"Kazama-kun!"
"Kazama, you sure love cutting it close, don't you?"
Seeing Kazama finally show up, Sakura and Naruto were thrilled.
"Of course! If I didn't show up at the last second, how would you guys realize how much you need me?"
Kazama smirked, then channeled the Yang Fire power from his Yinyang Sōen into the barely conscious Tonbei.
"Is this the flame that can bring people back from the brink?"
Yamato and Sai, who were nearby, stepped forward, intrigued.
"Kazama, let me introduce you," Naruto said. "This is our Team 7's new leader, Yamato-taichō, and this is Sai!"
"Yamato, with the Kekkei Genkai Mokuton, and Sai, who uses Chōjū Giga, right?"
Kazama nodded with a smile, already familiar with their reputations.
"You're the Sanada Kazama who saved Konoha twice, aren't you? It's an honor!"
Yamato was warm and enthusiastic, while Sai, awkward with people, just stood there quietly.
"Kazama, it's your fault for always ditching Konoha," Naruto grumbled. "That's why Tsunade-sama stuck Team 7 with two new members!"
"What's that? You saying you don't want to go on missions with me?"
Yamato silently appeared behind Naruto, his expression darkening.
"N-no! I didn't mean that! Total slip of the tongue!"
Naruto waved his hands frantically, spooked by Yamato's creepy vibe.
While the group bantered, Tonbei finally woke up, fully restored.
"Kazama, you're incredible!"
Yamato was visibly shocked by the miraculous power of Kazama's flames.
Naruto and Sakura, on the other hand, weren't fazed—they'd seen Kazama's insane abilities plenty of times before.
"Ojisan, we're shinobi from Konoha," Naruto said. "Do you know where Hotaru is?"
Tonbei quickly pointed them in the right direction.
"Hotaru's been taken by the enemy to a ritual altar in our village. You have to save her fast! If they extract the forbidden jutsu from her, not only will our village be wiped out, but the entire shinobi world could be in danger!"
"Got it! We're on it!"
"You think you're going anywhere?"
Just as Kazama and the others prepared to move, four bizarrely dressed shinobi appeared, surrounding them.
"Be careful!" Tonbei warned. "They're the Evil Quartet, lackeys of the mastermind Hakurō. They specialize in formation-based attacks!"
"Old man, you're tougher than we thought, surviving our combined ninjutsu!"
The quartet sneered at Tonbei as he spoke.
"You jerks! Let Hotaru go, or I'll make you regret it!"
Naruto instantly used Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, creating clones to charge at the Evil Quartet.
But the quartet was faster, activating a formation that trapped Kazama and the others inside.
"Haha! Listen up, kid—our formation absorbs chakra! It won't be long before you're all too weak to stand, and then we'll have fun picking you apart!"
"Crap!"
As the formation took effect, Naruto's shadow clones vanished in an instant.
Yamato and Sai tried to use their ninjutsu, but nothing worked.
"Hmph! So this is the best Konoha's shinobi can do? What a letdown!"
Seeing the group struggle, the Evil Quartet burst into mocking laughter.
But then, inside the formation, Kazama calmly formed hand seals, gathering chakra.
"Hey, kid, what's wrong with you? Didn't we just say this formation absorbs chakra? Keep that up, and you're just begging to die faster!"
The Evil Quartet doubled over with laughter at Kazama's seemingly foolish move.