Hinata kept running, jumping over the bushes, and then diving to the ground to slow down, trying to use the terrain to shake off the swarm of bees chasing her.
The Iwagakure's Shinobi behind her were relentlessly pursuing, constantly using tree trunks as footholds to dive down towards her, giving her no chance to catch her breath.
"Catch her!" Suzumebachi shouted, "It's too late to grab the Bikochu, let's just use her to make a trade!"
"She can't escape!" Jibachi suddenly sped up, disappearing from his spot. In the next instant, he reappeared in front of Hinata, his face twisted into a sneer as he adjusted his glasses, " Where do you think you're going!"
From above the cliff, if Naruto waited to climb down, it would be too late.
If he wanted to use the incomplete version of the Flying Thunder God Technique, he can't use it too because the distance is too far. The cliff's vertical height alone was several hundred meters, making it impossible to activate.
But seeing that time was running out, Naruto didn't hesitate at all. He could only use the simplest method to shorten the distance, which is jumping off the cliff!
He flung Kyubi aside, and after a sprint from the top of the cliff, he leaped off. In free fall, he held a Flying Thunder God kunai tightly in his hand.
Just before the swarm of bees could reach Hinata, there was a whoosh, and Naruto activated the Flying Thunder God Technique barely in time.
The kunai with the Flying Thunder God's imprint hidden in Hinata's ninja tool pouch cracked with a snap, and Naruto instantly teleported, narrowly avoiding the fate of being smashed into a pulp on the ground.
Hinata felt herself being caught in a strong embrace, and to her surprise, Naruto's hand had reached into her sweatshirt and wrapped around her, holding her securely.
The blood-red Kyubi's Chakra erupted, with the first tail unleashed.
The scorching Chakra whirlwind instantly blew away the swarm of bees, and Naruto hurled the Flying Thunder God kunai at the bespectacled ninja. Now, with Hinata in his arms, he couldn't fully unleash his full power against these three enemies.
In real combat, opportunities can change in an instant. Giving the enemy even a moment to breathe could be the difference between victory and a crushing defeat.
Naruto used to read a lot, so his heart has long been dirty beyond measure.
In a group of three, there is always a weak one to be killed!
In front of everyone, he immediately targeted the besp bespectacled Shinobi, who was closest to him. When he easily dodged the Flying Thunder God Kunai, Naruto acted.
Putting Hinata down, he held a Kusanagi Sword in his other hand. At the moment when he appeared beside the Flying Thunder God Kunai, he slashed upward, and the bespectacled Shinobi froze for a moment.
In that brief moment, the bespectacled Shinobi felt a cold sensation on his neck and then saw his body spinning around.
The scene was somewhat indescribable. The moment Naruto landed, he grabbed the Flying Thunder God Kunai and ran a few steps. He turned around to see Hinata rolling away, avoiding the splatter of blood.
The other two Iwagakure's Shinobi were stunned for a moment. They hadn't seen how their companion had died, and now they were witnessing a vivid display of carnage.
"Don't look over there." Naruto said, covering Hinata's eyes.
Suzumebachi stood there in a daze, staring at Naruto's golden hair with her eyes wide open. When Kurobachi g next to her was about to attack, she stopped him.
"Let's go!"
Naruto didn't stop them, only watching as the Iwagakure's Shinobi fled in panic before asking Hinata, "Did you find the Bikochu?"
"Yeah, we found it." Hinata felt a little hot around her eyes as they were covered, "Shino and Kiba should have successfully caught it."
"Naruto-kun."
"Yes?"
"You don't need to cover my eyes. I had my Byakugan activated."
"Uh…" Naruto awkwardly moved his hand away and then tugged Hinata along as they walked back, "It's better not to see scenes like that too often. It's bad for your mental health."
"Hey, you look pretty good with your Byakugan activated." Naruto said as he leaned in closer to Hinata's face and looked at her carefully.
"Ah! Don't look at me in this state!" Hinata quickly covered her eyes, momentarily forgetting to deactivate her Byakugan in her panic. It took her a few seconds to finally deactivated it.
When the Byakugan is activated, the veins around the eyes become prominent, the pupils shrink, and fine lines appear inside the eyes, giving them a menacing and intimidating look.
"It's really beautiful. Can you see through things with it?" Naruto asked curiously.
"D-Don't ask about that, Naruto-kun." Hinata stammered, her cheeks growing hot with embarrassment, and she ran off to hide her fluster.
Naruto was only trying to change the subject to distract Hinata, hoping she wouldn't dwell on the gruesome scene from earlier. Hinata was different from him. Her role in the reconnaissance team meant she didn't often have to kill.
Unlike their Team 7, who often followed Kakashi on cross-border missions that involved single-target assassinations and bloodshed. They had seen so much gore that they had become desensitized to them.
Once this mission was over, Naruto figured he'd likely return to Team 7, perhaps occasionally being borrowed by other teams for other missions.
Kakashi's skill level was still high, and among Konoha's Jonin, only Guy could rival him. What was even more admirable was that Kakashi never slacked off.
Even though he was nearly thirty, Kakashi, a former genius, still felt the need to train hard and continuously improve his skills. It is precisely because of this that he is regarded as a lifelong rival by the passionate Guy.
With the Bikochu Mission successfully completed, Naruto collected the mission pay and then holed up at home.
Tsunade hadn't given him any new missions for the time being, and she seemed unusually busy lately. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he knew that Sakura had successfully begun training under Tsunade's tutelage.
As the fan hummed, Naruto reached into the fridge, grabbed an ice cream, and tossed a bottle of sake to Kyubi, who was lounging in the corner.
Kyubi looked at Naruto licking the ice cream in surprise and asked, "Aren't you afraid that I will regain my strength?"
Without turning his head, Naruto slumped onto the couch like a lazy cat, and said, " Come on, it'll take you forever to get your strength back. Life's short, so why not enjoy it?"
"My life isn't exactly short." Kyubi grumbled, puffing up his two paws as he dragged the bottle toward his little couch.
"Not yours, I'm talking about mine. If something happens to me, you might end up never being revived again." Naruto continued to threaten.
"Even though Kyubi will not perish, that Kyubi is no longer you, Kurama."
Hearing this, Kurama glanced warily at Naruto, but said nothing. Instead, he took a swig from the bottle.
As the summer breeze swept through the window, Kurama passed out on the couch, his long, narrow eyes half-closed, and no one knew what he was thinking. He chuckled to himself, the picture of a fallen fox.
Naruto tossed the ice cream wrapper into the nearby trash can and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes as well. The scene of Itachi knocking at the door and Ino in a maid outfit flashed through his mind.
Occasionally, fragmented memories of the original Naruto flickered before his eyes, but none lingered long enough for him to grasp. He was left with only a lingering sense of bitterness.
It may be that the original Naruto had a hard life in the first half of his life and left early.
Some find love under the moonlight, some are newlyweds, while others suffer trials in this world. Naruto didn't know what mistakes a child like the original Naruto could have made to deserve such pain. All he knew was how he needed to live from now on.