“You really are a mess! You made me wait so long.” Sasori finally reunited with Orochimaru. After sending a signal, he waited for Orochimaru for an hour.
Sasori hated waiting the most, which made him dislike Orochimaru even more.
“Hehe… You’re not much better yourself.”
Orochimaru had already switched to a temporary body. He looked at Sasori, clicking his tongue: “If I’m not mistaken, you were cut in half by that guy called Whitebeard.”
“Tsk, looks like I’ve discovered a secret.”
Orochimaru licked his lips: “As a puppeteer, did you modify your own body into a puppet too? Did you switch bodies? What did you use to switch?”
“How did your soul and consciousness transfer to another puppet?” Orochimaru was very curious.
This piqued his scientific interest.
“Hmph!” Sasori couldn’t be bothered to explain to Orochimaru: “You should think about how to explain this to Pain when we get back! If it weren’t for you holding me back, I would have already brought Whitebeard into the ‘Akatsuki’ organization.”
“Hehe…”
Orochimaru said nothing: “What an annoying person!”
One switched to a new puppet.
The other switched to a temporary body.
Both of them seemed in good condition, provided you ignored their clothes.
The Akatsuki’s black and red cloud robes…
…had been shattered by Whitebeard.
They were dressed like beggars, or worse, barely clothed. Anyone who saw them might think they were playing some strange game.
…
“Why am I here again?”
Naruto, knocked out by Conqueror’s Haki, suddenly found himself standing in ankle-deep water.
Naruto immediately remembered he had often dreamed of this place, where Kurama resided.
Uncle Kakashi had mentioned…
This is the sealing space inside him!
“Hey, kid!” Kurama had seen Naruto come to this place several times before. Last time, it found that it couldn’t scare this kid, so it didn’t bother trying this time.
Kurama leaned against the cold wall, assuming a very human-like posture, with its forelimbs behind its head and its hind legs crossed.
It looked down at Naruto.
“You again!” Naruto frowned but suddenly noticed something odd, looking surprised: “Huh? Big fox, why don’t you have… you know?”
“You brat! Are you trying to insult me?” Kurama flared up, baring its fangs and looking ferocious: “Do you believe I’ll break out and eat you?”
Naruto looked innocent: “But you really don’t have them!”
Kurama: “…”
“Um…” Naruto said, “I heard Uncle Kakashi say that every time I’m about to give up during my training, it’s you who lends me your power to keep me going?”
“Kakashi? That kid with the Sharingan?” Kurama snorted: “So what?”
“Can you lend me a bit more power?”
Naruto was eager: “Every time you lend me just a little bit, I can complete Dad’s training tasks. If you lend me more, wouldn’t I be able to complete them twice as fast?”
“Get lost!” Kurama refused without a second thought.
But Naruto was still in the sealing space.
Naruto hesitated: “Big fox, what do I need to do for you to lend me more power?”
Kurama glanced at Naruto.
It pointed its sharp claw at the seal on the door.
It grinned sinisterly: “If you tear this thing off, I’ll lend you all my power.”
Kurama’s tone was filled with temptation.
“Kid, I know you crave power.” Kurama said, “Don’t you feel helpless every time you encounter danger, always needing your dad to save you, making you seem like a burden to him?”
“Tear it off! Rip it down!” Kurama grew more excited, its fox face grinning wickedly.
“You really desire my power, don’t you?”
“Then do as I say!”
“No!” Naruto shook his head firmly: “I already told Dad about you. He told me not to trust you. You must be up to something bad.”
“Damn Whitebeard!” Kurama retracted its grin.
The whole fox couldn’t help but curse.
“Hmm! Big fox, I’ll come back to talk to you again tomorrow night.”
Naruto said seriously: “I will convince you!”
“Get lost!”
…
This time, Naruto really woke up.
As he opened his eyes, he realized it was morning. His small body was rising and falling. Looking closely… he found he was lying on his dad’s shoulder.
Just like the last time he fainted.
It felt oddly familiar.
“Dad, where are those two ninja uncles from last night?” Naruto looked around but didn’t see Orochimaru or Sasori.
“Gurararara! Stupid son, you’re awake?”
Whitebeard laughed: “Why do you wake up later than Fuu and Karin? As for those two little ninja brats from last night, they ran away with their tails between their legs.”
“I see!” Naruto understood.
Suddenly.
Naruto found himself being picked up.
Turning around, he saw his dad’s devilish grin: “Stupid son! Since you’re awake, let’s start today’s training! Today, Dad will continue to train you in Observation Haki!”
“Okay! Dad!”
Naruto nodded eagerly.
Though the big fox was unwilling to lend him more power, Naruto wasn’t disappointed or discouraged.
He was still full of energy.
Blood boiling!
…
Time passed day by day.
The Land of Fire’s territory was vast, even in the entire ninja world. Crossing the Land of Fire took a long time, especially with two kids in the group.
This day.
It was the nineteenth day of Whitebeard’s group crossing the Land of Fire, and Naruto had been away from Konoha for almost four months.
Within the Land of Fire, the hot summer had turned into a cool autumn.
Swish—
Suddenly, an irregular stone the size of Naruto’s fist flew past his temple. But Naruto cleverly dodged the incoming stone.
“Yes! I dodged all 50 stones!”
Naruto excitedly took off his blindfold. Though he looked extremely disheveled, his face was beaming with a bright smile.
“Dad, have I mastered Observation Haki?”
Even while traveling, Whitebeard’s group didn’t skip training.
“Gurararara!” Whitebeard laughed: “Stupid son, you’ve made good progress! But this is just the first step in awakening Observation Haki. The second step is to block your ears too!”
“The ‘listening’ of Observation Haki isn’t just about using your ears to listen, stupid son!!”
…
…
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