The True Monster

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Lin Mu had no need to watch his path now; he only needed to fix his direction.

Under the crushing weight of the massive Wood Human Technique, the trees ahead, no matter how tall or thick, were all smashed, overturned, and uprooted!

The once-dense forest was carved open, creating an incredibly wide path.

Kisame Hoshigaki glanced back, his eyes splitting with rage!

The speed of Lin Mu's wood construct was far greater than his own.

He could no longer escape!

"..."

After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Kisame Hoshigaki quickly made his decision.

Although this wood construct was incredibly powerful and seemed to have no weaknesses, the caster himself was the greatest weakness of this ninjutsu!

His eyes filled with bloodlust and madness once more. He slid his feet rapidly, charging up a giant tree ahead.

Turning mid-air, he used the elasticity of the tree branch to launch himself toward the top of the giant wood construct!

"Oh ho, so you know how to look for weaknesses!"

Seeing Kisame Hoshigaki flying toward him, Lin Mu's face curled into a mocking smile again.

"Get down!!"

He controlled the wood construct, timing it perfectly to deliver a downward punch.

A massive impact echoed out, sounding like a thunderclap.

Kisame Hoshigaki's body flew off just like before, moving like a cannonball.

Unfortunately, this time Lin Mu had controlled the direction of the strike.

He wasn't knocked away; instead, he was hammered directly into the ground.

Thud, thud, thud...

Heavy footsteps approached. Kisame tried to get up and flee, but his body felt as if it had fallen apart, making it impossible for him to stand.

"Still struggling?"

Lin Mu was slightly surprised; he knew the power of this wood construct all too well.

How could Kisame Hoshigaki still move?

"Hehehehehehe..."

The chilling smile on Lin Mu's face widened. He controlled the giant to bend over, its massive fist smashing directly toward the prone Kisame.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three punches later, a deep crater had been gouged into the ground, and Kisame lay inside, unable to move.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.

"Hm? You can still talk? Still want to curse me?!"

Before he could get a word out, Lin Mu's voice cut in, laced with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Shut your trap!"

Lin Mu controlled the wood construct to stand up, lifting its massive foot and stomping down fiercely.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three more stomps later, Kisame was completely on the verge of death, and the Samehada beside him was stiff and rigid, as if it had become a lifeless object.

"Phew..."

Watching Kisame Hoshigaki pass out, Lin Mu let out a sigh of relief.

He hurriedly dispersed the Wood Human Technique and dropped to the ground.

Although he had summoned the Wood Human Technique using an experience card, controlling the construct afterward still required his own chakra.

After those three punches and four stomps, his body was reaching its limit.

"Hiss... this monster is truly a monster; his body is really tough!"

Lin Mu sighed from the bottom of his heart, having completely forgotten who had been chasing and beating Kisame Hoshigaki just moments ago.

"Eh..."

Suddenly, Lin Mu's gaze seemed to catch something.

He walked forward a few steps, arriving beside Kisame Hoshigaki's body.

Looking at the Samehada beside him, he fell into deep thought.

"Samehada? Hand it over!"

He reached out directly toward the hilt of Samehada.

Thwack.

The moment Lin Mu's hand touched Samehada, the blade struggled violently as if it were alive.

"Hmm?"

Lin Mu furrowed his brows.

Seemingly sensing Lin Mu's displeasure and recalling the terror of being dominated by the giant wooden figure just moments ago, Samehada went limp and ceased its resistance.

"Hmph! That's more like it."

Lin Mu nodded in satisfaction, then hoisted Samehada up to inspect it.

Not bad, not bad at all!

A great blade like this is perfect for a tough guy like me!

Samehada seemed to sense Lin Mu's thoughts, curving its body back to nuzzle against Lin Mu's shoulder.

"..."

This blade... it seems quite sensible!

The battle on Lin Mu's side had ended just like that, but Naruto Uzumaki was still locked in a bitter struggle.

He gathered all his chakra, yet he truly couldn't think of any ninjutsu that could save Sasuke Uchiha right now.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!"

Itachi Uchiha applied slight pressure to his hand, and with a crack, Sasuke let out a piercing shriek of agony.

"Sasuke!"

Seeing Sasuke injured, Naruto's eyes instantly turned red.

The chakra on his body fluctuated violently, and faint red chakra began to surge out, burning around his body like flames.

"The Nine-Tails' chakra?"

Itachi Uchiha's gaze shifted slightly, and his free hand slowly rose, reaching out toward Naruto Uzumaki.

However, this grab did not touch Naruto Uzumaki.

Because Itachi saw another figure appear behind Naruto.

"You all really don't understand me at all; a man like Jiraiya would never be seduced by a woman!"

Jiraiya had appeared behind Naruto at some point, carrying the beautiful woman who had appeared earlier on his shoulder, his face full of pride and arrogance as he declared:

"I'm even better at using sweet talk to trick women; I wouldn't be lured by a woman's beauty! A man like me has women throwing themselves at him!"

Itachi Uchiha, Naruto, and Sasuke: "..."

The atmosphere suddenly fell into an eerie, awkward silence.

A row of black lines slid over Naruto's head, and even with Itachi Uchiha right there, he couldn't help but point at Jiraiya and shout:

"You get so excited over low-class tricks like a woman batting her eyelashes, so stop acting so cool, you Pervy Sage!"

"Ahem, I told you not to call me that in front of others!"

Exposed by Naruto, Jiraiya felt a bit embarrassed and reached up to scratch the back of his head.

At the same time, he couldn't help but think to himself: If Lin Mu were here, he would definitely be in awe of my magnificence!

Lin Mu...

Lin Mu?

Where is Lin Mu?!

He looked ahead and realized that only Itachi Uchiha was standing there.

Kisame Hoshigaki and Lin Mu...

Jiraiya's expression gradually turned grave.

"To lure me away from Naruto, you used a hypnotic eye to cast a genjutsu on a woman—truly the methods of scum!"

Seeing Jiraiya arrive, Itachi Uchiha slowly loosened his grip, and Sasuke was dropped to the ground.

There was a hint of realization in Itachi's tone:

"No wonder Kakashi also knew about this... So that's how it is. Is the source of the intelligence you?"

He lowered his head to glance at the giant Toad blocking his path and said calmly:

"Taking Naruto away is the highest order issued to us by our organization, Akatsuki!"

"What is going on?"

Caught in the eye of the storm, Naruto Uzumaki had nothing but confusion in his eyes; he had no idea why these people had come looking for him.

The giant Toad standing in front of Naruto vanished into a puff of smoke, and Jiraiya stepped forward slowly to shield him, stating coldly:

"I will not hand Naruto over to you!"

Itachi Uchiha's expression shifted slightly, and after a long moment, he parted his lips to say:

"That remains to be seen!"