Wanting to Learn the Expansion Jutsu

Naruto only found out about this the next day. When he returned to Konohagakure, he was surprised to find that the usually lazy Kakashi had suddenly Danzo by Danzo and had taken care of all the scum.

It was fun, but I didn't feel involved at all.

He squatted on the large blue stone under the Kishita like an old farmer, stroking his chin in thought, glancing occasionally at Choji, whose face was full of wealth, making Choji feel uneasy.

"Are you crazy? You've been staring at me for ages!"

"Choji, aren't we good brothers?" Naruto asked slowly, his tone unusually serious.

"No, get lost." Choji had already developed a conditioned reflex to being tricked.

"That's a rather heartless thing to Naruto Choji with a grin.

"Beg you?" Choji scoffed. "I'd rather die than beg you."

"Really? Young man, you're still too young." He stood up, looking quite flamboyant, his eyes slightly narrowed as he gazed at the long, moss-covered staircase before him.

This is a long stone staircase, with moss-covered cliffs on all sides and houses lined up side by side. The small shop is located at the top of the staircase, next to a Great Green Tree.

Naruto stood up, looking down at the entire village of Konohagakure, as the wind blew by.

"What do you mean?" Choji turned to look at him, but seemed somewhat dismissive. He might ask for his help in the future, but definitely not now.

"I have enough to eat and wear, and I don't lack money, so why should I ask you for anything?"

"Choji, I didn't expect you to be so stubborn." He patted Choji's shoulder with feigned seriousness, sighed, and said, "Very good, very good."

Choji was increasingly confused, wondering what Naruto was up to.

"Yesterday, Ino told me that your wife seems to have some issues with you lately, and asked me to give you a warning so you don't spend all your time loafing around outside."

"Really?" Choji believed it halfway, but didn't react much.

This kind of reprimand is nothing to him; as long as he behaves well for a while, that's enough. After a while, things will go back to normal.

"Why would I need to lie to you?" Naruto asked, seeing Choji's dismissive expression.

"Oh," Choji said dismissively. "So what?"

"Guess why Ino went to your house yesterday?" Naruto suddenly smiled.

"Why?" Choji was a little confused, and suddenly had a bad feeling, as if he had forgotten something important.

Yesterday he went to watch the excitement, and since it was too late, he simply slept in the Hokage Building, witnessing the entire Anbu dealing with those people, some being arrested and others killed.

Before I had even had enough of a nap at noon, Naruto dragged me out to drink soda in this secluded spot.

"Because... it was your wife's birthday yesterday, and you weren't there." Naruto stroked his chin, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Ino came to me this morning and asked me to remind you to be mentally prepared."

"Ah!!!" Choji thought to himself, "Holy crap!" He jumped up, his face visibly pale. "What?! It's all over!"

Seeing this, Naruto grinned and patted him on the shoulder.

"No one has passed away, just a minor incident."

"What do we do?" Choji grabbed Naruto's arm and shook it violently, as if he had grasped a lifeline. "I went to watch the show yesterday!"

"What kind of brothel?" Naruto, looking shocked.

Choji's hand trembled slightly, and his lips quivered as he looked at Naruto.

"Don't you dare kick me when I'm down! Any other time is fine, but please don't do it now, or I'll really die!"

"Just kidding." Naruto clapped his hands. "Alright, figure it out yourself. I have something to do, so I'm leaving now."

"Hey, hey, don't go!" Choji quickly grabbed Naruto. "Help me think of something! Hey, you can't just stand by and watch us die! We're best buddies!"

"You just said that Naruto was deliberately being arrogant."

"Pah, pah, I was just talking nonsense." Choji was desperate. "As long as you help me get through this, I'll agree to anything you ask!"

"It's a deal then." Naruto's face showed a sly smile.

"Have you found the Rinnegan?" Kabuto asked in a hoarse voice, his body somewhat hunched over, his entire being hidden beneath a large robe.

"No." Black Zetsu smiled coldly. "Obito Uchiha's two Rinnegan have been completely destroyed. Don't even think about it anymore. They've completely disappeared."

"Then what can we do?" Kabuto asked, somewhat dissatisfied. "Without the Rinnegan, how can we control the army of Impure World Reincarnation? There's almost no other way to control them besides the Rinnegan."

