Land of Rivers.
"Ah!"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed, startling countless birds from the forest.
Inside the base, a haggard Shinnō sagged weakly against a stone wall, muttering, "Why? Why won't he just leave me alone? I already gave him the Cell Activation Secret Technique..." As he spoke, an unconscious sob crept into his voice.
Two months! Who could imagine what he had been through these past two months! Hunted from the Land of Fire, through the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and now to the Land of Rivers—he had hidden in practically every conceivable place. One base after another had been destroyed. Decades of the Sky Ninja Village's accumulated resources, plans yet to be implemented—all ruined in an instant.
What terrified him most was that Uchiha monster! His strength grew differently each day, as if hunting Shinnō himself made him stronger. At the very beginning, Shinnō could still easily defeat him using the Eight Gates Release Technique. But ever since the battle in the Land of Hot Water, everything had changed. That monster must have ingested some faulty military ration pills from a shady dealer... Every time he was defeated, his strength would take a quantum leap. The tables had turned between them from that point on. From easy suppression at the start, to being evenly matched a month ago, then defeat half a month ago, and finally to fleeing in disarray recently. He had endured too much. He no longer dared to fight that Uchiha monster. He seriously suspected that if he kept fighting, the monster could crush him with a single finger.
Vmm~
Suddenly, a swirling vortex-like ripple appeared in the space.
"Heh~ Am I starting to hallucinate now...?" Shinnō merely glanced at it and paid it no further mind. He had lost all faith in this world.
"This is Shinnō?" The Masked Man's tone was laden with doubt. This listless wreck could heal Nagato?
"Don't be like that. A month ago, he was still an ambitious man with grand aspirations." White Zetsu, emerging halfway from the ground, looked at the haggard, despairing man before him, his own lips twitching. What in the world did Uchiha Sasuke do to him? To make a man who had endured hardships for decades to achieve his ambitions look like this.
"Let's take him away first. Uchiha Sasuke has already broken in," White Zetsu said suddenly.
The Masked Man grabbed Shinnō with his right hand. A spatial distortion rippled, and the two vanished. White Zetsu glanced towards the main entrance and also disappeared into the earth.
Zzzt!
A flash of purple lightning. The steel-forged main gate was instantly sliced open, and Uchiha Sasuke's figure slowly emerged from the breach. Gazing at the empty room, he remained unfazed. He had already obtained what Orochimaru needed half a month ago. The only reason he was still hunting Shinnō was because he had discovered that pursuing this man caused his own strength to grow incredibly fast. Whether it was the dōryoku of his Sharingan or his Lightning Release training, his progress could be described as advancing a thousand li a day. If he didn't know that the Mangekyō Sharingan's pattern was different from the regular Sharingan, the terrifying level of dōryoku made him suspect he had already evolved it. Mastering Purple Electricity was an unexpected bonus. Purple Electricity, whether in terms of controllability or endurance, far surpassed ordinary Lightning Release. Combined with the Sharingan's insight, it was overwhelmingly effective.
Uchiha Sasuke lightly nicked his finger with the Kusanagi Sword and formed hand seals. "Summoning Technique!" Looking at the summoned white snake, Uchiha Sasuke ordered, "Continue to help me track that guy's whereabouts." The white snake flicked its tongue, then vanished in a puff of white smoke. It was a perk of being the designated future vessel, he supposed; he could also use the intelligence network Orochimaru had built up over so many years.
After checking the room again and confirming no hidden traces of Shinnō, Sasuke sheathed his Kusanagi Sword and turned to leave. He had a feeling that if he could cut that man down, his Sharingan would undergo a qualitative leap. Although it contradicted his previous understanding, the feeling that if I cut him down, my Sharingan will evolve into a Mangekyō Sharingan persistently lingered in his mind. This feeling was strange, as if it had appeared in his mind out of nowhere. Clearly, the Mangekyō's emergence required one to kill their closest person with their own hands. Yet, the growth of his dōryoku was an undeniable fact...
Hayate Gekko looked at the big kid before him, then couldn't help but glance at the closed door. "I know you're the leader of the Dragon Heritage Organization, one of the few powerhouses in the shinobi world, but... To just enter Konoha like this and appear before a Special Jonin... Aren't you, perhaps, looking down on me a little?"
"How could I?" Naruto coughed lightly twice. "I just missed you, you see. I took such a big risk coming back to see you; please don't actually report me."
"Ahem, cough..." Hayate Gekko looked at him speechlessly. Just as he was about to speak, a coughing fit seized him.
"Bloodline illness?" Naruto asked. Ever since their first meeting, Hayate Gekko's cough had never stopped.
"Cough, cough... Yes." Hayate Gekko nodded. "The Transparency Release bloodline isn't as mature as the Sharingan or Byakugan. Overuse has some side effects."
"Where's Yugao-sensei?" Naruto asked. Judging by the furnishings, this house was clearly not inhabited by Hayate Gekko alone.
Hayate Gekko looked at him warily. "She went grocery shopping."
Naruto: "..." What's with that look? Am I that kind of person?
"Come here." Naruto pointed to the sofa in front of him.
"Hm?" Hayate Gekko, looking puzzled, walked to the indicated spot. He didn't have any particular reservations. With the other's current strength, even if he tried to call for help, he'd probably be gone before he could make a sound. Besides, if the other truly intended to harm him, he would have bid farewell to this world the moment he walked in.
"Sit cross-legged."
Hayate Gekko was even more confused but did as instructed. Naruto gently placed his right hand on Hayate's back, and life energy slowly seeped through his skin and into his body. A bloodline illness sounded terrifying, but in the end, it was due to long-term use of a certain bloodline causing some kind of damage to the body. For others, this kind of illness might be incurable, but for him, it was just a matter of how much stamina it would consume.
"It's no use. The Fifth Hokage already looked at me; even she couldn't do anything..." Hayate Gekko's words trailed off as he froze on the spot. Because he realized that the constant urge to cough, which plagued him twenty-four hours a day, was receding...
Ten minutes later. Naruto patted his shoulder. Hayate Gekko touched his throat in disbelief. The urge to cough was really gone.
"It's... cured just like that?!" His voice trembled slightly.
"How could it be? Even hospital treatments have courses," Naruto waved his hand. "I could cure you in one go, but the problem is your body couldn't handle it. Your body is too weak. Even if your girlfriend is very pretty..."
"Cough, cough, cough..." Naruto hadn't finished speaking when Hayate Gekko's frantic coughing interrupted him.
"...Just exercise some restraint for the next few days. Once your body has recovered a bit, I'll help you cure it completely." Naruto was speechless; can't even let a guy finish his sentence. He took out a Gelel Stone and tossed it to Hayate.
"What's this?" Hayate Gekko caught it, puzzled.
"When you train, use your chakra to draw out the energy inside it. It can strengthen your body." The life energy contained in the Gelel Stone was effective even for Naruto, let alone the weakened Hayate Gekko.
"..." Hayate Gekko clutched the Gelel Stone, his lips parting several times.
"No need to thank me. You took good care of me back then too," Naruto said with a smile.