Naruto, Ino, Sai, and the jonins move silently through a dense forest. Night has fallen, and the atmosphere is heavy. The tracker's signal stabilizes, confirming their proximity to the hideout.
Ino, concentrated, whispers:
— "I can feel their presence… Three powerful chakras. They are alert."
Sai draws a bird on his scroll, ready to use his technique to survey the area.
— "We must be careful. If they sense our presence, they might flee or set a trap for us."
Naruto, at the head of the group, looks straight ahead.
— "There's no way they're escaping this time. We're stopping them here."
But as they prepare to move forward, a wave of chakra surges around them. A vortex of energy suddenly forms, sucking Naruto in before anyone can react.
— "Naruto!" Ino shouts, reaching out her hand, but he disappears in an instant.
Naruto opens his eyes to find himself in a place he doesn't recognize. The land is vast and fertile, fields stretch as far as the eye can see, dotted with small, prosperous villages. In the center, a tall, imposing man awaits him, wearing a black tiger mask and holding a dark sword with menacing reflections.
— "Welcome, Naruto Uzumaki," Kurotora said in a calm but icy voice.
Naruto narrows his eyes.
— "You're the leader of this gang, huh? Kurotora?"
—"he has a blue rinnegane, I think the one that absorbed Juubi's chakra" thought Naruto
—"a mortal to have such a rare pupil, just with Juubi's chakra it's impossible" thought Kaguya
—"Be careful Naruto the carrier has always been very powerful as you know" said Kurama
The chief nods slowly.
— "Exactly. I wanted to show you something. What we've accomplished. Look around you."
Naruto looks around warily. He sees villagers working in the fields, smiling and laughing, children playing in the streets, and bustling markets.
— "What is this place? An illusion? A trap?" Naruto asks.
Kurotora lets out a light laugh.
— "No, none of that. This is real. A village we saved. Not with words or empty promises, but with actions. By stealing the wealth of great nations, by using the chakra of demons to restore life to barren lands, we gave these people a chance to live."
Naruto stares at him with his arms crossed.
— "You want me to believe that you're doing this for the good of others? All you do is sow chaos and destruction. You're nothing but a criminal."
Kurotora walks slowly forward, his dark aura imposing.
— "You still don't understand, do you? The big nations let these small countries die after the war. The rich got richer, while the weak were abandoned. We are only restoring the balance."
Naruto clenches his fists.
— "You think you can fix things by stealing and killing? That only creates more hatred and suffering."
Kurotora points his sword at Naruto.
— "And you, Naruto Uzumaki? Where were you when these people needed a hero? You talk about peace, but your peace has never reached these lands. Look at them. Look at what we've accomplished. And tell me you're ready to destroy all of that."
Naruto looks at the villagers, his heart heavy. He sees happy families, smiling faces, and obvious prosperity. For a moment, he doubts.
— "Maybe…" he starts to mutter, but quickly catches himself.
— "No. What you're doing here is an illusion. Not an illusion of genjutsu, but an illusion of morality. You're building this peace on the back of injustice. This is not what peace should be."
Kurotora shakes his head, disappointed.
— "You are truly naive, Naruto Uzumaki. To believe that there is peace without sacrifice is a lie. But I will give you a chance to understand."
Suddenly, he raises his hand, and the shadows around him come to life, forming giant claws.
— "If you want to stop Akumu Shin'en, you'll have to prove that your vision of peace is better than ours. Show me what it means to be a 'hero'."
—"he manipulates shadows, is he from the nara clan" thought Naruto
Kurotora's shadow claws attack Naruto, who immediately activates KCM mode to repel them. The fight is intense and spectacular, with both opponents sizing each other up both physically and mentally.
Naruto uses clones to try to distract Kurotora, but the leader's shadows move like snakes, destroying each clone in an instant.
— "Your power is impressive, Naruto Uzumaki. But it is limited by your naivety," Kurotora declared as he launched a wave of sharp shadows.
Naruto retaliates with a Rasenshuriken, which lights up the area by destroying the shadows, but Kurotora reappears behind him thanks to his Rinnegan.
— "You see, Naruto? True power comes not from light or darkness, but from understanding both," he said as he struck Naruto with his shadow sword.
Naruto narrowly dodges and counterattacks with an amplified Rasengan, but Kurotora blocks with a solid shadow barrier.
Just as Naruto seems to be gaining ground, a shadow portal appears behind Kurotora.
— "We will finish this discussion another time, Naruto Uzumaki," he said before disappearing, leaving Naruto alone in the middle of the village.
Naruto, out of breath, looks at the villagers, still smiling and grateful to Akumu Shin'en.
— "What am I supposed to do…?" he whispers, his convictions shaken.