"The disappearance of Obito's Rinnegan doesn't mean the Rinnegan has completely disappeared." Black Zetsu emerged from the darkness, his expression calm.

"What's the meaning?"

"Before Obito Uchiha off, he left behind a clone. The Rinnegan has been absorbing the clone's life force as nourishment. Now it's time for it to mature."

"The Rinnegan absorbs life force?" Kabuto, somewhat surprised.

"That's not the real Rinnegan, but it's barely usable." Black Zetsu's voice was cold. "Right now, the only option is transplantation. I think it's time for you to make a choice."

"Although your current appearance is not bad, the Rinnegan is the true power. Once you master the power of the Rinnegan, the entire Shinobi World will be no match for you."

"More importantly, you can get Sasuke Uchiha, someone even Orochimaru couldn't get. Don't you want to finish what Orochimaru didn't? This is your chance."

Hearing Black Zetsu's words, Kabuto's eyes darted around, but he didn't fall for it.

"Heh, so cloned Rinnegan turns people into puppets? I see." He chuckled hoarsely, glancing at Black Zetsu.

"I'm rather curious about your purpose?" Kabuto turned to face Black Zetsu. Now that Nagato was dead, Obito Uchiha was also dead.

"Of the entire Akatsuki Organization, only you and Konan are still alive, right? Konan's purpose is quite clear; she's probably already involved with Naruto Uzumaki."

"So what is your purpose?"

Upon hearing this, Black Zetsu remained silent for a moment, staring at Kabuto for several seconds without saying a word. Half a minute later, he finally spoke slowly, his tone icy.

Does it matter?

"You have your purpose, and I naturally have mine. But when it comes to cooperation, there's no need to know so much detail. It doesn't benefit our cooperation at all."

"But our enemy is Naruto Uzumaki, so I'm just being a little more cautious." Kabuto Yakushi chuckled sinisterly, his voice like that of a crow.

In the dark cave, the snake's tail rustled as he paced across the ground.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" Black Zetsu paused for a moment. "That person is indeed a bit troublesome. He acts illogically and is an extremely destructive person."

Extremely destructive? Is that all?

Kabuto shook out all the memories of Naruto Uzumaki from his mind. The shadow that madman had cast on him was too strong, even though he now possessed the power of Orochimaru and the Sage.

"This time, Naruto Uzumaki must die."

"Of course he has to die!" Black Zetsu said decisively.

"But what if he's prepared?" Kabuto couldn't help but ask. Besides his cautious nature, he also knew that Naruto Uzumaki was no ordinary ninja.

He had prepared far too many backup plans; he was extremely cautious. He was the kind of madman who would prepare a spare knife on top of a spare one. He didn't believe the other side was prepared.

"You've already been exposed once. He discovered your existence and will naturally see you as a threat," Kabuto calmly analyzed. "Given Naruto Uzumaki's personality, he might be preparing to deal with you right now."

"Perhaps, but I have no intention of attacking him. This time, the killing blow is you," Black Zetsu said. "Even if he is an immortal, he would never have imagined that you would grow to this level."

"To be honest, even I'm a little surprised. You're stronger than Orochimaru was back then; you can definitely do things that Orochimaru couldn't."

With a bang, Kabuto suddenly turned hostile without warning, and swung his snake tail heavily across the area.

Black Zetsu anticipated this with his peripheral vision and leaped away. His snake tail slammed heavily against the cave wall, and with a loud boom, the rock wall began to crack and disintegrate.

With a rumble, as the cave collapsed, a section of the mountainside began to cave in.

With a whoosh, two figures shot out from the ruins. Black Zetsu, looking somewhat disheveled, shook off the dust and stood in the woods, watching Kabuto not far away.

"Are you crazy?"

"No one has the right to slander Lord Orochimaru. He will not die; he will be resurrected one day." Kabuto smiled morbidly.

Black Zetsu was speechless; these lunatics were all insane. Obito Uchiha also refused to listen to advice, insisting on going to his death with the Rinnegan.

Now, even Kabuto is in the same boat; each one is getting more and more seriously ill. In any case, the Sharingan must be passed on, and Kabuto will accept it sooner or later.

