You, a Kimmy of this caliber, are not qualified to breathe!

"Are you hurt, Naruto?"

"Ah, I'm fine!"

Standing atop the giant tree were Naruto and Sasuke, both covered in blood, showing clear signs of battle.

Below the giant tree, Sakura sat slumped, her body weak from fear.

And the culprit behind all this was a Grass Ninja with unnervingly pale skin and an extremely sinister appearance.

Compared to the battered Naruto team, he was completely unmarked, not even a speck of dust on him.

Clearly, this battle hadn't even required him to go all out.

However, even so, seeing Naruto and Sasuke persist until now, a hint of admiration crept into his tone:

"Your courage is far greater than I imagined!"

"Of course! We Ninja of Konoha don't fear death! You snake-wielding freak, don't get too arrogant with me!"

Naruto's hot-headed personality remained unchanged; even facing a powerful enemy, he had no intention of retreating.

However, in this situation, Sasuke was much clearer-headed:

"Naruto, the enemy is too strong. We should prioritize the team's safety.

It seems he's toying with us, and his attention is mostly on me.

I'll hold him off for a while, you take Sakura and escape, then release a signal flare for reinforcements!"

"No!"

Hearing Sasuke's words, Naruto immediately refused:

"Sasuke, my defense is stronger than yours. If someone has to stay, why can't it be me!"

"Do I even need to explain why..."

Sasuke looked at Naruto with a serious expression:

"Because I'm worried about you!"

"Huh?"

Hearing Sasuke's answer, Naruto instinctively felt something was off and let out an involuntary "Huh?".

Sakura, hearing this from below, ignored the intimidating aura of the Grass Ninja and directly cried out:

"Sasuke, if you're worried, shouldn't you be worried about me, a girl!"

Hearing Sakura's cry from below, Sasuke glanced at her expressionlessly before turning his gaze back to Naruto, a hint of indulgence in his eyes:

"Naruto, don't say things you don't mean. Only when you're safe can I fight with peace of mind!"

"Sasuke, how can you say that to Naruto..."

Hearing this, Sakura cried out even louder:

"You should be saying that to me!"

"Ugh... I feel like you're acting really weird today..."

Naruto scratched his arm, goosebumps rising, and instinctively avoided Sasuke's gaze.

As if to quickly dispel the awkward atmosphere, he attacked the Grass Ninja again:

"Ninjutsu—Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With a sharp cry, Naruto instantly created over thirty clones, attempting to overwhelm the Grass Ninja with sheer numbers.

However, the Grass Ninja remained unfazed by a tactic that would trouble even a typical Chunin.

With a cry of "Shadow Snake Hand," seven or eight pythons suddenly emerged from the Grass Ninja's right hand.

Not only were their fangs sharp, but their bodies thrashed with a fierce whistling sound.

Not a single clone could withstand these snakes for more than a moment.

In the blink of an eye, all of Naruto's clones were wiped out!

"It's not over yet—Nine-Tails Chakra Mode!"

The Hokage had always insisted on keeping the matter of sealing the Nine-Tails a secret from the village, but Kazeka didn't take it seriously at all.

Not only did he tell Naruto all the information, but he also helped him develop a rough method to draw upon the Nine-Tails' chakra within him.

At this moment, Naruto's body was covered in a layer of chakra filled with ferocity and power, like wearing a transparent fox cloak.

Feeling the surge of energy within him, Naruto let out a low growl and charged directly at the Grass Ninja, engaging him in close-quarters combat!

"Naruto, you really don't make things easy!"

Seeing Naruto in danger, Sasuke cursed under his breath. Worried, he also joined the fight.

Although they hadn't trained together often, the two fought with incredible synergy, as if they were telepathically connected.

But even so, the Grass Ninja could still suppress them. Judging by his relaxed expression, he seemed to have some energy left.

As for Sakura, she was completely unable to intervene in a battle of this level!

"Sasuke, why did you stay…?"

Seeing Sasuke's actions, Naruto couldn't help but exclaim in frustration:

"If you had escaped with Sakura while I was fighting him, there would still be a chance!"

"How could I possibly…?"

Sasuke wasn't angry at Naruto's scolding at all. On the contrary, hearing this, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly:

"Compared to my life, your safety is more important. If anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself!"

"Ahhhh!!!"

Before Naruto could even respond to this statement, Sakura below couldn't hold back:

"Sasuke, don't say that to Naruto, say it to me instead! Maybe if you said a few more words, I'd be willing to go on a date with you!"

"Sakura…"

Taking a punch to the cheek from a Grass Ninja, Naruto turned his head and asked Sakura:

"If I said that, would you be willing to go on a date with me?"

"No!"

"Ah, I see…"

Although Sakura's unhesitating refusal disappointed Naruto, what made him even more uncomfortable were Sasuke's words and his somewhat fervent gaze.

Naruto let the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode on his body surge a bit, dispelling the chill in his heart, and asked worriedly:

"Sasuke, are you okay? Did something happen to you during your fight with this Grass Ninja?"

"Nothing is wrong with me, I'm just too worried about you…"

As the battle grew more intense, Sasuke spoke again:

"Naruto, you should fall back and use the Clone Technique to cooperate with my attack.

This way, we can be more flexible, create more opportunities, and prevent you from getting hurt.

You don't know how hard it is for me to see you get hurt!"

"That tactic is fine, but can you just talk properly!"

Sasuke's proposed tactic could indeed create more opportunities, but Naruto still felt uncomfortable all over.

It wasn't just Naruto; even the Grass Ninja frowned slightly, his eyes darting back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke!

As for Sakura, she continued to protest verbally from below.

However, the awkward situation was soon broken by a new development as Kazeka and his two companions appeared.

"Challenging a Konoha squad all by yourself? You're surprisingly bold.

Now that two ninja teams are facing you alone, you should give up.

State your name, hand over your scroll, and perhaps we'll spare your life…"

As the saying goes, never lose the battle even if you lose the fight. Kiba Inuzuka immediately prepared to intimidate the opponent with his presence.

However, facing Kiba Inuzuka, the Grass Ninja merely sneered, clearly not taking Kiba Inuzuka seriously at all.

Faced with such provocation, Kiba Inuzuka's anger flared:

"You dare to sneer at me? Who exactly are you? Answer me, you bastard!"

"Forget it, Kiba…"

Kazeka patted Kiba Inuzuka's shoulder, signaling him to calm down:

"It's obvious that against Orochimaru, a 'kimi' of your level doesn't have the right to even snort!"

Kiba Inuzuka: "……"