Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 99 "The Pursuit"

The Flying Thunder God Technique requires a mark because once inside a spatial tunnel, all of a person's senses become confused, making it impossible to find the correct direction. The mark, created from one's own chakra, serves as an anchor point for spatial jumps; even with the five senses disrupted, perception remains accurate. Ordinary people's perception is relatively abstract, at most precise to direction and magnitude, but not capable of clearly estimating distance. Naruto's perception, however, is precise, and with age, its accuracy and coverage increase exponentially. He could already perform the Flying Thunder God Technique without a mark, but that would be slightly slower and couldn't be interrupted during the lock-on phase, making it less useful in actual combat.

However, if this ability is used for pursuit, almost no one can escape.

The ninjutsu was activated, and the room in front of him transformed into an increasingly larger mask. The Root member reacted extremely quickly and immediately tried to draw his sword to strike, but a palm blocked the hilt of the sword, and the resistance was so great that he was unable to advance even an inch.

"Nine-Tails!"

Even through the mask, Naruto could see the shock in the other person's eyes. After several exchanges, the man's movements were restricted, and he was unable to move an inch.

Despite being restrained by an unbelievable force, the man's mouth didn't stop, shouting loudly, "Are you going to betray us! Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto remained unmoved, expressionlessly gripping the back of the other's neck and straightening his head. He quickly fell silent, as he met the gaze of a Sharingan whose pattern wasn't three tomoe.

"Izuna-nii, there's one more."

"I know, I know." Izuna hoisted the unconscious guy onto his shoulder and said, "Let's finish this quickly. I'm afraid I won't be able to resist cutting down those traitors of Tobirama if I stay here for even a second longer."

The two people monitoring Sasuke were quickly dealt with, and Sasuke found an opportunity to leave the village. Orochimaru's reinforcements were already in place: Sasuke, Usuke, and Tayuya, who hadn't died in the previous battle. They appeared isolated and helpless, but in reality, they had deployed at least two teams along the road to the Land of Rice Fields. The Sound Ninja had suffered heavy losses in the last operation, and the teams they sent were of poor quality. They probably realized that Konoha itself was in dire need of reconstruction and couldn't muster a strong pursuit force, which is why they were so bold.

"Don't you need my help?" Izuna was from the Sengoku period and had been a ninja on missions since he was six years old. Ninjas and children were two different kinds of beings. Izuna would not underestimate any ninja, nor would he show mercy to any ninja of any age.

"No need, I can handle it." Naruto was indeed kind and full of love, but he would not forget his comrades who were seriously injured while chasing after Sasuke, nor would he forget the despair he had endured along the way.

He's not a stingy person, but it depends on who he's dealing with.

"Alright, whatever you want." Izuna didn't insist, saying, "I can at least watch for a bit, right?"

Naruto glanced at his senior with suspicion; that sincere face and calm demeanor seemed perfectly normal. Naruto was unaware that the Uchiha clan never allowed their children to grow up freely. After the last incident, Shisui had been thoroughly beaten by his ancestor and the clan head, and was still in bed. This time, although the enemy wasn't much better, Izuna still had to keep an eye on things.

By this time, the Sound Ninja had already carried Sasuke a distance. Out of caution, although they had left Konoha, they did not land directly on Sasuke's mark. Instead, based on their speed, they stopped along their journey and waited for dawn.

Konoha is a military unit, and it's located relatively close to the border. A single night is enough for the Sound Ninja to cover half the journey. Konoha would likely react during the day, so their daytime travel couldn't be as focused. They would periodically create traps—not very powerful, but enough to alert the pursuers if triggered. However, the enemy didn't play by the rules. They descended from the sky, stepping into the barrel containing Sasuke, knocking over the two-headed figure carrying it.

Zuo Jin had no time to react before he was kicked in the head, and the straps holding the wooden barrel on his back were cut off instantly. In a single exchange, the two were sent flying, leaving only a barrel that had landed safely and a blond ninja who could lift the barrel straight up with one hand.

The two entered cursed seal mode the moment they saw each other's shadows—these were the ruthless men who had killed Kimimaro head-on! However, such struggles were meaningless in the face of absolute power. A hurricane swept through, and swathes of forest collapsed in a fan shape, swallowing their figures.

Duoyou, whose vitality is relatively weak, can no longer sense anything, but are Zuo Jin and You Jin still alive? So, being cut in half at the waist doesn't mean you'll die?

After quickly analyzing the situation, Naruto picked up the bucket containing Sasuke and instantly created several shadow clones. Some of these clones then changed their appearance, taking on various shapes and sizes, including one that looked exactly like Zuo Jin and You Jin. As the clones ran and fought, two of them broke away from the group and sneaked into the dense forest to intercept the one whose life they had barely managed to save.

"How did you come up with such a method? You even checked what the previous group of people looked like?" Izuna appeared in the nearby tree canopy, very interested in the scene behind him.

"Of course. They are much weaker than expected, making them difficult to deal with."

"Tsk, stop showing off, you guy who has his own chakra reservoir. They should be grateful they could even block one of your attacks." Izuna glared at Naruto with disdain, then said seriously, "What are you planning to do next? Sasuke wants to leave, are you going to pretend to stop him?"

Naruto hugged the wooden barrel in silence for a while, but his steps never stopped. He was faster than the other two, and he could already faintly hear the sound of the waterfall.

After a long while, a clear voice came from the wind: "I don't really want to fight him there, but I'm also unwilling to let him go like this."

Ha, he said Sasuke could choose for himself, but now he's going to back out? But he did manage to send him to the border.

Before long, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a meadow, a wide river, and two enormous statues. Izuna sped up immediately, and the one who had fallen behind stepped onto the head of the Hashirama Senju statue first, gazing at the statue on the opposite bank with a mixture of nostalgia and sorrow.

This is where my brother died. What was he thinking when he died at the hands of the person he had cared for for half his life?

In the past, Izuna believed that family was everything; as long as the family became powerful, he was willing to pay any price, whether it was someone else's life or his own. Now, however, he has picked up his brother's naive dream and eagerly anticipates that the imagined future will become a reality.

If he had seen the truth of this world sooner, and accepted his brother's dream sooner, perhaps none of this would have happened...

“Sasuke’s chakra is churning; he’s about to wake up.” Naruto gently put down the wooden tub and patted Izuna’s arm. “Izuna-nii, one day, those who care about each other will meet again.”