Konoha, Sasuke!

"Hahahaha..."

Hearing Tazuna's words and seeing how pathetic he looked,

one of the four stepped forward. A long scar stretched from the corner of his eye to his ear, giving him a hideous, menacing appearance.

He sneered,

"Take a look, boys. We sure got lucky this time. We took some random job, and somehow wound up with a big catch..."

After a pause, he saw the bewildered look on Tazuna's face and smugly said,

"Old man, you're quite the character. Sure, you've got money."

"But why would we let you go?"

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

"Hahahaha..."

As if they'd heard the funniest joke in the world, all four burst out laughing.

At those words, Tazuna's face darkened.

Only now did he truly understand that it was wise not to flaunt your wealth.

In this lawless Shinobi World, nowhere outside the Five Great Shinobi Villages had any semblance of order.

Beyond those five villages, forget money—if you weren't strong enough, nothing you owned would still be yours the next second.

The scarred man pointed toward Sakura and Naruto.

"This girl's pretty cute. I bet she'd fetch a nice price if we sold her to Kirigakure to be raised as a breeding vessel for spies."

"Hmm... This blond kid looks like a dope. He's nowhere near as talented as the one who just kicked our asses, and his looks are nothing to write home about..."

"Forget it. Let's just kill him along with that useless old man. That'll save us the trouble..."

"Right..."

The scarred man was clearly the leader of the group. After a brief assessment, he had decided the fates of all three.

"Damn it! I'm Naruto, and I'm not as pathetic as you say!"

"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"

He crossed his hands and formed the hand seals. In an instant, several solid Shadow Clones appeared out of thin air.

The clones charged fearlessly at the four, and Naruto, unwilling to be left behind, flung several Shuriken before rushing after them!

But no matter how determined he was, the gap in strength was simply too great.

The four needed only a few casual strikes to dispel the clones.

Naruto followed close behind, only to be kicked away. He hit the ground hard, badly injured and unable to get back up.

"Heh. Know your place."

The scarred man sneered.

But just then,

Sakura clenched both fists. A terrifying power silently gathered around her, unnoticed by anyone.

At last, she let out a furious cry. Unable to hold back any longer, she charged like a madwoman at a ninja approaching the three of them.

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

Seeing Sakura recklessly charge at him, the ninja smirked and reached out to grab her pink fist.

But in the next instant, his expression changed. Before he could react,

a flood of tremendous force came crashing down on him, sending him flying!

"Th-this... Is Sakura really that strong?..."

Naruto's jaw nearly hit the floor.

He swore to himself that he'd never antagonize Sakura again.

With that sudden burst of monstrous Strength of a Hundred, she might just punch him to death someday...

"Th-this is impossible. She clearly..."

The scarred man stared in shock, but then his expression turned to delight. He murmured excitedly,

"Excellent! Excellent! We've really struck gold with this job!"

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

"We have to capture her!"

"She'll fetch a great price!..."

His gaze wild and his voice eager, he hadn't even finished speaking before the remaining three rushed to capture Sakura!

It seemed Sakura had only just awakened this power. She staggered, her eyes unfocused, and stumbled backward several steps, on the verge of collapsing.

The situation seemed hopeless. The outcome appeared all but decided.

But just then,

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several Shuriken cut through the air, shooting toward the three ninjas reaching for Sakura!

The scarred man glanced sideways and sneered to himself,

"That kid's still alive?"

"Good! We can kill two birds with one stone. We'll sell you too. With this girl who might have some special constitution, we won't have to work for half a year!..."

With that thought, he drew a Kunai and casually swept it through the air a few times. The Shuriken, which should have struck vital points around him, were easily knocked aside.

But just as he was gloating,

With a bang, white smoke burst behind him!

Then the Shuriken that had been stuck diagonally in the ground suddenly transformed into Sasuke!

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

"Not bad..."

The scarred man sneered without a hint of panic, tightened his grip on his Kunai, and spun around to stab backward!

But the next second, he froze.

A flash of red.

The movement he'd just made suddenly came to an inexplicable halt.

Before he could figure out what was happening,

he found that the world around him had turned blood-red, with no other color in sight!

"This... No! It's Genjutsu!..."

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

The instant he realized he'd fallen under Genjutsu, he bit his tongue and immediately regained his senses.

The blood-red world vanished in a flash, but a streak of sword light came at him right after!

The sword's force surged like a mighty river flowing backward, carrying an awe-inspiring, domineering presence.

At that moment, the scarred man desperately wanted to fight back.

But it was as if he had just broken free of the Genjutsu's chains, only to be plunged straight into the mire of that overwhelming sword pressure.

Pinned in place by its force, he could only watch as the sword's tip grew larger and larger in his eyes!

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

With a fierce shout, the sword swept across his neck in an instant. Blood trickled out like a stream, then began to gush.

"Ugh..."

The sword had cut clean through their throats. Two of them fell together, leaving only the scarred man, clutching his gushing neck. Eyes wide with disbelief, he rasped,

"Wh-who are you?..."

"Heh..."

Sasuke sneered. He didn't turn around, only tilted his head, leaving the sight of his back as he replied,

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

"Sas... Sasuke..."

With a faint murmur, the scarred man rolled his eyes and, like the two comrades on the ground, lost his life.

"Huh?..."

In the distance, the surviving ninja who had been beaten by Sakura's Strength of a Hundred until he spat blood watched in dismay.

He knew he'd picked a fight with someone far beyond his league.

Without hesitation, he scrambled to his feet, turned, and ran!

"Trying to leave?..."

Sasuke sneered. His hands flashed through seals like a blooming lotus as he shouted,

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"