Bang!
Karini was hit by Sasuke's Lion Combo, falling straight from mid-air to the ground, clutching her stomach and convulsing.
If there was one thing Sasuke had in common with Naruto, it is that they both treat everyone equally, regardless of gender or age.
Originally, Sasuke was already feeling self-doubt and frustration over the fact that he had reacted so strongly and nearly attacked Naruto.
To make matters worse, Karin, realizing her own inadequacies, proactively asked him for training.
It can be said that he had walked right into the line of fire.
In their previous training sessions, the main focus had been on using Devil Fruits.
Sasuke's Fire Release Ninjutsu, enhanced by his Huodou Devil Fruit, had become even more terrifying.
Often, with just a casual wave of his hand, he could create a sea of fire, more powerful than Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear's clones.
Karin's Garuda transformation is even more powerful.
At least in the early stages of mastering the ability, Garuda was stronger than Huodou.
Indestructible body, wind control, and illusionary sound.
Three innate abilities, any one of which could rival a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit on its own.
In comparison, Sasuke's Huodou could only rely on fire attacks in the early stages. If the enemy struck quickly and ended the fight before he could gain momentum, they could defeat him.
Just like when Naruto had knocked Sasuke out with a single chop earlier… the fight ended too quickly, and the [Karma] passive ability didn't even trigger.
"Still want to continue?" Sasuke landed on a tree stump, looking at Karin, who was struggling to stand up while clutching her stomach.
And this was without him using Armament Haki.
"...Continue." Karin pushed her fallen red hair behind her ear, looking at Sasuke with determined eyes, then took the initiative to attack.
With the powerful Chakra innate to the Uzumaki Clan, the wounds on Karin's body quickly began to heal.
But the pain didn't lessen one bit.
Even someone with Sasuke's personality couldn't help but feel some admiration for Karin's relentless training attitude.
Indeed, initially, both of them had somewhat disliked each other.
Sasuke disliked Karin because she had looked down on him first, even calling him weak.
He even said that he was weak.
But now...
"Come on." A slight, unintentional smile tugged at the corner of Sasuke's mouth as he also fiercely attacked, holding nothing back.
'This never-give-up attitude… I, Uchiha Sasuke, acknowledged it.'
"Hey, looks like you two are getting along pretty well." Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted their training.
It was none other than Naruto, whom they had been worried about for so long.
-And Jiraiya.
By the campfire, everyone ate while catching up on the events of the past few days.
"So this is Sage Mode?" Sasuke wasn't familiar with it, but Karin had heard about it from Jiraiya.
She just hadn't seen Jiraiya use it himself.
Both of them looked at Naruto curiously, noticing that aside from being able to create some extra arms, he didn't seem much different from before.
Jiraiya didn't know how to explain it either.
'Oh well, they'd understand the difference when they had the chance to learn Sage Mode themselves.'
"By the way, here, for you." As he spoke, Naruto suddenly took out the forbidden technique scroll he had obtained from Shinno.
He has to say that Shennong is a very kind person.
Although he had designed an emergency escape mechanism, the scroll used as a decoy was actually the real deal.
It contained three forbidden techniques: [Eight Gates Technique], [Regeneration Technique], and [Body Revival Technique].
"These three techniques require a lot of Chakra to support them. Even Karin can only maintain them for a short time."
"As for you, Sasuke, after transforming, you can also gain abilities similar to Regeneration Technique. You only need to learn this Eight Gates Technique."
During his three days of training, Naruto would occasionally take out these three techniques to study them.
Well, how should he put it.
Even with his knowledge, he had to admit the sheer power of these three techniques.
Among them, the Eight Gates Technique goes without saying.
It allows the user to unlock eight Chakra Gates within the body to gain immense power for a short period.
The sudden surge in chakra flow can exponentially increase the user's original physical strength.
The downside is the severe side effects.
Not to mention opening the Gate of Death, even the earlier gates cause a lot of irreversible damage.
Fortunately, both Naruto and Karin have the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline, which mitigates these side effects somewhat.
Moreover, both Karin and Sasuke have Mythical Zoan transformations, which further enhance these boosts.
It's safe to say that by mastering the Eight Gates, they might already have the strength to roam freely within the Ninja World.
At the very least, they won't be threatened by just any random small fry.
The only thing to watch out for is the side effects. Without the massive Chakra Support of Zero-Tails, it's impossible to create a cycle between the three forbidden techniques like Shinno did.
Therefore, they can only choose one or two of them to learn.
After the meal, Karin and Sasuke studied the forbidden techniques while traveling.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Jiraiya sat in the carriage and discussed the events of that day.
"So, you're saying a masked man with Sharingan saved Konan, right?"
Naruto watched as Jiraiya used ink to roughly sketch out Obito's outline.
Jiraiya hadn't been idle these past few days either… he had been deeply developing his Devil Fruit abilities.
Now, the 'ink creatures' he created were no longer just blobs of black ink like before.
By adjusting line thickness and ink density, he could basically create recognizable human figures.
It probably wouldn't be long before their shared dream was realized.
"Kyubi, this guy… is he Uchiha Madara?"
Naruto stared deeply at the '3D portrait', then focused his mind into the seal space to ask Kurama.
Kurama also saw the image through Naruto's vision: "No... he is not Madara Uchiha."
Kurama's answer made Naruto's eyes flicker. Before he could speak, Kurama added,
"But he is indeed the one who controlled me that night."
Killing intent, almost tangible.
"...Good. Then we haven't got the wrong person."
Naruto, both inside and outside the seal space, smiled simultaneously. However, the arms uncontrollably sprouting behind him, waving menacingly, which revealed Naruto's current state of mind.
It's fair to say that for a long time to come, Naruto would be able to maintain a stable emotional state… one of sustained rage.
The places those small hands inadvertently brushed past were all 'erased', leaving gaps.
A closer look revealed mouths on the palms, chewing on everything around them.
Although Sage Mode had indeed eliminated Zero-Tails' influence on Naruto-
It seemed the current Naruto was even more terrifying than Zero-Tails.
At least, that's what Jiraiya thought.
He silently used his ability to repair the parts of the carriage that had been devoured.
At the same time, he prayed for his three disciples in his heart.
'If we calculate the time, Nagato and the others should have been around seventeen or eighteen during the Nine-Tails Attack… just the age for causing trouble.'
'I hope you weren't involved in what happened that year. Otherwise, even I, your sensei, won't be able to save you.'