"Naruto-kun, where are we going?"
After leaving Sunagakure, Kisame asked, his mood visibly lightened. After all, now that he had shaken off the two weapons users, he had more time and opportunities to improve his standing in Naruto's eyes.
"We're going to Orochimaru's place."
Naruto replied after thinking for a while. He couldn't think of a better location, and heading to Orochimaru's base would ensure that White Zetsu couldn't sneak in for a covert reconnaissance.
After all, with Orochimaru's abilities, White Zetsu wouldn't stand a chance.
"What?"
Upon hearing Naruto's answer, Kisame's face fell again.
"What's wrong?"
Through his observation Haki, Naruto could clearly sense Kisame's reluctance.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
Kisame waved his hands repeatedly and took a deep breath to calm himself down.
He knew Orochimaru's strength very well. Going to Orochimaru's place would leave him with no role to play and no opportunity to showcase his own abilities, which made him feel a bit down.
However, he didn't want Naruto to notice this, as he didn't want to appear jealous or dissatisfied. If Naruto saw through his small concerns, it could backfire on him.
"Let's just get going, then."
Naruto said, noticing that Kisame's tension quickly dissipated. He didn't think much of it after that.
The three of them set off, and to avoid detection by Zetsu, Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting through the marks he left before. After several jumps, they quickly arrived at the outskirts of Orochimaru's hideout.
…
Sasuke had been feeling restless lately.
A few days ago, he sensed a battle outside the village. When he went to investigate, he ended up getting involved in the fight, but he was completely outmatched.
He knew Orochimaru's power had reached a peak, but even so, the powerful individuals who had managed to escape from him were no joke either.
Sasuke's training had always been with the goal of becoming stronger, rescuing Naruto, and then killing Itachi. But now, if even Orochimaru couldn't save Naruto, how could he possibly succeed?
With this thought in mind, Sasuke felt a deep sense of despair. The overwhelming feeling of helplessness made him question how he could continue with his training.
In the end, he decided to temporarily give up on his training.
He understood that only by overcoming this knot could he continue to grow. If he let his emotions consume him, there was a real danger of falling into a dark path, with his power regressing rather than progressing.
Ever since he came to this realization, Sasuke had spent his time near the battlefield, feeling the residual energy in the air and analyzing the traces left behind on the ground after the battle. This allowed him to assess the enemies' abilities and plan for the future.
A few days ago, as he was doing his usual checks, he was shocked to find Flying Thunder God's marks on the ground, hidden beneath some leaves.
He knew that this is a special Ninjutsu that only Yondaime Hokage and Naruto know.
Sasuke believed that before he arrived, Naruto had been on the battlefield as well, but due to Orochimaru's overwhelming strength, Naruto was taken away in advance.
As for why he was not informed of this news, it is very likely that Orochimaru was worried that he would feel burdened after knowing the bad news that he almost rescued Naruto but failed.
However, no matter what, the fact that Naruto left a Flying Thunder God's mark meant that Naruto was looking for an opportunity to escape.
This news made Sasuke incredibly excited and overjoyed.
From that moment on, Sasuke stayed by the Flying Thunder God's mark, praying that Naruto would successfully escape from Itachi's grasp.
"I can't sleep! I have to hold on a little longer!"
Sasuke's eyelids drooped, his exhaustion almost overcoming him.
He slapped himself awake, forcing himself to stay alert.
He didn't know when Naruto might escape, but he was certain that if Naruto did get free, he would likely be severely wounded.
Sasuke couldn't afford to rest for even a moment, afraid he might miss Naruto's escape and lose the chance to help him.
However, Sasuke soon felt his eyelids growing heavier again. The mental fatigue was overwhelming, and he needed sleep to recover.
"Forget it, just a quick nap."
Sasuke yawned and was about to go to sleep.
Suddenly, the Flying Thunder God's mark shone with golden light.
Sasuke immediately sprang to his feet, and all his sleepiness vanished in an instant.
Then, a flash of golden light appeared, and three figures appeared out of thin air.
The one at the forefront was none other than Naruto.
"Naruto, you finally escaped!"
Sasuke rushed forward and embraced Naruto.
But Naruto stood frozen, completely stunned.
He never expected Sasuke to be here, waiting for him.
'What was going on?'
'And what did 'escaped' mean?'
'This wasn't how the script was supposed to go.'
'Now that Sasuke had found me, how was I supposed to continue playing the tragic drama? How could I stimulate Sasuke's Sharingan like this?'
The situation had unfolded so suddenly that Naruto's mind went blank. He couldn't think of any way to explain himself.
'This was bad, this was really bad. The whole plan was ruined!'
"Naruto, why aren't you saying anything? Are you hurt?"
Sasuke, realizing that Naruto might have been injured, quickly pulled back from the embrace and began checking for injuries.
But before he could examine Naruto, his peripheral vision caught sight of the man behind him.
"Uchiha Itachi!"
Sasuke's teeth clenched in hatred, but he immediately averted his gaze.
Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed Naruto and retreated at lightning speed.
The priority was to escape back to Orochimaru's side. He can just let Orochimaru handle the rest.
Whoosh!
Looking at the two people disappearing quickly, Kisame was a little dumbfounded: "What... is going on?"
Itachi groaned, "This is going to be difficult..."
…
Meanwhile, Sasuke had managed to flee back to Otogakure, breathing a sigh of relief. He knew that as long as they were within Orochimaru's territory, it would be safe, as it was a place where Orochimaru's senses would ensure absolute security.
Sure enough, a black gate appeared in the air, and Orochimaru walked out of it.
"Hmm?"
Seeing Sasuke dragging Naruto, Orochimaru couldn't help but hesitate.
'What's going on?'
'Naruto-kun never mentioned anything about this scene!'
When Orochimaru looked at Naruto, he saw Naruto's bewildered expression, and it dawned on him that this wasn't part of the script.
'Naruto-kun also had no idea why this was happening.'
"Orochimaru, don't just stand there. There are enemies outside. I'll take Naruto to get treated. You handle the rest!"
Seeing Orochimaru still in shock, Sasuke assumed that Orochimaru was simply too excited about Naruto's unexpected appearance to react immediately.
"What exactly is going on here?"
Finally, Orochimaru couldn't hold back any longer. He had to ask.
If he didn't ask, would Naruto explain? That would only give away the whole story, so it was better to get the answer from Sasuke.
Sasuke explained: "I found a Flying Thunder God's mark at the battlefield earlier, and I guessed that Naruto must have passed through here. So, I decided to wait, hoping he'd find a way to escape. I didn't expect him to return so soon… this caught me off guard. I also didn't anticipate Itachi and the other powerful figures showing up. I'm not sure about that part either."
Hearing this, Naruto finally understood the misunderstanding. He glanced at Sasuke, then said, "Sasuke, you don't need to take me for treatment. I'm not injured. The reason I came back, or rather, the reason I left the Flying Thunder God's mark, was because those bad guys ordered me to. They feared Orochimaru, so they had me leave Flying Thunder God's mark as a precaution."
"You should know that they couldn't beat Orochimaru. So after regrouping, they sent Kisame and Itachi to bring me here for an ambush on you guys. The fact that you were able to bring me back safely means they didn't anticipate anyone waiting at the Flying Thunder God's mark. That's why they were caught off guard. In the end, everything was a coincidence, and Lady Luck was on our side this time..."