"Will this really work?" Choji, his arm wrapped in bandages, looked at Sakura, who was putting a cast on his leg, and then glanced at Naruto was standing by watching the show.

"It will definitely work, it never fails," Naruto said. "You weren't watching the show yesterday, you were collecting precious medicinal herbs for your wife and you got injured in the deep mountains."

"I have all the medicinal herbs here, no need to look for them, I'll get them right away. How about that, brother, am I thoughtful enough?"

Upon hearing this, Choji was speechless.

"That's way too exaggerated. How could I possibly fall like that?"

"What are you afraid of with Sakura backing you up?" Naruto scoffed. "If you want to be more realistic, I'll break your legs right now."

"Get out! How could you be so heartless!"

"I didn't, you just had to dawdle." Naruto tapped Choji's cast with his finger. "Remember, it takes a month to heal a broken bone."

Ninjas have much better physical fitness than ordinary people, and even if they break their legs, they can fully recover in just half a month to a month.

"Naruto, I still feel there's something wrong with this." Choji, sounding a little flustered.

"Then tell the truth. Tell me you were so bored last night that you watched all the excitement and forgot about her birthday," Naruto said, arms crossed.

"See how your wife reacts, you can try it too."

"Fine, fine, I'll do as you say," Choji muttered, looking resigned to his fate. "What do you want me to do?"

"It's nothing, just a small favor," Naruto said vaguely. "Well, about that Expansion Jutsu, do you think I could..."

"You want to learn the Expansion Jutsu?" Choji. "Even if you can learn it, my father will beat me to death if he finds out!"

"Are you stupid?!" Naruto tapped Choji's head with his finger while Choji was in a cast and unable to move. "Who told you to teach me the complete Expansion Jutsu? I only wanted to learn a part of it."

"You understand what I mean by 'partial'? I'll modify it and incorporate it into Ninjutsu, and who would be able to tell?"

"A portion?" Choji asked suspiciously, his gaze slowly moving downwards.

"Hey kid, where are you looking?" Naruto slapped him irritably. "I'm got more than enough. Do you think I'm some little brother like Kiba?"

"No, I just don't understand, why do you suddenly want to learn this?" Choji was a little confused. "If you don't need it, then why learn it?"

"It's useful, it's useful, I'm too lazy to talk to you about it." Naruto said dismissively. "Alright, who went to the trouble of bringing you the snow lotus last time, and who covered for you when your wife checked up on you last time?"

"Touch your conscience, who is it?"

"It's you! It's you! Oh! I promise you!" Overwhelmed by the nagging, Choji had no choice but to agree.

"That's more like it." Naruto smiled and instructed Sakura, "Make the plaster cast on him thicker so it won't give itself away."

Choji: "."

Boom!

The aftershocks of the battle destroyed the wooden house, and waves of scorching heat rushed out. The walls could not withstand the pressure and began to crumble and collapse piece by piece.

Flames burst and crackled overhead, the terrifying shrieks of the shockwaves echoing throughout the forest. They silenced the cries of Karin calling her name from afar, along with the sounds of the explosions; for a moment, all sound vanished.

The burning wooden house turned into a purgatory, Sasuke Uchiha stood in the sea of fire with his sword in hand. In that scene that resembled purgatory, there was no life in his eyes.

But he still stood there, knife in hand, radiating lingering power. A chilling voice rang in his ears, like a cold, venomous snake writhing and crawling on the damp ground.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you belong to me! You will always be mine, you can't escape, no matter where you go I will come back to find you."

"I will not die, I will watch over you forever from the darkness!"

"Sasuke Uchiha, wait for me to come back!"

Orochimaru's maniacal laughter echoed through the forest like a death knell. Sasuke's heart pounded slowly, one beat at a time, then suddenly pounded like an engine being started!

He sat bolt upright in bed, as if he had been pulled from the water, his back covered in cold sweat. Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating him.

Strange, I haven't dreamt in a long time, why is it Orochimaru? Sasuke couldn't understand it, especially since it had to be Orochimaru, whom he had already killed. Wasn't he already dead?

Could it be that Orochimaru didn't die?

There was a knock on the door, Karin's voice came from outside.

"Sasuke? I... just heard some sounds."

"I'm fine."