Drunken Life

The orange-gold figure danced through the high sky, the clouds beneath his feet flowing like ocean currents. Naruto in Nine-Tails Mode streaked across the heavens like a meteor.

Meanwhile, Sarada had been abducted by a man clad entirely in white robes. His face, too, was covered by a mask—a pale mask engraved with flying fish and drifting clouds. Yet through the gaps in it, Sarada caught a glimpse of a shocking crimson red!

—Mangekyō Sharingan!!

Sarada was completely dumbfounded. Before setting out, she had looked up information saying that only she and her father remained of the Uchiha clan. Yet Mangekyō Sharingan users were popping up everywhere now, making the eye power her clan had once taken such pride in seem utterly worthless.

The White-Robed Man continued flying through the sky. In his perception, the Nine-Tails had already taken the bait, and his mission was to kill it!

"Tell me, in your understanding, have you ever seen Naruto fight?" the White-Robed Man asked coldly.

Sarada said nothing, turning her head to admire the splendid rivers and mountains below. She had lost her glasses during the flight, so the scenery beneath her was nothing but a blur.

The White-Robed Man did not waste words. He simply threw Sarada from his grasp. At an altitude of ten thousand meters, the rushing air from her fall scraped her skin hot, though the wind at such heights should have been howling cold.

Sensing the danger, Sarada was clearly stunned. Ten thousand meters in the air, she had no way to deal with it. She could not even slow her descent.

Just as Sarada held on to a sliver of hope, thinking the White-Robed Man merely intended to frighten her—

But after falling for so long, no one came to save her. The sight of the ground steadily sharpened before her eyes; even with her nearsightedness, she could vaguely make it out from this height.

It was not water. But even if it had been water, would she not have been smashed to pieces from this height?

The ground was hard earth and stone. The wind tore open her skin, and blood drained away as she drew ever closer to the ground. Her tears had already mixed with blood, becoming droplets of blood that streamed upward.

"Someone... save me!" Sarada's voice echoed in her mind.

The sudden pressure of her plummeting speed made her dizzy. The agony in her body had long since numbed her sense of pain. She felt groggy now, and she really wanted to just fall asleep like this.

There would be no miracle. There could not possibly be one, because she had always remained indifferent. She had disappointed people so thoroughly that no one could even be bothered to save her.

Then, through her hazy awareness, Boruto's annoying voice echoed beside her ears. She swayed her barely intact body. Her father was there too, silent at her side, while Naruto's expression carried a hint of melancholy.

Am I dead? This is so strange... I can't feel my body at all, Sarada thought.

Suddenly, her consciousness cleared somewhat, and her mind was no longer so muddled. Fragments began playing through her head—things she had experienced before, memories of happiness, disappointment, and anger.

Slowly, Sarada began to understand. This scene was exactly like... a life flashing before her eyes! They said that before a person died, their brain would recall the experiences of their life. That was what she was going through now.

In other words, she had been smashed to death alive?... Was that unknown enemy really so cruel?

The string of questions ignited Sarada's desire to live. She had only just met her father. Though she had been deeply disappointed, he was still her father. That was beyond doubt!

Then, a violent wave of pain struck her. It felt as if her body were being brutally torn apart, her bones and blood vessels barely holding together under immense force. Every sensation was so clear, as if this were truly her condition at that very moment.

After rushing desperately, Naruto finally arrived. At the end of the horizon stood the culprit who had abducted Sarada. Sensing Naruto's increasingly close presence, the man instead slowed down, as though deliberately waiting for him.

"Stop!!"

Naruto growled and opened the Nine-Tails' massive jaws, firing a Tailed Beast Ball. A faint sense of foreboding rose within him.

The Tailed Beast Ball tore through the sky, closing in on the White-Robed Man. The other man appeared completely unaware of it, yet the Tailed Beast Ball passed straight through his body.

"Kamui???" Naruto said, shuddering.

First, an Kage-level expert capable of using Wood Release had appeared. Now he had encountered an ability suspected to be Kamui. Could the enemy be a surviving remnant of the Uchiha?

More than ten years ago, Itachi Uchiha had slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan, leaving only his younger brother Sasuke alive. But was it possible that not every clan member had been present at the time? Perhaps one or two fish had slipped through the net.

And now, had those remnants seen the time was ripe and prepared to provoke another great war?!

The other party leisurely stopped. Fine floral patterns were embroidered across his white robe, pale golden radiance flowing over them. Under the sunlight, the colors seemed to come alive, and Chakra faintly surged across the fabric's surface.

"Who are you?!" Naruto demanded. "Where is Sarada?!"

Can't find it by title? Try searching for the author—it may have simply been renamed!

"Your tone doesn't sound like you're asking me a question. Why should I answer?" a cold voice came from beneath the white robe.

Naruto's brows furrowed tightly. By now, he could no longer sense Sarada's location, and his expression darkened further. His azure eyes faintly narrowed into slits, as long-suppressed emotion surfaced on Naruto's face.

