An Arm Left Behind a Coordinate? Following the Trail to Raid the Nest!

"Buzz--"

In the temporary medical room of the Land of Iron's Fortress City, the pungent smell of disinfectant couldn't mask the strong stench of blood.

Naruto sat shirtless on the iron bed frame, the purple-gold markings under his eyes crumbling like a dried-up riverbed, a thin line of blood sliding down his eye. The powerful regenerative ability of the Perfect Sage Body was now proving insufficient in the face of the mental exhaustion of the "Six Paths Observation State".

"Smack!"

Tsunade on the edge of the bed, making the medical tray rattle. The emerald green medical Chakra forcefully entered Naruto's meridians, forcibly calming his rampaging blood and qi.

"If you open those eyes again, your optic nerve will be completely destroyed!" Tsunade, her eyes blazing with anger beneath her blonde hair, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Stay put! The Raikage and Bee are at Lightning Cloud Gorge; it's not your place, a half-crippled guy, to risk your life!"

Naruto grinned, inhaled sharply, and was about to speak when Kakashi suddenly spoke up.

"Not only Lightning Cloud Gorge, but we may also have to deal with another problem."

Kakashi stood under the operating lights, holding a specially made glass test tube in his hand. At the bottom of the tube was a pool of charred ash—the remnant left by Obito's severed wrist.

"Sizzle."

Kakashi released a Lightning Release Chakra from his fingertip and gently touched the glass tube. Amidst the previously lifeless ashes, a faint Yellow Flash appeared—it was Naruto's Yang Release technique.

"You Flying Thunder God Mark into his Kamui Space Echo?" Kakashi raised his eyes, his usually lazy one eye now sharp as a knife.

"It's not really engraved." Naruto wiped the blood from the corner of his eye, tore off a bandage and wrapped it haphazardly around his wrist. "That guy slipped away too fast, his main body only got a tiny bit of skin on him. But the moment Kamui closed, a gap was created in space, and my Yang Release Chakra followed that gap, pinning it to his spatial movement trajectory."

Sasuke leaned against the wall, Kusanagi Sword held to his chest, and sneered, "So, that rat thought it could save itself by cutting off its own arm, but actually left its tail for us?"

"Clever." Naruto snapped his fingers, his eyes suddenly turning cold. "However, this Coordinates isn't permanent. Spatial turbulence is washing away my Chakra; the mark will completely disappear in twelve hours at most."

"Then you absolutely can't go!" Tsunade stepped forward, blocking the doorway to the ward, her chest heaving. "You've just exhausted your mental energy; chasing after them will be suicide! What if the end of the Coordinates is the headquarters of 100,000 White Zetsu? You'll just be delivering food to them!"

"Tsunade, I'm not going to fight one-on-one, I'm going to get information."

Naruto looked up, meeting Tsunade's eyes directly, his aura unwavering. "Obito declared war, Madara Uchiha broke free of his coffin and headed straight for Lightning Cloud Gorge. This proves their war machine is running at full capacity. But war is about intelligence and supplies. How will he feed, move, and deploy his 100,000 White Zetsu? As long as we follow this Coordinates, even if we can't kill him, we'll at least tear a corner of his war plan!"

Tsunade. She knew Naruto was right, but as Hokage, she couldn't gamble away Hidden Leaf's greatest trump card.

Naruto didn't give her a chance to refute, his gaze sweeping across the room. "Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, Hinata, Karin, and me. Five of us are enough to take over any intelligence outpost, no matter the size."

"Thump, thump."

There was a light knock on the door of the medical room.

Kurotsuchi, with short hair, pushed open the door and entered, tossing an Iwagakure Kunai in her hand. Leaning against the doorframe, she raised an eyebrow, her eyes revealing a hint of arrogance. "The Lord Hokage of Hidden Leaf, and the Uzumaki Clan, this door is open, I heard everything."

Kurotsuchi tucked the Kunai back into his leg pouch, raised his chin slightly, and said, "You guys are going to raid that masked man's lair? Count me in."

Naruto turned his head to look at her. "This isn't the table for the Five Kage Summit. I have no obligation to help my allies gain experience."

"Huh?" Kurotsuchi seemed to have heard a joke. She strode to the bedside, slammed her hands on the edge of the bed, and said, "Naruto Uzumaki, why should Iwagakure listen to you? Do you think that just because you slammed your hand on the table and set a rule, everyone will have to treat you like a boss? My grandfather doesn't want to cause trouble, but I have to go and see just how good that masked man who dared to declare war on the Five Great Nations really is!"

Their eyes met in the air. One was domineering and sharp, the other unyielding.

Naruto looked at her and suddenly let out a short laugh.

"You don't have to go." Naruto leaned forward, his voice low and menacing, each word striking precisely at the other's defenses. "But Obito's war plan is to drag the entire Shinobi World into it. If his 100,000 White Zetsu were to parachute onto the border of the Land of Earth the next second, and you couldn't even issue a warning, don't regret the bloodshed in Iwagakure."

Kurotsuchi's arrogant expression froze instantly. She knew Naruto wasn't joking. Iwagakure's geographical location made it extremely easy for White Zetsu to sneak up and break through.

There was a two-second silence.

Kurotsuchi straightened up, tightened the straps of her ninja tool pouch, and said curtly but decisively, "Fine, I'll take this job. But let me make this clear: in the event of unforeseen danger, the interests of Iwagakure will take priority."

"Deal." Naruto rolled out of bed and casually grabbed a black Hokage Haori to drape over his shoulders.

Hinata Earth Flow and straightened his collar. Her Byakugan activated, reflecting the gradually calming yet still surging Chakra within Naruto, she said softly, "My gaze will never leave you more than ten meters away."

Naruto took her hand and squeezed her fingertips.

"Karin, activate your full sensory abilities and shield your presence." Naruto walked to the window, pushed open the glass, and a cold wind mixed with snowflakes rushed into the ward. "Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, get ready to get to work."

Sasuke drew his Kusanagi Sword half an inch, the crisp sound of the sword echoing in the room. His Six-Pointed Star Mangekyo Sharingan glowed a chilling crimson in the dim light. "I'd like to see just how many disgusting schemes Obito has hidden in his head."

"Whoosh--"

Six Paths afterimages leaped out of the medical room window under the cover of night, instantly merging into the vast snowfields of the Land of Iron.

The wind and snow howled.

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away, in a secluded underground cave, Obito clutched his severed right arm, his face ashen. The roots of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path were re-weaving a prosthetic limb for him.

"Those people from Hidden Leaf should be terrified by Madara's actions by now," Black Zetsu, emerging halfway from the stone wall, his voice hoarse.

Obito stared into the void with his single eye, sneering, "Madara is a madman, and so is Naruto Uzumaki. Let them fight like dogs in Lightning Cloud Gorge. Once they're both exhausted, the army of 100,000 White Zetsu will directly crush the heart of the Allied Shinobi Forces."

Little did he know that on the vast snowfield, a faint yet deadly golden spatial Coordinates was like a death knell, slowly approaching his throat.