Hey guys, here is the new chapter hope you will liked and read thru everything.
If we hit 100 PW I post a extra chapter.
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Enjoy the chapter!
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The mass of crimson chakra surging from Naruto's body rose like a tangible flame, wiping away the cold moonlight and casting bloody shadows across the collapsed stone pillars.
His canine teeth elongated, his fingernails hardened into sharp claws, and his blue eyes vanished completely, giving way to the slit pupils of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
With a bestial roar that shook the earth, a dense tail of pure reddish-orange chakra materialized behind his back, thrashing violently like a whip of liquid fire.
Without giving anyone time to process the atmospheric shift, Naruto propelled himself forward.
The speed of his assault was so overwhelming that the night wind was sliced in half with a sharp whistle.
In a fraction of a second, Naruto appeared directly above Daiku's position, swinging a claw of crimson chakra loaded with destructive brute force straight at the Sand swordsman.
Daiku, reacting purely on refined combat training instincts, immediately crossed his glowing katana in front of his chest to block the onslaught.
BOOM!
The collision unleashed a shockwave that pulverized the sand below and cracked the bedrock beneath their feet. Although Daiku's blade did not break, the kinetic force packed within the Nine-Tails' chakra far surpassed his physical strength, driving him backward over fifteen meters across the dunes as his boots cut deep grooves into the terrain.
However, to the Sand team's surprise, Naruto did not continue his pursuit against Daiku.
Taking advantage of the open space and the second of shock his strike had created, Naruto dropped down beside Sasuke's dehydrated, mummified body.
With extreme delicacy despite the brutality of his transformation, he scooped up the Uchiha with his left arm. Immediately after, he flexed his legs and launched himself dozens of meters into the air toward the ruins where the Leaf kunoichi lay.
Landing in a cloud of dust, Naruto grabbed Sakura with his other arm, holding them both before leaping again with superhuman speed into the dark northern dunes, fleeing the battlefield at full tilt.
Sunae, seeing Team 7 retreat instead of fight, gritted her teeth. Her own eyes flashed, and a chakra mark began spreading across her arms as she prepared to channel her internal Tailed Beast energy to give chase.
"Don't you dare chase him, Sunae!" Daiku's stern, sharp voice echoed through the settling dust.
Sunae froze atop a crumbling wall, turning her face toward her brother in frustration.
"What are you talking about, Daiku?! That guy is taking his teammates! If we catch up to them now, we can finish off that Leaf team and make sure they don't come back!"
Daiku walked back toward his teammates, dropping his katana onto the ground as the metal, unable to withstand the extreme heat any longer, melted into a useless lump. His expression was grim, and his breathing was slightly rushed.
"Use your head, Sunae," Daiku replied coldly.
"That chakra wasn't a simple amplification jutsu. If that blonde completely loses control in the middle of this zone, he won't hesitate to unleash even more power. If he goes berserk, everyone in this canyon will die before the night ends."
Karin, keeping her arms crossed and adjusting her red glasses, nodded in total agreement.
"Daiku is right," Karin chimed in with an analytical tone.
"That chakra signature was monstrous... it far exceeds any standard reserve. He is the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, Sunae—the vessel of the strongest beast of all. In his current state of desperation, forcing a fight would be an absurd risk to our mission."
Sunae stared in the direction Naruto had vanished, letting out a long sigh before allowing her dense chakra to settle back to normal.
"Tch... I guess you guys are right. What a pain."
"We claimed this ground and neutralized their primary asset," Daiku declared, glancing down at the glassy surface left by his technique.
"Now let's get out of here immediately. The noise from this clash is going to draw other teams like flies."
Without wasting another second, Sunae, Karin, and Daiku vanished into the rock shadows, leaving the ruins behind to strategically relocate.
Miles away, hidden inside a natural cave within a rock formation far from active battles, Naruto finally came to a stop.
The red chakra coating his body slowly retracted back into the seal on his stomach until his eyes regained their usual shade of blue.
Naruto collapsed to his knees, panting heavily from the physical toll taken by the Kyūbi's energy, but he didn't allow himself a single moment of rest.
He set Sasuke down on the ground and quickly moved over to Sakura. With fingers trembling from exhaustion, he placed his hand over the purple seal on the nape of the pink-haired girl's neck and channeled a small burst of his own chakra to disrupt the formula.
