"Gaara, wake up for me!"
Naruto's fist landed heavily on Gaara's cheek. His upper body leaned backward and he fell. His closed eyes opened a slit under the strong impact. The sand wrapped around his body slowly fell. Shukaku's huge body crashed down as well.
Naruto and Gaara had exhausted their physical strength and fell from high altitude along with the whistling wind around them.
Helplessly, Naruto watched himself getting closer and closer to the ground and couldn't help sighing in his heart.
Even if he was going to die, let him land on his feet at least!
Just as they were about to fall to the ground, Gaara and Naruto were firmly caught by two speeding figures.
"Gaara, are you okay?"
Temari looked really worried. She couldn't get involved in the high - end battle before, but it also saved her a considerable amount of physical strength, so she could save Gaara at the critical moment.
"Temari..."
Thank you...
After all, he wasn't used to contacting people. He had a thousand words of gratitude in his heart, but his mouth seemed to be glued shut, and he just couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Fool, we're family..."
..............
"Sasuke, thank you..."
"You idiot, couldn't you save some chakra during the battle? So reckless! If I weren't here, you'd really be smashed into minced meat!"
Naruto looked in the direction of Gaara and Temari, then at Sasuke's cold - looking face, and pouted dissatisfiedly.
This guy always said discouraging words. He had worked so hard and finally resolved the crisis. Would it kill him to praise him a little?
Maybe feeling the emotions from Naruto, Sasuke finally parted his lips.
"For you, you did quite well."
"Huh?! What did you just say? Say it again!"
Naruto suddenly pounced on Sasuke and hugged his waist, desperately asking what he had just said. His blue eyes shone like gems as he looked at Sasuke, who awkwardly turned his face away.
It wasn't until he was annoyed by the entanglement that Sasuke retorted.
"You! Are! So! Annoying! Hurry back to the village and see what's going on there!"
Sasuke frowned. This guy, didn't he have any sense of propriety? The village was still in great trouble, and Itachi was fighting Orochimaru. Since the problem here had been solved, he couldn't wait to rush back to the village to see Itachi's situation.
"Huh? Why... You were praising me just now, right? You definitely were! It won't take you any time to say one more word. Can't you just say it again?"
"Bang!"
The sound of a fist hitting a head. Naruto immediately stopped making a fuss. He hung his head dejectedly and resignedly headed back on the journey. Just as they were about to head back to Konoha, the strange spatial distortion up ahead sent everyone on high - alert.
Sasuke squinted his eyes and surveyed the surroundings. It seemed that the mastermind behind the scenes was finally going to show up.
A spiral-like distortion appeared in the space right in front of them, and a masked man suddenly emerged out of thin air, blocking their way.
As expected, it was him!
Obito Uchiha!
Come to think of it, it had been several years since that fateful night of the Uchiha clan. This guy must have conspired with Orochimaru and pushed things forward secretly, assisting Orochimaru in his attempt to destroy Konoha this time.
If he hadn't seen Naruto turn the tide, he probably wouldn't have shown up so soon. Maybe the rampage of Shukaku was also his doing.
Anyway, he was the man who controlled the Nine - Tailed Fox twelve years ago, indirectly causing the death of the Fourth Hokage.
Humph! A man who is stuck in the past and refuses to let go.
While Sasuke and the others sized up Obito, he was also sizing up Sasuke.
The young boy in front of him had a maturity and wisdom beyond his age. Judging from his expression, he didn't seem surprised by Obito's appearance at all. Instead, he looked as if he had expected it.
Sasuke Uchiha? He remembered that they had never crossed paths before. Why did this kid's eyes seem to be able to pierce through his soul?
"Who are you?"
Naruto took out a kunai from his pocket and held it across his chest, looking extremely vigilant. This kind of sneaky guy clearly wasn't a good person.
Obito then turned his gaze to Naruto. Look, this was the normal reaction. His self - confidence, which had just been suppressed, immediately soared. He straightened his back and said in a pretentious manner.
"Me? I'm Madara Uchiha!"
?_?
"Madara Uchiha! Who's that? Sasuke, is he your relative?"
Naruto tilted his head and looked at Sasuke, smiling sheepishly. Sasuke's family had so many relatives, and most of them were named Uchiha something or other. How was he supposed to know which one Madara Uchiha was?
(||?_?)
"Aren't you from Konoha? Don't you even know who Madara Uchiha is?"
Temari, who was standing behind, couldn't help but complain. Who on earth was the Konoha ninja among them? Didn't they teach history in Konoha Village?
"Who is he? Should I know him?"
Obito's newly - built self - confidence was once again crushed mercilessly. Was this Jinchūriki in front of him an idiot? After all his show - off, he felt really stupid.
"He's the man who founded Konoha Village alongside the First Hokage!"
Sasuke rubbed the vein bulging on his forehead and patiently explained it to him.
"Wow! Your relative is really amazing!"
（▼へ▼メ）
...
...
...
"It's impossible! Madara Uchiha has been dead for god knows how many years. He can't still be alive!"
"Little girl, there are extraordinary things in this world that go beyond your knowledge. Don't be so surprised!"
Obito and Temari no longer paid attention to Naruto's foolishness. Talking to such an idiot, he not only didn't feel in control but also made himself seem like an idiot.
"You're lying!"
Naruto's howl once again drew everyone's attention to him.
"Haha~ You're just a brat who hasn't even heard of Madara Uchiha. How could you possibly know!"
"What? Isn't it obvious? Usually, the purpose of wearing a mask is to hide one's identity. But since you've already claimed to be Madara Uchiha, yet you're still wearing that hideous mask. It's clearly a trick to use Madara Uchiha's name while keeping your real face hidden from everyone!"
...........
"I didn't expect you to have a brain after all!"
This was Temari's sincere exclamation.
"Enough of the chatter. You'll find out if I'm Madara Uchiha for yourself in person!"
Saying that, Obito planned to launch an attack, but was stopped by Naruto's loud shout.
................