"You ambushed me out of nowhere and got me injured—that, fine, whatever.
But why did you steal my opponent? Do you think I'm not capable of handling him?"
Back at the port, Sasuke glared darkly at the two broad, flat blades—shaped almost like giant flounders—in his hands. His voice was sharp, his irritation barely contained as he fired off two questions in a row.
Earlier, after they'd caught up using the chakra armor, Naruto had killed four of the chūnin mid-air with a single Storm Release attack. When they landed, one remaining chūnin charged at them.
Sasuke saw it clearly: the chūnin had infused chakra into his twin blades—the Samehada-style twin swords, the "Flatfish" blades—causing them to enlarge and radiate dozens of razor-like blasts. At the same time, the one-eyed jōnin controlling the sea formed a massive water dragon to swallow them both.
Sasuke had dodged with a Body Flicker and prepared to counterattack—only to see Naruto press a hand onto the sea. In the next second, a two-meter-tall transparent mirror materialized before him. When the enemies' attacks struck it, the mirror instantly reproduced them, firing back identical copies.
The collision erupted, and Sasuke, stunned by the technique—something that could perfectly duplicate enemy ninjutsu and attacks—failed to account for the scattering aftermath. The water technique dissipated easily, but the twin blades' light projectiles collided with their "mirror copies" and ricocheted in all directions like deadly shrapnel.
One of those piercing beams had nailed Sasuke through the shoulder.
Even now, he felt a twinge of fear. Were it not for his Sharingan, he would've taken far worse damage. And he still didn't know whether the projectile that hit him came from the enemy—
or from Naruto's duplicated reflection.
Once he yanked the projectile free, he saw Naruto unleash several arm-thick lightning bolts into the sea. Sasuke ignored the crackling arcs—his Lightning Release affinity kept him safe—but the two enemies were forced to leap out of the water.
Then Naruto fired several kunai at the one-eyed jōnin. When the jōnin swatted one aside—
Naruto flickered out of existence.
And a heartbeat later, the jōnin's severed head dropped into the sea.
The last remaining chūnin froze in disbelief on the water. While Naruto examined the decapitated head, uninterested in finishing things, Sasuke—frustrated—ended the man himself.
Now, Naruto regarded Sasuke's sour expression and spoke calmly.
"To be honest, your injury was unexpected. You handled Maruboshi Kosuke—a veteran—on your own. Yet you almost got overturned by a mediocre chūnin? Tsk, tsk…"
He smirked faintly.
"And for the record, no—I don't doubt your strength. I killed the jōnin first solely because fighting him would've wasted too much time. He would've destroyed something I value."
Naruto made a hand seal.
Two shadow clones appeared.
Naruto lifted the severed head—and the two clones, moving in perfect sync, sliced off the ears with flashing blades.
Sasuke scowled.
"That's your 'valuable' loot? His head?"
Then Naruto tore away the black eyepatch covering the right eye.
Sasuke's pupils widened.
"The Byakugan!
He's the 'Byakugan Hunter'—Ao of Kirigakure! He's on the bounty list!"
Naruto dug out the eye with clinical precision and placed it into a storage vial.
"A shame. Konoha has a two-hundred-million-ryō bounty on his head. I can't go claim it myself, so I'll have to let the bounty station take their cut and settle for the difference."
Sasuke frowned.
"You took the Byakugan. What value is the body to them? And why do you even want a Byakugan?"
Naruto's eyes gleamed.
"A bloodline this rare? Of course I'm going to study it. Just like your Sharingan—I'm curious.
Which is stronger? The Byakugan?
Or the Sharingan?"
Sasuke stiffened. Something about Naruto's expression made him uneasy.
"I'll prove it to you," he said coldly.
Naruto didn't argue. He simply stored the Byakugan and sealed Ao's head along with the other bodies into a scroll.
"I'm heading to the bounty station. A clone will take you back to the training ground."
Sasuke raised the twin blades.
"And these? What do I do with them?"
"They're yours.
And they're not just any blades—they're one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist, the Kiba Twinsword: Hiramekarei."
Naruto's tone shifted oddly.
"By the way, congratulations. The man you killed was no ordinary chūnin.
If he hadn't died today… he was destined to become the Sixth Mizukage."
Sasuke twitched.
"These weird blades have power, sure. But that guy becoming Mizukage? Are you mocking me?"
Naruto shrugged.
"Believe it or don't. Your choice."
With that, he activated Flying Thunder God and vanished.
Sasuke silently sealed the blades into a scroll. Then he glanced at the two clones.
"…Which one of you is taking me?"
Konoha Village
Afternoon Taijutsu class at the Academy.
Shikamaru watched Hinata walk onto the training mat and murmured beside Naruto:
"Hey, Naruto. Dad told me Hinata will be teamed with Kiba and Shino—forming a tracking-specialist squad. Their instructor will be Kurenai-sensei."
Naruto waved casually toward Hinata.
"Oh? Really?"
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.
"You knew already, didn't you?"
Naruto smiled faintly.
"What makes you think that?"
Shikamaru sighed.
"Your tone. Your face. And…"
Naruto turned his head, meeting Shikamaru's gaze directly.
"And?"
Shikamaru paused, then exhaled.
"Nothing. I just hope… you won't misunderstand me or Chōji."
Naruto's smile deepened, still mild but carrying an edge.
"Likewise, Shikamaru. I hope you two won't end up misunderstanding me.
After all…
I take our friendship very seriously."
Shikamaru froze for a moment. He opened his mouth to respond—but Naruto had already walked over to greet Hinata as she stepped off the mat.
At the Same Time — Konoha Intelligence Division
A masked ANBU led the Third Hokage to the newly rebuilt Intelligence Department.
Inside, Sarutobi stared at the open morgue container.
"Is this truly Kirigakure's jōnin Ao? And the Byakugan really has been removed…"
A forensic examiner stepped forward.
"Yes. The bounty station reported the Byakugan missing when the body was delivered. The cranial nerves were also completely destroyed."
Sarutobi's expression hardened.
"…Exactly the same as with Maruboshi Kosuke?"
The examiner nodded.
Sarutobi turned to the ANBU beside him.
"What did the bounty station report?"
"At around ten this morning, a masked individual came to deliver the corpse.
This is the scroll they sent with it."
Sarutobi unrolled it—and his frown deepened.
Now he wasn't even sure whether he should send the Chūnin Exam invitation to Kirigakure this year.
Though weakened, the Mist Village remained one of the Five Great Nations. If they received the invitation right after a Mist jōnin was found dead—his Byakugan stolen—Kirigakure might mistakenly interpret Konoha's intentions as provocation.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on P@treon → patreon.com/FinalArcHero789
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/FinalArcHero789