Konohagakure No Sato :
Training Ground No. 3 :
Just outside the borders of Training Ground 3—which had already been completely transformed into a Misty Dangerous battlefield—stood a loose, tense circle of Konoha shinobi.
They had surrounded the perimeter the moment the emergency signal flare exploded over the canopy, but due to the suddenness of the attack, their numbers were still thin , Hardly 10 or 20 .
Not only were they few in number, but the blockade consisted entirely of Chunin and Special Jonin. There wasn't a single Jonin on site.
The village's high-ranking forces were currently scattered and occupied:
Some stationed at the borders, some guarding nobles, others managing core village organizations, and the rest deployed at the Hokage Tower. Even though they had seen the flare, crossing the entire village from the center to the outskirts took time.
Especially since some Important posts couldn't simply be abandoned in a panic.
But there was another reason for the lack of lower-ranked interference. The flare that had been fired was a highly specialized distress signal.
It meant a Jinchuriki was under attack.
Because the village brass was fully aware of Naruto's capabilities—specifically his basic mastery over the Flying Thunder God jutsu—the standing orders were Different from normal Protocol:
Only Jonin-level shinobi were authorized to act as reinforcements. Sending anyone weaker into a fight involving a teleporting Jinchuriki and S-rank threats was practically a death sentence and also a dead weight .
Now, nearly ten minutes after the initial ambush, the battlefield finally welcomed its first true reinforcement squad.
A team of eleven shinobi blurred through the trees, moving seamlessly at the baseline speed of elite Jonin. Eight of them wore the standard Black Overalls and porcelain masks of the ANBU Black Ops.
The other three needed no masks.
Taking the right flank was the Copy Ninja of the Leaf. Though he had recently lost his Sharingan, he had already taken up his father's legendary chakra blade, the White Fang.
Hatake Kakashi.
Taking the left flank was Konoha's Sublime Green Beast and Kakashi's eternal rival, the master of the Eight Inner Gates.
Might Guy.
And leading them in the center was the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, one of the Legendary Sannin.
Jiraiya.
All three men wore serious expressions. They understood exactly what that specific flare meant since they were all present in HOkage Tower with Tsuande as the report came in .
Uzumaki Naruto was under attack.
Originally, this squad had consisted of twelve members. They were the exact same escort unit that had been accompanying Hokage Tsunade just moments ago—right up until the moment Naruto abruptly reverse-summoned her away.
The elite squad breached the outer perimeter of Training Ground 3, fully prepared to plunge into the Misty meat grinder.
But just as they crossed the tree line—
RUMBLE..
RUMBLE...
RUMBLE!
The earth violently shuddered. Terrifyingly intense chakra fluctuations completely overwhelmed the atmosphere of the training ground.
Sensing the sheer scale of the energy, the squad moved in absolute silence. They bounded up the trunks of the highest trees, coming to a halt atop a ten-meter canopy to survey the battlefield.
They arrived just in time to witness a colossal, beast-like Aarth Guardian Wall taking shape, tearing out of the ground to block out the sky.
"What the...?"
"Is that a jutsu?!"
"...Just how much chakra is needed for that?!"
"The shape manipulation is completely off the charts..."
" Just what kind of battle is happening Out there ?? "
While the ANBU stared at the architectural monstrosity in pure bewilderment, Kakashi's eyes locked onto a different detail.
"...It's a defensive Earth jutsu. And...... is that a tidal wave confronting it ?"
Hearing Kakashi, the rest of the squad snapped their heads forward. Crashing relentlessly against the titanic earthen wall was a devastating, twelve-to-eighteen-meter-tall tsunami of roaring water.
Seeing the sheer, Collosal might of both ninjutsu, every veteran in the trees instantly understood the situation. This was a head-on confrontation between two absolute monsters, both capable of dishing out S-rank jutsu.
Taking in the destruction, Jiraiya barked a sharp command. ".....Hyuga!"
"Yes!" The ANBU operative wearing the Hyuga clan's signature pale eyes immediately stepped forward. Veins bulged around his temples as he activated his Byakugan, his vision piercing through the dense foliage, the massive earth wall, and the raging waters.
Within seconds, the Hyuga gave his rapid-fire assessment.
".....The Earth jutsu is being used by Uzumaki Naruto. He seems to be confronting... a shark-type man? The man is wearing a rogue Mist village forehead protector... and he is injured."
"...Naruto is injured?!" Kakashi interjected sharply, his hand instinctively tightening around the hilt of the White Fang.
The rest of the squad tensed, waiting for the diagnosis.
