"Too reckless!"
Seeing Naruto charge in so rashly, Iwayano smiled faintly. In the next instant, he moved, appearing behind Naruto as fast as lightning!
"Naruto, watch out!"
Seeing Iwayano's move, Sasuke immediately shouted a warning.
"Damn it!"
At Sasuke's warning, an ominous thought flashed through Naruto's mind. He tried to change his trajectory, but Iwayano's powerful fist came down without hesitation, slamming hard into his back.
The moment the fist connected, Naruto's vision blurred. A wave of intense pain spread from his back, and he felt as though a bull had rammed into him. He lost his balance and went flying.
A moment later, Naruto crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Naruto!"
Seeing Naruto curled up in pain like a shrimp, Haruno Sakura cried out in worry.
Ignoring Sakura's shout, Iwayano sounded smug after dispatching Naruto with ease. "See? You're nothing but trash in front of me."
"Heh... You became a rogue ninja after Kakashi-sensei defeated you. You're worse than trash."
As soon as Iwayano's smug voice rang out, another weak voice followed.
"What?"
Turning toward the voice, Iwayano fixed his venomous gaze on Naruto nearby, his expression suddenly twisting into a grimace.
His first punch hadn't knocked out the frail Naruto, which had already infuriated Iwayano. Naruto's words only set his anger ablaze.
"Isn't that right? You're supposed to be a man, but you don't have the courage to face defeat. You chose to run away!"
"I know I'm no match for you, but I still chose to fight to the end..."
Naruto let out a hoarse laugh. Then, under Iwayano's stunned gaze, he shakily and slowly rose to his feet.
As Naruto stood, Iwayano could see his body trembling uncontrollably.
Blood spilled from Naruto's mouth. He slowly lifted his head and stared at Iwayano, his gaze terrifyingly stubborn.
"Fine, brat! I admit you've managed to make me angry. But there's only one outcome when you make me angry: death!"
With a cruel smile, Iwayano's dark eyes suddenly filled with murderous intent. A sharp Kunai appeared in his hand, and he charged toward Naruto with a rush of wind.
Inside the Water Prison, Kakashi watched Iwayano prepare to kill Naruto, his face turning deathly pale.
"Don't!"
Haruno Sakura shook her head and stood frozen in place. Although she often argued with Naruto, she absolutely didn't want anything to happen to him.
Several pairs of eyes followed Iwayano as he moved. But when he was only three meters from Naruto, Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
His hand seals completed in rapid succession. Sasuke immediately spat out a huge fireball.
"This... This is... Fire Release Ninjutsu? How can a brat use it?"
Feeling the terrifying heat radiating from the fireball, Iwayano froze for a moment.
To avoid being injured, Iwayano had no choice but to abandon his attack on Naruto and retreat, putting distance between himself and the fireball's blast radius.
"Boom!"
The instant Iwayano got clear, a thunderous explosion erupted where he had been standing. Flames burst everywhere, and smoke billowed through the area.
Judging by the scene, if Iwayano hadn't retreated in time, he would have been blown to pieces.
"Naruto, eat this Military Ration Pill first and get your strength back. Then attack according to the plan we practiced," Sasuke said softly, taking out a pill in the brief lull after the fireball exploded.
"Okay!"
After swallowing the Military Ration Pill, Naruto nodded. Then he noticed Sasuke take a long, slender object from his pocket and asked, "Sasuke, what's that in your hand?"
"It's a signal flare. I don't know if there are any ninja nearby who can come to our aid, but we can only give it a try."
Sasuke launched the signal flare into the sky and explained helplessly.
While taking out the Military Ration Pill, Sasuke had accidentally touched the signal flare he'd forgotten about. Remembering what Itachi had told him, he decided to use it in their current predicament and hope for the best.
"Bang!"
The signal flare shot into the sky and exploded. High above, a cloud shaped like flames quickly took form.
After Sasuke sent up the flare, everyone immediately looked toward the fiery cloud.
"How does Sasuke have an Anbu signal flare?"
As a former Anbu captain, Kakashi recognized at a glance that the flare Lin Feng had just used was specially made for Konoha's Anbu.
Just as Kakashi wondered about it, Sanli beside him shouted in annoyance, "Hey, Iwayano! What are you doing? Hurry up and kill those three brats. If reinforcements arrive, we won't be able to get away easily."
The smoke had cleared by now, and Iwayano could see Naruto and Sasuke.
"Heh heh, Kakashi, it must be painful to watch your students die right in front of you. I'll let you experience that today."
At Sanli's words, Iwayano gave Kakashi a sinister smile, then stirred the chakra within him. He would give it everything he had and take out Sasuke and the others as quickly as possible.
Five miles from the border of the Land of Fire, in the direction of the Land of Waterfalls, lay a flat, open stretch of land. The Rock Forest ended here.
At that moment, three figures wearing Anbu masks were sprinting along the open path.
"Bang!"
A sudden explosion overhead made all four of them stop in their tracks.
"Anbu signal flare?"
Seeing the fiery cloud that represented the Land of Fire in the sky, the three of them immediately understood that a Konoha Anbu member had sent the flare.
"Could it be...?"
A moment later, one of the shorter Anbu members seemed to realize what had happened. His body began to tremble, and he looked visibly shaken.
"Our people may be in trouble. They're about five miles from here. Let's go help them first!"
The team captain, wearing a pale yellow coat, considered it for a moment before giving the order.
"But Captain, we're still tracking the rogue ninja. If we lose time, the mission could fail."
Another female teammate immediately objected.
"I remember Captain Kakashi once said that saving a comrade's life is more important than the mission. Follow the order!"
The captain's voice was low. Then he immediately raced toward the Rock Forest.
As soon as the captain left, the other two teammates hurried after him.
"Sasuke, please be safe. Your big brother's coming..."
As he ran at full speed, the shorter Anbu member murmured under his breath. Through the eyeholes in his mask, a pair of Sharingan could clearly be seen in his eyes.