Amegakure. Beh the t spire.

  Naruto walked toward the entrance.

  "After being out for so long, I'm starving."

  " we leave now?" Jūgo's voice came from behind.

  Naruto stopped in his tracks and turo face him.

  Jūgo, her servile nor overbearing, said, "We have fulfilled reement to assist you. We have no obligation to stay by your side any longer."

  Suigetsu quickly whispered, "Hey, Jūgo, we're still on his turf!"

  Naruto, however, remained calm. "Ah, Sasuke should be in Akatsuki's underground hideout. Do you know the way?"

  Jūgo replied, "Yes. After his battle with Itachi, we went there."

  Naruto nodded. "Then feel free to go. Oh, and when you see Sasuke, pass a message for me."

  Jūgo was surprised.

  He hadn't expected Naruto to let them go so easily.

  "What do you wao tell him?" Jūgo asked. "I'll make sure he hears it."

  Naruto said, "Danzō is no longer in Konoha. He should be seeking out Kabuto Yakushi. If Sasuke pns to act, he should do it quickly. Don't give Danzō a ce to rise again."

  Jūgo nodded. "Uood."

  "Then go," Naruto said.

  The two left Amegakure, walking across the muddy terrain.

  With his hands behind his head, Suigetsu remarked, "I really didn't expect him to let us go so easily. I thought he'd use sweet talk to keep us around, then gradually coerce us int for him. Worst case, I figured he'd trol us with genjutsu and turn us into puppets."

  Jūgo remained silent.

  Suigetsu specuted, "Do you think he's pnning to use Sasuke to get rid of Danzō?"

  Jūgo pondered for a moment. "Probably not. With his power, if he wao do that, Danzō wouldn't have left the Land of Iron alive. Maybe he genuinely wants Sasuke to have his revenge."

  Suigetsu frowned in fusion. "I don't get it. What's the deal with those two? Are they friends or enemies?"

  "Perhaps 'frenemies' would be more accurate," Jūgo murmured. "If Sasuke weren't someone Kimimaro entrusted to me, choosing Naruto wouldn't be out of the question."

  "Huh? What was that st part? I didn't catch it," Suigetsu said.

  "Nothing. Let's keep moving," Jūgo replied.

  ---

  At Kumogakure, after a night of defetles, the shinobi began assessing the damage.

  "The vilge's overall destru is about ten pert. The area around the Raikage's residence suffered the most severe damage."

  "Over a hundred injured, mostly with minor wounds. No fatalities."

  "No fatalities? That's a small mercy amidst all this chaos."

  "The enemy's method of breaking through the Heavenly Retribution Seal remains unknown."

  "The leader of the enemy forces dispyed incredible strength and uable teiques. That jutsu that trapped the Raikage-sama was especially unpreted!"

  The shinobi looked up at the sky, where a star-like sphere still hung.

  The *Chibaku Tensei* was slowly disiing, with massive boulders occasionally falling to the ground, causing thunderous crashes. It was impossible to clear the area directly beh it.

  "Have we identified the enemy?"

  "Acc to Dodai-sama, the enemy is a rogue ninja from Konoha who calls himself Minshō. His true identity is unclear."

  "Minshō? Isn't he aligned with Akatsuki?"

  "The Raikage-sama might know the enemy's true identity, but he hasn't regained sciousness yet."

  "How badly is he injured?"

  "He's suffering from oxygen deprivation and lung damage due to asphyxiation. To break free, he overexerted all his chakra. The most serious injury is to his cervical spine from the fall. He lost his Lightning Release Chakra Mode's prote during the impact."

  "His cervical spine?"

  "Yes. The Raikage-sama might not be able to twist his neck as freely as he used to."

  "That's... That's terrible! Twisting his neck ractically his trademark!"

  "By the way, Darui and the others should be back soon."

  Boom!

  Thunder rumbled.

  In the forest outside Kumogakure, Darui staggered forward, his face pale and his vision blurry. As the vilge gates came into view, he muttered, "Not yet... I 't colpse yet... Just a little farther..."