"No," the Hyuga corrected instantly. "Uzumaki Naruto is completely uninjured. But the rogue is heavily wounded. They are currently positioned further inside the training ground, on the left flank."
A wave of shock rippled through the squad. Even Jiraiya couldn't hide his disbelief.
The sheer scale of the jutsu they were witnessing meant the enemy was undeniably an elite, maybe even Kage-caliber shinobi.
And yet, Naruto wasn't just confronting this monster—he had alread heavily injured him ?
(...Has Naruto really grown this much already?)
While Jiraiya knew Naruto was phenomenally strong for his age, and had even managed to repel someone like Orochimaru, he never imagined it would be to this degree.
According to the official reports and Naruto's psychological profile, the boy was still a rookie. A Genin. A genius with monstrous chakra and intellect, yes, but one who supposedly lacked true, life-or-death combat experience and highly decisive, lethal jutsu.
(.....To possess this much overwhelming strength at just twelve years old......maybe .,...... Is he really the Child of Prophecy?)
Suddenly, another ANBU operative spoke up, breaking Jiraiya's train of thought.
"What about Hokage-sama?"
Jiraiya and the others turned back to the sensor.
"...I can't sense Hokage-sama," the Hyuga reported, his brow furrowing. "Another sector of the training ground is completely blanketed in a highly dense mist and soot smoke. My vision is being obstructed."
Jiraiya blinked, processing the tactical board in his mind. He made a snap decision.
(.........Tsuande can handle herself ...The priority is still ....)
"...Lead us to Naruto's location. ASAP."
"Yes, sir!"
With the Hyuga taking point, the squad blurred forward, tearing through the canopy toward Naruto's coordinates.
Thanks to Naruto collapsing his own Earth Wall, the terrain between them and Kisame was now completely cleared of obstructions, unlike the heavily obscured Misty smoke zone where Tsunade and Itachi were fighting.
As they closed the distance, a bead of sweat rolled down the Hyuga's cheek behind his mask. He was giving a breathless play-by-play of the fight unfolding ahead—the terrifying vacuum spheres, the colossal S-rank Fire Release, and a series of lethal, high-speed maneuvers.
And hearing all this Jiraiya and others were also amazed , epsecially since Naruto seems to be already on the verge of cocluding the fight .
For veteran Jonins utilizing the Body Flicker technique, traversing the training ground was a matter of seconds. In the blink of an eye, the rescue squad arrived at the edge of the clearing.
(.....finally )
Perched silently in the trees, From distance , Jiraiya, Kakashi, Guy, and the ANBU watched as Naruto finally subdued his opponent, his shadow clone slapping a Chakra Imprisonment Seal directly onto the rogue ninja's neck.
(.......to capture an Elite Jonin Alive ..!! )
Listening to the Hyuga's play-by-play, and now finally seeing the S-rank Akatsuki monster brought to his knees and successfully captured, a deep, profound sense of pride swelled within Jiraiya, Kakashi, and the others.
But a split second later, that pride shattered into absolute, horrifying disbelief.
Without a single change in his expression, Naruto calmly summoned a razor-sharp, A-rank chakra disc. And with a completely flat, emotionless face, the twelve-year-old boy butchered the surrendered, paralyzed enemy, slicing him cleanly in half.
(...what ??? ) Jiraiya
( .......Naruto ...why /? ) Kkakashi
(.......That doesn't look Youthful at all , naruto kun ) GUy
( Well Damn ) X8 ANBU
The scene was so jarring, so brutally out of character for the loud, knuckle-headed kid they thought they knew, that it paralyzed the entire squad. Jiraiya, Kakashi, Guy, and the ANBU stood frozen with wide, unblinking eyes as the severed halves of the S-rank Mist rogue hit the dirt, his intestines spilling onto the grass.
Jiraiya was the first to break out of the stupor. His face hardened into stone.
"...Let's go."
The squad dropped from the canopy, landing heavily in the clearing just as Naruto stood over the corpse.
But before anyone could speak, the ground directly beneath Kisame's bloody torso violently tore open. Sickly, pale white arms shot out from the dirt, desperately wrapping around the dead man's body to drag it under.
Before any of the veterans could even react to the ambush, the earth shattered a second time.
A barrage of glowing, ethereal Golden Chains erupted from the soil, violently violently whipping through the air to tightly bind the pale white creature and the corpse together.
The rescue squad watched in absolute bewilderment as a dusty, mud-covered Naruto dragged himself out of the ground. The legendary Adamantine sealing chains extended directly from the Uzumaki's back, pinning his prey down.
And on the boy's dirt-streaked face was a look of terrifying, absolute focus, paired with a wild, crazed smile.
