Early that morning, Miki Yūya arrived at Konoha's entrance carrying a shovel and a pickaxe.
With Kawada, Sato, and Yamamoto in tow, he swaggered over and claimed the most conspicuous patch of open ground by the entrance.
The four rolled up their sleeves and got to work, grunting as they shoveled dirt and dug foundations, enthusiastically beginning construction-on public toilets.
The three others dug until sweat covered their heads, growing more confused with every shovelful, until they finally stopped.
Kawada wiped some dirt off his face and spoke up, looking baffled.
"Yūya, something's not right here!"
"The village itself is already the biggest public toilet in the Shinobi World. Anyone can come stomp on it and take a dump!"
"Everyone comes to Konoha to shit, so why are we building toilets outside the entrance instead of inside the village?!"
At Kawada's words, the other two lackeys nodded in agreement, their faces full of confusion.
Miki Yūya drove his shovel hard into the dirt with a clang, sending dust flying.
He turned to glare at the three, looking utterly disappointed in them.
"Are your brains in your asses? You're a bunch of total morons!"
"All of Konoha is already one huge, stinking public toilet!"
"The whole village reeks of shit, and you want to build private stalls inside the toilet? Who would use them?"
"Of course we have to build outside the toilet! These are called separate bathrooms. Do you idiots understand class?!"
Understanding instantly dawned on all three. Their eyes lit up, and they nodded furiously.
"Ohhh! So that's it!
You've really got class, Yūya!"
"But, come to think of it... aren't we building four toilets to match Hokage Rock? Why toilets?"
"Doesn't that match perfectly? Look at what Konoha's become. Four toilet pits for the four Hokage."
"Fair enough. They're all toilets anyway."
The four chatted as they dug, making the toilet foundations increasingly neat.
Just then, several sharp sounds of rushing air rang out!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-!
Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kiba Inuzuka, Akamaru, and Choji-four human figures, one dog, and another human figure-rushed out through the village entrance.
They had received Tsunade's orders to bring Sasuke back.
A little later, another figure rushed out. It was Naruto Uzumaki!
Naruto looked panicked and anxious as he sprinted along. The moment he cleared the entrance, he spotted Miki Yūya and the other three crouching on the ground, digging dirt to build toilets.
He skidded to a halt, completely dumbfounded.
"Yūya, what are you doing?"
"Building toilets. What's wrong?"
Naruto froze for two seconds.
"Men's toilets or women's toilets?"
"..."
At that moment, both sides fell silent.
A moment later, Naruto finally remembered why he had left the village.
"Yūya! Something happened! Something terrible!"
"Something terrible? Then why are you telling me? Come back when you've got good news.
Scram, scram, scram. Stop interrupting my toilet construction."
"No, it's not exactly bad news either."
Naruto took a deep breath, suppressed his panic, and spoke gravely.
"It's Sasuke... Sasuke left Konoha without saying a word!"
"Late last night, he left with the four Sound Ninja who sneaked into the village!"
Boom!
The lazy look vanished from Miki Yūya's face. He shot to his feet, his gaze instantly turning sharp.
"Four Sound Ninja?!"
"Yeah! The Sound Four from Otogakure who sneaked into the village before!"
Naruto nodded firmly.
Vicious fury flared in Miki Yūya's eyes, and he cursed through gritted teeth:
"I knew it!!"
"This had to be the work of those two Parker bastards, Kidomaru and Tayuya!!"
"They got away last time and played me for a fool! You really think I can't catch you?!"
He rolled up his sleeves, his face blazing with anger.
"Naruto! Lead the way!"
With that, Miki Yūya charged straight to the front.
Watching the furious Miki Yūya, Naruto fell silent for a moment before asking a question.
"Yūya, are you going after Sasuke too?"
"Sasuke? Why would I go after him? Are we close? Besides, he's Konoha's only jock. How am I supposed to catch him?"
At that point, Miki Yūya paused. Wasn't this when Naruto went after Sasuke and fought him at the Valley of the End?
"Wait, you're not trying to use me as muscle to drag Sasuke back, are you?"
"N-no, that's not it."
Naruto shook his head, his expression growing serious.
"The old me would've done everything to persuade him to come back. Even if I had to break both his legs with my own hands, I would've brought him back... but I don't think that way anymore."
Miki Yūya blinked.
"Oh? What happened? Did you lose your hands too?"
[Ding! Conqueror's Haki +3]
Naruto looked up toward the distant forest. His eyes were far more mature than before, with much less stubbornness and a little more understanding and acceptance.
"The old me would've dragged Sasuke back to the village, no matter what it took."
"But after everything I've been through lately, what happened in the village, what happened in the Land of Snow..."
"I've come to understand a lot!!"
Naruto's voice was calm but firm.
"Sasuke carries the hatred of having his entire clan slaughtered. Konoha can't give him the power he wants or the revenge he's after."
"That's his own destiny, a path he has to walk alone. Nobody can stop him, and nobody should."
"Not even me!"
Naruto had truly grown. He no longer insisted on keeping Sasuke by his side, much like later in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Although Sasuke was often away from the village, he remained one of its people, and Naruto would no longer insist that he stay there.
Miki Yūya raised an eyebrow, a little surprised that Naruto had actually wised up.
