A Resilient Heart

The rain started again.

The clouds that had just exploded and dispersed are now gathering again, dark and heavy, with large raindrops falling heavily.

The cold rain lashed Sasuke's face, trickling down with blood and quickly drawing away his body heat.

He suddenly felt a chill.

A ninja protected by Chakra should be immune to heat and cold, but Sasuke felt cold because he had used up too much Chakra.

But even colder than his body was Sasuke's heart.

It felt like falling into an ice cave.

The moment he saw Kakuzu appear, he even felt a pang of despair!

How can he possibly fight Kakuzu after fighting Sasori to the point of near exhaustion?

His eyes were still throbbing with pain, and every time he opened them, they were filled with tears. His Chakra was almost completely depleted!

Mingrao was in slightly better condition, but only slightly better. He had just used brute force to resist Deidara's self-destruction, even going so far as to activate his eight-tailed mode, forcibly pushing his limits, resulting in him being covered in wounds.

His opponent was Kakuzu, a living history of the Shinobi World who had lived for over a hundred years and had once fought against the First Hokage —a veteran Kage Level powerhouse!

How do I play?

Sasuke was disheartened and couldn't find an answer.

This is a battle we can't win!

"I'll do it!" Naruto suddenly said, standing in front of Sasuke.

"You?!" Sasuke was startled.

Naruto chuckled easily, "You got to steal the show when we were dealing with Sasori, now it's my turn!"

A lame excuse.

Sasuke understood Naruto's true intentions perfectly well. Showing off... that wasn't it! He simply wanted to stand in front of Sasuke and protect Sasuke.

Just as he was about to ask for something, Naruto said seriously, "Hey, Sasuke! You always call me the worst... it's time for me to get ahead of you for once!"

"This time, just stay hidden behind me and watch my back as I fight!"

He turned and gave Sasuke a thumbs up.

The solidified Chakra enveloped Naruto once more. His old wounds had not yet healed, and new wounds were torn open by the Nine-Tails' corrosive Chakra. Yet, the boy remained unmoved and instead revealed a bright smile.

"Damn it, I can still fight!" Sasuke forced open his sore eyes and took a step forward, but his legs were weak and he almost fell to the ground.

That Super Electromagnetic Cannon shot just now exhausted his strength!

Naruto didn't turn around; instead, a hand extended from the Tailed Beast Cloak and supported Sasuke.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Sasuke," he said calmly. "The enemy just finished dealing with the Three-Tails and isn't at their best either... There might still be a chance in this battle!"

Naruto's beast-like fighting instincts allowed him to keenly sense that he still had a sliver of hope for victory!

This is a completely different way of thinking from rational analysts like Sasuke and Sakura. Sometimes it may seem too reckless, but at other times it can be more perceptive than rationalists!

"Is there still a chance?" Sasuke murmured, looking at Naruto.

At this point, we can only trust Naruto and his intuition!

"Let's fight one more time..." Sasuke forced a smile. "Although I don't have much energy left to fight, I can still be of some use!"

"Connect with me using Chakra, Naruto... I will transmit all the information I see with my Sharingan to you!"

He gathered the last of his Chakra, slowly Hand Seals, and suddenly his eyes flashed with three Tomoe—

"Genjutsu: Visual Sharing!"

This technique was developed by Sakura Haruno and Sakura Uchiha during their battle to share the Sharingan's vision.

Traditionally, Genjutsu has been defined as infiltrating an enemy's Chakra to disrupt their senses (especially vision), causing them to receive incorrect information and inflicting negative effects. Sakura Haruno, who loves to break conventions, is certainly not satisfied with such a narrow application. Could she do the opposite and use Genjutsu to provide buffs to her teammates?

Provoking teammates to awaken their Sharingan is just the most basic method.

Genjutsu can distort an enemy's five senses to create false information, so conversely, it's also possible to transmit accurate information to teammates. Similar to "AR" (Augmented Reality) technology from the previous life, using Genjutsu to share additional information seen by the Sharingan with teammates is a typical Sakura Haruno -style Ninjutsu: full of ingenious ideas, requiring superb Chakra manipulation skills, and very effective.

Of course, this also requires Naruto's absolute trust in Sasuke.

"Is this the world as seen by the Sharingan?"

As if the dust in his eyelids had been wiped away, the whole world became more vivid in Naruto's eyes. He could even vaguely see the flow of Chakra, and not far away, a huge Chakra source was releasing rich Chakra!

No, upon closer inspection, it wasn't a single source, but rather several interconnected, massive Chakra sources, very close together, as if they were stacked on top of each other!

"Is that Kakuzu?" Naruma's eyes hardened with determination as he shouted in a deep voice, "I'm going!"

Naruto took a deep breath, and endless Nine-Tails Chakra coiled around him. A dense Chakra Cloak enveloped the boy's body, transforming him into a giant demon fox. The demon fox instinctively crouched down, its seven tails dancing wildly behind it.

The demon fox roared, and countless black orbs instantly condensed into a giant Chakra ball above his head.

Tailed Beast Bomb!

Boom!

A startling artillery barrage heralded the start of the second battle!

This battle was far less dramatic than the one against Scorpion.

Both sides in the battle actually knew about Pitts's information; Kakuzu's secrets had long been thoroughly uncovered by Konoha, and Naruto's side had no trump cards left to play.

Sasuke even had reason to suspect that Kakuzu had already captured the Three-Tails and had been lurking outside the battlefield, using Sasori as bait to wear down Sasuke and Naruto's stamina and trump cards.

After all, Kakuzu also coveted the hearts of those two.

But none of that matters anymore. Regardless of whether Kakuzu watched his teammates die, Sasuke would still have fired that Railgun cannon. It's always easier to deal with Akatsuki members sabotaging each other than with their teamwork.

