Even if a powerful ninja dies, his soul drifts into the Pure Land. For people at that level, crawling back from the dead isn't exactly impossible.
Naruto was still thinking about the relationship between souls and the Pure Land when a violent chakra explosion outside Kirigakure snapped him out of his thoughts.
He glanced out the window and narrowed his eyes.
A chakra burst of that scale was definitely not something an average ninja could produce.
The only reasonable explanation was that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, had entered his tailed-beast state, causing the Three-Tails, Isobu, inside him to go berserk.
Inside Naruto's mindscape, the Nine-Tails, Kurama, also sensed the chakra and snorted.
"That's the Three-Tails' chakra. Hah… that bastard sleeps all day like a lazy turtle, but the resentment inside him is still ridiculous."
Then Kurama's voice became a little amused.
"So, Naruto… ready to beat the hell out of the Three-Tails and its jinchūriki?"
Naruto nodded calmly.
He had already expected to fight the Fourth Mizukage. In fact, getting a portion of Three-Tails' chakra was one of the main reasons he came to the Land of Water in the first place.
Seeing Naruto preparing to challenge a perfect jinchūriki, Minato Namikaze could only smile helplessly.
"Just… be careful," Minato said.
Naruto didn't waste time chatting.
He jumped straight out of the Mizukage Building, his body flashing across the rooftops of Kirigakure like a shadow. A few minutes later, he landed lightly on the treetops outside the village.
And then he saw it.
The Fourth Mizukage had completely lost his human form.
Standing there was the enormous body of the Three-Tails itself—huge as a small hill.
The Three-Tails looked like a monstrous giant turtle. Its movements weren't very fast, but its thick shell and the surrounding rivers gave it a terrifying advantage.
Endless waves of Water Release jutsu blasted across the battlefield.
Dozens of Kirigakure ninjas were getting their asses handed to them.
Before long, most of the Mist ninjas had lost their fighting ability. Only a handful of jōnin could still fight.
The main forces were Terumi Mei and Hōzuki Mangetsu, barely holding the line against the rampaging tailed beast.
Seeing this, Naruto didn't rush in immediately.
First, Kirigakure wasn't at its absolute breaking point yet.
Second—and more importantly—Uchiha Obito, the masked bastard pulling the strings, still hadn't appeared.
If Naruto showed up too early, he'd basically be doing Obito's dirty work for him.
And Naruto had zero interest in becoming someone else's backup dancer.
While waiting patiently, Naruto suddenly sensed a faint chakra signature nearby.
It felt… strangely familiar.
After a few quick leaps through the forest, Naruto found the source.
Blood stains covered the ground.
Leaning against a massive tree was Loquat Jūzō, barely alive.
Beside him lay the Kubikiribōchō, the legendary Executioner's Blade—now shattered into several pieces.
Hearing footsteps, Jūzō slowly opened his eyes and stared at Naruto.
"You… a Mist ninja?" he muttered weakly.
"If you're here to kill me, then just do it… After you cut off my head, take the Executioner's Blade back to the village."
"That's… the last thing I can do for Kirigakure."
His voice was weak, but Naruto heard every word.
Naruto shook his head slightly.
"I didn't expect a notorious traitor like you to end up like this," he said with mild amusement.
After making sure no White Zetsu were lurking nearby, Naruto stepped closer.
He pulled the broken blade fragment out of Jūzō's body and casually poured an entire potion down his throat.
The liquid contained Uzumaki clan blood, specially prepared under the guidance of the clan's old patriarch.
Its healing speed was even faster than most medical ninjutsu.
Almost instantly, Jūzō's wounds began healing at a visible rate.
Although he was still weak, he was no longer on death's doorstep.
Jūzō stared at Naruto in complete shock.
He had already accepted death.
But this guy had casually dragged him back from the brink like it was nothing.
After a long silence, Jūzō spoke slowly.
"You're the ninja who escorted that caravan before…"
"Why risk pissing off Kirigakure just to save me?"
"I'm really not worth the trouble."
Naruto chuckled.
"Do you really think Kirigakure has time to worry about me right now?"
Then he smirked.
"The real reason I saved you is simple."
"Someone really wants you dead."
"So naturally… I want you alive."
Jūzō fell silent.
He understood exactly who Naruto meant.
The masked man.
But what that bastard didn't know was that Jūzō himself had already accepted death.
For a traitor like him, dying at the hands of his own village wasn't such a bad ending.
Naruto noticed the death wish still lingering in Jūzō's eyes and clicked his tongue.
"What? You're just going to die like that?"
"You're not even curious about getting revenge on the guy who manipulated your entire life?"
"Damn… that's pathetic."
Jūzō froze.
Of course he had thought about revenge.
But he knew his limits.
The best he could do was exploit the conflict between the masked man and Pain, hoping to free Kirigakure from their control.
Taking down the masked man—or the Akatsuki organization—was way beyond his ability.
And after being screwed over once by that masked bastard, trusting anyone again was… difficult.
Naruto didn't rush him.
He simply turned to look toward Kirigakure.
Several Mist ninjas were approaching.
Leading them was Momochi Zabuza.
After spotting Naruto, Zabuza signaled his men to stay back and jogged over alone.
When he saw the heavily injured Jūzō and the shattered Executioner's Blade, Zabuza hesitated.
"Lord Mianma… is this traitor Loquat Jūzō one of your subordinates?"
"He just attacked the village."
Naruto shook his head.
"No. He's not my subordinate."
"He was working for the masked man."
"But he betrayed him and attacked Kirigakure to expose the strange situation with the Fourth Mizukage."
Hearing this, Zabuza's gaze toward Jūzō softened slightly.
Still, he asked carefully,
"Then… can I take him back to the village?"
"The information inside his head is extremely important for me and Mangetsu."
Naruto shrugged.
"Sure. Take him."
"You can also take the Executioner's Blade."
"But try not to kill him."
"And more importantly—don't let anyone know he's still alive."
"Otherwise things will become a giant pain in the ass for Kirigakure."
Zabuza nodded.
He walked over to Jūzō.
"Senior Jūzō… I don't know if you're a traitor or a patriot."
"But please come with me."
"We need information about your organization."
Jūzō glanced at the raging Three-Tails in the distance and sighed softly.
Then he stood up and followed Zabuza.
Zabuza ordered his men to bring over the corpse of a fallen Mist ninja. They placed it where Jūzō had been lying and blasted it apart with Water Release, faking Jūzō's death.
After finishing that, Zabuza returned to Naruto.
"Lord Mianma… please deal with the Fourth Mizukage and the masked man."
"Mangetsu and I will make sure you receive a reward worthy of your effort."
Naruto looked slightly guilty.
He bent down and casually picked up an Akatsuki ring lying nearby.
Then he glanced at the distant Three-Tails and waved his hand lazily.
"Relax."
"I'll finish this mess within half an hour."
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