Shikamaru and Naruto each caught up with a target, and with Naruto's burst of speed, he quickly tackled Sasuke in front of him.
But with a "bang," Sasuke in front of him turned into a cloud of smoke.
"Shadow Clone? Oh no, we've been tricked!"
Thinking of this, he immediately wanted to rush towards Shikamaru, but he stopped after taking a few steps.
"That's probably Kabuto over there. The real Sasuke has probably already left!"
Having sorted out his thoughts, Naruto immediately jumped to the top of the tree, determined the direction, and continued forward. His guess was probably right; Sasuke was likely heading to the Valley of the End, and he just needed to head in that direction.
The group chased each other through the woods, with battles erupting one after another. Kakashi and Might Guy, who arrived later, also reached the edge of the battlefield after traveling for most of the day.
"Is this Rock Lee's aura?"
As soon as they approached the battlefield, Might Guy sensed a familiar presence, and Iruka, who had followed, also frowned. The group immediately headed towards the center of the battle.
"Rock Lee!"
Upon seeing the two combatants in the arena, Kai immediately recognized the familiar figure. They were both somewhat surprised when they saw his opponent.
"Mizuki?"
Iruka was the first to call out. Iruka and Mizuki used to have a good relationship, but Mizuki lost his teaching qualification because he killed his comrade during a mission.
After that, the two had less contact, which explained why he felt that the Chakra was somewhat familiar.
"Judging from his appearance, he's probably lost his mind!"
Kakashi spoke with a furrowed brow, Mizuki's skin now resembling tiger skin, and his Chakra was unusually violent.
Since everyone else had Curse Mark, Orochimaru also gave him a cup of potion containing the power of the Curse Mark, as a reward for his risking his life.
His fighting power in this state is quite astonishing, but he doesn't gain much advantage against Rock Lee has already opened the Eight Gates.
His companion, Jin, had already been defeated and was now lying nearby, his fate unknown.
"Kai, I'll leave this to you! Iruka and I will head ahead!"
After Kakashi finished speaking, he told Iruka to continue on. Although Iruka wanted to stay, he had to give up when he thought of Naruto ahead.
As time passed and night quietly fell, Naruto also went upstream with the river, gradually approaching the Valley of the End.
It was at this moment that he finally saw that familiar figure at the end of his line of sight.
"Sasuke!"
The shout made Sasuke pause slightly, turn his head to glance behind him, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he found that Naruto was alone.
Although his stamina and Chakra have improved, he is still no match for Naruto, who possesses a pure Uzumaki Body and the Nine-Tails, an infinite power source.
The two chased each other and soon arrived at the Valley of the End.
Sasuke, who arrived earlier, did not find Orochimaru. Instead, Naruto caught up with him in a short period of time.
"Sasuke! Come back with me!"
Seeing that the other party had stopped, Naruto also stopped. At that moment, the two of them were standing on the heads of Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju respectively, with a waterfall separating them.
The last people to stand in this position were Orochimaru and Tsunade Senju.
Unfortunately, romance is always fleeting. The moon reflected in the sea is the same as the moon in the sky, but the person before them is not the one in their hearts. The two still embarked on the path that fate had arranged for them.
Thousands of years have passed, and Asura and Indra have never been able to escape the cycle of fate.
"My path is different from yours. I've had enough of messing around in Konoha!"
After saying Sasuke was about to head forward when Naruto leaped up and punched him in the face.
"What do you take those companions for? Do you know how many people are waiting for you to come back...?"
Naruto, riding on Uchiha Sasuke's back, began to unleash his Talk no Jutsu, a scene witnessed by two people far away in Konoha.
A few minutes earlier, Tsunade, who was reviewing documents in the Hokage's office, suddenly felt a sense of unease.
"Who?"
Before she could finish speaking, a figure appeared at the window, and her pupils contracted again when she saw who it was.
What are you doing here?
Tsunade watched the person in front of her warily, but did not make any rash moves.
"Heh heh heh... Old friend, you really don't give me any face at all!"
The person who arrived was none other than Orochimaru! Ignoring Tsunade's wariness, Orochimaru went straight to the desk and sat down.
"Hmph! What happened with Sasuke? Don't tell me it has nothing to do with you!"
Tsunade on the table in anger, her tone no longer as gentle as before.
Now that she is the Hokage, her thoughts and actions must first and foremost be based on the interests of the village, which is also her responsibility to Konoha.
Moreover, Orochimaru came to the Hokage's office without even giving a heads-up, and the entire Konoha was open to him. By ignoring Konoha's defense system like this, wasn't he blatantly slapping her in the face?
"I'm here for this very reason! I will be guiding Sasuke's training for the next three years. This is not a discussion, but a notification!"
Seeing the other party lose their temper, Orochimaru had no choice but to get straight to the point. However, what he said was equally firm and left no room for negotiation.
After saying this, Orochimaru met Tsunade's gaze, and the two stared at each other for almost a minute.
Tsunade's brows had been furrowed ever since she saw Orochimaru, and she knew that the matter was beyond redemption when she saw his resolute attitude.
The fact that Orochimaru made a special trip to inform her proves that he still cherishes old friendships, even though his appearance was rather abrupt.
Their relationship is complicated right now; it's ambiguous, like friends and enemies at the same time...
"If it's his own choice, I have nothing to say! But if you use any despicable means to deceive him, I will not let you get away with it!"
After a long pause, Tsunade still chose to compromise. What else could she do but compromise? She couldn't beat her opponent in a fight, and he was as slippery as an eel, so no one could stop him from running away.
Moreover, there was always a soft spot deep in her heart, a seed that Orochimaru had planted in her many years ago.
"Heh... Do you think I have such a bad impression of me? When did my reputation, Orochimaru's reputation, become so bad?"
Seeing Orochimaru's shameless attitude, Tsunade knew that her threat had been completely forgotten by him.
"Hmph! Is there anything else? If not, get lost!"
Tsunade rolled her Tsunade and immediately started to chase Orochimaru away. After all, Orochimaru's identity was sensitive, and it would be difficult to explain if he were discovered.
"What's the rush! I still want to treat you to a movie!"
Despite being told to leave, Orochimaru remained seated quietly. Hearing his words, Tsunade's brow furrowed again.
Before she could ask any more questions, Orochimaru flicked two fingers, and a spatial rift appeared above the desk between them.
Looking through the crack, the scene on the other side was none other than the Valley of the End!
"Is this Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
This scene surprised Tsunade as well; when did Orochimaru learn Space-Time Ninjutsu?
Seeing the other party's shocked expression, Orochimaru smiled again.
"This is a little gadget I just learned recently. You're worried about that kid, aren't you? This is a good opportunity for you to see it with your own eyes, so that you, as the Hokage, won't be misled by slander and start thinking of me as a heinous criminal!"
"Hmph! Smooth talker!"
Tsunade merely snorted coldly, then looked through the spatial rift at the scene at the Valley of the End...