The underground stronghold twisted like a labyrinth, shadows stretching endlessly along its stone corridors.
Naruto wasted no time. With a seal of his hands, dozens of shadow clones burst into existence, scattering in every direction to explore. The original body remained seated cross-legged, eyes shut as he focused his chakra, ready to receive the reports from his clones.
If Kenya had been here, he would have been surprised. Naruto's method of using shadow clones for reconnaissance and training—a technique that multiplied learning through shared experience—was something he originally mastered while developing the Rasenshuriken. Yet now, Naruto wielded it with practiced ease, far earlier than expected.
Time and fate had shifted more than anyone realized.
Less than ten minutes later, Naruto's eyes snapped open. A rush of memory flooded back from a destroyed clone.
"I found him!" he shouted. "That was… Chidori! Someone just destroyed my clone with Chidori!"
His voice trembled with excitement. He hadn't seen the attacker's face—it had been too fast—but the jutsu's sharp flash was unmistakable. And it wasn't the ordinary Chidori. This version was stronger, sharper, evolved.
Even that single glimpse was enough.
"Let's go!" Sakura whispered urgently. Her expression was controlled, but the fire in her eyes betrayed her excitement.
Naruto nodded hard, and the two of them rushed down the path where the clone had been destroyed.
Suigetsu watched their backs with a bored shrug. "Idiots… I'll just focus on finishing my own mission."
The four of them finally broke through an exit and stepped into open air. A barren wasteland stretched out before them, silent and bleak.
And then—
"…Naruto?"
The voice, cold and familiar, cut through the stillness.
All three—Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi—froze where they stood. Slowly, a white figure emerged from the haze.
It was Sasuke.
Older, taller, his features sharper, but his face carried something far more unsettling than the change in appearance—an icy indifference that made him seem like a stranger.
"Sa…suke…" Naruto choked out. The name scraped his throat, but no other words followed.
Neither Sakura nor Kakashi could speak either.
Sasuke's eyes glimmered faintly. Then, in the blink of an eye, he vanished.
The next instant, Naruto felt a hand press down on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Sasuke beside him—chin resting casually on the opposite shoulder.
"So fast!" Sakura gasped.
"I didn't even see him move," Kakashi muttered, alarm tightening his expression.
Suigetsu tensed silently, his instincts screaming. So this is the strength Kenya-sama developed with the Hōgyoku… terrifying. And he doesn't even have a bloodline limit of his own.
"Remember, Naruto?" Sasuke's low voice brushed his ear. "You used to say your dream was to become Hokage." His tone hardened, cold and mocking. "If you've got so much time to chase me, shouldn't you be training instead?"
Naruto's eyes widened, pupils constricting. His reply came sharp as a blade:
"A man who can't protect his companions has no right to be Hokage. Isn't that what you taught me, Sasuke?"
Sasuke's mouth curled faintly. "Heh… You've forgotten, haven't you? The last time we met, I spared your life on a whim. This time… I might take it, just as easily."
His hand reached behind his back, drawing the gleaming Kusanagi blade in one slow motion.
Shing!
The sword arced forward, poised to pierce Naruto's heart.
"Sasuke, wait!" Sakura screamed.
"Damn!" Kakashi hurled a kunai, moving to intercept.
But sparks exploded before either could act. A massive blade—the Decapitating Sword once wielded by Zabuza—clashed against the Kusanagi. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he traced the weapon's edge to its wielder.
Suigetsu grinned, teeth flashing. "Got to you first."
Kakashi's gaze hardened in disbelief. He moved faster than me…
Sakura's chest tightened. So strong… No wonder he holds such an important role under Uchiha Kenya.
But Sasuke's hand crackled with lightning.
"Chidori Nagashi!"
The blade erupted in lightning, thunder roaring down its edge and into the clash.
"Not good—Suigetsu!" Kakashi barked. "Lightning completely counters your clan's Hydration Technique!"
"Heheheh…" Suigetsu only laughed, his right hand freezing over in an instant. Ice crept across both swords, locking them together as he forced Sasuke back.
"What!?" For the first time, Sasuke's eyes widened.
The lightning surged violently, shattering the ice, but Suigetsu had already forced him ten meters back.
"That was… ice?" Sasuke muttered. "The Haku-like kekkei genkai from the Yuki clan…"
Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi stared, stunned.
"How is that possible?" Kakashi whispered. "The Hōzuki clan specializes in water techniques. How could Suigetsu wield the Yuki clan's Ice Release? And that power… it's stronger than even the originals."
He could scarcely believe what he was seeing—both Sasuke's explosive growth and Suigetsu's impossible fusion of bloodline limits.
Suigetsu smirked wickedly, eyes gleaming. "So, Kakashi-sensei… does that make him our enemy? After all, he's already a traitor."
This was his mission as well—not only retrieving Orochimaru's specimen, but also measuring Sasuke's power. Kenya needed to know how close Sasuke was to awakening Indra's soul.
Sasuke's gaze sharpened, voice low and dangerous.
"…So you've accepted that power as well?"