Chapter 428: The Plan is Finalized: Lure Out Urashiki Otsutsuki
Adult Sasuke stared at the battle-ready Naruto standing a few paces away. A flicker of disbelief crossed the older ninja's mismatched eyes. The Naruto of this world... he was entirely too hard-edged. There was a predatory sharpness to his stance that Sasuke's own childhood rival had never possessed.
"But..." Adult Sasuke began, the weight of his own timeline's failures making him hesitate. "Urashiki's methods are entirely too bizarre. What if he—"
"There are no 'what ifs'." Uchiha Akira's voice sliced through the air, cold and absolute.
Akira turned his gaze toward the time-traveling Uchiha. "Since you want to protect Naruto and simultaneously eradicate that nuisance, why not change your approach?" A dangerous, glacial light glinted in Akira's dark eyes. "It is always better to take the fight directly to the thief than to exhaust yourself guarding against him for a thousand days. Since his primary target is Naruto, we will put on a show. We will draw this Otsutsuki Urashiki out from whatever hole he hides in."
The air in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Akira's voice turned to pure ice, a suffocating wave of killing intent surging outward. "And then, we finish him off. Completely."
Adult Sasuke's breath hitched. Looking at the sheer, overbearing dominance radiating from Uchiha Akira, a sudden realization struck him. This was exactly why the Uchiha Clan of this world stood at the absolute pinnacle of power. They were led by a man who yielded to nothing.
"I understand." Adult Sasuke drew a slow, steadying breath. The hesitation vanished from his own gaze, replaced by the hardened edge of a veteran shinobi. "Since Hokage-sama possesses such boldness, then I am willing to follow your arrangements. What is the specific plan?"
A faint, razor-thin smile curved Akira's lips. "It is very simple. Since he so desperately desires the Chakra of the Nine-Tails..." Akira shifted his gaze toward the blonde youth. "...we will give him bait he absolutely cannot refuse. A Nine-Tails Jinchuriki wandering far beyond the protective barriers of the Village."
Akira tilted his head slightly. "Naruto. Are you scared?"
Naruto flashed a wide, feral grin. He brought a thumb up, rasping it across the tip of his nose in a gesture of pure defiance. "Scared? That word doesn't even exist in my dictionary! As long as I can take out the bastard threatening the Village, using me as bait is no problem at all!"
His grin widened into something dangerous as he clenched his fist, the leather of his gloves creaking under the strain. "Besides... I am not some helpless pushover anymore!"
Adult Sasuke watched the exchange in silence. Logic and reason screamed that using a Jinchuriki as bait against an Otsutsuki was a massive risk. Yet, seeing this alternate Naruto brimming with such unshakeable, battle-hardened confidence, he found himself nodding in agreement.
"Since Hokage-sama is confident, let us proceed as planned," Sasuke conceded. "However, to be absolutely safe, I suggest we add more manpower to the escort. Not only will it make the performance far more convincing to Urashiki, but it will also provide us with a necessary margin for error."
Akira inclined his head, a gesture of quiet approval. "Exactly my thought. A lone Nine-Tails wandering without a heavy guard might still trigger that creature's suspicion. But what if we add another Tailed Beast to the equation?"
Adult Sasuke blinked, caught entirely off guard. "Add another one?"
Akira offered no verbal explanation. He simply stirred a thought, reaching out with his chakra.
Deep within the isolated confines of the Tianyu Space, violent spatial ripples began to spread outward like stones dropped into a calm lake. The air distorted, twisting until three distinct figures materialized out of thin air before them.
The youth standing at the forefront carried a massive, sand-filled gourd strapped to his back. His crimson hair contrasted sharply against the dark, heavy rings around his pale eyes, while the vivid blood-red kanji for 'love' stood out starkly on his forehead. It was none other than the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, Gaara.
Flanking him to the left stood Temari, one hand resting casually on the hilt of her giant iron fan. To his right stood Hyuga Hinata, her delicate features set in a mask of absolute solemnity.
The very instant their boots touched the ground, all three shinobi dropped to a single knee, bowing their heads in a flawless, synchronized salute to Uchiha Akira.
"Rise, all of you," Akira commanded, his tone calm but carrying the weight of absolute authority. "I have summoned you for a mission."
The three immediately stood at attention.
At that precise moment, Boruto, who had been keeping a low profile behind Adult Sasuke's cloak, violently shuddered. His wide blue eyes locked onto the dark-haired Hyuga girl.
'M... Mom?' Boruto mouthed, his voice so fragile and soft that the sound barely escaped his throat.
