"It was an unusual Fire Release Jutsu.
It carried a trace of the Tailed Beast's chakra.
Magnificent tails of flame trailed through the sky, drawing a beautiful arc as they flew towards Naruto.
Yugito clasped her hands together, tightly forming a cross.
She fixed her gaze on Naruto.
The intelligence mentioned that the speed of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was exceptionally high.
Although this technique of hers had tracking capabilities,
She wasn't entirely confident it would fully work.
But what surprised her was this—
Naruto didn't move, standing still in the sky, without even turning his head, still focused on the battle between the Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails.
The blue flames shot towards him—
Just as they were about to hit Naruto,
Several golden chains swung out from behind him, lashing at the blue fireball, easily dispersing it into smoke.
Yugito gritted her teeth.
The attack had no effect.
What angered her even more was Naruto's attitude.
Did he really not see her as a threat?
She summoned the Tailed Beast's chakra, a dark red cloak covering her body.
She leaped up, lunging at Naruto with both hands, a cold gleam in her eyes.
A pair of claws extended from her fingertips, exceptionally sharp.
But.
Even as she closed in,
Naruto still didn't dodge, allowing the claws to slash at him.
Yugito felt a rush of excitement, but that excitement shattered in an instant. With a clang, the chains earlier also deflected her claws.
"Don't bother with such weak attacks," Naruto spoke softly, "Save your energy. You're not my match."
"Why not watch the battle between the Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails with me?"
"They're putting on quite the show, aren't they?"
Yugito bit her lip, flipped in the air, and landed on the ground.
The Tailed Beast chakra surged even more violently.
From her body, blue-black flames leapt like ink.
The power of this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki far exceeded her imagination.
Even in partial Tailed Beast form, she couldn't inflict any damage.
What kind of level had he reached?
Dodai and C hadn't joined the battle.
They were trying to break through the oppressive aura, but within such a short time, they had tried dozens of methods, yet none were effective.
"This seems to be purely aura," C clenched his fists. "Not the effect of a technique."
He was an all-around ninja.
Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Medical Ninjutsu... he had trained them all to the level of a Jōnin.
He was evaluated by the Raikage as someone very similar to the "Third Hokage."
His conclusion was convincing.
"That's really bad," Dodai frowned, "If that's the case, we probably won't be able to help Yugito and B."
Under this aura,
Even performing ninjutsu was difficult.
What's worse,
Cloud Village had gathered so much power, yet it was of no use.
In the end, the only ones facing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were still just those two Jinchuriki.
And the intel certainly didn't mention that the Nine-Tails could leave the Jinchuriki's body and fight as an independent entity.
The situation had shifted from overwhelming odds to a "fair" two-on-two match.
But for Cloud Village, this was the biggest "unfairness."
"We still have a chance," C spoke softly, "Do you remember that plan? They've already started executing it."
It was a plan that had been set in motion a long time ago.
Upon learning that Uzumaki Naruto had a vast sensory range, they anticipated that Naruto would secure the red-haired Uzumaki and come to them on his own.
If that situation really occurred,
A Chūnin team led by a Jōnin would be dispatched to capture Uzumaki Karin.
Exploiting a "weakness" is a tactic ninjas excel at.
Dodai nodded, "Is that so?"
Although everything was happening as predicted,
For some reason, he felt a vague sense of unease.
There were already some variables.
The large number of personnel they had prepared in advance had been of no use.
Would the operation to capture Karin...
Go smoothly?
In the distance, among the trees.
"As expected, Cloud Village sees me as the breakthrough point." Karin opened her eyes, pursing her lips, "They've sent a team over."
Her Mind's Eye of the Kagura wasn't as advanced as Naruto's,
But it was still capable of covering a range of several kilometers, more than enough to deal with ordinary ninjas.
The chakras approaching rapidly couldn't escape her detection.
"I'll protect you," said the Yin Nine-Tails slowly. "How many enemies are there?"
Karin stood up, pinpointed the direction, and spoke calmly, "One Jōnin, three Chūnin."
"A standard team configuration."
"Thank you, Nine-Tails."
"But..."
"I'm not who I used to be."
"I'll handle these people myself. If I can't, I'll ask for your help."
Yin Nine-Tails snorted, flicking its tail.
In less than two minutes,
The Jōnin landed, "The Uzumaki chakra is right here!"
"Search for her traces."
"She's not strong, at most just a Chūnin."
"Capture her quickly."
The Chūnin obeyed, spreading out to search.
