Clever Scheme Captures Yagura

Debris scattered.

Dust billowed along the path.

Naruto crawled out from under the rocks in a sorry state, his Super Self-Healing ability mending the hundreds of lacerations on his body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Hah!

Naruto hopped from side to side, loosening the muscles throughout his entire body.

Haku ran to his side. Seeing that Naruto was safe and sound, his concerned expression melted into a smile: "Naruto-kun, the monster is too powerful. Let me hold it off for a moment; you should leave first."

To have someone willing to risk their life for you.

How could Naruto not be moved?

"Haku, abandoning a friend to run away would invite a lightning strike." Naruto relaxed completely and gave Haku's nose a gentle tug: "The outcome hasn't been decided yet!"

The half-Tailed Beast transformed Yagura roared incessantly after landing a hit. Lacking true self-awareness and under the control of Uchiha Obito's genjutsu, he possessed only thoughts of cruelty and destruction.

Destroy Kirigakure, destroy everything.

Thus, the half-Tailed Beast transformed Yagura lacked intelligence; his current strength was merely the result of forcibly tapping into the Three-Tails' vast chakra to boost his power.

While he gained strength, he was also constantly damaging his own body.

Haku followed Naruto's instructions and hid with Kimimaro once more.

Kimimaro's injuries had improved slightly, allowing him to make slow movements: "The monster's chakra is too vast. Can Naruto-kun succeed?"

"We must believe in Naruto," Haku encouraged.

Naruto began to kite Yagura.

Yagura's tail lashed out at Naruto impatiently. Although he could injure Naruto, the latter would close the distance again shortly after recovering.

"You like burning yourself, don't you?" Naruto changed his combat style: "Wind plus Fire, I'll let you taste the power of the Rasengan."

"Wind Release: Whirlwind Rasengan."

"Fire Release: Burst Rasengan."

"Take this, take this, take this!"

As soon as Naruto closed the distance with Yagura, he formed a wind-whirling Rasengan in his right hand and a sparking, ready-to-burst Rasengan in his left. He then hurled them like shuriken, sending them flying in two straight lines toward Yagura, where they converged.

The wind fueled the fire.

Explosion.

Scorching heat.

The half-Tailed Beast transformed Yagura fell from a position of overwhelming power to become a moving target for Naruto to practice his aim.

If Yagura hadn't been under genjutsu, with his strength as the perfect Three-Tails jinchuriki, he might have fully transformed into the Tailed Beast, used his absolute power to seize Naruto, and then delivered a devastating Tailed Beast Bomb.

But there were no "ifs."

The dull-witted Yagura could not unleash the true power of the Tailed Beast, and having encountered Naruto, who possessed Super Self-Healing, it was only a matter of time before Yagura was defeated in a war of attrition.

Notification.

Chakra remaining: 20%.

Naruto truly felt exhausted. Maintaining the Eight Inner Gates, firing Rasengans like a machine gun, and providing energy for Super Self-Healing was taxing.

Even with chakra reserves like a vast lake, Naruto couldn't withstand such consumption.

"Aim for the head," Naruto stopped attacking wildly: "This monster's durability is terrifying. Perhaps the chakra density of the Rasengans was too low. I'll save a bit of chakra for mobility and put the rest into a final strike."

"Fire Release: Great Burst Rasengan." Naruto suddenly erupted, the Rasengan in his hand expanding rapidly until its diameter exceeded two meters in an instant.

Notification.

Chakra remaining: 2%.

The Burst Rasengan, resembling a miniature sun, broke through the defenses of the half-Tailed Beast transformed Yagura, the scorching heat melting everything in the vicinity into black ash.

The Tailed Beast chakra cloak of the half-Tailed Beast transformed Yagura was shredded; flesh vanished, and bones snapped.

Yagura's head suffered the most severe damage, with most of his skull shattered. The Three-Tails' chakra could not heal Yagura's wounds in time, and having completely lost consciousness, Yagura slumped into the massive crater.

Naruto couldn't believe he had actually done it. To be honest, he had no real concept of his own strength; no matter who he encountered, he dared to fight them.

With the system, Naruto would not be a coward.

There was a certain element of coincidence in his victory.

Naruto walked two or three steps to stand before Yagura. Seeing that the small, broken body still had a pulse, he marveled at the monster's incredible vitality.

"Let's bring him back to Konoha together. Mom and Dad should be able to deal with this monster once and for all." Naruto grabbed Yagura and used Body Flicker to reach Haku's side.

Haku said excitedly: "Naruto-kun, you are amazing."

"Like a god." Kimimaro was completely conquered by the ninjutsu Naruto had just displayed.

Naruto set Yagura down: "We need to leave this place immediately, or it will be dangerous for us once the other ninjas from Kirigakure arrive. This monster is half-dead for now and poses no threat to us, but to prevent it from harming others, we must take it with us."

Kimimaro asked: "Which ninja village is Naruto-kun from?"

"Konoha," Uzumaki Naruto answered.

"If we go to Konoha, will it cause trouble for you, Naruto-kun?" Haku was the first to consider this. He possessed a terrifying Kekkei Genkai, and he wasn't sure if the others in Konoha would be able to accept him.

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't worried about this at all: "I'm not just an ordinary person in Konoha; my background is quite significant. Once you arrive, you must never endure unfair treatment for my sake. If you really encounter such things, we'll reason first, then use our fists."

Uzumaki Naruto's style of handling things was, as expected, direct.

Soon, the three of them arrived at the docks of the Land of Water with Yagura, bought their tickets, boarded the ship, and headed toward the Land of Fire.

Land of Rain, Akatsuki base.

Uchiha Obito was discussing arrangements for Kisame with Konan when the Kamui mark on Yagura suddenly vanished, causing Uchiha Obito to narrow his eyes slightly.

"I have something to attend to. Kisame's strength is at the Kage level, so show him respect," Uchiha Obito said without a hint of emotion.

Konan was very curious about the masked man's identity. Although he claimed to be Madara Uchiha, she didn't believe it for a second. Her several attempts to probe him had yielded no information and instead left her in a passive position.

Nagato chose to cooperate with the masked man not only because their ideals and goals aligned, but more importantly, because the masked man's strength was extraordinary.

Konan signaled that she understood: "We will show respect to anyone willing to join Akatsuki."

A vortex appeared, and Uchiha Obito transported himself to Kirigakure via Kamui. After searching around, he found that Yagura was indeed nowhere to be found.

"It's impossible for him to break my genjutsu. Could an accident have occurred?" Uchiha Obito couldn't deduce the truth and felt that everything was shrouded in mystery. "My plan might have been compromised. I need more intelligence. White Zetsu, find out where Yagura is immediately!"

White Zetsu poked his head out from the ground: "Hehehe, on it!"

Land of Fire.

At the gates of Konoha.

A spirited Uzumaki Naruto dragged the frozen block of Yagura, followed by a shy Haku and a cool-headed Kimimaro.

"You two uncles, why is registering identities so slow? I'm in a hurry to get home, change my clothes, and go to school. I really am Uzumaki Naruto," Uzumaki Naruto said, feeling a bit helpless. "The one frozen is a monster, and the ones beside me are my friends. All our identities are perfectly clear!"