In truth, Miki Yūya had no idea what Naruto had been through. His earlier verbal attacks had shattered Naruto mentally, directly loosening the seal, after which Naruto had spiraled into self-destruction.
If Minato's and Kushina's chakra hadn't remained inside the seal in his body and brought Naruto back to his senses, he would have died.
Simply put, he hadn't wised up. He had already died once and learned to let go.
"Then why chase after him? To watch the show?"
Miki Yūya asked.
Naruto shook his head, his gaze growing serious.
"Because he left without saying goodbye. Sasuke will always be my friend. Even if he's leaving, he should at least say a proper goodbye."
"Sasuke's leaving to get revenge. That's something only he can do himself. None of us can interfere, and none of us have the right to."
"What if he dies?"
Miki Yūya asked again.
"Then I, Naruto Uzumaki, will avenge my friend. Blood for blood!"
After saying that, he turned to look earnestly at Miki Yūya:
"The same goes for you, Yūya. If you die, I'll avenge you too."
It was such a simple statement, yet it brimmed with sincerity.
Miki Yūya froze for a moment, an unexpected warmth rising in his heart. As expected of the protagonist. Just look at Naruto's outlook. Now that was how a protagonist should be.
Miki Yūya was genuinely moved. He swore he would never insult Naruto again.
Motherfucker, it's all the Nine-Tails' fault for being inside Naruto and turning him into an idiot Fox Demon. Why else would he have been so messed up?
That damn Fox Demon really deserves to die.
"What a fucking beast."
"What?"
"Nothing, Naruto."
"Those words are all I need, brother!"
"But I think I've offended quite a few people. If it's not ten thousand, it's at least eight thousand."
"If I really die someday, don't hold back when you avenge me. No need to distinguish anyone or investigate. Better to kill a thousand innocent people than let a single culprit go!
It's fine if you kill the wrong ones. Put those on my tab, and take credit for the ones you get right."
Naruto was dumbstruck.
Come on, man, we're buddies. I was just being nice, and you're taking it seriously? Who gets revenge like that? How can you be so selfish?!
After thinking it over, Naruto decided he had to die before Miki Yūya. That seemed like the best solution.
Without another word, the two sprinted at full speed toward the forest, one behind the other.
After running for who knew how long, they finally spotted figures in a clearing ahead.
But the sight before them made Naruto's and Miki Yūya's pupils contract.
Shikamaru sat slumped on the ground, gasping for breath, his arm cut and bleeding, his face pale and weak.
Ino clutched the wound on her shoulder, trembling all over from the pain.
Choji lay facedown on the ground, still unconscious.
Kiba Inuzuka lay tied up on the ground, bawling, his spirit completely broken.
All four were gravely wounded and down, utterly unable to fight!
And the most outrageous sight was up in the air-
Akamaru was tightly bound in dense white spiderwebs, dangling from the top of a towering tree!
His fur had been shaved clean off, without a single hair left. He was completely bald.
Someone had even used paint to neatly write two huge black characters on Akamaru's bare belly-justice!
Miki Yūya's eyes practically shook in their sockets, and he blurted out:
"Holy shit?! Where did this Marine admiral come from?!"
Shikamaru, barely clinging to consciousness nearby, saw Naruto and Miki Yūya arrive and immediately used his last strength to shout an urgent warning:
"Naruto! Watch out!!"
"Neji! Neji Hyuga has defected!!"
"He suddenly ambushed all of us! We couldn't stop him!"
"He left with those Sound Ninja!!"
Kiba lay on the ground, sobbing his heart out. Through tear-blurred eyes, he choked out a shout.
"Naruto! You have to avenge me and Akamaru!!"
"That guy called Kidomaru did all of this!!"
"He was with Neji. He said this was justice in action, to get even for Neji."
"What gave him the right to shave off all my Akamaru's fur and write 'justice' on him? That's dog abuse!"
Naruto was just about to grit his teeth and agree when Miki Yūya nodded first, his fury reaching its peak.
"Got it. That Parker bastard, Spider-Man Kidomaru, again!!"
"Don't worry, Kiba! I'm handling this."
"I'll get justice for your Akainu and teach those two bastards a lesson."
Kiba's sobbing stopped. Completely bewildered, he looked up with a blank expression:
"N-no, not Akainu! Akamaru!! My Akamaru!!"
Miki Yūya couldn't be bothered to correct himself. Akamaru or Akainu, who cared? As long as that Peter Parker, Kidomaru, was responsible, he could settle the old and new scores together.
You're dead!!
He pushed off the ground and raced in the direction Kidomaru and Neji had fled!
Seeing this, Naruto followed close behind.
Meanwhile, up ahead, Neji, Kidomaru, and Tayuya hadn't even had time to celebrate before Neji spotted Miki Yūya and Naruto with his Byakugan.
"Someone's coming after us!"
"How many?"
"Two."
"Just two people."
Kidomaru was about to stop when Neji hurriedly spoke up.
"It's Miki Yūya and Naruto. Strange. How is that villager so fast?"
Hearing Miki Yūya's name, Kidomaru and Tayuya froze. Holy shit, who holds a grudge like that? We were the ones who got beaten up two days ago, and now he's still chasing us?
"Run."
"Don't stop! That guy's strong!"
Before you continue