---
"Wash the motor! (No idea what it means, but it just popped into my head)," Kakashi exclaimed.
A streak of azure lightning surged down the chakra thread straight toward Kakashi!
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A loud crash exploded from behind the tree binding Kakashi.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
CRACK!
The massive tree was shattered in half by a single brutal kick!
Kakashi cried out and was flung from the explosion, narrowly dodging Sasuke's Ten Shocking Palm.
"Are you ?!" Kakashi roared, his voice slipping into something wild—like a scene out of a One Piece fever dream.
"Wow~Wow! (Same as before)," Guy scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I was in a rush to save Kakashi... couldn't help it! Aha—ha!"
B: "..."
Guy's eyes shifted to the airborne figure of Sasuke. He then turned toward Kakashi and asked, "What is this? A damn birdman?!"
Kakashi and Sasuke:
"This is Sasuke," Kakashi replied flatly.
"Nani?!" Guy gasped, eyes wide. "This guy with claws for fingers and wings for shoulders is Sasuke?!"
Sasuke descended slowly, his expression unreadable. He glanced at the two Elite Jōnin, shook his head, rotated his left shoulder, and then casually stripped off his weighted training vest and chakra-restricting shoes.
Guy and Kakashi narrowed their eyes, suddenly wary of how much power Sasuke had just released.
"Why does this brat have more chakra than you?" Guy muttered.
Kakashi sighed. "I don't even know."
Suddenly, Sasuke snapped his head toward them, his eyes gleaming.
He kicked off the ground—BOOM!—and left behind a crater as he vanished like a bolt of black lightning.
........
Crows fluttered past in the silence that followed.
Guy and Kakashi stared at each other.
"Uh..." Guy pointed toward the distance, confused. "Did... did he just run away?!"
"Sh*t! After him!" Kakashi finally snapped to his senses.
But after two steps—poof!—they realized Sasuke had already disappeared.
Both Jōnin exchanged exasperated glances, then sighed and turned back toward Konoha. Not only had they failed to find Naruto... now Sasuke had escaped too.
Talk about a day from hell.
---
Meanwhile...
Sasuke sprinted through the forest, his legs pumping like a high-powered chakra motor. As he ran, he muttered to himself: "Two Elite Jōnin, and one of them was Might Guy—the Guy that Naruto always hypes up. Definitely not people to mess with. Better run now than regret it later..."
But a sudden pain stabbed through his body. His steps faltered.
Zaku's words echoed in his head: "If you maintain the Curse Mark's second stage for too long, it'll start eating away at your body. You'll lose yourself—permanently."
Sasuke clenched his jaw and forced his breathing to slow. The black flame-like pattern of the Curse Mark receded slowly as he reigned it back under control. He adjusted his heading and walked slowly toward the heart of the dark forest.
---
Elsewhere, the Konoha 11—plus the Sand siblings—were making their way back to the village after recovering from the ambush.
---
Naruto...
"Thanks, uncle!" Naruto waved at the traveling merchant who had given him a ride. He turned toward the vast sea of trees in front of him and stretched. "After eating sand for so damn long... I'm finally back."
Swish! Naruto blurred forward, chakra flaring as he sped in the direction the merchant had pointed—home.
---
Sound Village Underground Base
Sasuke followed Orochimaru and Kabuto down into the gloomy, serpentine tunnels of one of Orochimaru's many hideouts.
"Sasuke... you are the chosen one," Orochimaru whispered with that sinister smile curling at his lips.
Sasuke didn't flinch. "Whatever. Just give me more power already." He paused, voice sharp. "Those subordinates you sent? Pathetic."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed dangerously.
Kabuto stepped in quickly, voice tense: "Even if his form is different, the man in front of you is still Lord Orochimaru. You'd do well to show some respect... unless you want to die."
Sasuke turned, his Sharingan glowing fiercely as he stared Kabuto down.
Kabuto instinctively stepped back. "Such chakra... monstrous."
Orochimaru watched Sasuke with eyes full of ambition. "My future... lies in him."
"You're learning the Kame-sen style, aren't you?" Orochimaru said abruptly.
"Nani?!" Sasuke's eyes widened. "How do you—?"
Without warning, Orochimaru extended his arm and unleashed a powerful ki blast. It obliterated a chunk of the nearby prison wall, scattering debris.
Sasuke stared in disbelief.
"You're not the only one who's studied the ways of the Sage of Six Paths," Orochimaru murmured. "You think your Gama-sennin methods are advanced? They're nothing but entry-level applications."
"I can teach you real power. Beyond your imagination."
As he spoke, Orochimaru's current body suddenly began to bulge grotesquely. Muscles tore through his skin, blue veins throbbing with ki.
Sasuke took two steps back, overwhelmed by the sheer energy radiating off of him.
"Kame-senryū... Maximum Output Mode," Orochimaru said, voice low and lethal.
"Nani?!" Sasuke's heart pounded. His expression twisted in awe. So this was the power hidden here... Naruto, just wait. I'll surpass you. I'll get my revenge.
"Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto called urgently.
Orochimaru coughed violently—blood splattering from his lips.
"This body... wasn't prepared. Channeling this much ki is draining too much of my life force."
"Reincarnation...?" Sasuke asked cautiously.
"It's nothing," Orochimaru smiled thinly. "I know what you know, Sasuke. And I know what you don't. Just follow me."
With that, Orochimaru and his entourage descended deeper into the shadows.
---
Hokage's Office
Tsunade slammed her fist on the desk. "What did you say?! Not only did you fail to find Naruto—you let Sasuke escape?!"
Kakashi and Guy stood stiffly, looking anywhere but at Tsunade.
"Well... we did bring back the rest of the retrieval squad without injuries!" Guy offered sheepishly. "Haha...?"
Tsunade's glare could have melted metal. She turned to the Sand trio. "Thank you for assisting us."
"It's nothing," Gaara replied stoically. "By the time we arrived, the main fight was already over. Aside from me, my siblings didn't contribute much."
Kankuro, Temari: "..."
"Wait, Naruto-kun hasn't been found yet?" Temari asked Tsunade.
"Hmph." Tsunade cast her a quick glance. Beautiful. Fair skin. Long legs. That brat...
"As I said, these two 'elite' Jōnin couldn't find a damn thing," Tsunade growled, glaring at Kakashi and Guy, who were now both counting ceiling tiles.
"I see..." Temari replied, slightly deflated.
---
At Konoha's Gate
Naruto strolled up casually. "Yo. Long time no see, Gate Guardian One. Gate Guardian Two."
"Naruto?!" one of the gatekeepers exclaimed. "Shikamaru said you were being hunted! We thought you were—damn, you're really something, huh?"
The other nodded. "Didn't we just see you two days ago?"
Naruto stared ahead at Konoha. Memories, both warm and bloody, flashed through his mind.
"That's right," he said softly.
"There's a saying... 'one day apart is like three autumns.' We haven't seen each other in three days, so that's what—thirty autumns?" He chuckled. "Steel.."
"...Huh?" The gatekeeper blinked. "Isn't that our grandfather's name?"
"How'd he know that?" Gatekeeper Two asked.
"Hell if I know," the first muttered, watching Naruto's back as he walked through the gate.
"Should we inform Lady Tsunade?"
"No need. He's definitely heading to the Hokage Tower."
---
Naruto looked up at the sky over Konoha, as if it were a different world entirely.
I, Namikaze Naruto... have returned.
---
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