After both sides departed and Orochimaru finalized certain cooperation details with Rasa, his attention once again turned toward the Umbrella Organization.
"Kabuto, get in touch with the Umbrella Organization for me."
Back at his base in the Land of Rice Fields, Orochimaru could hardly wait to hear more of Umbrella's astonishing theories.
Of course, he hadn't abandoned his own experiments either. His path of research and discovery still stretched far ahead of him.
…Meanwhile, on Naruto's side, communication had become much easier thanks to the Chakra phones he had developed. Receiving messages from Shisui no longer required a messenger hawk—just a simple call.
At their usual training ground, Sasuke was already practicing nearby. At this point, Team 7 should still have been taking low-level D-rank missions, yet Naruto and Sasuke had already mastered the Shadow Clone Technique.
Among them, perhaps only Sakura was dutifully carrying out missions. If she knew that the two working alongside her were only shadow clones and not the real Naruto and Sasuke, she might have collapsed on the spot.
They had promised to work hard together, yet both her teammates were slacking off.
"Shisui, are you saying Orochimaru wants to deepen our cooperation?"
Naruto was a little surprised—he hadn't expected Orochimaru to reach out only now.
It seemed he had underestimated Orochimaru's relentless pursuit of the world's truths.
Still, this was the perfect timing. The Konoha Crush was inevitable, and Naruto intended to make his mark there.
All that Konoha owed him over the years—he would see it repaid.
"Tell Orochimaru to come meet me. We'll set the location in the Land of Fire."
Naruto's spiritual voice carried clearly through Shisui's microphone.
"I'll be coming back as well, so you should join me, Shisui. I imagine Lord Orochimaru will be very surprised."
Naruto's smile made Shisui blink in astonishment.
"Don't be so shocked. We've been in hiding long enough. If we're going to cooperate with Orochimaru, we need to show a little strength, don't you think?"
Naruto's words left Shisui thoughtful. He was right—facing someone as slippery as Orochimaru required caution. Without the proper deterrent, anyone risked being devoured by the snake.
But if Orochimaru was a venomous serpent, then they were elephants. To swallow an elephant, he would first need the power to attempt it.
"That's true. I haven't seen Lord Orochimaru in a long time myself. I'm looking forward to it."
Shisui laughed, recalling old memories.
Naruto shook his head. "You just want to see Orochimaru's expression, don't you? I didn't expect even you, Shisui, to pick up on Yu's cunning tricks."
"No way, hahaha!"
"Anyway, keep it brief. Try to arrange the meeting as best you can. That's all—I'm hanging up."
Naruto ended the call, gazing at the phone in his hand with a faint smile.
In his heart, his current life was beginning to resemble his past one.
Shisui quickly relayed the message to Orochimaru.
"Oh? In three days? That's plenty of time."
Upon hearing the news, Orochimaru resumed his experiments. In his limited lifespan, not a moment could be wasted.
At the same time, in Konoha, Kakashi stood at a distance, observing three figures. He could tell at a glance that Naruto and Sasuke were only shadow clones, both using the Water Surface Walking Technique while picking up trash.
Their real bodies still hadn't learned the skill, so they were stuck doing manual cleanup in the stream. Perhaps at that time Kakashi had felt they weren't ready, and so hadn't taught them the Tree Climbing or Water Walking exercises yet.
Now, however, he frowned. The gap in strength between Naruto and Sasuke compared to Sakura had become enormous—too enormous.
An imbalance that wide was dangerous.
"Sakura, come here a moment."
Kakashi's voice startled Sakura, who was already feeling down. She looked up quickly.
"Yes!"
She jogged to his side, asking, "Kakashi-sensei, do you need something?"
"Sakura, you've noticed the gap between you and Naruto and Sasuke, haven't you?"
At his words, Sakura's heart sank. A wave of sadness welled up inside her.
Only now did she fully grasp the difference between her and her teammates. And if she realized that the Naruto and Sasuke she had been working beside weren't even their real selves, her devastation would have been even greater.
"But don't worry—you've seen Naruto and Sasuke, right? They can already walk on water. Next, I'll teach you that technique."
Kakashi's voice carried its usual calmness as he explained.
"This exercise will sharpen your chakra control and reduce your chakra expenditure when using ninjutsu."
Sakura's head snapped up, eyes wide. "Really, Kakashi-sensei?!"
Her heart leapt with joy.
As the saying goes, surprises often come without warning. If she mastered this technique, wouldn't she finally be one step closer to Sasuke?
"Mhm. Follow me."
Kakashi led her into the nearby grove, Sakura following closely, her curiosity and excitement plain on her face.
From a distance, Naruto's and Sasuke's shadow clones spotted the scene. Naruto's clone leaned toward Sasuke, his expression lecherous.
"Hehehe… Sasuke, I remember Sakura has a crush on you. Kakashi-sensei's taking her into the woods… hehehe…"
"You're poisoned."
Bang!
Startled and disgusted, Sasuke landed a clean punch on the grinning Naruto clone. The clone tumbled back, rolling before bursting into smoke.
Just an ordinary shadow clone—far too flimsy to withstand Sasuke's fury.
"How can Naruto make such disgusting clones? He's infuriating."
Sasuke huffed, turning back toward the riverbank. With the clone gone, the work of three now fell entirely on him.
"Hmph. Even if I have to form hand seals with one hand, I can still—cough, cough—handle the work of three people!"
Even Sasuke's usual calm pride seemed a little shaken.
At the same time, Naruto—who was training elsewhere—suddenly froze as the clone's memories flooded back. His face flushed crimson, an awkward look spreading across his features.
He sneaked a glance at Sasuke.
Sasuke, however, only stared back with a puzzled, almost suspicious look, wondering what the idiot was up to this time.
The next morning, under the clear sky, the three gathered once again. Sasuke gave Naruto a knowing glance, clearly aware of yesterday's ridiculous antics.
He still couldn't believe Naruto had created such a perverted clone.
But then, recalling something else, a faint heat crept into Sasuke's own face. After he returned yesterday, one of his own clones had grown arrogant—boasting that even with one hand for seals, he was invincible in the entire world.
Sasuke had promptly dispelled him in anger.
Sakura soon arrived, a bright smile on her face, her expression practically glowing. Something clearly good had happened.
Yesterday, after following Kakashi into the woods—
"Sakura, before water-walking, there's another step: tree climbing. Watch carefully."
Without another word, Kakashi calmly walked up the trunk of a tree as if he were strolling on flat ground.
Sakura's eyes lit up.
"Alright, now you try."
The moment Kakashi gave the word, Sakura rushed forward, determination burning in her gaze.
To Kakashi's surprise, she succeeded on her very first attempt.
A faint smile touched his lips. For all her insecurities, this girl truly had talent—at least when it came to chakra control.
...
TN:
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