After the Zero-Tails dissipated, Amaru seemed to lose all her strength. Staggering, she collapsed into Naruto's arms.
"Are you okay, Amaru?" Naruto asked, his voice filled with concern.
Amaru ignored his concern and grabbed Naruto's shoulders urgently. "Naruto, you said Shinnō-sensei isn't dead. Is that true?!"
"I heard it from Neji, so it should be true," Naruto said, glancing toward Neji.
Neji approached them, his expression tinged with bitterness as he observed Naruto's performance earlier. He couldn't deny it, Naruto's raw power far surpassed his own, even though he was a Jōnin and Naruto was still technically a Genin.
Hearing their conversation, Neji spoke up, "It's true, but don't get too excited just yet."
"Why?" Amaru asked, confused but slightly relieved by the news.
The others were also puzzled and didn't understand why Neji was there in the first place.
Neji glanced at Amaru and said, "I suggest you prepare yourself mentally before I explain everything. If you can't handle it, that creature might reappear."
At this, Amaru felt a sudden unease but nodded reluctantly.
Neji began explaining Natsuro's suspicions. He recounted how the Sky Ninja had attacked Amaru's village, how their flight paths coincided precisely with Amaru's movements, and how they attacked Konoha just as Shinnō happened to be there.
The coincidences were too many. Most importantly, Natsuro's had met Shinnō and noted his fear during their encounter.
This led him to suspect Shinnō, so he assigned Naruto's group to accompany Amaru as a cover while secretly sending Neji to monitor them.
"That's impossible! Shinnō-sensei can't be involved!" Amaru shouted in denial.
"I'm not finished. Calm down," Neji said with a frown before continuing.
He described his observations while following them, including how the Sky Ninja always seemed to know Shinnō's exact location and how Shinnō faked his death.
When Neji finished, Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura were all stunned. They knew Neji wouldn't lie about such things, and his Byakugan wouldn't mislead him either.
For Shinnō to have acted so convincingly that he fooled all three of them was astonishing.
"No! That's not possible!" Amaru fell to her knees, clutching her head, muttering in disbelief.
"Shinnō-sensei saved my life. I was an abandoned child, suffering from an unknown illness that no one in the village dared to treat."
"Shinnō-sensei risked infection to heal me. When I woke up, he smiled brightly and told me, 'You did well, Amaru. You made it.'"
Tears streamed down her face as she recounted her memories. She glared at Neji, "How could someone like Shinnō-sensei be a bad person?!"
"I understand why you'd feel that way, but I trust what I've seen with my own eyes," Neji said after a brief silence.
The air grew heavy with tension.
Naruto suddenly took a deep breath and said, "If we're not sure, why don't we go to the Sky Ninja's base and find out?"
Amaru's eyes lit up at Naruto's suggestion.
Neji frowned slightly and glanced at Hinata and Sakura.
"Neji-nii-san, we checked the village earlier. We didn't find a single villager or even their remains. If your theory is correct, they've likely been captured and taken to the Sky Ninja's base," Hinata said, suppressing her shyness to support Naruto's idea.
"I see... Then there's no other choice," Neji sighed.
Naruto's team was tasked with escorting Amaru to her village and treating the villagers with Hinata and Sakura's medical skills. If the villagers were gone, the mission was already a failure.
"Alright, it's decided! Let's head for the base!" Naruto said loudly, grinning.
Hinata and Sakura couldn't help but smile at Naruto's infectious enthusiasm. No matter how tense the atmosphere, his presence always lightened the mood.
"Amaru, if... well..." Naruto hesitated, not sure how to phrase it.
"I understand. If sensei really has been deceiving me all this time, I'll do my best to control myself," Amaru said firmly. "But I believe in him!"
"Good!" Naruto gave her a big thumbs-up.
Amaru looked at him and smiled again, her spirits lifted.
"Hinata, are you jealous?" Sakura suddenly teased her.
"Huh? Oh, a little, but..." Hinata smiled warmly at Naruto. "If Naruto didn't act like this, he wouldn't be Naruto."
Sakura was momentarily stunned before breaking into laughter. She had worked with Naruto so many times and knew his personality hadn't changed a bit.
"Alright, let's get to work. Is everyone ready?" Neji asked, taking charge.
"Why should we listen to you?" Naruto asked indignantly, his eyes wide.
"Because he's the only Jōnin here," Sakura said, pinching the bridge of her nose. If Hinata weren't present, she'd have punched Naruto by now.
Naruto was hit with the brutal truth. "A Jōnin?!" He slumped in defeat.
Neji glanced at him. Naruto had used the most energy, yet he looked perfectly fine. Seeing this, Neji felt reassured and gave the group their instructions.
"Once we enter the base, keep quiet. Our first priority is locating the villagers. If they've been captured, we'll focus on rescuing them," Neji said.
"But..." Amaru hesitated. While she wanted to rescue the villagers, she also desperately wanted to find her teacher.
"We'll rescue the villagers first. They won't let us take them without interference, so you'll have time to verify things along the way," Neji explained.
Amaru nodded, understanding his logic.
Seeing everyone ready, Neji glanced around and gave the order. "Alright, let's move!"
"Yes!" the group replied in unison.
After the group entered the ruins, Jūgo appeared, initially intending to regroup with them. However, Neji subtly signaled him to stay behind and continue observing from the shadows.
Jūgo didn't mind. Sasuke had instructed him to listen to Natsuro, and Natsuro had said to follow Neji's orders. Thus, he followed Neji without question.
Moreover, Jūgo didn't dislike Neji. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of camaraderie with him.
But that seemed unlikely. Jūgo knew about the Hyūga clan, they were one of Konoha's most prestigious families. How could someone like Neji have endured the same kind of confinement and torment he had?
Still, that feeling of connection made Jūgo more inclined to listen to Neji, as long as it didn't contradict Sasuke's orders.
Lost in thought, Jūgo silently followed them into the ruins.
However, shortly after they entered, the ground beneath them began to tremble. The entire forest seemed to shift and transform.
In the next moment, countless ancient stone pillars burst from the earth, creating a truly awe-inspiring scene.
Finally, what had appeared to be a small section of ruins transformed into a colossal structure.
Not only did it rise from the ground, but it began to ascend into the sky.
When its full form was revealed, it was a massive airborne fortress.
Its name, Ankor Vantian!
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Currently on Chapter 305 - There's Hope for the Uchiha Clan's Revival...