Looking into those sharp blue eyes, the Sannin Jiraiya was the first to fall into a heavy trance as ghosts of the past violently surfaced.
(...The same eyes as Minato... and the exact same gaze, too.)
But that nostalgic trance swiftly curdled into bitter unease as the Sannin took in the rest of the boy's expression. He couldn't ignore the crazed, breathless smile plastered across Naruto's face.
For Jiraiya, watching a twelve-year-old brutally butcher a surrendered, downed enemy was deeply overwhelming. It directly opposed his fundamental philosophy of peace and understanding.
But as his mind raced to make sense of the brutal scene, Jiraiya quickly rationalized it.
(...Maybe it's the Kyuubi's chakra's fault.)
Jiraiya thought silently, piecing together a logical excuse. Naruto was only twelve, yet he was forced to fight an S-rank monster on a life-or-death battlefield. It made sense that the extreme stress would cause his emotions to destabilize, allowing the corrupting influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra to bleed into his psyche and alter his behavior.
(....Yes, that's right. That has to be what happened. Kushina used to lose control from time to time because of the Kyuubi's chakra, too.)
Watching Naruto pull himself out of the earth, his predatory gaze still locked onto the pale white creature, Jiraiya's thoughts deepened. He connected Naruto's ruthless state, his overwhelming combat prowess, and the Kyuubi's psychological effects, tying it all back to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy.
(...No wonder the Great Sage said the Child of Fate would need my teachings and direction.)
Having thoroughly convinced himself of his own logic, Jiraiya opened his mouth to break the heavy silence.
*BOOOM!*
An earth-shattering explosion violently rattled the forest, detonating from the far right side of the training ground. Everyone in the clearing instantly snapped their heads toward the source of the blast.
"What's going on over there?" Kakashi demanded, his singular eye narrowing.
Naruto spoke up first, his voice deadpan. "...That's Tsunade-nee confronting Uchiha Itachi."
The atmosphere instantly skyrocketed in tension. Jiraiya didn't hesitate, barking out an immediate command.
"Let's go!!"
The squad blurred into motion, bounding through the trees with Jiraiya taking point. Naruto moved to follow them, but with Kisame's severed torso and the bound White Zetsu dragging heavily behind him in his golden chains, his speed was noticeably hindered.
(.....chakra less than 10% with stamina.....and physical fatigue is also piling up after all the buffs have ended )
Naruto's tried to catch his breath while fighting the overwhelming fatigues from his body as his speed slowed even further .
(.....focus , focus .....don't lose chains , don't lose chains ) Naruto thought while clenching his teeth as slowly the fatigue hit as started losing even more speed .
Noticing the delay, Kakashi slowed his pace, dropping back from the vanguard.
"You guys go ahead. I'll stay with Naruto."
"Hm," Jiraiya grunted in acknowledgment, leading the ANBU ahead as he also noticed naruto's condition .
Naruto watched Kakashi drop down to his side as the others disappeared into the canopy toward Tsunade's location. Welcoming the escort, Naruto slowed his pace further, deliberately regulating his breathing to recover his depleted stamina.
"....You okay, Naruto?" Kakashi asked softly, glancing at his student.
Naruto looked back at the Jonin and gave a small nod. "...I'm okay. Just... a little tired."
Kakashi nodded. He threw a lingering glance at the halved corpse and the bizarre, pale hostage suspended by the golden chains behind Naruto. Deciding to save his questions for later, the Copy Ninja remained silent, matching the boy's pace as they moved toward the Hokage.
As they ran, Naruto focused entirely on his breathing technique, his Kagura's Mind Eye firmly locked onto the white creature trapped in his chakra chains.
(......To think a simple gamble would hit the jackpot like this.)
From the very beginning, Naruto's absolute focus had been on killing Kisame. When engaging an S-rank powerhouse with monstrous chakra reserves and a blade like Samehada, attempting to capture a slippery spy like White Zetsu mid-combat was suicide.
Afterall
One couldn't afford to lose focus for even a microsecond in a high-level deathmatch.
But the moment Kisame was critically injured by his opening move, Naruto had rapidly shifted gears. He decided to lay a trap for the White Zetsu he suspected was watching.
The trap itself had been full of glaring loopholes.
For it to work, White Zetsu actually had to be present on the battlefield.
And even if he was present, he had to be actively hovering near Naruto and Kisame.
But simply knowing there was fish in the lake didn't guarantee they would bite the hook.
For a cautious creature like Zetsu to bite, the bait had to be irresistible.
