In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Chapter 98 Sell Your Soul to Me

Support me at Pat reon

remove the *

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A total of six people from Konoha Twelve came out for this mission. Excluding Naruto and Shikamaru, three were injured and one was almost out of Chakra. According to the protocol, the mission should be terminated.

While Uchiha was undeniably important, the lives of the six young Konoha’s Shinobi were equally valuable. In the future, they will be the pillars of Konoha. After all, they’re the most promising buds that Sandaime spoke of.

By both logic and emotion, the mission should be called off.

"Drag Shikamaru back, it doesn’t matter if he agrees or not." Naruto said as they pressed on, "There are still two people left on the other side, and Sasuke is also incredibly strong."

"I can't beat him anyway. If we insisted on chasing him, we'll all die here."

The four of them were silent for a moment, and Choji, who is carrying the injured Kiba on his back, was the first to speak in agreement with Naruto's proposal.

"I think what Naruto said makes sense."

Lee, after a moment of contemplation, gave up on thinking and agreed as well, "Same here."

Since Kiba and Neji were severely injured, they had no say in the matter. The decision passed with a three-to-zero vote. With this, even if Shikamaru had any objections, it would be a five-to-one decision.

"There's something up ahead." The half-dead Kiba muttered.

Neji, with a hole in his chest, activated his Byakugan again, scanning in the direction Kiba pointed. His vision cut through the trees and locked onto the northeast forest.

"That's close to the Konoha’s border." Neji said, "A little further, and it's the forest of the Land of Fire. If they get in there, it'll be nearly impossible to find them!"

Between the Konoha Forest and the Land of Fire was a long, open plain that stretched westward towards the sea, with the Valley of the End not far off.

"I'll go ahead and check it out." Naruto said after a moment of thought, "You guys…"

Halfway through his words, Neji felt himself flying again, drawing a graceful curve in the air like a small schoolbag thrown into the air after school on Friday.

With a thud, Lee, who had regained some strength, caught him steadily.

Amid Neji's first-time profanity, Naruto left, his figure disappearing in a dramatic exit that left Neji swearing that he would definitely beat up Naruto.

Meanwhile…

Shikamaru was forced to retreat continuously by Tayuya, who had activated her second state Cursed Seal. Just as he was about to seize an opportunity to counterattack, Sasuke suddenly burst out of his barrel and unleashed a Fire Release Technique straight at Shikamaru, forcing him to retreat further into the woods.

Without looking back, Sasuke ran off, leaving a frustrated Tayuya. Gritting her teeth, Tayuya prepared to blow her flute and finish Shikamaru off in one final push when suddenly…

A brilliant sword cut through the air, its sharpness whistling in the wind, as it shot forward like lightning, piercing through with the speed of a thunderbolt!

With a heavy thud, the Kusanagi Sword embedded itself deeply into a tree.

Tayuya froze in shock when she saw the sword, and at first, she thought it was Orochimaru himself had arrived. But then, someone else made a flashy entrance, landing right between Shikamaru and Tayuya.

"Shikamaru, stand down."

The fallen leaves on the ground exploded upward, and wet mud splattered as Naruto fixed his gaze on the second state Cursed Seal Tayuya, standing with his back to Shikamaru.

"Choji and the others are all injured. Continuing this chase is pointless."

"Damn it, we've come this far." Shikamaru gritted his teeth and said unwillingly, "How are Choji and the others?"

"They're behind us. I came ahead."

Hearing their casual conversation as if she didn't exist, Tayuya couldn't hold it in anymore and shouted, "Hey! You two bastards! Stop ignoring me!"

"Huh?" Shikamaru's eyes moved past Naruto and landed on Tayuya. He suddenly became nervous and shouted, "Naruto, get back quickly! That woman is very dangerous."

"Oh, okay." Naruto replied perfunctorily, and glanced at Tayuya on the opposite side.

"Tsk." Tayuya scowled from afar, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

She raised her flute horizontally and shouted, "You bastards, just die already! You, and you! All of you are going to die by my hands!"

Shikamaru's pupils dilated, and the feeling of being dominated by fear surged into his heart again. He suddenly remembered Tayuya's terrifying Genjutsu and shouted again, "Naruto, get back! Watch out for her flute!"

"Alright." Naruto answered casually, but he didn't move. Instead, he said, "Shikamaru, you go first."

As he said that, Naruto tossed something towards Tayuya. It wasn't fast, and it looked like a white stick-like object. Tayuya frowned and reached out to take the object.

It was a white bone spur, and it felt very smooth in her hand.

Just one glance at it, and Tayuya's arrogant demeanor vanished instantly. It was Kimimaro's bone, and the realization made her scalp tingle. After a brief moment of hesitation, she gave up thinking entirely.

Almost purely on instinct, Tayuya didn't hesitate at all before turning and running away.

Shikamaru was stunned for a moment: "What did you throw?"

"Nothing important." Naruto replied, uninterested in explaining. He then left with a parting instruction, "Wait here for the others. Once you're all together, retreat immediately. You know I can make it back on my own."

Naruto then turned and chased after Tayuya.

"Hey!" Shikamaru was still a little confused, but his Chakra was almost exhausted, "Naruto, don't go! Come back first!!"

"I'm going to bring Sasuke back!" Naruto's voice echoed through the forest.

In the forest, Shikamaru, with injuries, stood on a tree trunk, and instinctively felt that something was wrong.

But at this moment, exhaustion overwhelmed him, and when he thought of Naruto's words that Choji and the others were all injured, he was instantly filled with a sense of helplessness and he couldn't say anything.

Choji and Lee slowly slowly caught up, carrying the heavily injured Neji and Kiba, landing beside Shikamaru.

Naruto wasn't concerned with which direction Sasuke had gone. Instead, he relentlessly chased down Tayuya.

He couldn't defeat Itachi, and he hoped that Itachi would die soon every day. Now, he even had a PTSD when opening the door. His pain far surpassed that of Deidara, so how could he possibly stop Sasuke from seeking revenge?

"Are you insane? Why are you chasing after me instead of Uchiha Sasuke? Do you have a death wish?"

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Trash!"

Tayuya leaped in a direction opposite to Sasuke's, contempt and impatience written all over her face.

"Then stop running."

Naruto caught up with Tayuya, and swung the Kusanagi Sword in his hand directly, cutting several giant trees in half. The fallen trees blocked Tayuya's path.

The latter was furious and simply stopped.

The two of them stood on tree trunks, about twenty meters apart, staring each other down.

In the second state Cursed Seal, Tayuya had absorbed natural energy and entered a Sage Mode-like transformation. Her appearance had drastically changed from usual, with dark red hair, black skin, deep black eyes, and demonic horns protruding from her head.

"I might as well kill you right here, you bastard, trash!" Tayuya snarled, drawing out her flute.

"Sasuke has escaped, and I killed four of your group of five." Naruto sheathed the Kusanagi Sword, his gaze fixed on Tayuya's shocked face, and his voice became more and more bewitching.

"Orochimaru doesn't need you anymore, Tayuya."

"Impossible!" Tayuya's voice wavered as she heard that the four others had died at Naruto's hands, "My loyalty to Orochimaru-sama is…"

"Name your price." Naruto interrupted, revealing his true intentions, "Sell your soul to me."