82: Chapter 82 Silence Speaks Louder Than WordsThe setting sun looked like a pile of shattered raw eggs, sticky and clinging to the treetops.
The smell of sulfur was gone, replaced by the earthy scent unique to the forest.
Naruto walked at the front, his steps light and quick, even humming an unknown tune.
The system panel unfolded on his retina.
[Total negative emotion points provided by Uchiha Sasuke: 45,000 points.]
Current balance: 1,280,000 points.
This huge sum of money is enough to exchange for the second stage of Flying Thunder God Technique, or to upgrade the sealing technique of the Uzumaki clan by one level.
But he didn't move.
I swiped my finger across the virtual panel and closed the redemption interface.
Good steel should be used where it's most needed.
The monsters they're about to face are far beyond what a kid like Sasuke, who only knows how to play with lightning, can handle.
I heard intermittent sobbing behind me.
It's very light, but very annoying.
Sakura walked in the middle of the group, each step feeling like walking on cotton.
She kept her head down, her pink hair sticking messily to her face, and tears soaked the headband.
She didn't wipe it.
Because it's impossible to wipe it all off.
The figure standing in the lightning, that look in his eyes, that phrase "Go to hell," echoed repeatedly in her mind like a boomerang.
Naruto did not turn around.
There was no longer any empty promise like before, such as rushing over to hand over tissues or shouting "I will definitely bring him back".
He simply stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at the wildflowers by the roadside, as if the crying girl behind him was nothing but air.
Offering comfort at this time is like rubbing salt into a wound.
Only when it rots completely can new flesh grow.
Yamato walked at the back, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the backs of the two boys in front of him, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
The team has disbanded.
Or rather, they never actually came together in the first place.
"that..."
A sudden voice broke the silence.
Sai slowed his pace and awkwardly moved closer to Sakura.
He wasn't holding the picture book or the "Guide to Interpersonal Communication" in his hand.
Sakura stopped in her tracks, her swollen eyes looking at him, even bracing herself for some harsh words.
After all, this pale fellow never utters anything ivory.
"According to what the book says."
Sai paused, and the mask of his fake smile twitched, as if he was trying to use his facial muscles to express sincerity.
"Usually at times like these, women need a shoulder to lean on, or a lie to tell."
Sakura was stunned.
Yamato almost tripped and fell flat on his face.
Seeing Sakura's blank expression, Sai thought he had made a mistake and scratched his cheek in a panic.
"I mean… although you look like a… uh, rain-soaked monkey right now."
"But at least you're not dead."
Sai pointed to the golden figure in front of him.
"As long as you live, you have the chance to become stronger.If you die, you'll just become a page in a picture book, like my brother."
That's a terrible way to comfort someone.
It's completely rotten.
The first half of the sentence still contains personal attacks.
But Sakura wasn't angry.
Looking into Sai's dark eyes, which were trying so hard to express kindness, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat.
It wasn't because I felt wronged, but because something had finally come to fruition.
"Fool."
Sakura sniffed and hastily wiped away the tears on her face.
"you're right."
She looked up at Naruto's long shadow in the setting sun.
The shadow was huge, so huge that it could cover everyone, and so huge that it seemed unreachable.
"I can't die."
Sakura's voice was hoarse, but she was no longer as weak as before.
"I can't.be a burden anymore."
Konoha, Hokage Building.
The office door was pushed open.
Tsunade sat behind a mountain of documents, looked up, and her gaze was sharp as a knife.
"It failed?"
There's no need to ask about the process; just look at the expressions on their faces when they returned.
Yamato stepped forward and knelt on one knee.
"I'm very sorry, Hokage.The target, Uchiha Sasuke.refused to return and launched a lethal attack on us."
"Lethal level?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, and the pen in her hand snapped in two with a "crack".
"That brat Sasuke has grown to this extent?"
"Yes."
Yamato took a deep breath and glanced at Naruto standing next to him out of the corner of his eye.
Naruto was staring listlessly at the Hokage Rock outside the window, seemingly uninterested in the report.
But Yamato remembers that look.
Before entering the village, Naruto gave him a casual glance.
The meaning is clear: you decide for yourself what you should and shouldn't say.
