Not long after Naraku left the Akatsuki base, he noticed many people trailing him, keeping their distance and waiting for the right moment.
He slipped silently into the forest, setting traps along the way. The various ninja tools he had concealed earlier were back in his possession, enough to give his pursuers a hard time.
The ninja tailing him also pursued him into the forest, leaving only one person wearing an Amegakure forehead protector to stay behind. This person calmly pulled out a signal flare and fired it into the sky.
The unique signal of the Hidden Rain soared into the sky and ignited, emitting a fierce, eerie blue-green light beneath the oppressive dark clouds.
In less than half an hour, a squad of Amegakure assassination forces stationed nearby swarmed out, heading in his direction.
The ninja who fired the signal reported the situation to the leader.
"We've discovered a Konoha spy who infiltrated the Land of Rain. He may have stolen top-secret intelligence."
The leader asked impatiently, "Characteristics?"
"Black hair, black eyes, under ten years old. Suspected Uchiha."
Crack—
Lightning tore across the sky, outlining the edges of the dark clouds and illuminating the greed in the leader's eyes.
"He won't escape!"
The Uchiha were one of the premier bloodline clans in the Ninja World. Whether capturing him alive to use for breeding or killing him to dismember his body and sell the parts, they stood to make a fortune.
"Chase him!"
...
After seeing the signal flare, Naraku knew something was wrong. His stalkers had already blended in with the Amegakure ninja, intending to use the Hidden Rain to deal with him.
Of course, while Amegakure played the mantis hunting the cicada, there were certainly others waiting behind them as the oriole, ready to exploit the situation.
Several explosions from paper bombs could be heard vaguely from behind him, indicating that quite a few people were in pursuit.
This situation was even more perilous than his encounter with Kakuzu; one wrong move would mean death without a corpse to bury.
Naraku swallowed a few food pills. A bitter taste spread from the tip of his tongue throughout his mouth, followed by a surge of Chakra.
He savored the bitterness, feeling a natural tension, but even more so, the thrill of hovering between life and death surging in his chest.
His blood boiled and rushed through his entire body. An almost overwhelming exhilaration filled his limbs, allowing him to forget his long-accumulated melancholy and revert to his indifferent self.
No need to think about anything else—just focus on the present, just care for himself.
Rumble—
Thunder roared, a storm swept through, and raindrops began to fall.
At first, there were only a few sporadic drops hitting the dense leaves with a soft pitter-patter.
Soon, the rain grew heavier, pounding everything on the ground and forming a thick curtain of water between heaven and earth.
Naraku glimpsed several figures catching up on his right. He raised his hand to form seals, and a massive fireball quickly took shape.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"
Blinding flames and heat swept through a dozen giant trees nearby. Their power, undiminished even by the rain, violently crashed into the attackers, catching them off guard and burning them to death.
He didn't pause, immediately forming another set of seals directed to his rear left.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Waves of flames roared, filling everyone's vision and evaporating the surrounding rainwater, creating a dry void within the heavy downpour while simultaneously concealing his figure.
By the time the flames died down, he had vanished again, putting distance between himself and his pursuers.
But the number of enemies continued to increase, surrounding him from all directions. Naraku had less and less room to maneuver. He had no choice but to activate his Sharingan and use Ninjutsu repeatedly to buy himself a moment to breathe.
[You have purchased Chakra x 20, Strength + 30, Speed + 30]
His largely depleted Chakra was restored, and his capacity was significantly raised.
Seeing his eyes, the enemies' attacks grew even more frantic, their words filled with greed for his bloodline.
Not enough, still not enough!
He leaped through the giant trees of the jungle, drawing his sword to block a kunai from behind, then backhanding his blade to kill an enemy who had kicked at him.
[You have upgraded White Fang Sword Style to Masterful]
The flashing blade carved graceful arcs in the shadows of the downpour, elegantly and swiftly taking the lives of those who came close.
Countless projectiles flew through the air, and enemies swarmed him while he used his sword to defend. Water Release and Lightning Release techniques merged into a torrent. His lips pressed tightly together, his hands moving so fast they were mere blurs.
[You have upgraded Fire Style: Great Fire Extinction, Fire Style: Dragon Flame Release Technique]
A moment later, towering pillars of fire rose from the ground, blasting through the heavy dark clouds, blotting out the sky, and sweeping everything away like a natural disaster.
After the waves of fire subsided, the Amegakure ninja once again lost track of Naraku.
"Damn it, what a troublesome Uchiha brat!"
The leader cursed, roughly estimating the casualties, and gritted his teeth as he ordered them to continue the pursuit.
So many men had already died; if they couldn't catch this brat, he would surely not escape punishment.
"Damn Konoha!"
...
Naraku fled continuously, but the enemies were still in hot pursuit. To continue fighting effectively, he had no choice but to activate his Three-Tomoe Sharingan again.
Without hesitation, as another group of enemies gathered, he feigned exhaustion. He avoided a fatal blow but allowed a kunai to pierce his shoulder, falling to the ground in a sorry state, splashing water everywhere.
He looked up, his eyes black once more.
The enemies rejoiced at the sight.
"This brat is done for! Kill him and take his eyes!"
Naraku pulled out the kunai, clutching his shoulder. He looked up. A dozen people surrounded him from all directions, and various ninja tools were already flying towards him.
[You have activated Three-Tomoe Sharingan]
The world became clearer and slower; every raindrop seemed to hang in mid-air, reflecting his figure.
The trajectories and impact points of dozens of ninja tools, the gaps left when Jutsu intersected, and even the ferocious expressions of each enemy... everything fell into those scarlet eyes, rotating with three tomoe, without a single detail missing.
Surging ocular power filled Naraku's eyes. He suddenly leaped up, flexibly dodging all the ninja tools. Using the gaps in the enemy's encirclement, he reached the very top of an ancient tree.
Lightning flashed and streaked through the dark clouds like a beast searching for its prey.
He formed hand seals, then raised his left hand high.
[You have purchased Lightning Style: Kirin]
Countless lightning snakes rapidly gathered towards his spot, illuminating the center as bright as day and violently churning the clouds.
In the dazzling electric light, from where the lightning converged, a silver giant beast formed of immense lightning crawled out, emitting a roar that shook heaven and earth.
"This technique is called... Kirin."
Naraku coldly watched the dense, encircling enemies below and swung his left hand down heavily.
"Roar—!!!"
Kirin roared, breaking free from the clouds' bondage. It swooped down, transforming into a magnificent pillar of lightning that pierced through heaven and earth.
Boom—!!!
In an instant, the entire world turned stark white; everything was swallowed by the light, becoming part of the vast void.
After a long while, the dark clouds gradually dissipated, revealing an uncommonly clear azure sky.
A few scattered Amegakure ninja who survived struggled out from the charred remnants of the trees, their faces still etched with lingering terror.
"Monster..."