Outside Konoha Village, deep within the dense forest, the massive roar and whistling wind were incessant, accompanied by a young man's unwilling roar.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Bang bang bang—!
Dozens of Uzumaki Naruto's Shadow Clones appeared instantly, and then under his control, they frantically bombarded the river, rocks, and giant trees with various Ninjutsu and Taijutsu.
The light of the Rasengan flickered in and out, kicking up dust that filled the sky.
The Naruto main body stood on a giant rock, panting heavily, sweat soaking his orange training suit, his face a mix of exhaustion and a nearly self-torturing persistence.
"Not enough! Still not strong enough!" He roared at the empty forest, the news of Sasuke killing Danzo and Hinata possessing extremely powerful strength echoing repeatedly in his mind, like two whips constantly lashing his anxious heart.
Just then, a calm and soft voice sounded not far behind him, as if it could soothe all agitation.
"You're training very hard, Naruto."
Naruto turned around abruptly, only to see Hyuga Hinata standing quietly in the shadow of a large tree at some unknown point, her white clothes as pure as snow and untainted by dust, forming a sharp contrast with the messy environment he had destroyed.
She had a faint smile on her face, and her eyes were clear and serene.
"Hinata?!" Naruto was startled at first, and then a heartfelt, slightly goofy, bright smile appeared on his face, but it was quickly replaced by a complex mix of admiration and loss.
He scratched his head, sounding a bit incoherent, but his eyes were exceptionally serious.
"Hinata, you're really... really amazing. I heard from Pervy Sage and Third Gramps that you actually fought an important figure like Elder Danzo. That's so cool..."
There was no jealousy in his tone, only sincere praise.
Naruto couldn't help but think of himself; if he had such great strength, would he be able to bring Sasuke back?
Hinata shook her head, looking at the rushing river below.
"You should be able to win too."
If he relied solely on Shadow Clones and Rasengan, it wouldn't be enough to shake Danzo, but the thing inside him was the key.
"Eh? Me... me?"
Naruto pointed at himself in disbelief, feeling that Hinata was just comforting him.
Hinata didn't explain, chatting casually with Naruto for a bit, and then Naruto began to babble about the things and events he had seen over the past two years, including bringing Tsunade back to let her become Hokage.
Naruto lowered his voice, speaking with the tone of someone sharing a secret.
"By the way, Hinata, let me tell you, Granny Tsunade and Pervy Sage are back! And they seem to be looking for that guy Orochimaru! They say Orochimaru used some evil Forbidden Jutsu to resurrect people who were already dead! Granny Tsunade decided to return to the village specifically for this!"
He spoke with increasing enthusiasm, completely unaware of the sensitivity of this information.
Hearing this, Hinata slightly raised an eyebrow.
If I were a spy, wouldn't you be in deep trouble? This information was enough for her to stir up some trouble.
But then again, the matter of the resurrections had actually been exposed. She hadn't expected it to be so fast; was it because Kimimaro had shown his face? She needed to have a talk with Orochimaru.
Hinata came back to her senses, looked at Naruto's guileless face, and sighed softly in resignation.
"Naruto, is it really okay to tell such important intelligence to others so casually?"
Her words made Naruto freeze instantly, his face turning bright red as if he had just realized he'd said something he shouldn't have. He quickly covered his mouth and stammered.
"Ah! S-sorry! I... I didn't mean to! I just... felt that you aren't a bad person, Hinata..."
Looking at Naruto's embarrassed yet sincere appearance, Hinata smiled.
In the entire Ninja World, you are the one with the least guile, acting like you're all calculating when in reality you haven't figured anything out.
She changed the subject, her gaze seemingly penetrating Naruto's body to look at the location of the Seal on his abdomen.
"Speaking of which, Naruto-kun, how has that big guy inside you been lately? How are you two getting along?"
Naruto was stunned for a moment, not reacting.
"Big guy? What big... ah! You mean?!" He instantly understood that Hinata was referring to the Big Fox inside his body, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Hinata, how do you know about it? It... it's fine, same as always, staying in the cage, sleeping all day long, I don't know what it's doing."
He scratched his face, feeling a bit surprised that Hinata had directly mentioned the Nine-Tailed.
Hinata didn't answer but instead extended a finger, her fingertip swirling with a trace of pure and peaceful Spiritual Power.
Naruto only felt his eyelids grow heavy, wanting to sleep, and he fell asleep before he could hold out for long.
Following Naruto's consciousness, Hinata entered a completely different space.
When Hinata opened her eyes again, the scene before her was entirely different. She saw a damp, dark place filled with an ominous aura, with shallow standing water under her feet and a massive iron gate ahead.
And behind the iron bars, a pair of massive, crimson beast eyes filled with violence and hatred, like two blood moons, suddenly lit up and stared fixedly at the uninvited guest who had suddenly intruded!
"ROAR—!!!"
A low and threatening roar echoed within the sealed space, and terrifying Chakra swept over like a physical gale!
"You brat! You... hmm??"
Kurama's massive body leaned forward slightly from the shadows, huffing at Naruto, but halfway through, it noticed there was another person behind him and froze.
It hadn't expected Naruto to be able to bring someone in as a guest.
Its gaze moved past Naruto and landed on the young girl emitting a pure white light. The roaring stopped abruptly, replaced by a hint of surprise and suspicion.
It sensed a completely different aura from this human girl; it wasn't the nauseating Uchiha Ocular Power, it wasn't ordinary Chakra, and it wasn't the same as the Six Paths Sage's.
It was a feeling it couldn't quite describe. It felt that although this power was peaceful, the potential and quality contained deep within it made even the Nine-Tailed feel a faint sense of wariness.
"Who are you?" Kurama's voice was no longer filled with pure violence like before, but instead carried a tone of scrutiny and vigilance.
"Little girl of the Hyuga Clan, the power on your body is very strange."
Naruto stood beside Hinata. Although it wasn't his first time inside, he still couldn't help but feel a bit nervous facing Kurama's pressure.
He looked at Hinata beside him, only to find that she showed no fear at all facing this legendary fox demon, just like how she usually was outside.
Hinata activated her Byakugan, fearlessly meeting those massive crimson eyes, her voice ringing clearly in this oppressive space.
"I'm just a passing-through Kamen Rider."
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