It was a young Hinata. Yet, she was entirely unlike the gentle, endlessly patient housewife that existed in Boruto's memories. The Hinata standing before him still retained a trace of her inherent quietness, but her pale lavender eyes housed an unmatched, razor-sharp confidence. There was a lethal grace in her posture. This was the pride of the Fifth Hokage's top disciple—a true powerhouse forged in the fires of Konoha's new generation.
The intensity of his stare did not go unnoticed. Hinata shifted her gaze, her pale eyes locking onto Boruto with mild puzzlement.
"Um... excuse me, but may I ask who you are?" she inquired politely. She blinked, carefully studying the blond teenager. He resembled her Naruto-kun by at least seven-tenths, right down to the whisker marks on his cheeks, yet he wore incredibly strange, modern clothing.
Boruto trembled. A sudden, sharp sting pricked at the back of his nose. To see his mother so young, so fierce and alive in this alternate world... it tore at his composure.
"I..." he choked out, stepping forward.
Before another syllable could leave his mouth, a large, firm hand clamped down hard onto his shoulder. Adult Sasuke squeezed the boy's collarbone discreetly, his mismatched eyes flashing a severe warning.
"He is my pupil," Adult Sasuke intervened, his voice a low, smooth baritone that betrayed nothing. "This is his first time seeing a member of the illustrious Hyuga Clan of Konoha in person. He merely lost his composure."
Hinata's cheeks dusted with a faint pink flush. The fierce kunoichi demeanor slipped for a fraction of a second as she waved her hands hastily. "Oh, I... please, it is perfectly fine."
"Enough. You can all catch up later," Akira interrupted, cleanly severing the small interlude before it could drag on. He turned his attention back to his student. "Naruto, brief them on the operation."
"Yes, sensei!" Naruto snapped instantly into mission mode. The feral grin returned as he concisely relayed the gathered intelligence regarding Otsutsuki Urashiki, laying out the exact parameters of their high-risk bait operation.
As Naruto finished his rundown, a dark, suffocating flicker of killing intent flashed through Gaara's normally impassive sea-green eyes. The sand in his gourd shifted with a faint, grinding hiss.
"An alien who steals Chakra, huh..." Gaara's voice dropped into a dangerous, gravelly register. "If sensei needs me, I am in."
As a Jinchuriki himself, he knew the sickening feeling of being hunted for the beast sealed inside his gut. More, ever since Uchiha Akira had taken him in as a disciple—personally guiding him to lay his inner demons to rest and master the Shukaku—Gaara's absolute loyalty to the man rivaled even Naruto's. He would burn the world down if Akira ordered it.
"Count me in too!" Temari declared, slamming the heavy base of her iron fan against the stone floor. The metallic clang echoed sharply, matching her bold, spirited grin. "I might not be a Jinchuriki, but I promise you I won't be dead weight out there!"
Hinata remained silent, but her expression spoke volumes. Her jaw set, her fists clenching tightly at her sides. For her sensei, for Naruto-kun, and for the safety of Konoha—she would not take a single step back.
"Excellent." Akira nodded, a dark satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. "Since there are no objections, prepare to move out immediately."
He stepped forward, his imposing gaze sweeping over the four young shinobi. "Remember your primary objective. Your job is to perform. You are the bait, nothing more. The very moment that Otsutsuki Urashiki reveals himself, do not attempt to force a direct confrontation. Immediately activate the special Kunai I am about to give you."
With a casual flick of his wrist, four heavy, three-pronged Kunai materialized from his sleeve. They sailed through the air, dropping perfectly into the waiting hands of his disciples. complex, dense sealing formulas were etched deeply into the black metal of the handles.
"Once the seal on that Kunai is fed with your chakra," Akira instructed, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper, "I will arrive in an instant."
"Yes, sir!" the four answered in perfect, ringing unison.
With the vanguard's arrangements finalized, Akira turned his attention back to Adult Sasuke. "You will remain here."
Sasuke frowned slightly, but Akira raised a hand to stall any protests. "The Tianyu Space can completely isolate and block all Chakra signatures from the outside world. That Urashiki possesses extremely sharp sensory perception. If he catches even a faint trace of your presence, or detects the ocular power of two Rinnegan users in the same vicinity, he will never take the bait."
Adult Sasuke slowly nodded. He perfectly understood Akira's tactical reasoning. Two Rinnegan signatures would be a massive red flag for any Otsutsuki.
"Boruto stays here as well," Adult Sasuke added, casting a sidelong glance at his young, distracted apprentice. "His emotions are entirely too unstable right now. If he goes out there, his reactions will give the entire performance away."
Uchiha Akira wasted no further words on the matter. With a sharp, sweeping motion of his hand, the fabric of reality tore open. The swirling vortex of the spatial gateway expanded before them, leading directly to the hunting grounds.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]