Naruto's vision had already begun to blur.
Yet he showed no sign of stopping.
Kurama had no choice but to send another portion of his Nine-Tails Chakra to Naruto, sustaining his body so he could keep moving...
And so, under the system's relentless punishment and the Baptism of Lightning Release, the boy and the fox "worked together flawlessly," struggling onward into the depths of the Forest of Death.
Who knew how long had passed...
Then, at last, Naruto suddenly heard the faint sound of a human voice.
His heart jolted!
"Th-that's Iruka-sensei's..."
As if he'd caught sight of a glimmer of hope, Naruto suddenly found another burst of strength. Gritting his teeth, he sprinted toward the voice!
Sure enough...
A familiar figure appeared ahead!
"I-Iruka-sensei!"
Naruto cried out, unable to contain his surprise and joy!
Iruka was stunned.
"N-Naruto?!"
It turned out that Mizuki had been about to kill Iruka when the pursuing Anbu Ninja finally arrived in the nick of time. A Kunai shot out, forcing Mizuki to halt his attack for the moment.
However, Mizuki quickly took Iruka hostage, pressing the Kunai tightly against the vital point at Iruka's throat once more and demanding that the Anbu Ninja let him leave.
But that wasn't something the Anbu could decide on his own.
His mission had been to support Iruka and capture Mizuki.
At this point, all he could do was stall Mizuki while waiting for further orders or reinforcements.
When Iruka-sensei saw Naruto arrive, he was shocked, but soon all he felt was worry.
"Naruto! What are you doing here?!"
"Go back at once!"
Iruka-sensei shouted at the top of his lungs.
Naruto gasped for breath, but showed no intention of retreating. He was still being struck by lightning, yet the searing pain seemed to have been forgotten,