Konoha, Sasuke!

"Hahaha..."

Hearing Tazuna's words and seeing his pathetic appearance, one of the four men stepped forward. A long scar stretched from the corner of his eye to his ear, giving him a truly hideous and terrifying look.

He sneered:

"Brothers, look at this. We're really in luck this time. Who would've thought we'd land such a big fish just by taking on a random mission?..."

He paused, and seeing the confusion on Tazuna's face, he said smugly:

"Old man, you're a funny one. It's true you have money."

"But why on earth would we let you go?"

"If we kill you, won't your money—and those two brats beside you—all belong to us?..."

"Hahaha..."

As if they had just heard the funniest joke in the world, the four of them burst into laughter in unison.

Upon hearing this, Tazuna's face turned ghastly.

Only now did he truly realize that it was wise not to flaunt one's wealth.

In this chaotic world of shinobi, outside of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, there was no such thing as reason.

Once you stepped outside those five villages, it didn't matter if it was money or anything else; if you lacked the strength, it might not belong to you the very next second.

The scarred man saw this and pointed toward Sakura and Naruto:

"This girl isn't bad-looking. I bet she'd fetch a good price if we sold her to Kirigakure to be raised as a spy."

"Hmm... and this yellow-haired idiot looks like a total dullard. As for talent, he's getting thrashed by the one who just fought us, and his looks... well, let's just say they're hard to describe..."

"Forget it, just kill him along with this useless old man to save us the trouble..."

"Yes..."

The scarred man was clearly the leader of the group. With a simple analysis, he had sealed the fates of the three.

"Damn it! I, Naruto, am not as trashy as you say!"

"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!..."

He crossed his fingers and formed the hand seals. In an instant, several solid-looking shadow clones appeared out of thin air.

The next moment, the clones charged recklessly toward the four men. Naruto, refusing to fall behind, threw several Shuriken before rushing in right after them!

But even with his firm resolve, the gap in strength was far too vast.

With just a few casual strikes, the four men scattered the clones.

Naruto, who had followed closely behind, was sent flying by a single kick. He fell to the ground, unable to rise, having sustained heavy injuries.

"Heh, overestimating your own abilities."

The scarred man sneered.

But just then, Sakura clenched her fists tightly. A terrifying power began to gather around her, unnoticed by anyone.

At a certain moment, with a sharp cry, she could no longer hold back. She swung her fist and charged like a madwoman toward the ninja walking toward the three of them.

"You! Give me back Sasuke!..."

Seeing Sakura foolishly charging at him, the ninja curled his lips into a cold smirk and reached out to grab her incoming fist.

But the next moment, his expression shifted violently. Before he could even react, a force like a surging flood roared toward him, instantly sending him flying!

"This... is Sakura actually this fierce?..."

Naruto's jaw nearly hit the ground.

At that moment, he swore to himself that he must never offend Sakura again.

Otherwise, looking at this sudden burst of Strength of a Hundred, he might just end up getting hammered to death by her one day...

"This... how is this possible? She was clearly..."

When the scarred man saw this, his face was also filled with shock, but it was immediately replaced by wild, ecstatic greed as he muttered to himself:

"Good! Very good! We've really struck gold with this mission!"

"This girl must possess some kind of special Kekkei Genkai!"

"We must capture her!"

"She'll definitely fetch a high price!..."

With madness in his eyes and excitement in his voice, he finished speaking, and the remaining three men attacked in unison, determined to capture Sakura alive at all costs!

Sakura seemed to have just awakened this power; her footsteps were unsteady, her eyes dazed, and she stumbled back several steps, on the verge of fainting on the spot.

The situation seemed to be reaching its end, and the outcome appeared to be set.

But just at this moment.

Swish, swish, swish!

Several shuriken suddenly whistled through the air, hurtling toward the three ninjas who were about to grab Sakura!

Glancing sideways, the scarred man gave a cold laugh, thinking to himself:

Is that brat not dead yet?

Good! Two birds with one stone. I can sell him off, and with this girl who might have a special constitution, I won't have to work for half a year!

With that thought, he drew a kunai and flicked it a few times with casual ease, effortlessly deflecting the shuriken that should have struck his vitals.

But just as he was feeling smug.

Bang!

White smoke exploded behind him!

Immediately following, a shuriken that had been stuck at an angle in the ground.

Had transformed into the figure of Sasuke!

"Heh... is this your trump card?"

"It's actually quite interesting..."

The scarred man laughed coldly, unfazed. He gripped his kunai tight, turned around, and thrust it backhanded!

But the next second, he froze.

A flash of red light.

The motion he had just made suddenly and inexplicably stalled.

Before he could even figure out what was happening?

The next moment, he realized that the world around him had unknowingly turned into a sea of blood, with no other colors to be seen!

"This... no! This is Genjutsu!..."

He was, after all, an elite Chunin and the strongest member of their four-man squad.

The moment he realized he had been caught in a Genjutsu, he bit the tip of his tongue, instantly regaining his clarity.

The surrounding blood-red hue faded in the blink of an eye, but what followed was a flash of sword light!

The sword's momentum was immense, like a river surging backward, carrying with it a terrifying, overbearing pressure.

At this moment, the scarred man desperately wanted to counterattack.

But it was as if, having just broken free from the shackles of the Genjutsu, he had immediately fallen into the quagmire of this soul-shaking sword intent.

Locked in place by the sword's aura, he could not move, and could only watch helplessly as the tip of the blade grew larger and larger in his eyes!

"Dance of the Crescent Moon: First Form: Wind Slash!"

With a roar, in an instant, the longsword slid across his neck. Blood flowed out like a small stream, then quickly began to spray uncontrollably.

"Urgh..."

With a single strike to the throat, the two of them collapsed together. Only the scarred man remained, clutching his spurting neck, his eyes wide with disbelief as he rasped out:

"Who... who exactly are you?..."

"Heh..."

Hearing this, Sasuke gave a cold laugh. He didn't turn around, only tilted his head, leaving his back to the man as he slowly responded:

"Konoha, Sasuke. A ninja you wanted to kill, but couldn't..."

"Sa... Sasuke..."

With a soft murmur, the whites of his eyes rolled back, and the scarred man instantly lost his life, just like his two teammates on the ground.

"Ah?..."

In the distance, the straggler who had been coughing up blood from Sakura's Strength of a Hundred was horrified by the sight.

He knew he had messed with a tough customer this time.

Without hesitation, he scrambled up, turned, and ran for his life!

"Trying to leave?..."

Sasuke gave a cold laugh, his hand seals flying like a blooming lotus, and at the same time, he roared:

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"