"Oh, oh, oh, you're angry already? Lord Hokage really can't keep his cool!" the other man taunted.

"Calm down, Naruto. Don't let the enemy provoke you," Kurama advised at the right moment, helping Naruto settle slightly.

Too many things had happened lately, too many and too complicated. They were so complicated that even Naruto felt overwhelmed. She was Sasuke's child, after all. Naruto did not want anything to happen to her.

"You look very panicked. Don't worry, she'll be fine," the White-Robed Man seemed to reassure him.

Naruto froze, casting him an inquiring look.

The White-Robed Man seemed moved by something and patiently explained, "She's already dead. She won't get hurt again!"

"!!!" Naruto's expression changed drastically. He stared fixedly at the White-Robed Man, wanting to find even the slightest trace of jest in the eyes behind his mask. But Naruto was clearly disappointed. The other man's gaze was utterly calm; aside from mockery, there was no emotion to be seen.

"You bastard... how dare you..."

His fury erupted beyond restraint. Enraged, Naruto instantly went berserk. The Nine-Tails within him fell unusually silent. The last time Kurama had seen Naruto explode with such emotion was perhaps when he learned Orochimaru intended to harm Sasuke.

"Fine. This old man will go mad with you for once!!"

Kurama's Chakra poured forth in a torrent. Naruto instantly entered Sage Fox Mode, and the Nine-Tails' enormous body swelled several times larger once more.

The other man watched Naruto burn Chakra with great interest. A Nine-Tails at this level was already infinitely close to Baryon Mode, wasn't it? he thought.

Yet even when facing the Nine-Tails in such a state, the White-Robed Man was not the least bit flustered. He could not even be bothered to activate Susanoo. He merely stood there quietly, waiting for Naruto to pounce.

Sharp claws swung violently, tearing through the air and faintly sparking flames. This was what happened when speed and power were pushed to their limits! (Think of Luffy's Fire Fist.)

In an instant, Naruto arrived before the White-Robed Man. His fiercely dancing claws and fangs forced apart the air around them, creating an absolute vacuum zone.

The White-Robed Man remained still. Within his indifferent gaze, a scarlet eye rotated, and all of Naruto's attacks passed through his body.

This truly was an ability similar to Kamui!

Seeing that physical attacks were ineffective against the White-Robed Man, Naruto immediately gathered a Tailed Beast Ball and launched it. The moment it fired, Naruto smashed it apart with both palms!

Violent energy trembled and erupted. Even someone in another space would be affected by its spreading force. The air was blasted by the Tailed Beast Ball until it nearly twisted apart, struggling at the edge of collapse.

Yet the White-Robed Man still stood motionless. An emotionless pattern rotated within his eye socket, the Mangekyō's eye power continuously at work as it resisted Naruto's assault without pause.

"Your eye is a Mangekyō Sharingan, isn't it? Without another eye to complement it, excessive use of its Chakra-based eye power will only accelerate your blindness. And I'm confident I can keep attacking until you go blind!!"

Naruto's crazed roar carried on evenly. It seemed he had not completely lost his composure; only his attacks were as savage as those of a raving madman. Such attacks were the most chaotic and terrifying.

Madmen feared no death, especially when they were in the midst of madness. At times like that, a madman wanted only to vent everything he had until his body went limp and he could no longer feel a thing.

The White-Robed Man did not care. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm equally confident I can hold out until you're exhausted. Then it'll be my turn."

Neither spoke again. Only Naruto continued attacking. Just as he had said, he unleashed all manner of fierce techniques without stopping for even a moment—wide-range attacks, explosive attacks, every strike fatal.

Should the White-Robed Man show even the slightest lapse, Naruto's most brutal assault would undoubtedly greet him, instantly ripping his body apart along with those gaudy robes!

Time passed into the afternoon. The sun tilted westward, its twilight radiance dimming as it heralded the coming night. Only the rosy clouds at the horizon flashed with bursts of light from time to time.

Blazing bright, like the sun hanging high in the sky.

"I say, aren't you tired? Take a break, Lord Hokage. It wouldn't be worth it if you wore yourself out," the White-Robed Man said leisurely.

Amid the deafening explosions, the White-Robed Man's voice reached Naruto's ears with perfect clarity. Rather than rising, Naruto's fighting spirit sank. The Nine-Tails' Chakra had long since dimmed, and now only the outline of the Nine-Tails remained.

"Naruto, we may have fallen under some other eye technique. Even Obito's Kamui could only evade for ten minutes at most. You've been fighting all afternoon. Logically, his Chakra should have been exhausted long ago, or his Mangekyō should have shut down under the strain.

Yet his eyes are still bright. Those red pupils are so horrifying they make my skin crawl. His Chakra does not seem to have been depleted much at all this afternoon. There must be some scheme behind this!"

Although Naruto was still holding on, Kurama—among the Tailed Beasts, the one with the greatest amount of Chakra—could feel that after unleashing power all afternoon, he... was spent!!!