The thin mist parted as a figure pushed through it.
The air currents suddenly surged upward, sweeping the mist away.
"The strongest member of the entire Kaguya Clan is actually a child. It's a good thing the Fourth Mizukage thought of everything and sent me to check the battlefield. We absolutely can't let anyone from the Kaguya Clan survive. Otherwise, you might really escape."
Ringo Ameyuri toyed with her prey instead of killing him outright. She swung Thunder Blade: Fang, sending bolts of lightning striking around the fleeing boy.
Kimimaro was nearly out of chakra, and the electricity left half his body numb. But his determination to survive hadn't weakened at all. "I haven't killed anyone from Kirigakure, and I don't want revenge. I just want to live in peace."
Ringo Ameyuri bared her sharp teeth. "The Kaguya Clan is a sin in itself. You dared to rebel against Kirigakure. The Fourth Mizukage ordered your clan exterminated, so you should've obediently offered up your lives!"
A rotten branch on the ground tripped Kimimaro. Out of strength, he slid across the earth for a short distance.
Kimimaro, already nothing but skin and bones, scraped the skin off his shoulder, worsening his injuries.
"Was I simply not meant to be born into this world? What's the meaning of my life?"
Kimimaro's eyes were blank as he rejected everything about himself.
Ringo Ameyuri had long brown hair, which she liked to braid into upright plaits on either side of her head. Seeing Kimimaro lying lifelessly among the stinking leaves, she looked displeased. "So you're not the tastiest apple after all."
"Lightning Style: Explosive Lightning." Ringo Ameyuri pointed Thunder Blade: Fang at Kimimaro, summoning a bolt of lightning.
"Wind Style: Rasengan."
Someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Wind beats lightning.
The rapidly spinning Rasengan blocked the lightning and neutralized it in midair.
Naruto didn't stop. "Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Life, open!"
The sound of something tearing through the air rang out.
Ringo Ameyuri panicked. Naruto's flying kick struck her shoulder, shattering the bones in an instant.
A blade fell to the ground.
Ringo Ameyuri was now on the defensive. Ninjutsu took far longer to execute than taijutsu, and Naruto, with the Gate of Life open, needed only a breath to catch up to her.
"Done." Naruto used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Ringo Ameyuri. "Heavy Punch."
Bang!
The tremendous force sent Ringo Ameyuri crashing through five trees before she hit the ground.
Ringo Ameyuri could use ninjutsu, putting her at the level of a jonin. But without time to use it, her physical strength was at most that of a Genin.
With the first strike and the element of surprise, Naruto was bound to win.
Ringo Ameyuri's internal organs were shattered. She clutched one blade of Thunder Blade: Fang, trying to use Lightning Release.
Naruto lightly kicked her weapon away. "I didn't use all my strength. But I'll leave you unable to fight for now. I'll leave a message for someone to come help when I go, but whether you survive is up to fate!"
"There's nothing I can do about it. I saved the person you wanted to kill, so I'm your enemy. The most likely thing you'll do is try to kill me too, but I don't want to die. Wouldn't you agree?"
After giving her a lecture, Naruto picked up Thunder Blade: Fang. "Does this even count as a Ninja Sword?"
Notice!
Mission complete. Reward issued.
Thunder Blade: Fang then vanished from Naruto's hand, taken by the system and stored in its inventory.
"Can you throw in a divine artifact too?"
"Master, would you like a four-wheel-drive racing car?"
"I want the Magnum Saber Memorial Edition!"
Naruto turned to leave.
"Stop." Blood filled Ringo Ameyuri's mouth, and her voice was vicious. "Give me back Thunder Blade: Fang, or the Fourth Mizukage won't let you get away with this. I'd rather die than lose my Ninja Sword."
Naruto rubbed his ears, ignoring Ringo Ameyuri. A few steps later, he reached Kimimaro.
Kimimaro stared blankly at Haku beside him.
Haku spoke up. "Naruto-kun, he seems to have lost his mind?"
"What's the meaning of my life?" Kimimaro kept muttering.
Naruto examined Kimimaro's injuries. He was covered in wounds, though the bleeding had stopped. The psychological blow, however, seemed severe.
"To live is to do meaningful things, and meaningful things start with living well." Naruto looked Kimimaro in the eye and spoke with complete seriousness.
It was the simplest truth, the plainest words, yet they carried the greatest force.
Kimimaro's eyes came back into focus. He dropped to his knees and bowed. "Thank you for saving my life. From now on, I, Kimimaro, will live for you."
Naruto smiled awkwardly. "You took that a little too far."
Haku looked nervous. "Naruto-kun, I'll live for you too."
"All right, all right. If I'm alive, then everyone should live well." Naruto didn't know what to do with the two children in front of him.
The mission had been completed by chance. Maybe it really was fate. There was no need to go to Kirigakure for now; Naruto thought they should head back to Konoha early.
"Better off dead than alive."
A pungent smell filled the air, and the words were thick with murderous intent.
"Fourth Mizukage, he took my Thunder Blade: Fang!"
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, suddenly appeared.
Naruto immediately grabbed Haku and Kimimaro and fled.
"Useless fool! You don't deserve to wield Thunder Blade: Fang!" Yagura attacked.
Yagura's hooked staff sliced through Ringo Ameyuri's throat, personally ending the life of his own subordinate.
Yagura was merciless and cruel.
"There's no reason to fight the Fourth Mizukage. I need to speed up as much as I can," Naruto said.
Haku and the injured Kimimaro followed Naruto's instructions and let him carry them horizontally.
Yagura was fast with the Body Flicker Technique, steadily closing the distance between them.
Naruto used his teeth to undo the wire across his chest. The iron weights he was wearing immediately fell, sinking into the soft earth.
"Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Life, open!"
Naruto's speed surged. In the blink of an eye, he had put a hundred meters between himself and Yagura.
Yagura looked puzzled, but had no intention of letting Naruto go.
Dark red Tailed Beast Chakra poured from Yagura. The skin on his face split apart, and before long, all that could be seen was a pair of glowing eyes. Three dark red tails appeared behind him.
"Naruto-kun, the monster's catching up!" Haku said anxiously.
Naruto glanced back, his heart pounding. What kind of monster was that? It looked as if it were made entirely of chakra.
Worst of all, it was faster than Naruto.
"I have no choice." Naruto slowed down and dropped Haku and Kimimaro to one side. "I'll test that monster's strength."
"Naruto-kun, be careful!" Haku shouted.
Deep in the mountains, one figure was green and the other red. They drew closer and closer.
Naruto kicked straight at Yagura's head as he entered his Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
Yagura let out a shrill scream. The chakra coating his body boiled and formed a chakra hand that grabbed Naruto's leg.
The heat burned Naruto's skin red.
A tail whipped down from above at incredible speed.
Naruto cried out in pain as the blow smashed him straight into the ground.
Then the chakra hand yanked him back out and hurled him hard toward a pile of rocks in the distance.
"Naruto-kun!" Haku ran toward Naruto without a second thought. He had to go help him.
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