"Sasuke, don't fall for Yakushi Kabuto's lies. He's just using you!"
"Shut up! I finally found someone who can help me achieve my dreams, and you're trying to ruin it?!"
With a furious roar, Sasuke unleashed his Chidori, piercing straight through Kazama's body.
"What?! How is this possible?!"
Seeing that he'd hit Kazama so easily, Sasuke's heart jolted in disbelief.
He'd experienced Kazama's strength firsthand before.
By all accounts, with his current skills, there was no way he could land a hit on Kazama.
As Sasuke stood there, stunned, the scene before him flickered, and he found himself back where he started.
Kazama was still standing in front of him, unharmed.
Sasuke tried attacking with Chidori again, but the result was the same—a loop he couldn't break.
"What's going on?!"
Sasuke's anger had now turned to panic.
"This jutsu is called Izanagi. As an Uchiha, you should know the effects of this forbidden technique," Kazama said softly, watching Sasuke, who was frozen in place within the loop.
"To help you see your true destiny, I'm going to use Tsukuyomi next. It'll show you the consequences of betraying Konoha and triggering the Fourth Great Ninja War. If you can face yourself and let go of the hatred clouding your heart, you'll be able to break free from Izanagi."
Kazama was going to such lengths to save the rebellious Sasuke not just because of his deal with Itachi—protecting Sasuke in exchange for intel on the Tailed Beasts.
It was also because Sasuke wasn't inherently a bad person. He was just a kid who'd been scarred by the trauma of his clan's destruction.
So Kazama was doing everything he could.
Just then, a Level 1 alert blared through the village.
That sound meant one thing: Naruto, the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, had gone missing.
"Damn it! Could this be Yakushi Kabuto's diversion tactic? Lure me out by targeting Sasuke, then snatch Naruto while I'm distracted?!"
Muttering to himself, Kazama rushed to the Hokage's office.
Level 1 alerts were issued directly by the Hokage.
"Neji, lead Team 3! Shino, take Team 8! Shikamaru, head Team 10! Kazama, command Team 7! Start a full-scale search immediately!"
"Uh, sorry about this," Kazama said awkwardly as everyone prepared to leave.
"Sasuke got injured during training earlier, so he won't be able to join the mission."
Since Kazama had used Izanagi on Sasuke, there was no way Sasuke could move for a while.
"So Team 7 is just me and Sakura."
"What do we do? All the other Jōnin are out on missions. We're already short on manpower, and now without Sasuke…"
"No problem. Don't worry about manpower! Mokuton: Tajū Bunshin no Jutsu!"
As soon as Kazama spoke, countless Mokuton clones sprouted around him.
In an instant, they filled Tsunade's office to the point of bursting, literally breaking the walls.
"Whoa, Kazama! I know you're crazy strong, but do you have to show off like this?!"
"Kazama, you jerk! After this mission, you're rebuilding my office!"
"No worries, I got it!"
With that, Kazama sent his Mokuton clones scattering in all directions to search for the missing Naruto.
Truth be told, Kazama wasn't summoning all these clones to flex his power.
He just wanted to find Naruto as fast as possible.
After all, Naruto was the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. If Kabuto got his hands on him, the consequences would be catastrophic.
At the same time, to unravel Kabuto's scheme, Kazama's real body immediately summoned Orochimaru.