"Sasuke has mastered the ultimate Lightning Release, a nature transformation technique, and can even guide natural lightning."
Yamato swallowed hard, selectively organizing his thoughts.
"If it weren't for.Naruto's defensive technique being a perfect counter to Lightning Release, we might have been wiped out."
He concealed the art of ranking.
The scene of Naruto holding the Kusanagi sword with one hand was concealed.
It also concealed the detail of Naruto humiliating Sasuke by stepping on him.
"Defense spell?"
Tsunade looked at Naruto with a complicated expression.
"It seems that Jiraiya taught you quite a few survival skills."
"So-so."
Naruto turned around and shrugged.
"It's mainly because Sasuke is too weak; he's just bluffing.I'm going back to sleep now, Grandma."
After saying that, he didn't wait for Tsunade's response and walked out the door.
That arrogant attitude made Shizune cower in the corner, trembling with fear, clutching Tonton.
Tsunade watched Naruto's departing figure without getting angry.
She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples.
"What a relief."
She murmured softly.
As long as Naruto can still suppress Sasuke, the risk of the Nine-Tails going berserk remains within a controllable range.
But how long can this "controllability" be maintained?
The roots, deep underground.
In the darkness, the sound of the cane striking the ground was particularly jarring.
"It failed?"
Danzo sat in the shadows, his one eye gleaming.It emitted a cold, eerie light.
The Root ninja kneeling on the ground trembled.
"Yes.Sai failed to complete the assassination mission.And according to intelligence, he seems to be.moving closer to Team 7."
"waste."
Danzo snorted coldly.
The cane slammed heavily on the ground.
"A carefully cultivated tool can be corrupted by so-called 'emotions'."
He stood up, walked to the wall, and looked at the map of Konoha hanging on the wall.
The gaze fell on the ruins of the Uchiha clan's territory, then shifted to Naruto's apartment.
"Hiruzen, Hiruzen, the mess you left behind is getting harder and harder to clean up."
"Since Sai's sword is dull, let's get a new one."
Danzo turned around, a murderous intent surging in his eyes.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.we can't let him grow up so recklessly anymore."
"Go and prepare 'that'."
Naruto pushed open the door to his house.
The room was quiet and deserted, with only the humming of the refrigerator compressor.
He didn't turn on the light.
Using the moonlight streaming through the window, he walked to the table and took out a stack of arrest warrants from the drawer.
He smuggled it from the black market.
His finger traced across the paper, stopping at two portraits.
One of them is a masked man with a sinister look in his eyes, named Kakuzu.
The other picture shows a madman with a slicked-back hairstyle and carrying a scythe, named Hidan.
[Reward: 35 million taels of silver.]
"Money is secondary."
Naruto picked up Hidan's bounty poster, a playful smile playing on his lips.
"It's finally here."
Naruto slammed the bounty poster on the table.
He turned to look out the window, in the direction Sarutobi Asuma often went.
If I remember correctly, that bearded man who liked to smoke didn't have long to live.
Asma is a good person.
He is good to Shikamaru, loyal to Konoha, and is also the son of the Third Hokage.
Just as the old man said, he was a burning "jade".
"What a pity."
Naruto picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip of cold water.
"The death of a good person often elicits the most intense emotions."
Shikamaru's despair, Ino's breakdown, and Choji's cries.
There was also the grief felt by the entire village of Konoha as they bid farewell to their hero.
That will be a grand feast.
"I will avenge you, Asuma-sensei."
Naruto stared at his reflection in the cup, his gaze as cold as if he were looking at a corpse.
"However, that will have to wait until you're completely dead."
In the following days, the atmosphere in Class 7 became very strange.
Sai officially moved into Naruto's next-door apartment.
Although Danzo did not give any instructions, he seemed to have tacitly accepted his "betrayal".
He began to try to integrate into the group.
For example, while eating ramen, you might suddenly say to Ichiraku Ramen, "Your noodles are as smooth as intestines."
I was almost chased out by the hand-beating uncle with a rolling pin.
For example, when Naruto was leaving, he asked in a serious tone, "Are you wearing this outfit today to cover up the fact that you didn't shower last night?"
Naruto would usually respond with a "friendly" eye roll or simply kick him.
Although clumsy, and often awkward.