As one of the Chunin maneuvered around a tree, his movement suddenly halted, and a surge of panic rose within him.
He looked down.
He had triggered an almost invisible, thin wire.
From both ends of the wire, the sound of sizzling explosives could be heard.
Explosive tags!
He realized this at once.
But it was too late—the explosive tags had already been fully triggered.
With a thunderous boom, a deafening explosion echoed through the forest.
The Chunin was blown away by the immense shockwave. His head, limbs, and chunks of flesh and bone scattered in different directions like falling petals.
The other three ninjas were drawn to the commotion and moved closer.
The horrific sight of their comrade's death made their faces grim.
"Be careful, she's set traps," the Jonin warned with a frown. "It seems she has sensory abilities and knew we were coming. She's prepared."
"He was careless."
Standing beside Naruto, Karin appeared unremarkable.
This had the benefit of making her intelligence seem unknown to outsiders.
Aside from the information leaked from Grass Village—that she belonged to the Uzumaki clan and had healing abilities—they knew nothing else about her.
They instinctively still treated her as a mere Genin, at best an ordinary Chunin.
But now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
They began searching more cautiously.
However, as the three ninjas spread out to a certain distance, a golden chain suddenly attacked from behind one of the Chunin, binding his limbs and pinning him to the ground.
The Chunin had no time to react, unable even to turn his head.
A figure with red hair appeared before him.
It was Karin!
She raised her hand, and a swirling blue energy orb, about the size of a fist, formed in her palm.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto had taught her this technique long ago.
She pressed the energy orb against the Chunin's stomach. The swirling air and chakra tore through his abdomen, shredding his internal organs.
He let out a pained scream as his life force rapidly faded.
The commotion caught the attention of the remaining two in the forest.
They immediately regrouped.
Their reaction was quick, but all they saw before them was a lifeless body lying face down. The person who had killed their comrade was nowhere to be seen.
"Was it the work of that Uzumaki?" the Jonin gritted his teeth, clenching his fist.
They had underestimated her.
They had assumed she was the weakling that Grass Village had described, someone who would be powerless without Naruto's protection.
But it turned out she had some skills after all.
"How did she manage to kill Ryu?" the remaining Chunin wondered, frowning.
He knew his comrade's strength well.
Even if he wasn't a match for the Uzumaki, he shouldn't have been killed so quickly.
He approached, intending to turn the body over.
There was no visible sign of any technique from the back.
Maybe the front would reveal some clues.
The Jonin's pupils contracted as he quickly shouted, "Stop! Don't touch the body!"
But the Chunin had already reached out to it. Hearing the Jonin's words, he immediately realized something and quickly withdrew his hand.
But it was too late.
With a hiss, the explosive tag detonated.
The Chunin quickly formed hand seals, using Earth Release to cover his body, reducing the impact of the explosion. Though the shockwave sent him flying, he managed to survive.
The Jonin sighed in relief.
Fortunately, this trap didn't result in another casualty.
That Uzumaki woman was truly difficult to deal with.
To kill a Chunin in an instant and then set up such a flawless trap in a constantly changing situation—she was indeed formidable.
But he couldn't finish his sigh.
The Chunin who had been blown away was caught by a red-haired figure.
She grabbed the Chunin by the hair with one hand and held a kunai in the other.
Without hesitation, she acted decisively.
With a soft "squelch," the kunai plunged into the Chunin's throat.
"Uzumaki Karin!" the Jonin spat out her name through gritted teeth, his anger palpable.
Fine.
Now he would remember her.
Karin tossed the body to the ground, stepped on its head, and lowered her gaze, speaking calmly, "You really underestimated me."
"I'm not that little girl from Grass Village anymore."
"After all, being by the side of the strongest person in the ninja world—unless you're a fool—you'd pick up some skills even if you lacked talent."
"Besides, I think I have some talent."
"I already feel guilty enough that I can't help Naruto with those other things."
"If I still dragged him down in something like this—"
"I might as well let him stab me."
The Cloud Village Jonin spat on the ground. "I admit now that you have some skills."
"But you'd better be ready."
Karin looked up, puzzled.
She had been talking to Nine-Tails.
What was this guy interrupting for?
"You're the only one left," Karin said as she looked at him, her voice tinged with slight nervousness. "Naruto always said I have the strength of a Jonin."
"Let's see if you can confirm that."
A Jonin...
Someone she had once looked up to as a figure far above her.
~~~
Karin, Fighting!! You can do it!
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