The red chakra disappeared from Naruto, along with the feeling of weakness rising again. Naruto's body went limp, almost falling to the ground, but at that moment, two figures suddenly appeared.
Sasuke reached out and grabbed Naruto, disappearing in a flash.
Kakashi, holding lightning in his hand, with his Sharingan spinning faster than ever: "Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Strike!"
Two giant lightning dragons split from the lightning in Kakashi's hand, wrapping around Shukaku's arms like chains. The powerful force exploded instantly, and the lightning was like divine punishment. Even Shukaku's tailed beast body was damaged by the sudden attack, with sand falling from his arms.
Although it didn't completely destroy his body, it did cause some damage to Shukaku.
After using the ninjutsu, Kakashi immediately retreated, using the Body Flicker Jutsu desperately, grabbing Sasuke and Naruto and disappearing again, reappearing a hundred meters away.
Shukaku took a deep breath, stepping back two steps. But this injury was not enough to hurt him. He was not in a medium state now, but had descended in his true form. A single Lightning Release was a bit too ambitious to push him back.
"Kakashi... sensei?" Naruto, carried on Kakashi's shoulder, was a bit dazed.
"Yes." Kakashi replied seriously, "This is not something you can handle. Sasuke, take Naruto and leave quickly. Asuma and I will find a way to stop the tailed beast."
Kakashi's tone was full of authority, even Sasuke was intimidated. It seemed like this was the first time he had seen Kakashi so serious since they met.
However, to Kakashi's surprise, Shukaku didn't chase after them. He just restored his arm and stood there watching the three of them, as if he was thinking about something.
After moving a kilometer away, Kakashi stopped and turned to look at the motionless Shukaku, feeling a bit puzzled. Was this tailed beast resting? Did Naruto injure him earlier?
But now wasn't the time to think about that. Kakashi handed Naruto to Sasuke and said seriously, "Sasuke, take Naruto and go quickly. Inform the Jonin and find Jiraiya-sama. Naruto knows who he is."
Kakashi's judgment was the same as Kurama's. In this situation, only Jiraiya could seal Shukaku.
Naruto struggled to lean on Sasuke, blood staining Sasuke's clothes from his wounds, but he didn't care. "Kakashi-sensei, I can still fight. I have to stop that guy, or Konohagakure will..."
"This is a Jonin's job!" Kakashi almost shouted. "You Genin just need to stay back and watch us in action."
Normally, Kakashi wouldn't say something like this, but in this situation, he remembered the scene from twelve years ago, the night of the Nine-Tails' attack. Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, and all their generation were placed in Konohagakure's shelter, protected by Chunin.
At that time, they wanted to help, but the Jonin who brought them there said the same words.
Even though Kakashi was already a Jonin back then, and everyone else had become Chunin, when the real battle came, they could only hide and watch, helplessly seeing the tailed beast destroy Konohagakure, and watching their teacher and his wife die to save the village.
Kakashi clenched his fist, his Sharingan glowing faintly red. This kind of thing... once was enough.
He looked at Naruto, his tone relaxing a bit, like usual. "Naruto, you have a more important mission now, an S-rank mission, to save Konohagakure. So leave this to us."
Naruto stared blankly at Kakashi, the lazy man who now seemed to be glowing.
Two more figures landed, and Asuma's cheerful voice said, "Kakashi is right. You are the next generation of Konohagakure. Instead of sending you to your deaths, let us show you the cool side of the Jonin."
Kurenai chuckled beside him. "Well, you also need to know why we are Jonin, and it's not just because of our strength."
Sasuke kept his head down, not saying a word, but his teeth were clenched so hard they were almost bleeding. He hated his own lack of strength.
"Sasuke..." At this moment, Naruto suddenly called him. Sasuke looked up, his face still cold, but now colder than ever.
"Are you afraid of death?" Naruto turned to him, the usual smile on his face. "I'm not afraid of death, so if you are, go find the Pervy Sage."
Sasuke clenched his fist, his expression unchanged. "Afraid of death? I don't want to die, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of death. Besides, you need me to stand up right now, so be careful what you say, or I'll drop you."
Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Then let's team up and beat that guy."
"I don't think the two of us can beat that monster," Sasuke said rationally.
He's not stupid. Though he's stubborn, going up now would be seeking death, not bravery. He hasn't avenged yet and doesn't want to die.
"That's not a monster." Naruto shook his head slightly, looking at Shukaku in the distance. "His name is Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast Shukaku. He's no different from humans. He can communicate, get angry, and curse. He just has different values from humans."
"You know about values?" Sasuke snorted, as if mocking. "Different values mean you can't be friends. If you're not friends, you're enemies. Besides, he's already on the opposite side."
After saying this, Sasuke looked at Naruto with a mocking tone: "So, are you going to reason with that monster called Shukaku?"
"No!" Naruto shook his head firmly. "I said, I'm going to beat him up."
Sasuke almost rolled his eyes. Does this guy not understand human language? The problem now isn't whether we're afraid of death, but that we have no chance of winning. There's a difference between seeking death and not being afraid of death.
But just as he was about to say this, he heard Naruto suddenly speak: "Sasuke, I have a way, but Kurama said that after doing this, even if I don't die, I'll be in bad shape and might not be able to be a ninja anymore."
"!!" Sasuke was shocked.
Naruto continued: "I've thought about it. If I can't be a ninja, I can't be Hokage. Being Hokage is my dream. I don't want to give up my dream, but I also want to protect the village, so..."
He looked at Sasuke: "Sasuke, if I can't be a ninja in the future, can you be Hokage? Can you... continue to protect Konohagakure?"
Sasuke's eyes widened: "You, do you know what you're saying?"
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