Sasuke tried to gain a chance to escape by throwing the scroll to Shindai.
However, the moment the scroll left Sasuke's hand, Naruto reached out and intercepted it.
Sasuke angrily scolded him, "Idiot! Don't do unnecessary things like this! Do you even understand our current situation?!"
In response, Naruto suddenly punched Sasuke in the face.
Sasuke covered his face, looking at Naruto in disbelief. "What was that for?!"
Naruto looked at Sasuke with complex emotions in his eyes. "You're... an impostor, right? You're not the real Sasuke! The Sasuke I know is brave! He's definitely not a coward who just runs away like you! You're not the Sasuke I know!
How strong you really are, I don't know. But handing over the scroll will guarantee our safety? Where's the proof of that? It's actually you who doesn't understand the situation!"
Shindai chuckled darkly. "Naruto, your answer... is correct! My goal was never the scroll. Didn't I already say it earlier? You're all prey! Have you ever seen prey beg for mercy and actually been spared? As for the scroll, I can just kill you all and take it. I just love killing! Now… you've only got eight minutes left!"
Naruto gripped his kunai tightly and charged straight at Shindai. "What the hell are you talking about!"
Sasuke shouted anxiously at Naruto, "Stop! Run, Naruto!"
But Naruto had stopped listening entirely. "I'll kill you!"
"Talking tough won't kill me, you know."
Shindai dramatically formed hand seals.
[Wind Release: Gale Slash Technique!]
A barrage of small wind blades surged toward Naruto.
In an instant, numerous cuts appeared across Naruto's body.
The moment the Wind Cutter ended, Shindai used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Naruto, grabbed him, and slammed him hard into a tree trunk, snapping it clean in half.
The impact left Naruto dizzy.
Both Sasuke and Sakura screamed simultaneously, "Naruto!"
"Damn it! Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
After forming the seals, Sasuke shot a giant fireball at Shindai from behind.
Shindai grabbed Naruto and dodged, then began mercilessly pounding him with punches.
Though Shindai wasn't skilled in Taijutsu, handling Genin brats like Naruto was effortless—even saying he wasn't trying hard was giving him too much credit.
Naruto was getting beaten without any chance to fight back.
Without thinking further, Sasuke charged toward Shindai as well.
As he ran forward, Sasuke launched several shuriken.
Shindai ceased beating Naruto and easily dodged the kunai thrown by Sasuke.
Sasuke lunged forward with a kunai aimed at Shindai's head, but Shindai quickly and precisely grabbed Sasuke's wrist.
Sasuke took the opportunity to kick toward Shindai's abdomen.
Shindai blocked the kick with his other hand.
Like an eel, Sasuke twisted his body behind Shindai and launched a counterattack.
Naruto, now recovered, created numerous Shadow Clones and joined the Taijutsu battle.
In an instant, all that could be heard was the 'puffing' sound of Naruto's clones being destroyed.
Sasuke threw a large number of Kunai at Shindai once again.
While dodging, Shindai noticed one of the Kunai suddenly transformed into Naruto, rushing forward with a punch.
Shindai, who could have dodged but chose not to, was struck in the chest and staggered backward several steps.
Seeing this, hope surged in both Sasuke's and Naruto's hearts.
It seemed... there was a chance!
A grin appeared on Naruto's face as he said, "Right now, you're really Sasuke!"
Sasuke also wore a smile: "Seems like I'm the real idiot here. How can someone who isn't willing to stake his life win against that guy?"
Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously unfolded a Scroll.
"Appear! Naruto Clone No. 1!"
Both Naruto and Sasuke summoned the Puppet provided by Shindai.
Naruto smacked his right fist into his left palm, excitedly shouting, "Sasuke!"
Sasuke pulled out several more Kunai: "Ah! Let's go, Naruto-style!"
"Come out! Naruto Clone No. 1!"
Both Naruto and Sasuke summoned the Puppet provided by Shindai.
Naruto, Naruto Clone No. 1, and another Naruto charged directly at Shindai again while numerous Shadow Clones appeared once more.
"Heh, no matter how many clones you make, what can you accomplish when your strength itself is weak?"
[Water Release: Water Needle]
Pretending to form Hand Seals, Shindai launched numerous water bullets toward Naruto's Shadow Clones.
Meanwhile, Sasuke's Sharingan locked sharply onto Shindai as he began hurling Kunai at him.
However, it seemed Sasuke's aim was off; none required dodging as they all missed completely.
The water bullets from Shindai flew toward Sasuke, but Naruto's Shadow Clones blocked them with their bodies.
[Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique]
Spotting an opportunity, Sasuke released a straight line of flames shooting toward Shindai.
Shindai stepped back, but suddenly stumbled beneath his own footing, losing his balance. Sasuke's eyes gleamed sharply.
Got him!
Previously, those poorly aimed Kunai had strings tied to their ends.
Immediately, Sasuke began hurling even more Kunai and Shuriken at Shindai. All were thrown off-target, missing Shindai entirely.
Yet all these Kunai and Shuriken had strings attached, with the other end connected to Sasuke himself.
Recognizing Sasuke's technique,
[Windmill Triple Blades].
Although Shindai could have dodged, he decided against it—choosing instead to let them feel hopeful.
Under Sasuke's relentless pulling, the threads wrapped around Shindai and bound him tightly to the tree trunk.
[Rasengan!]
A Rasengan appeared in Naruto's hand as he slammed it into Shindai's body.
Shindai exploded into the air.
Sasuke quickly formed hand seals.
[Fire Release! Dragon Fire Technique!]
A blazing fire dragon erupted from his mouth, surging toward Shindai.
The fire dragon struck Shindai head-on, and he let out a piercing scream.
A blackened figure dropped onto the ground.
Sasuke and Naruto stared at the distant figure. Naruto happily shouted, "We did it! We really did it, Sasuke! We won!"
Sasuke slumped to the ground, wiped the sweat from his face, and smiled.
Such a powerful enemy... We finally took him down.
Yet Sakura's terrified voice cut through: "Sa-Sasuke! Naruto..."
Naruto and Sasuke turned their gazes toward Sakura, their eyes widening simultaneously in shock.
Why...? We defeated the enemy already, so why hasn't the Shadow Clone vanished? And why is it still aiming a kunai at Sakura's neck?
They looked again at the blackened figure on the ground—it was just a wooden stake!
Substitution Jutsu!
Shindai's Shadow Clone sneered mockingly, "Great show, really entertaining! Now, in these last five seconds, your comrade dies here."
Slowly, the kunai in the clone's grip edged toward Sakura's throat.
"No!"
Naruto and Sasuke both rushed toward Sakura at once.
Sakura looked at Sasuke and Naruto with despair, forcing a bitter smile: "Promise me you'll survive."
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