Karin's seal vanished in a puff of smoke. Sakura gasped desperately for air, regaining control of her body as she coughed against the dust.
"Naruto! Thank goodness! I..." Sakura began with a shaky voice, trying to push herself up.
"There's no time for thanks, Sakura," Naruto interrupted sharply, pointing at the Uchiha's motionless form.
"Forget about me. Focus on Sasuke. We need water, now!"
Sakura looked toward Sasuke, and her blood ran cold. The young Uchiha's body looked like an empty shell: his skin wrinkled, his throat parched to the point of cracking, and his lips a pale shade of gray.
Without wasting a second, Sakura pulled three reserve water canteens from her tactical pouch and began applying her field medical knowledge.
While Naruto carefully supported Sasuke's head to keep his airway clear, Sakura poured the water little by little into his mouth, combining the liquid with a smooth flow of medical chakra at his neck to force the rehydration of the tissues scorched by Daiku's blade.
It was a grueling few minutes of sheer tension where Sasuke's pulse barely hovered on the line between life and death.
Nevertheless, thanks to their rapid combined efforts and the natural resilience of the Uchiha's body, Sasuke's breathing finally stabilized into a faint rhythm.
"His body stopped dehydrating..." Sakura whispered, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she let out a massive sigh of relief.
"He's safe... for now. But it's going to take hours or days before he can even stand up."
Naruto sat back against the cave wall, glaring at the floor with clenched fists. 'Dad, Mom... I had to use it to protect them. Suna isn't a joke... those guys are total monsters,' the blonde thought, recalling his rivals' cold stares as he kept watch over his team.
While Team 7 fought to recover in the shadows, another massive engagement was brewing in the eastern sector of the Devil's Desert.
In the middle of a terrain depression surrounded by giant sandstone pillars, a reinforced bronze chest lay among the wreckage of an abandoned caravan. However, the chest was far from unguarded.
Atop a high sand dune stood Temari, Kankurō, and Kimimaro. The three Sand shinobis watched with absolute composure as two full Leaf teams surrounded their position from both sides of the canyon.
They were Team 8—consisting of Hinata Hyūga, Kiba Inuzuka with Akamaru, and Shino Aburame—alongside Team 10, formed by Shikamaru Nara, Chōji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka.
"Well, well..." Kankurō remarked, adjusting the wrappings on the puppet Karasu mounted on his back.
"Looks like the Leaf needs to group up six at a time to feel like they stand a chance in the desert."
"Don't get cocky, Kankurō," Temari warned coldly, unbuckling the strap holding her massive three-moon iron fan shut.
"Those kids aren't simple civilians. Keep your formation."
Kimimaro stepped forward in silence. His calm eyes scanned the chakra signatures of the six enemy ninjas. His right hand remained relaxed at his side, ready to release bone the moment it became necessary.
Below, Shikamaru let out a heavy sigh, scratching the back of his neck in annoyance.
"What a troublesome situation... We were supposed to avoid team battles before the fourth day, but that chest holds the seal for the key we need."
"There's no time to complain, Shikamaru!" Kiba barked, baring his fangs in a confident grin as Akamaru growled atop his head.
"We're two teams against three Sand guys! We're gonna crush 'em before they know what hit 'em!"
Beside him, Hinata Hyūga showed no sign of hesitation. Unlike the shy, timid girl from her early academy days, the Hyūga heiress stood tall with a sharp gaze and unwavering resolve.
With a firm flick of her fingers, she activated her clan's visual jutsu.
"Byakugan!" Hinata declared.
The veins around her pale eyes bulged instantly, granting her a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the Sand team's chakra flow.
"Be careful," Hinata warned in a serious, analytical tone.
"The pale boy in the center has a ridiculously dense and concentrated chakra reserve. The puppet user controls high-precision chakra threads, and the girl is gathering a massive concentration of chakra around her fan."
"That's the spirit, Hinata! Let ad breaking their line!" Chōji shouted, activating his Partial Expansion Jutsu as he prepared to charge.
"Attack!" Shikamaru ordered.
The battle erupted explosively.
Chōji expanded the size of his torso and arms, transforming into a giant of flesh and stone as he lunged straight ahead. At the same time, Kiba and Akamaru executed their combined technique.
"Man Beast Clone Jutsu! Fang Over Fang!"
Kiba and Akamaru transformed into two high-speed tornadoes of claws and fangs, spinning violently through the air as they flanked Chōji's massive frame, charging directly toward Kimimaro's position.
