A Man's Promise

At that moment, intense unwillingness surfaced in the black-robed man's eyes, but his consciousness suddenly became muddled.

His body gradually went limp.

"Hahaha!!!"

Seeing this, Zhi Ge burst into wild laughter.

"Right! I almost forgot about you lot!"

As Zhi Ge laughed, he suddenly remembered the nine Sound Ninja behind him. When he turned around, he found that they had already struggled back to their feet.

"Your boss is dead. Now it's your turn!"

As he spoke, Zhi Ge's gaze abruptly shifted to the nine Sound Ninja.

"No... no... please spare us!!! We promise we'll never attack Konoha Village again!"

Despair rose in the hearts of the nine Sound Ninja. At that moment, they felt as though they had fallen into an endless hell!

They had no idea what kind of being this seemingly frail youth was, but that terrifying power alone was enough to kill every one of them in an instant.

Thus, helplessness and fear flickered in the eyes of the nine Sound Ninja.

"Spare you?"

Zhi Ge sneered, his tone incomparably cold.

"You trash have wreaked havoc in Konoha for so long, and you still dared to ambush Konoha? You're courting death!"

As Zhi Ge spoke, his figure suddenly vanished from where he stood and appeared directly among the nine Sound Ninja!

"No!!!"

Everyone immediately revealed looks of despair.

However, they had no time to resist at all.

The next moment, Zhi Ge's cold fists landed on their bodies.

"Gum-Gum Machine Gun!!!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

A series of dull impacts rang out. The bodies of the nine Sound Ninja instantly shattered, their bright red blood staining the surrounding ground.

"Hmph, trash!"

Zhi Ge swept his gaze around disdainfully, then left without hesitation, continuing to search for Naruto's trail.

"Damn it, even if I catch up in this condition, I'll probably just be dead weight, won't I?"

Feeling that his body could barely exert any strength, Zhi Ge could not help but smile bitterly.

He knew that his injuries this time were far too severe. They would not kill him, but he likely would not be able to fight again anytime soon. How was he supposed to help Naruto in this state?

Still, even if it cost him his life, he had to save Naruto!

After all, he had personally promised Jiraiya and the Third Hokage!

"No matter what, I can't give up!"

Thinking this, Zhi Ge pushed off with both legs, turning into a blurred afterimage as he swiftly chased after Naruto.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Gaara were already locked in an evenly matched battle.

"This guy's ninjutsu is really strange!"

Gaara's expression had turned grave to the extreme.

He had never expected that, after Sasuke had already been taken down by him, Naruto would actually be able to fight him on equal terms!

Moreover, Naruto had been hiding his true strength.

"You, how did you become this strong in just one month?!"

Gaara looked at Naruto with a face full of confusion.

At that moment, he even began to wonder whether his earlier judgment had been wrong.

After all, Naruto was only thirteen or fourteen years old. Under normal circumstances, it was simply impossible for him to improve so much in only one month!

"With such a powerful opponent like you ahead of me, of course I can't afford to slack off!"

Naruto grinned, his face filled with provocation as his attacks grew increasingly fierce.

Seeing this, Gaara could not help feeling enraged!

"Hmph, if that's the case, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

"Sand Binding Coffin: Sand Waterfall Funeral!"

Gaara roared, rapidly forming hand seals with his right hand. In an instant, he condensed a torrent of sand that poured down from the sky, completely enveloping Naruto.

Gaara suddenly clenched his fist. In only an instant, all the sand rapidly tightened and directly crushed Naruto's body.

"Hehe, trash will always be trash! No matter how much you bark, the gap in strength is impossible to overcome!"

Looking at Naruto submerged beneath the sand waterfall before him, Gaara could not help revealing a mocking expression.

However, his pupils suddenly contracted at that moment.

There was not a trace of Naruto's blood flowing out from beneath the sand waterfall.

Gaara frowned and scattered the sand, only to discover that Naruto was nowhere to be found within it.

"Damn it! Was that a Shadow Clone Technique?!"

Gaara's expression darkened to the extreme.

If it had been a Shadow Clone Technique, that meant Naruto's real body was definitely lying in ambush somewhere.

But this place was so vast that even if Naruto truly was hiding in the shadows, it would not be easy for him to find him.

Just then, Gaara sensed a familiar fluctuation of chakra.

"Not good!"

The next moment, Gaara's pupils sharply shrank.

Naruto had actually appeared above his head!

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!!!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."

Naruto's body flashed away, directly appearing behind Gaara.

"Poof!"

The next second, he created hundreds upon thousands of shadow clones!

"Prepare yourself! Let me show you my move! Naruto Barrage!!!"

With Naruto's furious shout, hundreds upon thousands of clones charged toward Gaara.

Dozens of Narutos simultaneously appeared beneath Gaara and instantly kicked him into the air.

And dozens more clones were already waiting for him in the sky.

Just as Gaara reached the highest point, he was viciously kicked back down with a "Thud!"

After seven or eight such exchanges, the Sand Armor on Gaara's body actually began to rapidly peel away.

"Final strike! Naruto Two Thousand Barrage!!!"

Gaara was kicked into the air once more. This time, a full two thousand Narutos kicked Gaara simultaneously.

In an instant, the enormous impact directly shattered Gaara's Sand Armor!

Gaara then fell toward the ground like a meteor.

"Bang!"

Dust billowed up as the ground instantly caved in over a large area.

"Pfft!!!"

A mouthful of blood sprayed out. Gaara's body rolled across the ground, twitching continuously. He was clearly badly injured.

"Is this all you've got? You're really pathetic!"

Seeing Gaara in such a state, Naruto revealed a look of disdain.

"Brat, you will pay the price!"

Gaara struggled to his feet, a savage expression appearing on his face.

This time, however, Naruto was not frightened in the slightest!

"Haha, then let me see just how capable you really are!"

"Aaaaargh!"

Suddenly, Gaara let out a miserable, monstrous scream. Then he dropped to his knees and clutched his head in agony.

"You... you..."

The veins on Gaara's forehead bulged as he felt that terrifying power surging out from within his body.