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Meanwhile, within the Land of Rain.
Under the dense, black clouds, at a secluded house in the Hidden Rain Village.
"Tap! Tap! Tap!"...
With the slow footsteps, Saki's figure appeared.
Upon seeing the scene in the courtyard, his usually calm face showed a hint of surprise.
In the spacious yard, a teenage boy was seen with a tense face, his gaze serious as he looked at three other children slightly older than him.
Despite the gloomy weather, his serious expression was clearly visible.
A cold, moist breeze suddenly blew by, causing his soft, fluffy hair to slightly flutter, and the green pendant on his neck to sway gently.
"Clap!"
He looked at the three in front of him, clapped his hands sharply, and shouted in a young voice,
"Wood Release: Tree Bind Eternal Burial!"
As his crisp voice echoed, the damp ground suddenly surged violently as if a monstrous beast was pushing its way out from beneath.
"Crack! Snap! Snap!"
Three mud-covered tree trunks burst forth from the ground, shooting rapidly towards the three children standing in front of the young boy!
"Nawaki, we've already figured out a countermeasure to your move; don't think you can defeat us again!"
With a loud, brash shout,
One of the boys, with orange hair, forcefully stomped on the ground.
"Boom!"
The ground quickly dented, and his figure shot forward like a cannonball.
Seeing this, Nawaki's eyes focused, and he swung his hand toward the orange-haired boy charging at him.
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"...
Several branches of the tree trunks suddenly extended, reaching out towards the orange-haired boy.
Just then!
The orange-haired boy, while drawing Nawaki's attention, yelled out,
"Nagato!"
As his voice fell, several branches ferociously attacked him.
"Bang! Crack! Splurt!"...
"Splash!"
After shattering many branches, the orange-haired boy was still captured by the tree trunk, firmly bound to the ground.
Meanwhile, upon hearing his shout, one of the three children, a slender boy with long black hair, sharply focused his eyes, his hands quickly forming seals.
"Rat—Ox—Dog—Tiger!"
As soon as he completed the seals, he placed one hand near his mouth, his chest expanding.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation Technique!"
Raging flames swiftly fell towards the thick base of the tree trunk on the ground.
However, it didn't end there!
His hands continued to form seals, this time different ones.
"Earth Release: Earth Split!"
With a shout, the ground shook violently as if water was parting, splitting open around them to reveal the massive base of the tree trunk.
The surging flames in the air took this moment to fiercely rush towards the base of the tree trunk!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"...
Several balls of fire smashed onto the tree trunk, quickly igniting it.
However, seeing this, Nawaki's face was tense, his eyes fixated on the scene, yet he did not give up, his fingers coming together to continue channeling chakra.
"Whoosh!"
The ground's tree trunk surged violently, like a rampaging beast, attempting to extinguish the flames.
The area shook intensely, and the wide courtyard's walls were covered in spiderweb-like cracks due to the immense disturbance.
Facing this scene,
Nagato, aside from occasionally glancing worriedly at the orange-haired boy bound to the ground, remained very calm and began forming seals again.
"Wind Release: Wind!"
With a calm voice, several swirling wind balls suddenly descended from the sky, smashing into the tree trunks engulfed in flames.
Nawaki, seeing this, had a serious expression, his gaze fixed on Nagato, speaking in a young voice,
"It's useless, I can continuously absorb Yahiko's chakra to fuel the growth of the Tree Bind Eternal Burial, so..."
However, before he could finish, he was startled by the scene unfolding before him.
As the wind balls fell,
The flames, which were almost extinguished on the thick tree trunks, suddenly reignited with even greater ferocity than before.
"Whoosh!"
The surging red flames rapidly spread, completely enveloping the entire thick trunk.
Nagato, looking at Nawaki not far away, with his eyes marked with circular patterns reminiscent of the cycles of reincarnation, spoke calmly,
"Those wind swirls weren't meant to cut your Tree Bind Eternal Burial; they were just to provide enough oxygen, allowing the earlier flames to burn them away with sufficient intensity."
As he spoke,
"Paper Release: Shuriken Technique!"
With a delicate shout from the side, a girl with light blue hair rushed forward, her pale hand swinging sharply forward.
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"...
Dozens of spinning white shurikens, razor-sharp, flew towards Yahiko, who was bound by the branches of the tree trunk.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"...
After several crisp sounds, the branches binding Yahiko were all cleanly severed, leaving smooth surfaces.
Yahiko, now freed, grinned and swiftly moved, charging towards Nawaki.
"Haha, Nawaki, I knew it, your chakra is only enough to support one Tree Bind Eternal Burial!"
Yahiko laughed heartily as he quickly approached Nawaki and then swiftly took action.
Facing this situation, Nawaki's face was tense, and he maintained a serious look, remaining silent.
"Boom! Boom! Bang! Crack!"...
The two exchanged a few punches and kicks.
Then, Nawaki was soundly beaten by Yahiko, who had formidable physical strength.
"You brat, does this mean you've lost? Are you convinced?"
Yahiko, sitting on the ground cross-legged, looked at Nawaki, who was tied up with a bit of swelling at the corner of his mouth, and asked with a smirk.
In response, Nawaki just disdainfully twitched his mouth, stubbornly turning his face to the side and closing his eyes.
A clear indication he would never admit defeat to Yahiko.