But that nameless "root" is slowly growing flesh and blood.
Sakura has changed.
She no longer pestered Naruto every day about Sasuke's situation, nor did she stare blankly at the photo frame.
She cut her hair short.
Every day before dawn, she would appear at the training grounds of the Hokage Building.
"Not enough!More!"
Sakura was panting heavily, her hands trembling, and her body covered in mud.
Across from her, Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, her eyes stern.
"Your chakra control is messed up!You think you can be my disciple with this level of skill?"
"I can do it!"
Sakura gritted her teeth, a self-destructive flame burning in her emerald eyes.
She could never forget that thunderous afternoon.
I can't forget how I sat slumped on the ground like a piece of trash, watching Naruto's back shield me from everything.
That feeling of helplessness is worse than death.
"I want to become stronger."
Sakura punched the ground, and the rocks shattered.
"No matter how hard it is, no matter how much it hurts.even if it ruins these hands!"
"Just being able to stand beside them.instead of behind them!"
Looking at this stubborn girl, Tsunade seemed to see herself in her younger self.
"Hmph, that's got guts."
Tsunade's lips curled up slightly.
"Then prepare to go to hell, Sakura Haruno."
The Land of Fields, an underground stronghold.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Heart-wrenching screams echoed through the corridor.
Sasuke, shirtless and covered in bandages, was frantically swinging his sword.
There were no enemies.
He was facing a hard rock wall.
No chakra was used.
Pure physical strength.
The Kusanagi sword was already dulled, and his hand was split open, with blood flowing down the hilt, but he felt no pain.
That image is all I can think about.
That golden figure, that foot stepping on his chest, that word "trash".
"I'll kill you.I'll kill you.I'll kill you!"
Sasuke's eyes were bloodshot, and the three tomoe were spinning wildly, almost merging into one.
That sense of humiliation was like a venomous snake, gnawing at his heart day and night.
Orochimaru stood in the shadows, greedily licking his lips.
"What a wonderful hatred!"
Dou stood to the side, pushed up his glasses, and concealed the fear in his eyes.
"Lord Orochimaru, if Sasuke continues like this.his body will break down."
"It doesn't matter."
Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh.
"The more pain the vessel endures, the more resilient the soul becomes.When I am reborn, this body will be even more perfect."
He looked at the boy who was burning himself out in his madness as if he were looking at a fruit that was about to ripen.
"Naruto-kun, you've really been a great help."
At the border of the Land of Fire, outside the Temple of Fire.
The sky was overcast and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.
Two figures dressed in red robes and black robes walked slowly along the mountain path.
The one on the left is wearing a mask, revealing only a pair of green eyes, and is carrying a huge box on his back.
The one on the rightHe had his hair slicked back, and his open collar revealed a headband with a horizontal line drawn on it.
Hidan, a rogue ninja from Yugakure.
"Ugh.I'm so tired!I'm so tired!"
Hidan slammed his massive three-bladed scythe into the ground, looked up at the sky, and exclaimed in annoyance.
"Kakuzu, how much further?This wretched place doesn't even have a decent offering."
"Shut up."
Kakuzu's voice was deep and resonant, carrying a sense of world-weariness from counting a lot of money.
"The Temple of Fire is just ahead.I heard that the head of the abbot there, Di Lu, has a bounty of thirty million taels on the black market."
"Money, money, money!All you ever think about is money!"
Hidan rolled his eyes and reached up to touch the Jashin necklace around his neck.
"You blasphemer!What we seek is pain, slaughter, and sacrifices offered to the evil god!"
"Without money, you can't even afford this robe."
Kakuzu gave a cold reply and continued on his way.
"cut."
Hidan pursed his lips and picked up his scythe again.
He looked at the faint outline of the temple ahead, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
The tongue licked the sharp teeth.
"Hopefully I'll run into a few tough guys."
"Otherwise, Lord Evil God will be angry."
Boom!
Thunder rumbled by.
Raindrops began to fall.
A bloody hunt targeting Konoha has begun.
Meanwhile, in Konoha Village, hundreds of kilometers away.
Naruto stood by the window, watching the sudden downpour.
He reached out and caught a few drops of cold rain.
It's raining.
Naruto said softly.
"Perfect, it can wash away those.pointless tears."
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