Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 52 There's No Way to Escape

The mission in the Land of Waves was over, and Zabuza, as promised, paid them their commission. Kakashi knew perfectly well that this was hush money in a sense, so he could continue living as Tori. Rogue ninja from various countries were indeed targets for ninjas, but as a Konoha resident, he had no reason to offend a sizable shipping magnate just to clean house for Kirigakure. To sway a daimyo's decision was no small feat, especially not that Kinrin-sama… possessing chakra even the Sharingan couldn't see through; he was no ordinary person.

Here we must mention the reason why Naruto dared to face two of the three great dojutsu.

It's well known that the Senju and Uchiha clans were mortal enemies. Don't underestimate the significance of such a long-standing feud; it directly resulted in the Senju possessing numerous genjutsu techniques specifically targeting the Sharingan, and incidentally, the Byakugan as well. Since the core members of "Hikaru" were mostly reanimated, they needed to maintain genjutsu constantly without being detected. Therefore, Tobirama combined the advantages of Senju-inherited genjutsu and recruited the strongest Uchiha genjutsu masters for research, finally creating a transformation genjutsu with minimal energy consumption, easy maintenance, and impervious to the Sharingan. What the Sharingan can't see through, the Byakugan also largely can't—this is based on the Uchiha clan's accumulated experience.

So, Naruto appeared before everyone, looking quite dashing in his disguise. To prevent sensory-type ninjas from detecting anything amiss, he maintained Sage Mode at all times, ensuring the clone's chakra wasn't entirely identical to his original. Thus, despite the Sharingan, Byakugan, and sensory-type ninjas all being present, they couldn't discern any connection between the golden wheel and Naruto. This experiment essentially confirmed that existing eye techniques couldn't see through this mysterious transformation jutsu.

Of course, for Naruto and "Hui", the gains from this trip were far more than that.

The resolution of the Land of Waves incident vividly demonstrated the power dynamics beyond the battlefield, proving that the Daimyo of the Land of Water would not choose war if the benefits could be obtained through negotiation. The Land of Earth, on the other hand, was relatively more assertive; if they lost a battle, they would send reinforcements, and when negotiating to acquire land deeds from smaller countries, they would demand exorbitant sums. However, Hui wouldn't tolerate this. He immediately dispatched a heavyweight from headquarters, who used a reverse-attribute Water Release technique to deliver a crushing blow to the Iwagakure ninja, followed by a few punches from the inhumanly large Stone Golem Bang Bang, instantly subduing them.

As it turns out, the strong never need the so-called bloodline advantage. The First Hokage could fight ten against one without using Wood Release and was invincible.

Iwagakure sensed something was amiss, but the money earned from attacking a few small places wasn't even enough to hire a mere sliver of Akatsuki's forces. Therefore, they proactively facilitated the daimyo's desire for peace talks in the Land of Earth. These two contrasting approaches provided important case studies for Akatsuki's future decisions and even guided the offensive strategies of the rebel armies in both countries—but that's a story for another time.

No matter what meeting Hui was in, Naruto's main body had to obediently follow the team. Judging by the time, they'd be facing the Chunin Exams twice a year when they got back. The main reason he'd remember this exam for life was because of Orochimaru, who was still in his underworld state. He remembered that two days ago, a Sunagakure spy reported that the Fourth Kazekage had secretly left the village, and the spy had already followed him. He estimated that news of the Kazekage's death would arrive soon. But how could they deliver this intelligence to Konoha in a plausible way?

A tall, reliable figure flashed through Naruto's mind, but according to intelligence, Jiraiya was still deep in the Land of Fire, some distance from Konoha near the border. Therefore, he was determined to face Orochimaru in the first half of the Chunin Exams.

...Hmm, to what extent should we use our strength? We absolutely can't let him apply that broken cursed seal, right? Sasuke's future techniques aren't even in that category! What if Sasuke still wants to come along? Whatever, if it really comes down to it, let him go. Orochimaru is quite the expert at raising children. To prevent Orochimaru from coveting Sasuke's body, we can simply send an Uchiha representative to scare him, making him think that Itachi isn't the only Uchiha in the world. Fugaku is definitely out of the question; let Izuna go. His abilities are less conspicuous... well, not by much.

"Naruto! What are you daydreaming about?" Sakura's voice was slightly impatient. "Sasuke-kun has called you several times already!"

"Huh?" Oh no, I was so focused on thinking that I even checked if there was anything unusual in Konoha, and ended up ignoring the information around me? My brain really isn't up to par.

Faced with Naruto's blinking blue eyes, Sasuke, who was initially a little annoyed, couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh. He just gave Naruto a disdainful look and said, "What, you didn't really want to go eat ramen?"

"Huh?" The brain that was calculating at 120 miles per hour when plotting against the daimyo was now completely blank, only hearing the word "ramen." "How could that be! Of course, I want to eat Ichiraku Ramen the most!"

Although he didn't hear the process or understand the question, he still managed to answer it correctly. That's truly Naruto.

"Sasuke, are you treating us to a meal? To celebrate our first B-rank mission victory?" Naruto unconsciously moved closer to Sasuke, so close that their breaths almost mingled. He himself didn't understand why he always acted childish in front of Sasuke; whenever Sasuke was around, he could play the role of a child with ease.

And Sasuke? As a ninja, he should instinctively reject any overly intimate behavior, let alone face-to-face contact. But for some inexplicable reason, he didn't dodge; he just inexplicably wanted to see clearly whether there were really stars shining in those blue eyes.

The two individuals' negligence ultimately led to one outcome.

Naruto's back was violently struck by a round, hard object, the impact instantly reducing the distance between them to zero. To regain their balance, they instinctively took turns stepping forward and backward, their movements so synchronized that even the legs they used moved were identical, and their arms instinctively reached for the nearest object to hold onto. This resulted in them stopping still pressed tightly together, from head to toe, without a single gap.

All three of them were stunned.

Naruto reacted first, getting up to create some distance, but before letting go, he made sure Sasuke wasn't putting any weight on his waist, lest Sasuke fall. Sasuke, on the other hand, visibly turned red, from his ears to his neck and face, his whole body stiffening as if he had been severely shocked. As for Sakura, who was watching from the side, she was completely petrified, frozen in shock, her face even turning ashen.

"Ouch... Who's blocking my way?!"

A little kid's voice caught Naruto's attention. He was feeling awkward and at a loss, so he immediately turned around, grabbed the culprit's scarf, and hung the kid in mid-air while he struggled to calm his wildly beating heart.

Seriously, he thought he was safe after escaping graduation, but his first kiss was with Sasuke! They were so close just now, his heartbeat must have been felt! Does Sasuke think he's a pervert?! All that hard-earned goodwill, I hope it's not wiped out in an instant! Ugh! It's Konohamaru before he realized what was going on! How come I never remembered this kid being so mischievous before?!

"You run around in the street and bump into someone, and you still think you're right! Apologize to me right now!"