A new figure appeared as if materializing from the smoke-filled air itself, standing beside Naruto with the kind of silent arrival that suggested either spatial techniques or movement so refined it appeared instantaneous. She wore the same distinctive black cloak with red clouds that marked Akatsuki membership, her blue hair pulled back with an origami flower that seemed absurdly delicate given the destruction surrounding them. Paper wings extended from her back—not decorative but functional, capable of flight and combat in ways that made her one of Akatsuki's most versatile operatives.
Konan— her amber eyes surveyed the captured Asuma and Kakashi , before turning to Naruto. "Where are the others?" Her voice carried authority that suggested high rank within the organization.
Naruto turned his face toward her, and for just a moment his expression was purely feral—blue eyes blazing with something that transcended anger into raw killing intent, teeth bared like an animal, the black chakra around him spiking violently in response to whatever emotion was surging through him.
But then, as quickly as it had come, the murderous expression vanished. The black chakra dissipated like smoke in wind, retreating back into whatever internal space it occupied when not actively manifested. Naruto's eyes returned to their normal blue—still ringed with those black markings that spoke of corruption, but no longer glowing with that terrible otherworldly light. His face became blank again , it suggested complete emotional disconnect.
"I will find them all," Naruto said, his voice flat and emotionless. Konan used a technique which brought in a lot of origami , all paper-made like butterflies gathered on the captured asuma and Kakashi , then they vanished from there just after a glowing light formed.
"They might have already reached different villages by now. We need to hurry and locate them quickly. The longer we delay, the more complicated it will be for us."
Both of them moved then, and to any observer it would have looked like they simply disappeared—one moment standing among the ruins of Konohagakure, the next gone as if they'd never been there. It appeared to be some kind of teleportation technique, but in reality they were simply running at speeds that exceeded normal human perception, their movements refined through years of high-level combat into something that approached the truly superhuman.
They moved through the forest that surrounded Konoha's ruins, leaping between trees with chakra-enhanced jumps that covered hundreds of feet per bound, their passage marked only by disturbed leaves and the faint residue of chakra left in their wake. The journey that would have taken normal travelers days was covered in hours, their destination clear even if their specific targets remained uncertain.
The town they reached was one Naruto recognized despite years of absence, despite how much it had grown and changed since his childhood. This was where he'd stayed with Jiraiya during those early days of their training journey—where he'd caught the Pervy Sage peeping at bathhouses, where they'd eaten ramen and talked about his grandfather, where for just a brief moment he'd felt like maybe.
The small inn and handful of shops he remembered had been replaced by extensive development. The town had grown into —multiple inns capable of serving hundreds of travelers, a proper marketplace with permanent structures rather than temporary stalls, residential areas that suggested a population in the thousands rather than hundreds. Prosperity had found this place in the years since Naruto had last seen it.
But even before they could enter the town proper, even before they reached the outlying buildings, they sensed it—a barrier extending in a dome over the entire settlement. Not a protective barrier meant to keep threats out, but a detection and containment barrier designed to trap anything inside and alert the caster to any intrusion attempts.
Standing at the barrier's edge, his back to them as if he'd been waiting for their arrival, was another figure in Akatsuki's distinctive cloak. His posture was relaxed, hands tucked into his sleeves, but there was something in his stillness that suggested readiness to respond to threats with lethal efficiency.
Itachi Uchiha turned as they approached, his Sharingan already active—not the Mangekyō pattern but the standard three-tomoe version that still granted him perception and reaction capabilities far beyond normal shinobi.
"Have you found anyone here, Itachi?" Konan asked without preamble, her tactical mind already working through implications and next steps.
She continued before he could fully respond, providing her own reconnaissance results: "I tried to find clues at the village— examined the routes most likely to be used. Nothing concrete. We're not aware of their present locations. The only way forward is to find each target individually. And Quick."
Itachi's response was delivered in that same flat tone that seemed to characterize all the Akatsuki members present—emotion suppressed or eliminated entirely in service of operational efficiency. "There is nothing here. The barrier detected no chakra signatures. Either they never came this direction or they passed through before I established surveillance. For now, let's proceed to Iwagakure."
"And the barrier?" Konan asked.
"Already deployed around the entire town. If any of them arrive after we leave, I'll be notified immediately through the chakra markers I've placed. But for now, this location is a dead end."
Naruto's expression throughout this exchange had been growing progressively darker—not with rage this time but with something closer to grief. His face showed both sadness and anger warring for dominance, creating an expression that was painful to witness because it suggested someone being torn apart by conflicting emotions they couldn't fully process or express.
Naruto said quietly, more to himself than to his companions. "I will come back a bit later."
Without waiting for acknowledgment or permission, he moved into the town, passing through the barrier with the ease of someone who'd been keyed into its parameters. His movements were slower now, lacking the urgent efficiency of before, suggesting he was here for personal reasons rather than tactical ones.
Konan and Itachi exchanged glances—brief, assessing, deciding whether to interfere or allow this deviation from their mission parameters. Finally, Konan nodded slightly. "We wait. Ten minutes. Then we move to Iwagakure regardless of whether he's ready."
Before his memories could fully form, before he could decide whether to enter or simply turn away, the forest erupted with hostile presence.
