On the other side...
Swish, swish, swish!
shuriken interlaced within the forest, rebounding and colliding, controlled by Chakra as they shot toward Itachi.
A look of admiration appeared in Itachi's eyes.
Sasuke had truly become stronger!
Compared to a year or two ago, the current Sasuke was like a completely different person.
Unfortunately—
"Forgive me, Sasuke, but you must become even stronger!"
Itachi whispered to himself, then his speed gradually increased.
"Itachi's brain is seriously something else!"
"Sasuke was finally pulled back by the Old Thief, and now Itachi is going to drive him crazy again. Truly a peerless intellect!"
"Itachi, your mom is gone."
Just as the words fell.
Up ahead, Sasuke gritted his teeth and accelerated. Amidst the crisscrossing trees, two or three clones suddenly darted off in other directions.
Itachi frowned slightly.
The moment he gave chase—
Boom!
An explosive tag detonated behind a tree.
The flames of the explosion swallowed Itachi, but in the next second, Itachi reappeared not far ahead of the blast.
That was just an afterimage created by his Body Flicker.
Masahiko wasn't too surprised.
With Itachi's abilities, avoiding such a tactic was effortless.
However.
The fact that Sasuke could exploit Itachi's psychology and use clones to cover the placement of the explosive tag showed that his training in the Anbu hadn't been in vain.
Furthermore.
Up until now, Sasuke had not used his Sharingan directly in front of Itachi.
He had remembered Masahiko's words.
Continuing on, it was the scene where Sasuke fled until he was exhausted and in a near-desperate situation, only to be saved by Masahiko.
After Hiruko went berserk, "Future Naruto" had run off for some reason, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was being held back by Orochimaru.
The others didn't seem to be a match for Hiruko.
This meant—
Currently, among the Konoha Jonin, Masahiko was the only one who could truly handle the situation.
He was just too busy!
Combined with the opening sequence, everyone already had a bad premonition.
Could it be?
Soon, it all unfolded before their eyes.
Although Shikaku managed to stop him for a while, a large amount of his Chakra was also absorbed by Hiruko.
While it bought time and prevented Hiruko from immediately devouring Sasuke, it also made the situation worse.
Even...
Asuma, despite being a Jonin, couldn't even organize an effective attack against Hiruko.
Fortunately, he managed to save Sasuke and Naruto.
Just when they were out of options—
A melodious whistling sound echoed in the background, lingering and graceful.
The spreading whistle instantly froze Hiruko's movements.
In the next second, Hiruko forcibly broke the Genjutsu and dodged to the side.
Blood erupted from his chest!
A shuriken pierced through the Steel Release and emerged from Hiruko's chest.
In the scene, a figure overlapping with Hiruko gradually appeared as the camera shifted.
The next moment, darkness once again enveloped Hiruko.
"666, the Old Thief is so cool!"
"I suspect the Old Thief did this on purpose!"
"He didn't come early or late, but specifically when Old Ma was failing, trampling Asuma into the mud!"
"Old Ma, oh Old Ma, everyone already looked down on you, and yet you're the one who fails the most!"
The bullet chat couldn't be blamed for this—
Comparing the two, Asuma was even outclassed by Masahiko in Wind Release; he was completely washed up.
Soon—
Hiruko went berserk.
Lightning filled the sky, and dark clouds gathered to form a massive vortex. In the center of the vortex, silver-white lightning was almost a brilliant white ball of light, lingering incessantly.
Grand lightning formed a pillar of light at the center.
The true Storm Release: Gale Dragon!
From behind, Uchiha Itachi arrived in a hurry, throwing a shuriken wreathed in flames.
And—
These shuriken, controlled by Chakra Threads, were striking toward Masahiko.
That scene from the opening sequence had finally arrived.
At this moment, everyone realized why the title was "The Death of Masahiko."
Hiruko had clearly gone mad. Knowing he was doomed, he wanted to take a group of people down with him.
A powerful enemy in front, and Itachi attacking from behind.
If he were caught here, even Masahiko would find it hard to survive.