Since they know each other inside and out, there's no need for probing or scheming.

Naruto's entrance was accompanied by a massive Tailed Beast Bomb bombardment!

Kakuzu was not to be outdone, and immediately created four clones (one of which exploded when capturing the Three-Tails), and countered with four high-level Release Techniques: Water Release, Wind Release, Earth Release, and Lightning Release Techniques!

The battle quickly devolved into a dazzling yet tedious exchange of Ninjutsu.

Naruto was outnumbered four to one.

Kakuzu theoretically has the advantage.

However, Naruto had the Nine-Tails' inexhaustible Chakra as his source, Sasuke's assistance, and coupled with his fierce fighting style and the Tailed Beast Bomb he unleashed, he was able to hold his own for a time.

The battle thus devolved into a quagmire of attrition.

Kakuzu, was in no hurry.

He could see clearly from a distance that most of Naruto's injuries actually came from the Nine-Tails' Chakra erosion. In other words, whenever he activated Tailed Beast Mode, especially when he activated all seven tails like he was now, the Nine-Tails' powerful Chakra would be constantly harming Naruto.

That was a burning pain!

A war of attrition consumes not only the Chakra of both sides, but also Naruto's life!

Kakuzu cunning. He only needs to wear Naruto down like this, and sooner or later Naruto will be unable to withstand the Nine-Tails' damage, causing him to release his Tailed Beast Cloak, and then he can win! There is no risk involved.

Yes, Naruto will eventually succumb to the pain of his life being eroded!

This battle is a one-sided test of Naruto's willpower!

They continued their exchange for fifteen minutes. Naruto remained transformed into the Demon Fox, roaring madly.

"Hmph, he's managed to hold out for so long! I'm going to see how long he can endure!" Kakuzu began to frown.

Thirty minutes later, Naruto began to scream in agony, but the Nine-Tails Chakra remained unmoved.

"Is this guy made of iron? Why won't he give up?" Kakuzu began to wonder.

At the 40th minute, the Nine-Tails 'Chakra had already eroded Naruto's skin beyond recognition, his muscles were beginning to tear, and he was starting to lose consciousness, yet he was still persevering!

"Monster! How could he have endured this for so long!" Kakuzu began to break out in a cold sweat!

Naruto's ability to persevere to this extent completely surprised Kakuzu.

Boom!

Another evenly matched exchange of blows.

Kakuzu suddenly stopped.

Looking at the boy who was still gritting his teeth and persevering, his face was extremely gloomy, as if it could drip water. "You're not getting any money... Why don't you give up?!"

Naruto was nearly unconscious, barely holding on. He caught his breath and gave Kakuzu a strained smile, "Are you kidding me... If I fall, Sasuke and I will be dead!"

A very simple reason.

Because Sasuke had lost the strength to continue fighting, he had to stand in front of Sasuke!

Because he must protect all of this, he must keep fighting!

Because he cannot fall, he will never fall!

We must persevere no matter what.

It seemed like just simple perseverance, but Kakuzu knew how difficult it was behind it. He finally realized that the swaying figure before him possessed a will stronger than steel!

This is power in another sense.

This young man... was so strong it made his heart tremble!

Kakuzu instinctively took a step back.

"Damn it, I'm actually competing with Chakra Nine-Tails!" he cursed, refusing to admit that he had actually retreated.

However, the war of attrition had dragged on for too long, and his stamina and Chakra were indeed becoming a problem.

Yes, unlike the unfathomable Nine-Tails, even with four hearts, Kakuzu began to feel tired after bombarding him for most of the hour.

The momentum of Chakra began to wane, breathing became rapid, and the situation began to reverse!

His life motto—the key to longevity is caution, not Earth Grudge Fear —reminds Kakuzu's time to retreat.

"Continuing the fight would be far too risky..."

Who knows how much longer Naruto can hold on? If he drags on any longer, and all the Chakra in his four hearts is used up, he might not only have to get new hearts, but he might also have to donate all four of his lives!

The lesson of Scorpion's fate is right here!

"But before retreating, just in case..." Kakuzu's eyes darted around.

He took a deep breath, frantically channeling his remaining Chakra: "One last blow! Leave them some trouble, lest they catch up!"

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!

The last gift Kakuzu left for Naruto and Sasuke was an exaggeratedly large, super S-rank Water Release Ninjutsu.

With the help of a massive amount of Chakra and the advantage of the terrain, Kakuzu finally succeeded in completing this technique, creating a giant snake over a hundred meters long!

"The Seven-Tails form can't stop this attack!" Kakuzu grinned menacingly. "But do you dare to enter the Eight-Tails or even Nine-Tails form, Naruto Uzumaki?"

He suddenly swung his left hand—

Boom!!!

"... I don't remember anything after that," Naruto recalled. "I only remember that my last thought was to stop Kakuzu's jutsu at all costs, and then I lost consciousness."

When I woke up again, I was already sleeping in a bed at the Mist Ninja's temporary camp.

"Let Sasuke and Sakura tell the story after that." Tsunade took Naruto's mission report and patted him heavily on the shoulder. "Well done, Naruto! As expected of Jiraiya's disciple, you have a resilient heart!"

"You've worked hard on this mission. Go back and get some rest. This is Konoha, it's safe here. You're home now."

"Yes, Tsunade!" Naruto smiled slightly.

He looked out the window; the evening sun was already setting in the west, shining through the window and onto the boy's face.

I rushed back to Konoha at noon and reported the mission to the Fifth Hokage. We ended up talking until evening.

Or perhaps it's because the events of those past few days were too convoluted!

But all of that is in the past.

"Welcome back!" Tsunade smiled approvingly.

Naruto gestured to his companions and walked out of the Hokage's office.

[A nearly 4,000-word chapter to make up for yesterday's missed update]