Once upon a time, Sasuke had been "educated" by that kind of attack from behind.
It left him with lifelong trauma.
After sensing the crisis behind him, Sasuke exploded with full power like a startled cat. Even the pride issues he'd been concerned about got thrown to the back of his mind.
Crackle Crackle...
His body hadn't even turned around yet, but Lightning Release chakra was already gathering in his hand.
Due to his intense mental focus, this kid actually subconsciously succeeded in mixing a trace of Haki into it. The edges of the lightning in his hand took on some dark coloration.
Now it was Kakashi's turn to silently cry out in alarm.
He could naturally recognize what Sasuke was using now—the Lightning Release technique "Raikiri" that he'd taught him.
Of course, after teaching it to Sasuke, Kakashi had specifically emphasized: "This technique's called Raikiri in my hands, but in yours it's called Chidori."
Meaning that Sasuke's future path was different from his own and needed to be pioneered by himself.
The Raikiri technique originally required three hand seals, but after Sasuke's own modifications, it became the "Chidori: Swift" with lower power but faster speed. In specific situations, this new jutsu could even be released without hand seals.
Of course, the power would drop even further.
But even this version of Chidori hitting Konohamaru would likely cause problems.
Konohamaru's current Armament Haki could handle ordinary taijutsu, but against the most penetrating Lightning Release jutsu, he'd likely be seriously injured.
Konohamaru himself—having not mastered Observation Haki and having just emerged from the ground without understanding the situation—was still charging forward.
He was about to crash into Sasuke's attack himself.
Kakashi had already activated the Body Flicker Technique, gathering chakra to explode at extreme speed, his entire form instantly vanishing from his original position.
But someone was faster than him.
Clap.
A large hand gripped Sasuke's palm, completely ignoring the crackling lightning. At the same moment, Konohamaru was also held down by the head and couldn't move.
"Yo, long time no see, everyone."
A familiar voice appeared on the scene, making everyone present stop their actions.
"Naruto?!"
"Naruto-boss!"
Kakashi, already in mid-air, flipped to adjust his balance and landed on the ground, then looked at Naruto with disbelief.
When did Naruto arrive? He hadn't been able to sense even a trace of his presence.
After releasing his hands, Naruto straightened up.
"Naruto-boss! You're finally back!" Konohamaru was first to react, directly setting Sasuke aside and pouncing toward Naruto. "This mission really took a long time! Look, look, I've already trained—"
He clung to Naruto's body like a koala, and his personality that'd finally settled down immediately reverted to its original state.
Konohamaru even eagerly demonstrated the Armament Haki he'd trained, drawing Naruto's attention. This kid really did have quite some talent.
On Sasuke's side, he was still somewhat in disbelief.
He'd thought Naruto would be away for a long time on this trip, but they were reunited after only a little over a month.
Originally, seeing Naruto again, he'd wanted to say something, but Naruto's next words left him stunned.
"Are you ready? Sasuke, it's time to go."
Naruto had once said he'd let Sasuke complete his revenge with his own hands.
Sasuke had always kept this promise in his heart. He believed Naruto wouldn't go back on his word.
After being stunned for a few seconds, his gaze immediately became firm and filled with killing intent.
"I've been ready for a long time."
Konohamaru nearby became somewhat unhappy, looking left and right, then continuously shaking Naruto's shoulders.
"Naruto-boss... Are you leaving again? Can't you stay in the village for a few more days?" This coquettish behavior was enough to make a certain sunglasses-wearing pervert grind his teeth.
"I'll pass. If I stay here too long, some people probably won't be able to sleep peacefully."
Naruto somewhat helplessly lifted the dejected Konohamaru down, completely ignoring Kakashi-sensei's complex expression after hearing his words.
Kakashi wanted to say something but ultimately fell silent.
He had to admit that what Naruto said was the truth.
Since Naruto's high-profile departure from Konoha last time, the village's higher-ups and some major clans had developed certain ideas.
Although the Third Hokage was still in the village, he'd already stepped down from that position, causing people's hearts to begin wavering.
Seeing Kakashi's hesitant expression, Naruto just smiled at him and shook his head to indicate no more words were needed.
Then he crouched down to look at the frowning Konohamaru, raising his palm as if to comfort him.
"Haha, as a gift, let me teach you a new jutsu."
As he spoke, chakra gathered above his palm, and a small Rasengan appeared. Then Naruto casually pressed it against a large tree, instantly "carving" out a big hole in its interior.
"This is—"
"I taught it to him."
Jiraiya's voice rang out at the right time, with Karin standing beside him, sizing up Sasuke and Konohamaru.
Hmm...
One little brat and one cold-faced guy. They seemed so far inferior to Naruto-san.
Could these types really become teammates in the same ninja squad as Naruto-san?
This was truly Karin and Sasuke's first meeting, though Karin already knew about Sasuke's relationship with Naruto. This led to her finding Sasuke disagreeable no matter how she looked at him.
Sasuke also noticed Karin's gaze, coldly glanced back at her, and then turned away.
What the—
Stinky brat!
A cross vein immediately popped on Karin's forehead. If not for Naruto-san being here, she'd definitely make this guy experience Garuda's power.
While Jiraiya was still talking to Kakashi over there, Naruto had already finished teaching the Rasengan here.
But those abstract descriptions left Konohamaru scratching his head until Jiraiya couldn't stand it anymore and taught it personally.
"By the way, congratulations on learning both types of Haki."
As he spoke, Naruto suddenly pulled out that black and red fruit and threw it to Sasuke.
"The promised gift. Eat it."
Sasuke also remembered Naruto's earlier promise, looking at that black and red fruit.
Not far away, Karin seemed to think of something and quietly pulled a camera from her pack.
Looking at the fruit, Sasuke bit into it without hesitation. He completely trusted that Naruto wouldn't harm him.
But unfortunately, he trusted too early.
With one bite, even Sasuke, the cold-faced little prince, scrunched up his face.
Click click... Karin's shutter precisely recorded this moment.
"Ah, you only need to eat one bite. I almost forgot to tell you."
Sasuke responded to Naruto's late reminder with a resentful look, but then immediately felt another power within his body.
Naruto seemed to see some scene and immediately said to the people nearby: "Everyone spread out."
Everyone reacted and moved away from Sasuke in the center.
The next moment, black and red flames swept around, forming a tornado.
Despite not feeling high temperatures, anything that contacted those flames rapidly turned to ash. As if skipping the "burning" process entirely.
This spectacular scene naturally attracted the attention of others in the village, but fortunately Jiraiya-sensei's reputation was there.
Jiraiya directly left to stop the ANBU who were rushing over.
The remaining people watched as the flames dispersed, revealing a giant wolf-dog with pitch-black fur and dark red markings on its body.
The giant wolf's large, flowing tail was still burning with dark red flames. Just standing there, it was two to three meters tall, giving off an extremely strong sense of oppression.
Zoan Type - Dog-Dog Fruit - Mythical Zoan - Misfortune Wolf Form!
Where its four feet stepped, it left a trail of flaming footprints.
Those were flames symbolizing "calamity"!