Perhaps because they were locked in fierce combat, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha could not make out what their opponent was thinking.
But Shihōin Naraku, watching from a distance, saw it clearly.
In fact, Sasuke was also unconsciously holding back.
Of course, he was doing so because, after fully seizing the chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts, his Susanoo in its thunder god form truly looked capable of killing Naruto.
So Sasuke instead found himself hesitating a little without realizing it.
After all, Naruto truly was his closest friend.
But when he thought of his clansmen, his older brother Uchiha Itachi, and his own plan, he had no choice but to harden his heart and attack Naruto.
Yet when it actually came to striking, he could not bear it.
That was also why Naruto had managed to hold out until now.
His shadow clone was still on the ground gathering and concentrating natural energy, and his own strength had already fallen behind Sasuke's.
Of course, with Naruto's constitution and chakra, although he could not defeat Sasuke, he could still keep from losing while his opponent was unconsciously holding back.
"These two really are interesting." Naraku shook his head.
"But they really are... fighting farther and farther away."
By now, Naraku could already tell that Naruto was doing this deliberately.
He did not want Sasuke to discover the shadow clone gathering natural energy on the ground, so he deliberately drew the battlefield higher into the sky.
The greater the distance, the harder it would naturally be to discover the shadow clone on the ground.
"Hmm? The pace of the battle has picked up. Sasuke seems to have made up his mind." Naraku's eyes lit up as he watched Sasuke send Naruto flying.
That fierce momentum had undergone a qualitative change from