Naruto watched Sasuke's retreating figure. Some things cannot be solved by explanations.
Sasuke was a person who defined the meaning of his existence through his own strength. What he needed was never comfort or explanation, but stronger opponents and crueler stimulation.
Especially at this point in time, with the Chunin Exams right around the corner, Orochimaru was about to place the Cursed Seal on Sasuke.
If he were to comfort him now out of soft-heartedness, or slow down his own pace to cater to his pride, that would actually harm Sasuke.
Letting him experience the gap in strength early, and letting him face the upcoming trials with unwillingness and a sense of crisis, would actually increase his chances of survival.
As for Orochimaru placing the Cursed Seal on Sasuke during the upcoming Chunin Exams, Naruto didn't intend to stop it. After all, Sasuke had his own path to walk, and staying in Konoha might even hinder his growth.
The most critical point was that his current strength wasn't enough to stop Orochimaru, and it might even expose him and draw Orochimaru's attention.
However, Naruto did want to change the way Sasuke left. He could not leave as a defector.
'But before that, I should get stronger. I'll take action tonight, time waits for no one.'
Thinking this, Naruto turned and began to walk toward his apartment. But he had barely walked ten steps when—
"Ahhh!"
A scream came from the street corner ahead. It was a little girl's voice, as if it had leaked out from between fingers after being suddenly covered.
Naruto recognized this as Moegi's voice.
He and Sasuke, who was still not far away, stopped in their tracks almost simultaneously. The two exchanged a glance, then one after the other, they dashed toward the direction of the sound.
Naruto was faster. Every point where his feet landed was precisely stepped on a position that maximized propulsion, and with a few leaps, he had opened up a significant distance.
Sasuke followed closely behind. This time, he clearly saw Naruto's method of acceleration: it was precisely concentrating Chakra in the soles of his feet, adjusting the density and angle of the Chakra at the moment of each exertion to exchange the minimum consumption for the maximum displacement.
He had seen Kakashi use a similar technique, but he hadn't expected Naruto to use it even more fluidly than Kakashi.
When Naruto rushed out of the alley, the scene before his eyes made his pupils shrink.
A figure wearing a dark gray cloak was carrying Moegi toward the opposite direction of the main road. The route chosen was extremely tricky, specifically picking the blind spots of roofs and hidden alleys between old buildings.
Konohamaru had fallen to the ground at the mouth of the alley, and he was struggling to climb back up.
"Naruto-nii, Moegi has been taken by that bad guy!"
By the time Konohamaru shouted this at the top of his lungs, Naruto had already dashed out, chasing along the route the cloaked figure was escaping on.
When Sasuke reached the alley entrance, he only saw Naruto's receding afterimage and Konohamaru sitting on the ground. He gritted his teeth and followed in hot pursuit.
During the chase, Naruto noticed something slightly off. The opponent's speed was average for a typical Chunin but they seemed quite familiar with this area densely packed with buildings, turning without hesitation every time.
Upon realizing this, Naruto fully unleashed the advanced Chakra manipulation techniques Minato had taught him, releasing Chakra explosively from the soles of his feet, his speed jumping to a higher level.
The ninja holding Moegi was in the middle of leaping between two rooftops. Hearing something off behind him, he glanced back, only to see Naruto—who had been seven or eight rooftops away just moments ago—close most of the distance in the blink of an eye, and disappear from his field of vision with the next blink.
His heart skipped a beat. Carrying Moegi, he forced himself to land, dropping from mid-air into a small clearing in a grove. He set Moegi aside, drew a Kunai, lowered his center of gravity into a defensive stance, and his gaze darted rapidly around the surroundings.
Just then, a golden light appeared behind him. He felt a slight chill at the back of his neck before a palm struck the side of his neck.
The force was precise—just enough to cut off blood supply to the carotid artery without injuring the cervical spine or trachea.
His consciousness was swallowed by darkness in an instant. The Kunai in his hand fell to the ground with a crisp ding, and he collapsed forward, lying motionless on the ground.
"Naruto-nii!"
Moegi rushed to hug Naruto's waist. She sobbed uncontrollably, wiping all her snot and tears onto Naruto's outfit, while mumbling, "I knew Naruto-nii would come to save me. That bad guy was so scary."
Naruto swayed slightly from the impact of Moegi's hug. He looked down at the little girl, who was sobbing against him, sighed, and reached out to pat her head.
"It's okay now, everything is fine. Moegi was very brave to call out for help, that's how I was able to catch up so quickly."
Moegi looked up, her tear-filled eyes fixed on Naruto. She nodded and then buried her face back into him.
While comforting Moegi, Naruto cast his gaze toward the cloaked figure on the ground he had knocked unconscious. He turned the person over, and the cloak's hood slipped off, revealing a familiar face.
The Konoha forehead protector, the scar running across the bridge of his nose, a face that was slightly youthful.
Iruka.
Naruto was stunned.
Then his brain raced, piecing together everything that had just happened from start to finish. He finally understood what was going on.
"You've got to be kidding me." Naruto muttered, rubbing his temples.