Seeing Asura Path, Naruto realized that the timeline had now entered the events of the original story.
The Akatsuki had begun to move.
If he wanted any peace in his life, he had to deal with the Akatsuki first.
And while he was at it, he might as well find a way to kill that brat, Obito.
The current Naruto was no longer the kind and forgiving boy from the original story.
Naruto's revenge philosophy: "Every cause has its consequence. I will be your retribution."
Others' revenge on Naruto: "When is the time for vengeance? Lay down your blade and seek peace."
Otherwise… "I'll help you put down that blade myself."
Asura Path's artillery fire turned the area into chaos.
When Naruto saw that his cabin was also affected, his gaze turned cold.
Kurotsuchi, who was still in Naruto's arms, wanted to resist.
Yet, being held by him gave her an indescribable sense of security.
But she knew Naruto was a shameless pervert.
That contradiction made her emotions twist into a tangled mess.
When she saw the cold expression on his face, Kurotsuchi was so frightened she didn't dare make a sound.
The Rinnegan of Asura Path locked directly onto Naruto.
Naruto calmly said to him, "Wait for me."
The next second, both Naruto and Kurotsuchi vanished.
Karin was looking for a place to hide when Naruto suddenly grabbed her.
At that moment, a massive Hellhound lunged toward them.
Naruto ignored it and instead opened his Kagura's Mind Eye, linking to one of his Flying Thunder God marks located dozens of miles away.
But—
It failed!
Naruto frowned and caught sight of a glowing barrier in the distance.
A barrier?
He didn't know what kind of barrier it was, but it was blocking the signal of his Flying Thunder God mark from outside.
That meant teleportation was impossible.
The Hellhound lunged again.
Naruto was still activating the Flying Thunder God Technique and had no time to defend.
The beast's bloody jaws were about to bite down on them.
Fortunately, Kurotsuchi had broken free from Naruto's embrace just in time.
Her fist was coated in stone, and she used her weight to throw an uppercut at the Hellhound.
Boom!
The Cerberus staggered back several steps, letting out a furious roar.
Naruto looked at Kurotsuchi in surprise. "Didn't expect you to be that strong."
"Hmph." Kurotsuchi shook her numb arm and snorted, refusing to respond.
She looked every bit the cool older sister type.
The repelled Cerberus charged again.
Naruto didn't use any devastating ninjutsu yet—he knew this beast would multiply if struck fatally.
Forming a one-handed seal, he activated Wood Style.
Thick roots and branches erupted from the ground, wrapping around the Cerberus and trapping it completely.
Naruto then grabbed both Kurotsuchi and Karin and leapt into the air.
Kurotsuchi's pupils shrank slightly, and she demanded, "You! Where did you learn that jutsu?!"
Naruto didn't bother replying. He turned to Karin instead. "Hold on to me."
Karin understood instantly and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
Naruto raised one free hand, forming a massive Rasenshuriken, and hurled it toward the barrier's edge.
Boom!
The Rasenshuriken exploded, shaking the barrier until it shattered like glass.
Below them, several of Pain's bodies began attacking.
Naruto ignored them. Now that the barrier was gone, he teleported several dozen miles away with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He glanced around at the calm Gobi Desert and said to Kurotsuchi, "Take Karin and run. Don't look back."
"What? Huh?" Kurotsuchi clenched her fists and snapped, "Don't talk nonsense! Why should I help you?"
Naruto thought for a second, then said slowly, "Because I just saved your life."
Kurotsuchi's lips tightened, her silver teeth grinding together.
Meeting Naruto had truly been the worst misfortune of her life.
If not for him, she wouldn't have been here.
If not for him, she wouldn't have been discovered by Asura Path.
And now he dared to act all self-righteous? Shameless!
She was furious but didn't want to make an enemy out of him for her village's sake. So she just blushed and glared fiercely at him.
"Fine. I'll thank you later," Naruto said, raising a hand to pat her hair out of habit.
It was his usual trick for calming girls down.
But he seemed to forget—he had no such relationship with Kurotsuchi.
And the only reason he did it out of habit was because… ever since Karin had turned into black soil—Ahem.
Kurotsuchi's delicate body trembled. She slapped his hand away. "Don't push your luck! We have nothing to do with each other!"
Naruto's Kagura's Mind Eye sensed Pain's Six Paths approaching fast. Time was running out.
His expression hardened.
Kurotsuchi was startled and quickly said, "Fine, fine! I'll take her and run! You go… sacrifice yourself."
Naruto: "…"
Karin shouted angrily, "What did you just say? Naruto-kun would never sacrifice himself!"
Kurotsuchi glanced at Karin and sneered, "Shameless woman."
"What did you say?!" Karin snapped back, furious. She threw the little Nine-Tails plush aside in anger.
Nine-Tails: "???"
Luckily, Kurotsuchi still knew her priorities.
Now wasn't the time to argue.
She grabbed Karin's hand, bent down to scoop up the small Nine-Tails by its ears, and started running.
Nine-Tails: "???"
As Naruto watched them leave, Karin's voice echoed in his ears:
"Naruto-kun! Please be careful!"
Naruto smiled slightly and turned toward the Six Paths of Pain closing in.
Now that they were gone, he could finally fight seriously.
"Kurama, you know how strong this enemy is. Lend me your chakra," Naruto said.
But—
There was no response.
Oh, right.
When Naruto and Karin were having their "moment," he had shut off Kurama's perception of the outside world.
After reopening the seal, Kurama's grumpy voice immediately came through:
"Why are you such a brat that you'd even get jealous of a fox?! I'm not interested in humans—or any species! I'm a tailed beast; I don't even have a gender!"
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Wait… Kurama? You don't have a gender? So you could be male or female?"
Inside the sealed space, Kurama's fur bristled.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what are you thinking???"
Naruto coughed awkwardly and changed the subject. "Never mind that—just give me chakra."
Kurama snorted. "Of course. Think of it as paying rent. But that guy outside is insanely strong. Why would you provoke someone like that?"
Naruto felt the immense Tailed Beast Chakra flooding through his body and shook his head.
"Some things are just beyond our control."
"Alright… let's get this started!"
"Tailed Beast Chakra Mode!"
"Lightning Style Armor!"
"Super Light-Weight Rock Technique!"
…Wait, what kind of crazy buff stack is this?!
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