In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

The situation became a tense standoff as Darui drew the sword from his back, and the forest grew eerily silent. The sun hung low in the sky as both fighters moved in unison.

In the distance, Koyuki watched the intense battle between Naruto and Kumogakure's Shinobi. She couldn't help but clench her fists in worry for Naruto, wanting to close her eyes but fearing he'd be ambushed if she did.

'Many to one… so shameless!'

She fumed internally, completely forgetting that the two of them were the intruders.

In the heat of battle, Naruto swiftly leaped away, evading Darui's fierce Storm Release attack. Behind him, several giant trees were peppered with holes before collapsing with a resounding crash.

The ground shook, and dust filled the air.

In the next instant, Darui flickered to Naruto's side with, sword in hand, delivering a powerful slash, while his other hand crackled with Lightning Release. His strikes are fierce and relentless.

'No wonder he was considered a candidate for the Godaime Raikage… his strength is indeed formidable.'

Naruto reacted swiftly, his speed reaching the maximum under the blessing of the Kyubi Chakra Cloak. He sidestepped the slash, then his fist was enveloped in Lava Release as he punched forward, with a layer of blood-red Chakra covering the surface.

In an instant, Naruto's Lava Release-enhanced punch collided with Darui's black Lightning Release.

Although Darui's Lightning Release inherited from the Sandaime Raikage was incredibly powerful, it was not strong enough against the Kyubi Chakra Cloak. It only managed to break through one layer of the cloak before it got stuck.

With a loud crash, Darui was sent flying by Naruto's punch.

The Lightning Release attack veered off course, smashing into the ground with a deafening explosion, leaving a massive crater. The Lava Release strayed as well, instantly melting the branches of dozens of trees.

The terrifying force and sound waves generated by the collision shook nearly half of Kumogakure.

From the dust and debris, Naruto spitted and walked out of the ruins, without any injuries on his body. In contrast, Darui was looking worse for wear, his arm bent unnaturally. It can be seen that he was seriously injured.

"What's your real objective, Uchiha Sasuke?" Darui asked, struggling to stand up.

"I've told you already… I'm just passing by." Naruto replied in Sasuke's voice, "It was you who insisted on pursuing me. We could've just left each other alone."

Naruto knew very well that if he ran away now, no one would be able to stop him. But with Koyuki in tow, he might not be able to run far.

Kumogakure and Konoha have always been at odds with each other, so a fight could break out over the smallest reason. Naruto had prepared himself for battle as soon as he initiated the space jump, and if it came down to it, he was ready for a full-on confrontation.

Besides, it would be a good opportunity to cut Kumogakure down to size and avoid a future conflict. He'd rather fight now than have to return later if things escalated.

Coincidentally, Kumogakure thought the same. When the Raikage learned that Kyubi had disappeared from Konoha, he immediately sent people to investigate the situation.

With Konoha's power waning, conflict seemed inevitable.

"Just passing by?" Darui's brows furrowed further, clearly not believing Naruto's words.

But with his arm injured, he knew that continuing the fight wouldn't yield any benefits. Darui could sense that Naruto seemed to be anticipating and predicting his moves, which made him tense.

'Was this the power of the Uchiha's Sharingan, the ability to sense and predict attacks?'

Suddenly, a loud rumble echoed from the direction of the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.

Two figures descended onto the battlefield at the same time. With a bang, Killer B, sporting his signature sunglasses, and Nii Yugito, the Nibi's Jinchuriki who had survived thanks to the early deaths of Kakuzu and Hidan, stepped out of the smoke.

Killer B was a tall man with dark skin. He wore small black sunglasses on his face, a white bandana on his head, a long white scarf around his neck, and six long swords on his back.

He initially wanted to sing and rap a couple of lines, but upon seeing the Biju Chakra Cloak swirling around Naruto, his expression turned serious.

"Where did this little Biju's Jinchuriki come from? How did he end up in Kumogakure?"

"Biju's Jinchuriki?"

The injured Darui was stunned when he heard this, and then he quickly realized what had happened. He'd been deceived. Because he had been so focused on defending against the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, he had been tricked by this cunning opponent.

After seeing that his deception had been uncovered, Naruto remained unfazed. He knew there was no hiding it now, especially once he used the Biju Chakra Cloak. There was no point in trying to cover it up.

But that didn't matter. After all, it didn't make any difference whether they figured it out after the fact.

As long as he won the fight, even if the truth came out, it would still be framed as Uchiha Sasuke invading Kumogakure. It had nothing to do with him, Uzumaki Naruto.

Yugito is tall and has mature look. She stared at Naruto for a long time but couldn't figure out anything from his appearance.

"I'm not a Biju's Jinchuriki." Naruto said with a smile, "I just happened to be passing by. I was about to leave, but you all insisted on pestering me."

"You have entered the Kumogakure's territory without permission… I advise you to surrender." Yugito said sternly, "Spare yourself the suffering."

"Yo, yo! That's right!" Killer B, the Hachibi's Jinchuriki, chimed in, "Just surrender, and we'll take your partner with you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just passing by." Naruto drew out the Kusanagi Sword and pointed it at Killer B and Yugito.

"Stop with the nonsense. If there are more of you, bring them all on."

Facing ordinary Elite Jonin might be troublesome, but when it came to more powerful Biju's Jinchuriki, Naruto is actually less worried.

Biju's Jinchuriki had thick skin and could heal quickly during battle, so he could fight without much concern against these two.

More importantly…

Although Sealing Technique were widespread across the Five Great Countries, with each village having their own methods for sealing Biju, but when it came to Sealing Technique, the most authentic and powerful ones still belonged to the Uzumaki Clan, as it's more versatile and much stronger.

At the back, Darui, with an injured arm, gritted his teeth and slowly stood up. Samui had already been escorted off the battlefield by Karui and the ever-pessimistic Omoi.

Just one exchange was enough for them to realize the vast difference in power. Even Darui, the right-hand man of the Yondaime Raikage, had been injured, so the two Chunin stood no chance if they stayed here.

Therefore, when Killer B and Yugito arrived on the scene, Karui and Omoi decisively retreated, taking their unconscious team leader, Samui, with them.

Despite his injuries, Darui remained on the edge of the battlefield, not wanting to risk any more surprises. At the same time, his eyes scanned the surroundings, trying to locate Naruto's companions.