Kimimaro didn't even flinch at the triple assault threatening to crush him. With almost supernatural calm, he channeled his Shikotsumyaku.
Sharp spikes of dense bone erupted from his palms and shoulders, reinforced with a layer of chakra that far surpassed the hardness of common steel.
CLANG! BANG!
Kimimaro intercepted Chōji's colossal fist using a shield of bone that sprouted directly from his forearm, absorbing the massive impact without giving an inch.
Immediately after, he pivoted with surgical precision, using the bony projections on his elbows to deflect both streams of Kiba and Akamaru's Fang Over Fang, sending them crashing into the sand on either side of him.
While the frontline clashed with Kimimaro, in the Leaf's rear guard, Shino Aburame extended his arms from beneath his coat. A dense, unsettling buzzing resonated through the canyon as thousands of Kikai bugs poured from his sleeves, splitting into multiple swarms that glided low across the ground to encircle Kankurō.
"Your chakra threads are visible to my insects," Shino said in his signature monotonous voice.
"They will consume your energy before you can move your puppet."
Kankurō smirked, executing a swift maneuver with his fingers. "Try it if you can, four-eyes!"
Kankurō launched Karasu into the air. The puppet opened its metallic chest mid-flight, releasing dozens of poisoned needles in every direction while deploying a cloud of purple toxic gas to block Shino's swarm.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru remained crouched behind a boulder, waiting for the precise moment to launch his attack.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Shikamaru's shadow stretched rapidly across the ground, slithering through the cracks in the rock toward Kankurō and Kimimaro's feet.
However, from her vantage point, Temari did not miss the Leaf strategist's ploy.
Temari snapped open the first and second moons of her iron fan in one swift motion.
"Don't forget about me, shadow boy!" Temari shouted.
"Wind Style: Sea Dragon!"
With a thundering gust, Temari swung the massive metal weapon.
A massive wave of cutting air swept over the valley, creating dozens of invisible blades that shredded the rocks and threatened to tear through Konoha's backline.
Shikamaru's shadow was forced to retract violently as the ground was plowed up by the attack, and Ino had to leap backward to avoid getting sliced by the gale.
However, before Temari's wind blades could reach Shikamaru and the rest of his group, a figure appeared on the frontline with arms outstretched in a textbook Gentle Fist stance.
Hinata stepped directly into the trajectory of the wind assault. Concentrating a massive amount of pure chakra into the palms of her hands, she began spinning on her axis at breathtaking speed.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"
FWOOOOSH!
A defensive sphere of pure blue chakra formed around Hinata, creating an impenetrable dome that absorbed and repelled Temari's Fūton blast completely.
The wind blades slammed into Hinata's Kaiten, harmlessly deflecting off to the sides and shattering the surrounding pillars without touching a single member of the Leaf force.
As her spin ceased, Hinata remained locked in her combat stance, without a single scratch and her eyes fixed on Temari.
The veins of her Byakugan pulsed intensely, displaying a level of composure and strength fitting for a true clan leader.
"I will not allow you to hurt my teammates," Hinata declared in a firm, clear voice filled with authority that echoed across the entire battlefield.
Temari opened the third moon of her fan, looking down at the Hyūga kunoichi with a mix of surprise and genuine tactical respect.
"Impressive," Temari admitted, adjusting her grip on her fan.
"That defensive technique is strong, though I imagine it drains quite a bit of chakra. Looks like this exam isn't going to be so boring after all."
"Hey, don't just stand there staring!" Kiba yelled, picking himself up alongside Akamaru while shaking sand off his clothes.
"We're not done with the bone guy yet!"
In the center of the valley, Kimimaro slowly extended his right hand forward.
The tip of a sharp, dense bone sword slid slowly out from the palm of his hand, ready for close-quarters combat.
"Your determination is commendable," Kimimaro said in a calm, flat voice, holding his bone sword as he faced the six Leaf shinobis.
"But this chest belongs to us. If you insist on crossing this line, I will be forced to defeat you all."
Three battlefronts were drawn under the cold moonlight: Chōji, Kiba, and Akamaru against Kimimaro's physical lethality; Shino and Shikamaru attempting to overcome Kankurō's poisonous gas and chakra threads; and Hinata leading the defense against Temari's devastating wind power.
The battle for the Devil's Desert chest had just reached its boiling point.
End of Chapter