Susanoo

"Auntie! Watch out!" Izumi Uchiha jolted awake. The skin beneath her left cheek was still stained purple-black from the snake venom.

Orochimaru was far too powerful. Whenever Izumi Uchiha recalled his murderous gaze, she still felt a soul-deep fear.

Karin looked exhausted. "You're awake? A ninja's constitution really is much stronger than an ordinary person's. If you can, could you help keep watch outside? Everyone here is unarmed civilians, and they're all terrified."

The Uchiha Clan had suffered a devastating blow. Uchiha Obito and Orochimaru's first wave of powerful, large-scale ninjutsu had destroyed more than half of the Uchiha residential district.

Tobi had mercilessly used Wood Release to eliminate all the Uchiha Clan's elite ninja.

After that, the destruction caused by the group's ninjutsu grew worse and worse. If ordinary people were caught in it, they either died or were severely injured.

Only at Karin's location were there still more than thirty survivors.

Izumi Uchiha saw a kind-faced boy standing motionless at the perimeter, staring into the distance. His left arm, which held a Shuriken, seemed stiff.

He must have been having a hard time.

Izumi Uchiha stood up. Seeing that Aunt Mikoto was still alive eased much of the pressure in her heart. Then she walked over to the boy and gently tapped him. "You should rest. I'll keep watch."

The boy didn't move.

Thinking he hadn't heard her, Izumi walked in front of him, ready to call out louder.

His fingers were wrapped in bandages, and the bandages were bright red with blood. He stood there, gazing into the distance—or perhaps toward where his home had been—as tears streamed down his face.

"If I hadn't gone out, I could've left with my mom and dad and my little sister."

"We even promised each other we'd go on a picnic, go swimming, and tell Lord Fourth Hokage that we'd become Hokage someday, too."

"But I couldn't even lift a single big log. I could only watch you all get blown into the air by the hurricane."

"Why did you have to kill us innocent people?"

The kind-faced boy asked Izumi Uchiha in a quiet voice, "Ninja... don't you have even a little compassion?"

Izumi Uchiha wasn't good at answering. She tried to comfort him. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

Karin suddenly shouted, "Hey, blockhead! You're off watch, so what are you still standing there for? A little girl here just threw up. Get over here and clean it up! Can your tears change what happened?"

The kind-faced boy immediately wiped away his tears and hurried over to clean up the mess.

Karin held the little girl and coaxed her timidly. "Call him big brother."

A layer of skin had been scraped off the girl's forehead. Because of where the wound was, it was still a little red and swollen after being disinfected.

"Big brother." The little girl was very well-behaved. "Why are you crying?"

She was too young to understand death or what it meant to be an orphan.

Karin couldn't bear to watch the kind-faced boy fall into despair. Perhaps the little girl could become the pillar that supported him in the years to come.

That was the idea Karin had come up with.

"Lady Karin, Yo Uchiha is willing to follow you for the rest of his life." He was from a branch of the Uchiha Clan. If this hadn't happened, he might have become a carpenter like his father, while his little sister might have become a seamstress like their mother.

Karin smiled. "Yo Uchiha, you have your own path to walk. I don't need you to follow me, because I've already decided to follow the hero in my heart and keep fighting by his side."

Yo Uchiha asked, "Can I know his name?"

"Of course!" Karin began treating the next injured person. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Uzumaki Naruto sprinted at full speed. Blue chakra evaporated the sweat on his skin, and at that moment, he was like a roaring steam locomotive, crashing straight into the Water Prison.

Boom!

Two human-shaped Tailed Beasts collided. The impact sent ripples spreading across the water, and then the Water Prison's surface burst apart, turning into a waterfall from the sky.

Since he was trapped by the Water Prison, Shisui could hardly use the Body Flicker Technique. Kisame was as fast and precise underwater as a real shark, so it wasn't long before Shisui was covered in wounds.

"Shisui, can you still hold on?" Naruto carried Shisui as they tore through the Water Prison and landed on the ground.

Shisui caught his breath, his right arm hanging limp. "It's dislocated. I think a few bones are broken, too. My opponent's chakra is terrifying."

Notice!

Chakra remaining: 8%.

Naruto had no choice but to shut off the Gate of Pain first and keep the Gate of Life open for now, ensuring he could still fight.

His chakra was draining too quickly, and Naruto hadn't yet grown enough for his chakra to reach its peak. Otherwise, he could have kept fighting longer.

"There's a sinister chakra to the left." Shisui had lost his eyes, and his chakra sensing had grown increasingly sensitive.

Naruto lowered his voice. "Orochimaru's here, and he's standing on a giant snake. That must be his summoning beast, right?"

Shisui knew more about the Sannin than Naruto did. "Orochimaru was once Lord Third Hokage's student. He fought through many Shinobi World wars, but he was too calculating and obsessive. He wasn't satisfied with Lord Third Hokage's decisions, so he defected from Konoha. I've heard that over the years, Orochimaru has learned every ninjutsu there is and has been conducting mysterious experiments no one knows about—or researching forbidden techniques."

"That powerful? Can you beat him, Shisui?" Naruto asked nervously.

Shisui smiled awkwardly. "Of course I can. In my dreams."

Kisame returned to his normal form. The Water Prison collapsed, spreading across the ground and turning the area into a small lake.

"Orochimaru, what are you doing over here?" Kisame rubbed his neck. "I can handle this. Don't get in my way."

Manda lowered his head. "Orochimaru, can I eat that guy?"

Orochimaru folded his hands in front of his chest. "You can, but he might not taste very good. Children are much tastier."

Sasuke glided across the water and stopped to Naruto's left, momentarily stunned.

Karin hadn't been wrong. Naruto's presence was no weaker than anyone else's. How had he gotten so strong?

"Sasuke?" Shisui twitched his nose.

Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Sasuke-chan, when you see your big brother, shouldn't you say hello?"

"Shisui, Naruto." Sasuke showed Naruto his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, as if to say he was just as impressive.

Orochimaru was in front of them, and Kisame behind.

Shisui didn't know what to do. "Sasuke's awakened his Sharingan, right? Naruto's chakra is almost gone, isn't it?"

"Shisui, where there's a will, there's a way." Naruto spoke optimistically. "We've held out this long. If Konoha's Yellow Flash still hasn't made it back, I say he should retire and stay home."

Naruto added, "He's also responsible for what happened to the Uchiha Clan."

Sasuke was a little surprised. Naruto wasn't fighting blindly; he was already thinking ahead.

Red light soared into the sky. A human-shaped skeleton appeared in the distance, towering like a mountain. Inside it, Uchiha Itachi's eyes were bleeding, yet somehow seemed even more intense.