  His entire left side was impaled by gree branches, pletely numb.

  He had survived the *Cursed Seal: Brain Iing Teique*.

  It was a bination of skill and sheer luck.

  In a critical moment, Darui had avoided a fatal blow, letting the branches pierce his left shoulder instead. Though the spreading branches injured his internal ans, they narrowly missed his heart.

  Using the *Lightning Release Body Flicker Teique*, he escaped the battlefield, enduring near-fatal pain to return to the vilge.

  The gate guards gasped in shock. "Darui-sama! What happeo you?!"

  "Bee... Bee has fallen into Akatsuki's hands..." Darui mao say before colpsing unscious.

  "Darui-sama!!!"

  "These injuries... My god! Quick, call the medical team!"

  ---

  In the Kamui dimension.

  Thud!

  Killer Bee's lifeless body smmed onto the ground.

  "You bastards! How could you kill Bee?!" roared the Eight-Tails in anguish.

  Whoosh!

  A *Tailed Beast Bomb* began f.

  This was Obito's dimension, where phasing was impossible.

  Aside from Obito, Tobi was also present.

  "Now, now, we 't have you rampaging here," Tobi said, crossing his arms.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Wooden dragoed from the ground, coiling around the Eight-Tails and abs its chakra.

  Whoosh!

  The f *Tailed Beast Bomb* visibly shrank.

  The Eight-Tails gred at the unassuming Tobi. "This is the First Hokage's Woon! You—"

  "Obito, hurry up and deal with it!" Tobi called out.

  "Leave it to me," Obito replied.

  He raised his head sharply, the bloodshot Sharingan in his visible eye glowing fiercely.

  "*Genjutsu: Sharingan!*"

  Sizzle!

  The Eight-Tails froze, its eyes turning into Sharingan—a clear sign it was under genjutsu trol.

  Ssh!

  Obito unfurled a scroll, sshing Killer Bee's skin and cutting his own wrist. Using the blood of both the Eight-Tails and himself, he formed a summoning tract.

  The tract was sealed, and the scroll ut away.

  "*Kamui: Dimensional Prison!*"

  Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

  Cubes verged from all sides, f an inescapable prison that fihe Eight-Tails.

  Obito decred coldly, "Eight-Tails, from this moment until I recim the Rinnegan, you will serve as my summoni. Once your purpose is fulfilled, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path will be your final destination."

  Whoosh!!

  At dawn, with the Kamui vortex, Obito and Tobi returo Akatsuki's hideout.

  Boom!

  From the depths of the hideout came the sound of a powerful explosion.

  Sizzle! White smoke seeped from the walls. "You're finally back. Go che Sasuke."

  Creak.

  In a dark chamber, Karin curled up in a er, clutg her head in fear.

  Nearby, dark purple chakra formed the majestic armor of *Susano'o*, resembling the mythical crow tengu.

  Rustle!

  Ihe *Susano'o*, Sasuke tore off the white bandages over his eyes.

  The intricate pattern of straight tomoe—the *Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan*—shone brilliantly in the darkness!

  A smirk spread across his lips. "These eyes... see through even the deepest darkness."

  Boom! Boom!

  Together with the *Susano'o*, Sasuke stepped forward, shattering the rocks beh him.

  Obito appeared before him, his voice stern. "Sasuke, this is Akatsuki's hideout. You're being far too ostentatious!"

  Hearing this, Sasuke's lips curled into an arrogant grin. "Ah, it's you. Perfect timing. Let me test my newfound power on you."

  Whoosh!

  Before he finished speaking, bck fmes of *Amaterasu* ignited in the hand of the *Susano'o*, f a pitch-bck fme sword that thrust toward Obito's position!

  AnnouI’m back from celebrating ese New Year!ing up, each book will have 3 secutive chapter updates, totaling 18 chapters. On Patreon, every book will receive 10+ secutive chapter updates, with a total of over 60 chapters!

  Additionally, I’ve upgraded the tent quality, so you’ll notice a signifit improvement moving forward.

  A new book is also in the works and is expected to be released the day after tomorrow. Stay tuned and look forward to it!