That was exactly why Naruto had chosen to ruthlessly execute Kisame rather than capture him.
Whether it was White Zetsu, Obito, or Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows, rescuing a living, breathing Kisame from a squad of Konoha shinobi or even from Prison would have been child's play for them.
To force the spy's hand, Naruto had to turn Kisame into a fleeting, high-value target. He killed the Mist rogue to use his corpse—specifically his head, packed with Akatsuki intel—as the ultimate bait.
And the result was dangling right behind him. Mayfly technique or not, once ensnared by the unique Adamantine Sealing Chains—the signature Uzumaki jutsu capable of chaining down the Nine-Tails itself—White Zetsu was completely and utterly paralyzed.
Yet, despite catching his prey, Naruto's mind was running on overdrive. He remained on high alert.
Why?
(...This would be the best time to rescue Zetsu isn't it ........ Are you here... Uchiha Obito?)
Naruto had slowed down not just because he was exhausted, but because he was deliberately testing the waters, waiting to see if Obito would warp in to save his crucial intelligence asset.
Within moments, Naruto and Kakashi crossed into a heavily misted clearing. They found Tsunade standing amidst the wreckage, speaking rapidly with Jiraiya and the ANBU squad.
Approaching the two Sannin, Naruto finally let out a quiet sigh of relief. Even Obito wasn't arrogant enough to hastily mess with a lineup of this caliber.
(Obito isn't here, it seems........ and Itachi is gone, too.)
Confirming the absence of both Uchiha, Naruto's eyes sharpened. Obito not showing up to rescue Zetsu was genuinely surprising, but Itachi's retreat was completely expected.
(.......Well, with Itachi's specific skillset and other issues, falling back from a full Konoha response force was the only logical move.)
Naruto and Kakashi walked over to join the group. As they approached, Tsunade and Jiraiya stopped talking, their eyes immediately locking onto the gruesome cargo suspended by Naruto's glowing chains.
"...What are these?" Tsunade asked, her brows furrowing deeply.
"The half-body one is the S-rank rogue who attacked me alongside Itachi," Naruto replied casually.
"...As for the other one? No idea. The dude just popped out of the ground to snatch the rogue's body, so I captured him."
Tsunade's scowl deepened. While she was incredibly relieved that an S-rank threat like Kisame was dead, this also meant Naruto had directly engaged the enemy, blatantly ignoring her orders to fall back.
However, looking at the completely unharmed blonde, Tsunade swallowed her lecture.
( Forget It ......The kid had just single-handedly killed an elite Jonin .....he dserves praise first and then....)
Following her gaze, the rest of the squad turned their attention to the pale white man. But before anyone could analyze the prisoner, the Hyuga ANBU's flabbergasted voice suddenly shattered the quiet.
"...WHAT THE HELL?!"
Everyone snapped their heads toward the sensor, startled by the violently uncharacteristic outburst.
"What is going on?!" Tsunade demanded, annoyed by the dramatic reaction from her elite guard.
The Hyuga took a moment to gather his scrambled thoughts, his pale eyes wide behind his mask.
"Hokage-sama....... this white man... this creature... it doesn't have a skeletal structure!"
"...WHAT?!"
"Haaaa?!"
"What did he just say?"
" ...Roll your eyes again Man "
It wasn't just Tsunade. Jiraiya, Kakashi, and the rest of the squad stared at the Hyuga in complete bewilderment. But the sensor still wasn't done.
"It's not just the skeletal structure! The man.... he doesn't have a heart! No vital organs, no blood flow...... he doesn't have anything...!.. "
Tsunade was stunned stiff. Recovering quickly, she took astep forward, her right hand flaring to life with a brilliant, emerald-green medical chakra. She pressed her palm firmly against the white creature's chest.
Jiraiya, Kakashi, Naruto, the ANBU, and even a very confused Might Guy stood in tense silence, waiting for the Hokage's expert diagnosis.
Even the hot-blooded Guy understood that bones, blood, and a heart were fundamental requirements for burning the flames of youth.
A moment later, Tsunade pulled her hand back, her face a mask of utter bewilderment.
"...What the hell? This is completely unscientific."
Despite declaring it impossible, Tsunade stubbornly pressed her glowing hands over the creature's body again, running a secondary diagnostic sweep. Naruto simply held the leash of his chakra chains, watching his Tsunade-nee's face contort in absolute disbelief.
The surrounding Jonin finally realized that what the Byakugan had seen was the undeniable truth. The Hokage was simply being stubborn, desperately trying to find a biological baseline that didn't exist.
