"Is he the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Uchiha Itachi's gaze locked onto the golden-haired boy. But why… why tonight of all nights? Why was he in the Uchiha clan compound, and with Satsuki?
An ominous thought flashed through Itachi's mind: could it be that the radical hawks within the clan were already impatient and had begun to act? Was their target indeed the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Were they trying to control the Tailed Beast to achieve their coup?
And this power… is it a sealing jutsu?
"Naruto…"
Satsuki sat paralyzed on the ground, staring blankly at the brilliant golden chains in the air. This power… what was it? When…
"Satsuki! Don't look her in the eyes! Run! Go to the village and call the ninjas! It's best to call the Third Hokage!"
Naruto's urgent shouts woke Satsuki from her chaotic thoughts. Reason told her that Naruto's suggestion was the only correct choice. Facing her sister, who was impossible to defeat, seeking help was the only way to survive.
But… a strong sense of resistance, almost making her vomit, instantly surged from the deepest part of her heart.
Run away? Did that mean… she had to abandon Naruto alone? Leave him by himself in front of this woman who had stained her hands with the blood of the entire clan, a monster?
No… absolutely not! If she turned and ran… if, when she returned with reinforcements, she saw Naruto also lying in a pool of blood…
Just imagining this scene filled Satsuki with a despair more terrifying than suffocation. She had already lost almost everything; she couldn't lose him too! Never!
"Hurry up and go! I can't hold on much longer!"
Naruto shouted again, shattering Satsuki's last hesitation and hope. The undeniable urgency and difficulty in his voice completely awakened her from the drowning fear and selfishness.
Damn it…!
A hot emotion, mixed with endless regret and intense unwillingness, suddenly broke through the dam, screaming wildly in her heart. Why am I so weak?! Why can I only run?! Why can't I protect anyone, and instead become the one who needs protection, or even a burden?!
At this moment, tears streamed down her face again, but no longer from the sadness of losing loved ones, nor from the anger of betrayal.
This was self-loathing, a deep-seated hatred for weakness and powerlessness, and the deepest abhorrence for cruel fate!
Satsuki suddenly stood up from the ground, her head bowed low the entire time, not daring to look at Itachi again, and even less daring to let Naruto see her expression at this moment. She used all her strength, gritted her teeth, and ran desperately towards the direction outside the clan compound.
— — — — — —
Damn it… I really don't want to do this…
Naruto kept his eyes tightly shut, fully maintaining the powerful restraint of the Adamantine Sealing Chains. He desperately suppressed the urge to open his eyes and check the situation.
Once he made eye contact with those Mangekyo Sharingan, the Shadow Clones of Menma would probably be instantly shattered and dispersed by genjutsu.
However, at this moment, what he felt more was an indescribable distress and entanglement.
According to his original plan and "script," when he showed abnormal power and intervened, Uchiha Itachi's attention should have shifted partly from Satsuki, right? Satsuki would endure much less direct pressure.
He knew that awakening the Sharingan required extremely strong emotional stimulation, but he thought, it didn't necessarily have to be Satsuki herself who suffered direct, cruel harm, did it?
If… if the most important person to her was injured in front of her… it should… also be possible, right?
Therefore, Naruto had even secretly prepared himself mentally for "possibly getting a little injured." For Satsuki to awaken her Sharingan, a little physical pain was completely bearable for him.
But… as soon as this thought formed, an extremely strong sense of déjà vu and awkwardness surged up.
Wait a minute… the more he thought about this plot development, the more something felt off?
Actively jumping out to attract fire, taking a blow for the heroine, and even secretly calculating "let her watch me get hurt and then burst out"… This, this looked like a cliché from those cheesy "abuse-the-protagonist novels"!
This feeling… was just too awful!
Suddenly, an extremely unusual, burning sensation, like the meridians in his body were instantly ignited, was violently fed back along the chains!
"!?"
Naruto's internal alarm bells rang, and he subconsciously opened his eyes slightly. The scene before him made his scalp tingle—he saw a layer of bizarre black flames spontaneously igniting on several of the Adamantine Sealing Chains!
No way?! Against me, a child? Is it worth using Amaterasu? You're really playing for keeps!
He complained wildly internally, but Naruto's actions did not dare to be slow in the slightest. He immediately cut off his Chakra supply and unhesitatingly dispelled the jutsu.
Buzz—!
The golden chains instantly became transparent, then completely dissipated into the air. Amaterasu paused for a moment, then followed the rules of gravity, gently falling to the ground below.
However, just in that brief gap when the chains dissipated, and Naruto's old strength was gone and new strength had not yet emerged.
Whoosh!
Uchiha Itachi had already broken through the short distance between them in the next instant, appearing in front of Naruto with a Shunshin! A direct punch slammed hard into Naruto's abdomen!
The intense sense of crisis made Naruto's body almost instinctively react—to activate the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But this thought was suppressed by him as soon as it arose. No! Under the identity of "Uzumaki Naruto," he couldn't possibly know the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In a flash, reason forcibly strangled instinct.
"Ugh—!"
The consequence of taking that punch head-on was an instant burst of intense pain. The powerful impact made his vision go black, and his body involuntarily curled into a shrimp, temporarily losing all ability to move.
Immediately after, a hand mercilessly grabbed the collar of his neck, easily lifting him up entirely.
Nausea surged in his stomach, and Naruto gasped with difficulty, his vision somewhat blurry as he looked at Uchiha Itachi, who was holding him.
Indeed… it was just as he had predicted, the worst-case scenario, or rather, the most "suitable" script from a planning perspective. Itachi chose to control him, this unexpectedly strong variable, and apparently intended to take him along to pursue Satsuki. Perhaps he wanted to use him to further stimulate Satsuki.
But no matter what…
Uchiha Itachi… you bastard… just you wait… once this mess tonight is completely over… you'll see if I don't come to settle this score with you!