Encounter

Just as Yamato and Shino reached the bushes, a figure rushed out—it was Sasuke, who had sensed Orochimaru's presence and was chasing after them.

Upon seeing who was approaching, Yamato and Shino secretly became wary.

"Sasuke..." Naruto was about to leave with Hinata when Sasuke suddenly appeared, and he couldn't help but call out.

Sasuke glanced around at everyone, paused briefly on Naruto, and then said, "Where's Orochimaru? I sensed Orochimaru's presence just now."

"Sasuke, did you really kill Orochimaru?" Naruto quickly walked up to Sasuke and asked.

Sasuke seemed to have no intention of ignoring Naruto and spoke again, "I'll say it one more time, where is Orochimaru?"

"Sasuke..." Naruto stepped forward, wanting to say something.

Suddenly, Naruto saw a flash of lightning before his eyes, Sasuke's right hand produced a lightning blade that slashed a black mark on the ground.

"Don't go any further," Sasuke said coldly. "Tell me, why is Orochimaru's aura here?"

"Sasuke..." Naruto froze, his initial excitement at seeing Sasuke vanishing.

At this moment, Yamato spoke up, "Just now, Kabuto Yakushi appeared. He seems to have fused with Orochimaru's power." As he spoke, Yamato placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder to prevent Naruto from acting too impulsively.

"Kabuto Yakushi?" Sasuke muttered to himself, "I've always disliked this guy, but I never expected him to cause me so much trouble. Oh well, if I can kill Orochimaru this time, I can kill him again." With that, Sasuke ignored Naruto and the others and prepared to leave.

"Sasuke, Orochimaru is dead. Aren't you coming back?" Seeing Sasuke trying to leave, Naruto broke free from Yamato's hand and stood in front of Sasuke.

Yamato and Shino exchanged a glance, then the two of them flanked Sasuke from the left and right.

Sasuke looked at Naruto in front of him, his face expressionless, and said coldly, "Get out of the way."

"Sasuke..." Naruto wasn't going to give up. "I, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Shikamaru, Neji, Rock Lee... we all miss you, Sasuke. Come back with me."

"Get out of the way, or I'll make my move." With that, Sasuke placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

"Sasuke, even if it means being tied up, I'll bring you back today," Naruto said firmly.

"Oh, let me see how much you've improved lately, Naruto?" Sasuke slowly drew his sword from his waist and pointed it at Naruto.

Suddenly, a wooden slat shot out from the ground, twisting and turning, heading straight for Sasuke. In the blink of an eye, a flash of light appeared in Sasuke, and the wooden slat snapped into more than a dozen pieces, falling to the ground.

"Attack!" Yamato shouted. The wooden attack earlier was Yamato's Wood Release. Seeing that Sasuke was about to make a move, Yamato took the initiative and struck first, but unfortunately, he failed to bind Sasuke.

As Yamato" Attack!", his hands quickly Hand Seals and pressed them to the ground. Countless wooden planks shot into the sky, twisting and contorting, and rushed towards Sasuke.

At the same time, the others also made their moves. Hinata activated her Byakugan, and Shino was covered in countless black parasites. Naruto used the Shadow Clone Technique to summon four Shadow Clones.

Sasuke watched Naruto and his companions' attack, a slight smirk playing on his lips. Then, Sasuke moved with lightning speed, becoming a blur of afterimages, dodging Yamato's wooden spikes.

In the next instant, he appeared in front of Naruto, his right hand holding a sword pointing diagonally to the ground, his left hand crackling with lightning, and he attacked Naruto.

Bang bang bang! Naruto's four Shadow Clone vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto suddenly burst out of the smoke and kicked Sasuke with all his might.

With a thud, Sasuke raised his left hand just in time, firmly blocking Naruto's kick. Immediately afterwards, Sasuke kicked Naruto several steps back.

At that moment, Shino's parasites rushed in front of Sasuke and swarmed Sasuke.

Suddenly, lightning crackled around Sasuke, and countless parasites fell from the sky. In no time, Sasuke's feet were covered with a dense mass of insect corpses.

At that moment, Hinata rushed in front of Sasuke and unleashed the "Eight Trigrams: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms," Hinata hands flashing like afterimages as she struck at Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated rapidly, and he dodged repeatedly before quickly retreating.

In the blink of an eye, countless hard wooden planks emerged from the ground, quickly forming a cage that Sasuke inside.

"Lightning Release: Chidori!" Lightning crackled in Sasuke, emitting a noisy sound like the chirping of Chidori. In the next instant, it slammed into the cage, and with a bang, a large hole was torn open in the cage. Sasuke Earth Flow out.