Amidst the silver-white lightning—
"How is there still Wood Release?"
"F*ck, I was saying the Old Thief is so good at escaping, how could he fail to get away!"
"Is the Old Thief really going to die? No!"
"F*ck you Kishimoto, are you serious?"
The only time Wood Release had appeared in the previous arc was during the episode "Danzo's Betrayal" with Yamato, where it was vaguely mentioned to be related to the First Hokage.
For Wood Release to appear on an enemy—
Not to mention Masahiko being stunned, even the audience hadn't expected such a twist at all.
Suddenly entangled, with vines covering the ground below.
Even without knowing the rules of the Ninjutsu, they knew this was a lethal trap created by the enemy.
Everything that happened next—
Some things Masahiko had seen through the perspective of "Future Naruto," and some he hadn't, but it was clear that Shikaku and Asuma truly failed to react in time.
Including the Third Hokage who arrived later.
He probably didn't expect Wood Release to be involved either.
Scene after scene played out.
Iruka, the students—
Until the Konoha Hospital, where Anko was secretly weeping around a corner.
The shots were specifically edited to show the reactions of Masahiko's friends and family, without mentioning a word about why they were at the hospital.
Later on—
"Future Naruto," Kurenai Yuhi, Kakashi.
Various plot points unfolded one after another.
"The Old Thief wouldn't really be dead, right?"
Seeing this, the viewers couldn't help but worry.
But—
"With the emotions being built up like this, I actually think he won't die."
"This character arguably has the most screen time in the first arc, with a stronger presence than even Naruto and the others. Mark my words, if he dies, I'll eat sh*t while doing a handstand!"
"I also think he won't die."
"Maybe the Old Thief is secretly laughing in the shadows!"
The plot was full of sorrow.
In the bullet chat, many were also sad and upset, but many were seriously analyzing, believing Masahiko wouldn't die—
Many even skipped directly to the end and came back to post comments.
The editor clearly knew what they were doing, specifically arranging numerous related scenes without revealing the process of Masahiko's survival.
Only in the final part did they leave a hook regarding Masahiko's "death"—in the Konoha Hospital, Naruto and Sasuke woke up from their comas one after another.
"Sasuke, that day—"
"Idiot, don't go running around everywhere in the future, causing trouble for others for no reason!"
Sasuke said coldly.
Naruto was still dazed, his mind muddled, and for a moment he didn't know what to ask.
A few seconds later, he said, "I'm so hungry. Let's get out of bed and go eat ramen! My treat!"
At that moment, the door to the hospital room opened.
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked in.
"Grandpa Third!"
Naruto was slightly surprised. "Why are you here?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Naruto, then at Sasuke, and after a few seconds of silence, said, "I have something to tell you. Something happened to Masahiko."
"What?"
Naruto was stunned.
Sasuke's breathing almost stopped. He had a vague recollection of what happened that day, and now his mind went blank, and momentarily—
There was a hint of stinging pain!
He covered his eyes.
Endure it!
Be calm!
I can't expose the Sharingan!
Sasuke recalled his teacher's words, suppressing his inner emotions and grief as he asked bitterly, "How is that possible? Sensei is so strong—"
"I can't tell you the specifics, but it's certain that Masahiko didn't die, so... you don't need to be too sad!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.
The expressions of the two appeared so lost and helpless.
Hiruzen Sarutobi forced a smile and said, "You must be starving, right? Shall I take you for ramen?"
"No need, Hokage-sama, the Village needs you."
Sasuke's tone was steady. "We're fine now; we can go by ourselves."
"Alright then."
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned and left.
After he left, Sasuke covered his face with both hands, his right eye changing from a single tomoe to a double tomoe.
The next moment—
"Sasuke! Sasuke!!"
Amidst Naruto's worried cries—
The ending theme song began to play.
"Is the Third lying to the kids?"
"What the f*ck, where are the people who said he didn't die earlier?"
"Classic cliffhanger, open ending. Damn Kishimoto, tell us the rest of the plot quickly!"
However.
Regarding this—
Kishimoto himself didn't know either.
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