Figures emerged from shadows as if they'd been part of the darkness itself—ANBU operatives wearing the distinctive masks and armor that marked them as Konoha's elite forces. They materialized from behind trees, from concealed positions in the underbrush, from vantage points that had been carefully selected for optimal attack angles.
Hayate Gekko was among them, his distinctive cough-marked presence unmistakable even behind an ANBU mask. Root operatives accompanied him—the purple-haired poison specialist whose techniques could kill with a touch, the phase-shift operative who could pass through solid matter as if it didn't exist, and several others whose capabilities marked them as jonin-level minimum.
And leading them, coordinating their movements with hand signals and tactical genius that had made him one of Konoha's most valuable strategic assets despite his relatively young age, was Shikamaru Nara. No mask for him—his face was visible, scarred and hardened by years of combat command, his expression carrying the weight of someone who'd made too many impossible decisions and learned to live with the consequences.
"Formation Delta-Seven," Shikamaru's voice carried clearly despite being barely above conversational volume. "Hayate, and other ANBU personel you take Itachi—your speed should counter his genjutsu if you can close distance before he establishes eye contact. Root Team Alpha, you engage Konan—spread out to prevent her techniques from catching multiple targets. Root Team Beta, with me on Naruto. Remember—capture if possible, kill only if absolutely necessary. These are still Konoha shinobi, even if they've been turned. We bring them home if we can."
The attack came with the precision of extensively drilled coordination. Hayate moved on Itachi with speed that made him blur coordinating with the rest of ANBU corps , his blade already drawn and seeking vital points before his target could fully register the assault. The Root operatives engaged Konan from multiple directions simultaneously, their techniques designed to counter her paper manipulation through fire, wind, and physical disruption.
And Shikamaru, along with six Root operatives, closed on Naruto's position with the coordinated efficiency of predators who'd hunted together extensively.
The battle that unfolded was chaos given form.
Naruto's response was immediate and overwhelming. His hands blurred through seals—"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"—and suddenly the clearing was filled with hundreds of copies, each one enveloped in that same black chakra that marked his corruption. The clones attacked with suicidal aggression, overwhelming through sheer numbers any attempt at coordinated defense.
Konan's paper techniques filled the air—sheets of origami that could cut like razors, wings that granted flight and mobility, explosive tags hidden among decorative forms that detonated when Root operatives thought they'd found safe positions. She fought with the efficiency of someone who'd spent years perfecting her craft, her techniques flowing seamlessly from offense to defense to mobility as circumstances required.
Itachi engaged Hayate with taijutsu and also taking care of the other ANBU personel that demonstrated why the Uchiha had been feared throughout the shinobi world—every movement precise, every counter perfectly timed, his Sharingan granting him perception that turned Hayate's speed advantage into merely adequate rather than overwhelming. And when genjutsu was appropriate, Itachi deployed it with subtlety that made distinguishing reality from illusion nearly impossible even for ANBU-trained operatives.
The Root operatives were skilled—jonin-level combatants with specialized techniques and years of experience. But they were fighting Akatsuki members who'd spent those same years engaged in constant high-level combat, who'd hunted jinchūriki and defeated S-rank missing-nin, who'd honed their abilities through trials that killed lesser shinobi.
From a distance, moving through the forest with speed that suggested urgency, another figure approached. Might Guy ran with chakra-enhanced acceleration, his distinctive green jumpsuit and bowl haircut visible even through the trees. He was communicating with Shikamaru , receiving updates on the battle's progression and providing tactical input based on what he knew of Akatsuki's typical combat patterns.
"Guy-sensei, we need your taijutsu expertise," Shikamaru's voice came through with static distortion. "Naruto's shadow clones are overwhelming through numbers. We need someone who can disperse multiple targets simultaneously through area-of-effect techniques."
"I'm two minutes out," Guy responded, his voice carrying none of his usual theatrical enthusiasm—this was the serious combat operative who'd earned his reputation through decades of missions rather than the cheerful teacher who proclaimed the power of youth. "Hold position. Don't let them escape toward Iwagakure."
The battle continued with escalating intensity. Naruto's clones adapted to Shikamaru's shadow techniques, learning to avoid the spaces where shadows could trap them, using overwhelming numbers to force him into defensive positions. Konan's paper ocean filled the clearing, transforming the environment itself into a weapon that cut and exploded and suffocated anyone not protected by chakra barriers. Itachi's genjutsu was turning the battlefield into a nightmare where Root operatives couldn't trust their own perceptions, where allies might be enemies and safe ground might be lethal traps.
The Konoha forces were skilled, coordinated, and fighting with desperate determination to capture or kill targets they'd once called comrades.
While everyone was occupied with their own battles, a colossal wooden structure—more like a dome-shaped cage—began forming far in the distance, spreading wider with every passing second. The sheer scale of it made the air tremble.
Naruto, Itachi, and Konan all sensed it at once.
"We need to get out of here, or we'll be trapped," Itachi warned, his tone calm but edged with urgency.
Both Naruto and Konan wore the same grim understanding on their faces—the situation was dire, and staying any longer would mean certain capture. Without wasting a moment, Konan unfurled a prepared scroll from within her paper cloak. It pulsed faintly with sealing energy—something akin to a reverse summoning technique.
She activated it instantly.
In a flash of swirling chakra and parchment, all three vanished—warped away from the encroaching dome before anyone else could even react.
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