" It seems it really doesn't have any bones or blood ?? "
" But then how does it stand or move ?? "
" ....withour organs , what does it eat or digests for energy "
" .......oy hYuga "
" What ? "
" does it ....Not even have and ...ASsHOLE ?? '
"...."
"...."
Finding no logical conclusion, Tsunade turned to the only person who had actually caught the anomaly.
"...What is this thing, kiddo?"
Naruto nodded , feeding them a tailored 'explanation'
"While I was confronting the Mist rogue, I felt a prying gaze hovering around me. It felt like someone was watching my every move.... but despite sweeping the area with Kagura's Mind Eye, I failed to detect a single trace of chakra."
"not even Kagura's mind eye ?? .......Then how did you capture it?" Tsunade pressed.
"An unseen enemy lurking while I fought two S-rank rogues..." Naruto said, his tone deadpan. "Even though I couldn't sense him, I decided to trust my gut. I killed the Mist rogue and deliberately used his body as bait to draw the watcher out. And.... I captured this thing."
Hearing Naruto's highly short version of the battle, the veteran shinobi exchanged complicated glances. Kakashi tilted his head in inquiry
"Didn't you consider what would happen if the white creature didn't take the bait? Taking the rogue alive would have been much better for gathering concrete information."
"Then it wouldn't have mattered, I guess ......we have Yamanaka ...and they were enemies anyway ," Naruto replied with a careless shrug.
At this, Jiraiya finally intervened, his face dark with moral conflict.
"But that man had already surrendered. Don't you feel anything, killing a downed, helpless & surrendered enemy..... just for the sake of confirming a 'gut feeling'?"
Naruto looked at Jiraiya with an expression of genuine, mild amusement, as if the Sannin had just asked a spectacularly stupid question. Tsunade sighed heavily in her mind, while the ANBU operatives awkwardly shifted their weight.
Naruto answered the Toad Sage without missing a beat. "...I preserved the rogue's head entirely intact so the Yamanaka clan can extract his memories. As for everything else? While fighting an S-rank monster with an invisible enemy breathing down my neck... I didn't have the luxury of thinking about 'feelings' or holding back."
Naruto shrugged again, his voice completely indifferent.
"...BUT—" Jiraiya started, his voice raising.
"ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!"
Tsunade's voice cracked like a whip, instantly shutting down the escalating conversation heading to a stupid clash.
Seeing both of them close their mouths, the Fifth Hokage took thecommand of the battlefield.
"Naruto."
"Yes?"
"Send this white thing directly to the Sealing Division."
"...Alright."
Tsunade turned her sharp gaze to her Jonins
"Kakashi, Guy. Escort Naruto to the Sealing Division, then take the rogue's head straight to the Intelligence Division for extraction. Tell Inoichi he is personally in charge of this."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
"Hawk!"
"Hokage-sama!" The Hyuga ANBU snapped to attention.
"Arrange for the Nara clan head and the elders to convene for a strategy meeting in exactly one hour. Also, contact command to lift the village-wide threat warning."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
"Jiraiya and the rest of the guard, you're with me. We're heading to the Hokage Office. And Naruto—"
"...What? Is there something else?" Naruto stopped in his tracks as he asked with a tired voice
"I want a full, report of the confrontation on my desk in one hour. Everything."
Naruto groaned, his face scrunching up. "Urgh... How about I just send a Shadow Clone ?"
Tsunade smirked. "GOOD."
Having issued her orders, Tsunade turned on her heel to leave. As she did, she shot her hand out and ruthlessly grabbed Jiraiya by the collar, right as he tried to linger behind Naruto for another lecture.
"And you are coming with me," she growled.
"...Bu—"
"Just shut up. This is not the time for your moral lectures and education. Save it for later."
"...Alright," Jiraiya muttered, instantly deflating.
Tsunade forcefully dragged the Toad Sage away toward the Hokage Tower, shaking her head in deep exasperation.
(....The Toads and their damn delusions. Save me, Kami.)
NAruto watched as Tsuanade nee took the toad to Hokage office , fully knowing Jiraiya's nonsense inside out .
" Do you need to take rest , Naruto "
Te Blonde's thoughts break as he heard his Sensei's voice
" Naa , Let's go and get this over with "
" Um , and after that , Let's visit hospital too"
" ....eh , But I am not injured , Sensei "
" Just in case , come on Let's go ..!! "
" *Haaaa* "
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Author's Notes :
A conclusion of the arc , I guess
Why didn't Naruto killed zetsu too ??
just wait patiently .
the last 2 or 3 months have been way too hectic , like one thing after another .
let me try to update regularly though I don't think after all this time my words hold any weight .
SIGH
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