How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

The ninjas from the Land of Snow were too arrogant. They had the strength of Chunin or even Jonin, but their mental strength was weak. One of them had their mindset shattered by something Sasuke said, while the other two were either foolishly trying to withstand a Tailed Beast Ball or using clone tactics against a sensory ninja.

They weren't weak to begin with. They had the rare Ice Release, a powerful and unique Ninjutsu, and held the advantage of terrain. They had everything on their side—timing, location, and resources—but they still ended up failing because of their own mistakes. 

How stupid was that?

Naruto defeated the two snow ninjas and turned to run toward Sasuke and Nadare Rouga.

At this moment, the two were still locked in a standoff, but the balance was starting to shift in Sasuke's favor.

There was no special reason—simply put, Nadare Rouga had used too much chakra. He used his chakra armor to block Sasuke's Raikiri, exhausting his chakra, and then he used some powerful Ninjutsu, which left him drained. 

Now he was relying on Taijutsu and tactics, recalling his past battles before he had the chakra armor. 

As for Sasuke, it was simple. He didn't have as much chakra as Nadare Rouga, but he had the curse mark. And this thing was like a power bank—it not only boosted his stats but also sped up his chakra recovery.

It was really unfair.

"Sasuke, I'm here to help!" Naruto shouted excitedly as he jumped down from a high place, Rasengan in hand, ready to yell 'Ora!' 

Sasuke's eyelids twitched. After exchanging a few moves with Nadare Rouga, he jumped backward to avoid Naruto's Rasengan, which was aimed at him without any distinction.

He glanced at the large crater in the snow and frowned. 

"Are you trying to take me out along with him?"

Naruto stood up from the crater, his eyes fixed on Nadare Rouga with caution. Hearing Sasuke's words, he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. 

"How could I? If I took you out, you couldn't complain to Hinata. Even if I was planning to do it, I wouldn't say it out loud, right?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto's cheerful smile and knew exactly how dark-hearted he was underneath that sunny exterior.

He wasn't about to believe a word of it. 

And it seems like you just said it.

Sasuke ignored Naruto's antics, keeping his eyes warily on Nadare Rouga. 

"What about the other two snow ninjas? 

Did you take care of them?"

"Yeah, they were pretty strong, but not too bright," Naruto said honestly. 

"One saw the Tailed Beast Ball in my hand and didn't run away, then ran straight into it. His chakra armor got completely shattered, and he's probably dying now."

"The other tried to confuse me with clones, but I turned his plan against him and hit him with a Rasengan. He's down."

Hearing this, Sasuke couldn't help but smile slightly. 

"They really aren't too bright."

He then changed the subject and looked at Nadare Rouga. 

"If your strength wasn't stronger than the other two, you'd probably have had your chakra armor shattered by me too, right?"

In the distance, Nadare Rouga's expression shifted between anger and hesitation. He was panting slightly, showing that he wasn't in the best condition.

He didn't want to believe that his two subordinates were defeated by Naruto, a low-ranking ninja, but the facts forced him to accept it. And just as Sasuke had said, if Sasuke had started with the Cursed Seal 2 from the beginning, he wouldn't have been able to block that first Chidori.

If Konohagakure's low-ranking ninjas are this strong, what about the Chunin? The Jonin? What about Kakashi?

Nadare Rouga clenched his fists. For the first time, he felt the gap between Land of Snow and Konohagakure. Could it be that with the powerful chakra armor, my strength has actually decreased?

I don't believe it!

Bloodshot eyes filled Nadare Rouga's gaze as he gritted his teeth and looked at the two of them. "Fine, I admit I made a mistake this time, but I promise it won't happen again. When you come to Land of Snow, that's when you'll die by my hands!"

"You want to run?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, his body low, ready to charge at any moment.

Naruto's red chakra surged, but he didn't show any other expression. "What if we don't go to Land of Snow, but instead go back to Konohagakure for reinforcements? What will you do then?"

His face was filled with curiosity, looking innocent and pure, as if he just wanted to ask this one question.

And Nadare Rouga… well, he was stunned.

Almost as soon as he became confused, Naruto's figure suddenly vanished from the spot. The Rasengan takes less time to form than a Tailed Beast Bomb, so Naruto didn't use the Tailed Beast Bomb but instead extended his right hand, forming the Rasengan without hesitation and slammed it toward Nadare Rouga.

At the same time, Sasuke also moved, his left hand gripping black lightning, attacking Nadare Rouga from the left while Naruto attacked from the right.

The Rasengan, powered by Tailed Beast chakra, and the Chidori in Cursed Seal 2 both struck Nadare Rouga. The two massive forces collided and exploded, leaving a huge, noticeable crater in the ground.

Naruto and Sasuke stepped back, both frowning.

"He's gone!" Sasuke's Three-Tomoe Sharingan slightly shifted, his expression serious as he looked into the distance.

Naruto nodded, his red chakra still surging. "He must have used some advanced body flicker technique in that split second. Impressive, much different from the two idiots below who just froze in place after their tactics were seen through."

Naruto said this with genuine admiration.

Though Nadare Rouga had grown arrogant because of the chakra armor, he also had the strength of a Jonin. His reflexes, tactical planning, and Ninjutsu use were on a completely different level from those two below.

To be honest, even if Naruto had to face this guy, it wouldn't be much easier than dealing with Sasuke.

If this guy could fix his mindset, he'd definitely be a qualified Jonin. I'm not saying he could beat Kakashi, but he'd definitely be able to go back and forth with him. Of course, Kakashi would win in the end.

"Should we chase?" Naruto turned to Sasuke, his expression questioning.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment in silence, then shook his head gently. "We can't catch up. We can keep up with short-distance body flicker, but with long-range tracking, that guy has a natural advantage here. There's no way we can catch him."

As he spoke, Sasuke took a deep breath and gradually exited the Cursed Seal 2 state. His grey skin returned to normal, and the cursed seal on his neck slowly faded back into place.

He shook his neck and showed a satisfied look on his face. "This is the first time I've fought in Cursed Seal 2, and it feels good. The perverted sage may be a pervert, but he's a great teacher. The way he taught me to use chakra is way more efficient than before."

"I have to admit, he's right," Naruto nodded.

Even though Jiraiya is a pervert, when it comes to Ninjutsu, tactics, and understanding chakra, there's probably no one in the entire ninja world, aside from Orochimaru, who could match him.

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