Chapter 346: Sasuke vs. Naruto
Konohagakure.
"Did you hear about that prophecy...?"
"Yeah, I know..."
"It seems there was once a prediction about the village being frozen over..."
Konoha Hospital.
"Sasuke? Where are you taking me?"
Sakura looked utterly confused as Sasuke dragged her by the hand out of Konoha Hospital.
"Sakura, do you know about Mitsuki's ability to foresee the future?"
"Yes."
As Mitsuki's attending physician, Sakura naturally knew about this.
"…He foresaw a future where you would kill all of us. That's why I'm taking you out of the village right now."
"Sasuke, do you really believe I'd kill my former comrades too?"
"I believe you. But that doesn't mean everyone else will. That's why I have to take you away from the village."
Sasuke came to a halt and turned to look at Sakura.
"Sakura! Sasuke!"
A golden flash of light dropped from the rooftop to the ground.
"Naruto."
The golden chakra faded, revealing Naruto's form wrapped in its glow.
"Sasuke, where are you taking Sakura?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke, who was still holding Sakura's hand.
"Away from the village."
"Sasuke, you know I'd never hurt Sakura..."
Naruto turned to look at Sakura behind Sasuke. His gaze was sincere, and for a moment, hesitation flickered across Sakura's face.
"And what if the villagers force you to hurt her?"
"I'll find a perfect solution. Please believe in me, Sasuke."
"You're still as naïve as ever, Naruto."
There was a trace of mockery in Sasuke's calm voice. After all, both the Uchiha clan and Sakumo Hatake (Kakashi's father) had fallen to public opinion in the past.
"Both of you, calm down!"
As the words fell, the speaker leapt down from the rooftop.
"Shikamaru, you're here!" Naruto's face lit up when he saw him. "Shikamaru, help me talk some sense into Sasuke."
"Yeah." Shikamaru nodded, then turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, don't fall for it. This is clearly a ploy by S.H.I.E.L.D. to divide us. There's still a way out of this. We just need to find out what's really going on with Mitsuki—"
"Shikamaru! I already told you—I won't let anyone hurt Mitsuki! He's part of this village too!"
Naruto, suddenly betrayed by Shikamaru's words, erupted with intense chakra, anger written all over his face.
"Naruto! You can't afford to be so idealistic when it comes to the village! Besides, even the Third Hokage back then—"
Shikamaru stopped mid-sentence, glancing at Sasuke. After all, this touched upon the Uchiha massacre.
"Exactly. Naruto, the village made its choice back then too."
Sasuke looked directly at Naruto as he spoke.
"Sasuke..."
Naruto looked at him with a complicated expression.
"I'll hold Naruto off. Sakura, take Shikamaru and find Mitsuki."
Sasuke spoke as he drew the Kusanagi Sword.
"You two..."
Sakura looked anxiously at both Naruto and Sasuke.
"Sakura, staying here won't help. The only way to stop them from fighting is to quickly understand what's going on with Mitsuki's brain. Let's go."
Shikamaru urged her.
"Alright." Sakura nodded, then turned and ran back toward Konoha Hospital. "Follow me!"
"Geez, Naruto, why are you fighting with Sasuke again?"
Kurama, lounging inside Naruto's mind, lifted his head with an exasperated look.
"Yeah... Sorry to trouble you again, Kurama."
Naruto nodded.
"Hmph, not like this is the first time you've been a pain."
Kurama tilted his head and grumbled.
In reality, Naruto activated Sage Fox Mode, while Sasuke revealed his Rinnegan.
"It really has been a while since we fought, Naruto."
As he spoke, Sasuke charged toward Naruto.
"Yeah, it has, Sasuke. But... I'm sorry—this time, for Mitsuki's sake, I'm not holding back!"
The golden chakra enveloping Naruto surged even stronger.
"Chidori Sharp Spear!"
While there was still a gap between them, Sasuke raised his Kusanagi Sword and infused it with Chidori, firing it toward Naruto.
Due to the shape transformation, some power was naturally lost in the process, reducing its overall impact—but in return, it gained range.
Naruto leapt into the air to evade.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Sasuke spat out a high-pressure, linear stream of fire.
Naruto used one of Kurama's claws to shield himself. His entire vision was swallowed by flames.
When he burst through the fire, Sasuke had already vanished.
"Naruto, behind you!"
Heeding Kurama's warning, Naruto, mid-air, turned around—only to see Sasuke descending from above, sword in hand.
If Sasuke could stab Naruto with the Kusanagi Sword and inject Lightning Release chakra into his body, he could paralyze him.
Since Naruto was a jinchūriki, the sword alone wouldn't cause serious harm.
Kurama's claws extended from Naruto's sides and grabbed Sasuke. In midair, Naruto formed hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two shadow clones appeared to Sasuke's left and right. "Sorry, Sasuke—Rasengan!"
Each clone formed a Rasengan and attacked from both sides.
"Susanoo!"
The complete form of Susanoo manifested around Sasuke, forcefully breaking free of the Nine-Tails chakra claws.
"Kurama!"
"Yeah!"
Inside Naruto, Kurama brought his hands together, helping Naruto transform into full tailed-beast mode.
A massive golden fox and a giant purple warrior clashed in the middle of the Leaf Village.
For a moment, they both paused—this level of battle would inevitably damage the recently rebuilt village, and Sasuke didn't want to destroy what Naruto cherished.
But the longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for Naruto—and he knew it.
"Sasuke... Why do we have to fight? Can't you just trust me..." Naruto said, looking helplessly at the silent Sasuke. "Fine then, Sasuke..."
Tailed-beast Naruto lunged forward, clashing hand-to-hand with Susanoo. He pivoted, sweeping his tail and sending Susanoo flying.
Susanoo retaliated mid-air by drawing its longsword and charging again.
"That's Dad's Nine-Tails... and Uncle Sasuke's Susanoo?! Why are they fighting...?"
Boruto looked up at the entangled giants, eyes wide. A moment later, realization dawned.
"That direction... it's... Konoha Hospital... Mitsuki!"
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