes welled up as she approached Sasuke. She gently placed a hand on his cheek. "You did your best, huh?" He had no idea she'd cried for him.
She wiped her tears and turned serious again. Izumi now stood before the woman.
"What happened, Sensei? Why did you suddenly move Naruto? Wasn't your clinic enough?"
"Of course it was. I just got tired of Haku's constant nagging. Gave me a headache. So I decided to come back to the hospital for a bit," she said casually.
"That doesn't sound like the full story. You know a lot about Naruto, don't you?" Izumi asked, voice cold.
The woman opened her mouth to reply—but suddenly smiled. "How can I help you?"
Everyone blinked in confusion. Then came the sound of approaching footsteps.
They turned toward the source and saw a man in black clothes and a white cloak covering his face. His spiky black hair and lifeless eyes were unmistakable.
He carried a massive axe on his shoulder, unfazed by the fact that anyone might report him.
"You have two choices: hand over the boy and live… or hand him over after I kill you."
He raised his weapon toward the woman, who simply smiled.
"If it weren't for these kids, you never would've found me. Even though you saw me every day for years." Her aura shifted, and Izumi shivered—she knew better than anyone what the woman was like when angry.
"The only reason I let you live was because of Haku," the man said, pressing his weapon to the ground.
"How sweet of you. So you've decided to kill me now? Too bad—I'm not letting go of my patient until he can walk again."
The woman's grin darkened. She handed Naruto over to Shino, who carried him on his back.
"Let's go somewhere else. It wouldn't do to make a scene here. Besides, I want a proper stage for this."
She descended the stairs toward a nearby alley, the others following. Zabuza sighed and trailed behind them—he wasn't stupid enough to cause a scene at a public hospital.
Inside the alley, the woman stopped with the kids gathered around her. Zabuza stood at the opposite end.
"I didn't expect you to be this reckless. Coming out in public after hiding for years?" he said.
"Let's just say I finally found the chance to draw someone out of their hole."
Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "You've gone so far as to manipulate the White Fang gang? You've lost it… Senju Tsunade."
"Tsunade?! No way! I thought she died ten years ago!" Sakura gasped. She was the only one familiar with that name.
"I abandoned that name long ago."
.
.
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To Be Continued...