"Sasuke..." Naruto shouted, gripping the Rasengan in his right hand and aiming it at Sasuke.

Sasuke reached out with his left hand, grabbed Naruto's wrist, then turned to the left and pulled him, causing Naruto's Rasengan to slam into the cage next to him.

With a loud bang, the cage shattered completely.

Sasuke pulled hard, causing Naruto to stumble. Naruto staggered several steps before regaining his balance and stopping.

Sasuke's lips curled up, seemingly excited at how easily Naruto's attack had been neutralized. He twirled his sword in his right hand and slashed at Naruto in front of him.

Just then, a cloud of insects drifted in and blocked Naruto 'Sasuke attack from above.

Sasuke frowned, his left hand crackling with lightning, and struck the insect cloud, obliterating it and leaving only a pile of insect corpses behind.

Naruto quickly Hand Seals, using the "Shadow Clone Technique," creating four Naruto that rushed in front of Sasuke.

Taking advantage of Sasuke's momentary lapse in attention, four Naruto shadow clones kicked Sasuke into the air. The remaining Naruto leaped high into the air and kicked Sasuke down below.

Sasuke quickly adjusted his body in mid-air and delivered a kick as well, causing the two to collide violently. After a moment, Sasuke, being on the lower ground, was slightly at a disadvantage and crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Then, Naruto landed on the ground.

The next instant, Sasuke burst out of the dust and threw a punch at Naruto's stomach. Naruto held his left hand in front of him and grabbed Sasuke's incoming fist.

At the same time, he clenched his right fist and punched Sasuke's head with force. In the blink of an eye, Naruto swiftly dodged Sasuke's punch with the right side of his head, and then kicked out with his right hand. Naruto immediately raised his knee to block the kick.

Bang, bang, bang! In that instant, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged several blows, but neither could gain the upper hand. Both chose to retreat simultaneously, standing still and staring intently at each other.

At that moment, Yamato and Shino attacked simultaneously. Countless wooden planks shot out from the ground, densely packed, and rapidly crawled towards Sasuke. Above, a large cloud of insects flew densely towards Sasuke.

Sasuke frowned, his hands quickly Hand Seals. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Sasuke opened his mouth to inhale, then exhaled a huge fireball.

The fireball quickly engulfed the swarm of insects, then slammed into the wooden planks on the ground. With a deafening roar, a pillar of fire shot into the sky, creating a large crater in the ground.

Sasuke looked at Yamato, Shino, and Hinata in front of him, quickly Hand Seals, and shouted "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" He opened his mouth, inhaled, and suddenly exhaled a large number of fireballs, shooting them towards the group.

With a series of crashes, after Yamato and the other two dodged, the fireball slammed directly into the forest ahead, snapping many giant trees in half and sending plumes of dust billowing into the sky.

At that moment, Naruto quickly Hand Seals and used "Summoning Technique," summoning Gamakichi and Gamatatsu with a bang.

Sasuke had already noticed Naruto's actions and turned to look at Naruto.

Naruto shouted and used a combination Ninjutsu with Gamatatsu. A huge water cannon roared and charged towards Sasuke.

Sasuke flung his hands out, sending out two enormous Shuriken connected by steel wires. They quickly wrapped around the top of a giant tree, and then with a sharp pull, he flew upwards, avoiding Naruto's attack.

With a deafening roar, the massive water cannon blasted a huge passage in front of them, leaving behind a trail of debris and splinters of wood.

Sasuke stood on a branch of the giant tree, looking down at Naruto. Then, with a sudden flick of his wrists, two enormous Shuriken detached from the tree trunk and hurtled towards Naruto below.

Clang! Naruto sidestepped a Shuriken, then gripped Kunai with both hands to block another Shuriken.

Sasuke moved his hands slightly, and with a swift motion, the two Shuriken changed direction.

"Damn it!" Naruto leaned back, dodging a giant Shuriken, but the other Shuriken didn't attack Naruto. Instead, it shot quickly towards the Gamatatsu next to Naruto.

The Gamatatsu was still a little dazed, watching helplessly as the Shuriken came right in front of him.

"Watch out!" Gamakichi spotted the incoming Shuriken, leaned forward, and knocked the Gamatatsu aside.

With a whoosh, the Shuriken sliced through Gamakichi's body, and blood splattered everywhere.

"Gamakichi..." Naruto shouted anxiously when he saw Gamakichi being hit by Shuriken.