Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 430 Warlock Activates

Making Sasuke fully understand the current "Hikaru" wasn't something that could be achieved overnight, and the senior members unanimously agreed that this task shouldn't be theirs; it should have been handed over to someone who had messed things up at the drop of a hat! However, when their gaze focused on the boy in the corner, a few vestiges of conscience quietly surfaced. Look at how badly the child was crying! He hadn't even had time to change out of those blood-stained clothes; forcing him to act like this probably wasn't a good idea.

Even if the three adults were angry, they wouldn't take it out on the victim. They exchanged a glance and turned to freeze Naruto first. But the moment the wheels of the gurney clicked, the boy who had been crying in Mikoto's arms started moving.

"What are you trying to do?" Sasuke gripped the corner of the headboard, trying to force himself not to look down. His reason told him that these people were Naruto's comrades and could be trusted, but his body moved uncontrollably.

Now, whatever we say could hurt the child's fragile heart, so Hashirama, who is best at speaking, took the initiative to speak.

"You'll probably need some time to process all this. Don't worry, we'll arrange everything for you and Naruto. How about letting Naruto get some sleep first?"

The pulling force didn't loosen, and Sasuke trembled all over. The more the other person tried to appease him, the harder it was for him to bear. After a while of this stalemate, Sasuke slowly lowered his head, meeting the bloodless face directly. Naruto closed his eyes and slept peacefully. If you ignored his empty chest, he seemed quite serene.

"You... are all reincarnated from the Impure World Reincarnation."

Sasuke spoke with absolute certainty. He had seen resurrected corpses with Orochimaru; their bodies were covered in cracks, and their open eyes were pitch black—clearly not the living. The four people before him looked no different from the living, but his mother's hands were ice-cold, and he recognized two of the faces instantly—these two were the infamous "dead." The last one, who looked somewhat like him, was obviously from the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha clan had been wiped out; apart from a few scattered individuals, where could the living have come from?

"That's right," Izuna readily admitted.

Mikoto carefully walked to Sasuke's side, gently placing a hand on Sasuke's arm as he gripped the emergency bed. "Sasuke, they are Konoha's seniors: the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, and Izuna, the ancestor of the Uchiha clan. We are all companions gathered here by Naruto. We just wanted to find Naruto a safer place; we had no ill intentions."

This was the first time Mikoto had spoken entirely on behalf of her three seniors. Her smile was so forced, and she didn't dare to look away from Naruto even a little.

The mother and son, their faces still wet with tears, stared at each other in bewilderment. In the end, Sasuke stepped back first, letting go of her hand and murmuring, "Mom, I just want to see him as soon as possible."

This was good for "Hui," but too cruel for a child. The adults exchanged glances and finally made up their minds. Tobirama disappeared for a while, then returned carrying a white, humanoid object. He handed over another scroll filled with runes that Sasuke couldn't understand yet.

“You were unconscious for about two hours. When I went to pick you up, I sensed that there were still many people nearby.”

"...That's Konoha, 'Akatsuki' and my team."

“Naruto must have left a shadow clone in Konoha’s group. Now that shadow clone must have disappeared. You know what that means.” Tobirama’s words were always so incisive. “Naruto must return to Konoha as soon as possible and prove that he is alright, otherwise this…accident will be discovered sooner or later. Since he has chosen to believe you, then we will believe you too.”

"Drip Naruto's blood onto the center of the scroll, then perform the hand seals in the order I instructed."

Sasuke half-squatted by the bed, but his outstretched hand didn't fall for a long time, because three hours was enough for the body to bleed dry, and all he could see were blackened blood clots.

Mikoto couldn't bear to look at the child's empty eyes, so she went over and plucked a bit of his golden hair, saying, "Your hair is fine too, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded, placed the small amount of gold on the dusty paper, and then raised his hands in preparation.

"Yin—Si—Xu—Chen—Hands clasped together."

"The Impure World Reincarnation Technique!"

The three hours of chaos in Beichen were also the most chaotic for the people gathered in that grove of trees.

Naruto, who was discussing tactics with Kakashi, suddenly turned into white smoke and disappeared, leaving both sides stunned.

Konoha didn't immediately consider the worst-case scenario; they were all shocked that Naruto had fooled them with a shadow clone while his real body was nowhere to be found.

Tobi hadn't considered the possibility of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki dying. His first thought was that the battle between Itachi and Sasuke might go awry, so he immediately abandoned his Konoha team and headed straight for Itachi's hiding place. Although Zetsu was stationed there, he didn't expect that intelligence agent to gain any advantage under the Flying Thunder God Technique. However, when he appeared in the dark corner, he saw Itachi still sitting there alone, his casual posture unchanged.

"How did you get here? Didn't the people from Konoha catch up?" White Zetsu asked, puzzled.

What's going on? Did Naruto trick him and deliberately lure him away? No... the chakra flow is wrong!

The three tomoe beneath the mask instantly merged together; the clash of equally powerful eye energy distorted the space before them for a moment before returning to normal. However, the stone chair was empty; where was Itachi?

"Illusion?" Black Zetsu's tone held a hint of disbelief. He truly hadn't expected to fall into Tsukuyomi without even realizing it. He had initially thought this was just another boring battle, and all he needed to do was ensure Sasuke's survival. He never imagined he'd be caught off guard and fall into such a trap!

The Sharingan is indeed something that cannot be taken lightly.

The brow beneath Tobi's mask was furrowed deeply. He thought today would bring relief; with Itachi Uchiha, this major threat, gone, even if Shisui's other eye was temporarily missing, it wouldn't cause any trouble. Who knew Itachi would run away without a fight, right in front of Zetsu!

Where did he go? Is this fight even going to happen? Did that guy suddenly change his mind and decide he doesn't want to die anymore? That would be a huge problem!

Where is Sasuke?

White Zetsu moved his exaggerated "leaves," his expression suddenly freezing, and said, "The clone buried on the road has been killed."

Great, that's wonderful...

Afei was so angry he laughed, though no one could see the clenched teeth in his smile. He had long suspected that only the Flying Thunder God Technique could secretly sabotage Akatsuki, and only one person could use it. Naruto had achieved his final goal, so he wasn't even bothering to act anymore? He was celebrating too soon!

"Send someone to inform Danzo that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki already knows the truth about what happened back then."