NABC Chapter 83 Transition
Chapter 83 Transition
Meanwhile, on the other side, Hiashi Hyuga, who had been secretly watching from the shadows, breathed a sigh of relief. Although he knew he couldn't hide anything from Kito Hyuga, it wouldn't be good for the head of the Hyuga clan to appear too relaxed in front of the younger generation.
If Hyuga Kito's attack speed hadn't been 'slower' for him, and if he hadn't shown no intention of killing Hinata, he would have almost made his move—well, actually, he had already taken one step forward.
Hiashi Hyuga pondered. It seemed that Kito Hyuga was genuinely teaching them and not just casually fooling them. Hinata's personality had troubled him for a long time, and he only felt a little better after the Chunin Exams. He hadn't expected Kito to help Hinata adjust her mindset so quickly.
Although this wasn't the main reason I kept the wooden golem behind during the mission, it would be good if the two kids could really learn something from it. After all, based on the strength that Hyuga wooden golem has shown so far, it's equivalent to the peak of the Hyuga clan's Byakugan.
On the other side, Karin and Sakura walked together, exchanging their insights and experiences from the past few days of training.
"Karin, are you really not going to learn medical ninjutsu?" Sakura asked with some regret, knowing that Karin's talent in medical ninjutsu was no less than her own.
Karin smiled generously upon hearing this: "Well, rather than having another skilled medical ninja, I think the village needs a ninja proficient in sealing ninjutsu more right now. Besides, this is a unique ninjutsu of the Uzumaki clan, and if no one inherits it, these ninjutsu will probably die out soon. So, the development of medical ninjutsu is entrusted to you, Sakura!"
"That's true..." Sakura muttered somewhat sullenly. She finally had a partner to learn and improve with, but as for Sasuke and Naruto, their strength improved too quickly, and she couldn't keep up at all.
Kicking at a stone on the road, Sakura suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Karin, "Speaking of which, Karin, when did you meet Hinata and Neji? It seems like you've known them for a long time?"
"!" Karin was taken aback upon hearing this, then shook her head. "It was just a coincidence. I treated Hinata at the hospital before, but today was actually an accident..." As she spoke, Karin's voice trailed off, and her expression became slightly embarrassed.
Even after Karin's revisions, the general situation was still clear. Sakura, resting her chin on her hand, suddenly became serious. Just as Karin was getting a little nervous, she said, "Looks like we need to work even harder, Karin!"
Hearing this, Karin breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the topic hadn't veered off course. As if to encourage herself, she responded strongly, "Yeah!"
However, the next moment, Sakura suddenly leaned closer and asked with a curious look in her eyes, "Karin, do you have someone you like?"
The sudden enlargement of the face startled Karin, and when she came to her senses, her face flushed bright red. The first person she thought of was Reikawa, and then she vaguely thought of Sasuke, though that thought was quickly dismissed.
She could clearly sense that Sakura liked Sasuke, and that her feelings towards Sasuke had now shifted more towards gratitude...
These thoughts flashed through her mind for less than a second, and she subconsciously replied to Sakura, "No...no..." Thinking of how Reikawa looked at her like she was a child, she thought, at least—when she's older...
After speaking, seeing that Sakura seemed about to say something more, Karin suddenly realized her mistake and quickly took the initiative, saying, "Speaking of which, Sakura, you like Sasuke, right? Sasuke has a lot of female admirers~"
Hmph! Since you're so ruthless, don't blame me for being ruthless too!
Let's skip the playful bickering between girls for now...
Jiraiya and his group had successfully reunited, and Jiraiya was not surprised to see that Kakashi and the others had not brought anyone back.
Or rather, it's lucky that Kakashi and the others were able to return safely. After all, who knows how many people Akatsuki sent to support them? Based on the intelligence they had, this place was most likely close to Akatsuki's headquarters.
On the way back, Jiraiya looked at Kakashi with a questioning look in his eyes.
"……Feel sorry."
"Do you know why he joined Akatsuki?" Aburame Shiki asked in a low voice, her hands in her purse and her collar covering her mouth. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. If she couldn't bring him back even now, there was basically no way she could bring him back later.
Kakashi shook his head. Shiki Aburame wanted to say something but then realized she had nothing to say. Could it be that Reikawa was being threatened and controlled? His behavior didn't seem like it at all.
Because of the previous awkwardness, Yamato, who had remained silent, spoke up: "Should we list him as a rogue ninja? After all, the Uzumaki clan poses a great threat to the tailed beasts, and this will also make the various ninja villages more vigilant."
A rogue ninja?! That guy! Sasuke's heart sank. He gripped the note tightly in his hand and, before Naruto could speak, said, "It's too early to draw conclusions. This kind of thing should be decided by the Hokage after we return to the village!"
"Hmm~?" Jiraiya looked at Sasuke's behavior with some surprise. After spending these days together, he had a general understanding of what kind of personality this kid had. Did Sasuke know something?
After thinking it over, Jiraiya didn't question it for the time being, but said directly, "Then let's do it Sasuke's way."
Sasuke was slightly taken aback upon hearing this and looked at Jiraiya. He had previously thought that Jiraiya disliked him and was prepared to be questioned.
As if knowing what he was thinking, Jiraiya muttered to himself, "It is a major taboo in missions to ignore the information brought by teammates because of personal emotional issues."
After saying that, Jiraiya suddenly noticed that Naruto wanted to approach Sasuke to ask him something, but because he wasn't looking where he was going, he bumped into a tree branch with a "smack" and a red mark appeared on his face.
Jiraiya's lips twitched slightly, and he helplessly covered his face. Sasuke had performed well in this operation, but Naruto had barely contributed anything. If nothing unexpected happened, he probably wouldn't have much time to teach him after they got back.
Anyway, he's not lacking in strength, what he lacks is practical experience. Let's see how Kakashi teaches him. When he feels he's ready, we'll send him to Mount Myōboku.
As for Chiyo, who hadn't spoken up, she just followed silently without offering any opinion. The only regret was that so many puppets had been destroyed without capturing anyone, and she wondered if she could ask Konoha to reimburse the expenses.
Seeing that they had completely left, Itachi, hiding behind the tree, gave Sasuke a deep look. He didn't dwell on the hatred, yet his strength had increased to the three-tomoe level? While this was quite impressive for Sasuke's age, but…
Sasori, who was standing to the side, put the lid on the puppet, adjusted its performance and status, and then suddenly said to Itachi with his back to him, "That brat with the Sharingan should be your younger brother, right? It's a pity. I almost helped you take care of him before. If it weren't for his appearance, I really wouldn't believe that you have such a 'stupid' younger brother."
After saying these words, Sasori was somewhat expectant of Itachi's reaction. However, when he turned around, he found that Itachi had exploded into a cloud of smoke, and his original body had long since disappeared. Sasori shrugged with a hint of regret: "Boring..."