"What the hell's going on?"Even Yoshiyasu—who had been acting like a fool the entire time—was completely thrown off by Naruto's bizarre entrance.
One of the Four frowned. "He didn't even bother to hide his aura, and he just barged in screaming. Is this guy supposed to be one of our higher-ups?"
"Look! Even the enemy's complaining!""Hahahaha! He totally confused them!""Ah, I get it now—this is Naruto's strategy! He wants to bluff his way into the enemy's ranks and win without a fight!""Right, right! Hahaha, I'm dying here!""Konoha's reputation is ruined!"
Veins bulged on Naruto's forehead. He threw his head back and yelled, "I'm not an idiot! It was just an accident, okay?!"
In the Pure Land, Kushina slapped her forehead at the sight of her son. "Naruto, your father and I hoped you'd grow up like Obito, but not this reckless!"
At the mention of Obito, she stopped mid-step on her way to Uzumaki Mito, glancing around the endless white. "Wait… is Obito in the Pure Land too?"
Of course, not everyone on the enemy's side was fooled. A few saw through Naruto immediately and summed him up with one word: idiot.The leader of the Four sneered, completing the pre-battle trash talk segment.
Naruto bristled, ready to snap back—but by then Ashio had already taken advantage of the chaos to escort the priestess, Shion, through the secret passage.Snapping back to his mission, Naruto leapt in front of the tunnel and spread his arms. "You're not getting past me!"
"Do you really think you can stop us alone?" the Four scoffed.They had no idea that the blond standing before them could summon an army in an instant.
"Since I, Uzumaki Naruto, am here—don't even think about running wild!"He slammed his hands together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The Four charged out of the dormitory, only to find themselves swarmed by hundreds of Narutos.
"The hell?! That many clones?!""I thought he was just a dumb Genin! Don't tell me this was Konoha's trap all along!""Idiot. This guy's Jiraiya's student. Did you really think he'd be that simple?""Forget that—look at his surname! Uzumaki! Of course he's got monstrous chakra reserves!""Wait, the Uzumaki were supposed to all have red hair, right?""What's so strange? One of his parents could've been blond.""The clan was wiped out ages ago. It's not weird for there to be mixed blood. Konoha and the Uzumaki were allies, after all."
Naruto blinked in surprise. He hadn't realized his surname carried that much weight. Instinctively, he looked to Kakashi for answers.
Kakashi rubbed his temple, exasperated. He knew digging into it would touch on Naruto's parentage—a classified secret only the Hokage could reveal.So he played it off. "That's… complicated. Watch what's happening on the sky screen for now. If the Hokage decides, you'll learn more later."
Naruto pouted. "Tch… that's so lame."
"First time I've seen Shadow Clones used like a literal army.""Normally it's just for scouting, but with his chakra, this is genius!""To summon that many at once… he's definitely not ordinary," the leader admitted grimly, finally taking Naruto seriously.
Naruto's clones fanned out, boxing them in. He smirked. "What's wrong? Getting nervous?"
But the Four weren't fazed. Their leader barked orders: "Yitai, Setsuna, Shizuku—Earth, Fire, Wind! Connection technique!"
"Earth Style—Earth Corridor!"Yoshita slammed his fists into the ground.
The earth cracked, walls of dirt rising to entrap Naruto and his clones, leaving only a single opening facing the enemy.
The muffled shouts of Naruto and his copies echoed from inside the cavern. Smirking, the leader snapped, "I'll leave this to you!"
"Fire Style—Fire Ring!"Shizuku spun, kicking high. Flames whirled from his motion, blasting into the cavern.
"Wait, are these guys… dancing? Why aren't they making hand seals?""Hand seals depend on mastery. Jonin can skip them sometimes. The rest… well, they've gotta go through the motions.""Yeah, I'm just a Genin, don't look at me."
From above, Sakura groaned. "Naruto! I told you not to act on your own—now look, you're trapped!"
"Eh?! But if I hadn't jumped in, that priestess would've been in danger!" Naruto protested.
Neji cut him off coldly. "If you're there, it means the rest of us are close behind. You acted without thinking."
"Ugh… you're such a pain," Naruto grumbled, sulking with a pout.
Inside the cavern, he flipped out of the flames with an acrobatic leap. "What's this? That fire jutsu was pathetic!"
He was celebrating too soon. Outside, Setsuna clapped his hands together. "Wind Style—Divine Gale!"
The gust fed the fire into a raging inferno, engulfing Naruto's clones in a storm of flame.
Watching from a distance, Neji's Byakugan locked onto the battlefield. His tone was sharp. "See? Naruto disobeyed orders and now it's chaos."
He shifted his gaze toward the temple. Through the secret passage, the enemy leader was already closing in on Shion near the waterfall.
"The priestess is by the waterfall, deeper in the temple. An enemy is moving in," Neji reported.
Without hesitation, he divided the team. "I'll intercept him. Sakura, Lee—you pull Naruto out and then regroup at the waterfall."
"Understood!" they answered in unison.