End of chapter.
Chapter 18.2: The Fight Against Shadows and Poison
Context :
As Naruto is teleported away by Kurotora, the rest of Team Konoha (Ino, Sai, Hinata, and Kiba) find themselves facing two formidable members of Akumu Shin'en: Akiko, the poison manipulator, and Seijuro, the relentless strategist.
In the dense forest that borders the Akumu Shin'en base, the Konoha team remains on guard. Naruto's sudden disappearance has left a void. Ino, focused, whispers:
— "Naruto's signal has disappeared… but there are two strong presences ahead of us."
Red petals suddenly fall around them, light as the breeze, but their beauty conceals danger.
—"Welcome to my garden, Konoha shinobi," said a soft, feminine voice.
Akiko emerges from the shadows, clad in her scarlet kimono, a fan in one hand and poisoned needles in the other. Beside her, Seijuro appears, calm and imposing, his spear floating lightly in the air from his wind techniques.
— "We don't have time to waste on them," Seijuro said coldly. "Eliminating these ninjas will be more effective than letting them slow us down."
Kiba growls, Akamaru at his side, while Hinata activates her Byakugan.
— "Don't think you'll escape us that easily!"
Sai takes out his scroll and draws ink animals ready to attack, while Ino prepares her mind possession jutsu.
The fight begins brutally. Akiko dashes forward with deadly grace, launching a hail of poisoned needles. Hinata blocks some of the projectiles with her Gentle Fist, but a few needles sneak in, forcing the team to dodge.
— "Be careful! These needles contain paralyzing poison!" Hinata warned.
Akiko laughed softly, her poisonous petals swirling around her.
— "I'm not going to just kill you quickly. I'm going to have a little fun."
She casts a hypnotic genjutsu using the petals, casting Kiba and Sai into an illusion. Kiba sees clones of himself and Akamaru fighting each other, while Sai is lost in a fog of shifting shadows.
Hinata, thanks to her Byakugan, detects the source of the genjutsu and shouts:
— "Ino! She controls their minds through the petals!"
Ino focuses her chakra and uses her jutsu to neutralize the effect on Kiba and Sai.
— "Alright, I freed them! Now focus on her!"
Akiko, annoyed, intensifies her attack by releasing toxic clouds. But Sai summons a multitude of inkbirds to disperse them, creating an opening for Hinata.
— "Hinata, now!" Sai shouts.
Hinata charges with her Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, forcing Akiko to temporarily retreat.
Meanwhile, Seijuro watches the fight with eerie calm. With a wave of his hand, he releases a gust of sharp wind that splits the field, separating Sai and Ino from the rest of the team.
— "You're too disorganized," he said, aiming his spear with a precise movement.
Sai attempts to retaliate with his ink drawings, but Seijuro's wind tornadoes tear them apart before they can reach him.
Ino, in a defensive position, yells at Kiba and Hinata:
— "We won't be able to hold out against him for long! Find a loophole while we hold him back!"
Seijuro fixes Ino with his Meiunogan, a dojutsu that seems to read her movements before she even makes them.
— "Your tactics are transparent. You are a distraction, nothing more."
He lunges at her with frightening precision, but Kiba, aided by Akamaru, uses his Fang Over Fang technique to intercept the attack.
— "You may have a special eye, but I'm faster than you!" Kiba shouts.
However, Seijuro easily dodges, using a gust of wind to knock Kiba and Akamaru to the ground.
As the fight reaches a critical point, Akiko and Seijuro coordinate their attacks, putting the Konoha team on the defensive. Poison petals and wind blades intertwine, making any counterattack difficult.
Hinata, injured but still standing, turns to Ino.
— "We have to find a way to separate them!"
Ino nods, focusing her chakra for one last attempt. Along with Sai and Hinata, she forms a temporary chakra barrier to contain Akiko's petals. Kiba and Akamaru attack simultaneously, forcing Seijuro to back away.
But just as the team begins to regain the advantage, Seijuro creates a massive tornado that engulfs the entire battlefield, giving him and Akiko an opportunity to retreat.
— "This isn't our final fight," Seijuro said as he walked away, his cold gaze fixed on Hinata. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."
Akiko gives the team one last amused look before disappearing in a whirlwind of petals.
— "I look forward to playing with you again."
The exhausted and injured Konoha team watches as the enemies escape. Kiba angrily punches the ground.
— "We almost had them! Why are they always one step ahead of us?"
Hinata, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, said:
— "We have to stay focused. They can't run forever."
Ino, wiping a drop of sweat from her forehead, whispers:
— "But where is Naruto? And why did they take him?"
Sai looks at the sky, worried.
— "Naruto has to face something big… Let's hope he comes back soon."
End of chapter.