Seeing this, Yahiko gritted his teeth, annoyed by Nawaki's attitude.
But Konan, who had hurried over, quickly pulled him aside, whispering,
"Yahiko, let it be. Nawaki is even younger than us. It's already dishonorable for the three of us to defeat him alone."
Yahiko glanced at her helplessly, as if recalling something, and said through clenched teeth,
"This guy gave me a hard time when he went against me last time."
"My chakra was almost completely drained by his trees; I couldn't even get out of bed for days... Even going to the bathroom was a struggle because my legs were so weak..."
Hearing this, both Nagato and Konan covered their mouths, chuckling.
Nawaki, still tied up, just rolled his eyes at him.
Yahiko became even more annoyed seeing his reaction.
At that moment,
"Swoosh!"
With a soft sound, Saki's figure appeared before them.
Seeing Saki's arrival, everyone was slightly startled, then joyfully shouted,
"Saki-niichan!"
Hearing their call, Saki smiled faintly, his pale eyes sweeping over everyone, and spoke in an even tone.
"Whoosh!"
The surging red flames quickly spread, engulfing the entire thick trunk.
Nagato, observing Nawaki not far away, with his eyes marked with circular patterns reminiscent of the cycles of reincarnation, spoke calmly,
"Those wind swirls weren't meant to cut your Tree Bind Eternal Burial; they were just to provide enough oxygen to allow the earlier flames to burn them away with sufficient intensity."
As he spoke,
"Paper Release: Shuriken Technique!"
With a delicate shout from the side, a light blue-haired girl charged forward, her pale hand swinging sharply forward.
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"...
Dozens of spinning white shurikens, razor-sharp, flew towards Yahiko, bound by the tree branches.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"...
After several crisp sounds, the branches binding Yahiko were all cleanly severed, leaving smooth surfaces.
Yahiko, now freed, grinned and swiftly moved, charging towards Nawaki.
"Haha, Nawaki, I knew it, your chakra is only enough to support one Tree Bind Eternal Burial!"
Yahiko laughed heartily as he quickly approached Nawaki and then swiftly took action.
Nawaki, facing this situation, had a tense face and a serious look, remaining silent.
"Boom! Boom! Bang! Crack!"...
The two exchanged a few punches and kicks.
Then Nawaki was soundly beaten by Yahiko, who had formidable physical strength.
"You brat, does this mean you've lost? Are you convinced?"
Yahiko, sitting on the ground, cross-legged, looked at Nawaki, who was tied up with a bit of swelling at the corner of his mouth, and asked with a smirk.
Nawaki just disdainfully twitched his mouth, stubbornly turning his face to the side and closing his eyes.
A clear indication he would never admit defeat to Yahiko.
Seeing this, Yahiko gritted his teeth, annoyed by Nawaki's attitude.
But Konan, who had hurried over, quickly pulled him aside, whispering,
"Yahiko, let it be. Nawaki is even younger than us. It's already dishonorable for the three of us to defeat him alone."
Yahiko glanced at her helplessly, as if remembering something, and said through clenched teeth,
"This guy gave me a hard time when he went against me last time."
"My chakra was almost completely drained by his trees; I couldn't even get out of bed for days... Even going to the bathroom was a struggle because my legs were so weak..."
Hearing this, both Nagato and Konan covered their mouths, chuckling.
Nawaki, still tied up, just rolled his eyes at him.
Yahiko became even more annoyed seeing his reaction.
At that moment,
"Swoosh!"
With a soft sound, Saki's figure appeared before them.
Seeing Saki, everyone was slightly startled, then joyfully shouted,
"Saki-niichan!"
Hearing their call, Saki smiled faintly, his pale eyes sweeping over everyone, and spoke in an even tone,
"It seems you all get along quite well."
The children looked at each other, their faces showing a bit of shame.
But Saki didn't scold them; instead, he praised,
"I'm glad you can understand each other so well. That's... an essential quality for comrades."
After hearing his words, Nawaki, still tied up, didn't take it to heart, his gaze lowered, and he spoke somewhat dejectedly,
"Saki-niichan... So, Aizen-sama... has been labeled a rogue ninja by the village?"
Hearing his words, the children didn't seem too concerned.
Being outsiders to the ninja villages, they lacked a sense of belonging to any village and were indifferent to being labeled as rogues.
Saki, hearing this, looked at Nawaki with his pale eyes, speaking flatly,
"Nawaki, Aizen-sama couldn't possibly stay in the Leaf Village; you should have understood this long ago."
Nawaki slowly looked up, a bit confused.
Saki continued,
"For Aizen-sama, the things we need to do would eventually make us enemies of the existing ninja world. Do you think Aizen-sama would choose to stay in the Leaf Village, filled with restrictions and constraints?"
"Look further ahead, and you'll see, Aizen-sama's every action has always had its meaning and has never been wrong."
Saying this, Saki's eyes seemed to reminisce, softly adding,
"At least since I've followed Aizen-sama, all his actions have been proven to be unmatched in correctness."
"That's... also why I follow Aizen-sama..."
"I firmly believe only he can save this gradually decaying world."
Hearing his words, the children's eyes sparkled with admiration, and Nawaki's face gradually lost its puzzled expression, becoming more determined.
"I understand, Saki-niichan!"