[Clop... clop-clop-clop...]
Before Sakura's question could be answered, a sudden burst of hurried hoofbeats rang out from beyond a distant fence. The three of them, caught mid-conversation, did not dare relax for even a moment and immediately rose into a guarded stance.
At that very moment, a white blur leapt over the wooden fence surrounding the open lot.
It was a magnificent white horse.
The woman riding it was dressed in Princess Fūun's costume, her hair neatly arranged, her garments elegant and refined. Even in full flight, the innate nobility of her attire could not be hidden.
No—looking closer at her brows, her eyes, her expression—
that was clearly the actress who played Princess Fūun: Fujikaze Yukie.
Just as Naruto and the others realized this, the fence in front of them was suddenly shoved open, and a group of samurai mounted on black horses came charging in, their formation neat but their speed astonishing.
The whole situation erupted far too abruptly. Naruto had no time to dodge. Caught by the surging mass of horses, he stumbled and crashed heavily onto his back.
Sakura, too, was thrown off balance by the chaotic crowd pressing past her. Her body tipped backward, and she fell straight onto the green grass.
Only Sasuke reacted quickly enough. With a clean backward flip, he avoided the charging horses, and the moment he landed, he did not hesitate at all—he broke into a sprint after the black-horse samurai chasing Fujikaze Yukie.
Seeing this, Naruto and Sakura no longer cared about the pain from their falls. They scrambled to their feet at once and followed after him.
In this relentless chase—
it took only moments before Fujikaze Yukie was completely surrounded by more than a dozen black-horse samurai on a street.
At that moment, one bearded samurai suddenly raised his arm and hurled out a tightly woven rope net, casting it toward Fujikaze Yukie and her white horse.
Naruto, racing after them, reacted instantly. He snatched three shuriken from his ninja pouch and flung them precisely at the connecting knots of the net, slicing the whole thing apart into loose strips.
Then he leapt into the air and rapidly formed hand seals for the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu. In a burst of white smoke, more than a dozen clones appeared and threw themselves at the black-horse samurai.
With that opening, Fujikaze Yukie finally broke free of the encirclement. She immediately urged the white horse forward, dashing through the gap torn open by Naruto's clones, and soon vanished toward the end of the alley.
Watching her shrinking figure disappear into the distance, Naruto could not help bursting into delighted laughter.
"Awesome! It's just like in the movies! From here on out, Princess Fūun will be under my protection!"
Fujikaze Yukie, who was currently busy promoting her new film in the capital of the Land of Fire, frowned on the spot when she saw the tense chase playing out on the light screen.
At the same time, she had already more or less guessed why the version of herself on the screen was being pursued.
Based on what she currently knew, if this film became a box-office success, then the sequel's filming location would most likely be set in the one place she least wished to return to:
the Land of Snow.
If not for that, she truly could not think of any other reason why the version of herself in the light screen would be desperately fleeing through the streets on horseback.
But all of those were merely deductions based on her present circumstances.
So how did the mysterious light screen know them?
And how could it even produce such vivid imagery and show it to the whole world?
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Fujikaze Yukie's expression changed abruptly. The obscure words spoken before the light screen had officially begun playing suddenly resurfaced in her mind with startling clarity.
Could it be...
that what the screen was showing really was footage from the future?
In truth, Orochimaru and Fujikaze Yukie were far from the only ones to arrive at that conclusion.
At that very moment, the Third Hokage, seated in the Hokage's office, had already gone through the details of everything the light screen had shown so far, piece by piece, and in the end he too had reached the conclusion that these were images from the future.
That conclusion filled him with worry.
But just as he began considering how to respond, the office door was pushed open without warning.
The Third turned around expressionlessly, his gaze falling on the entrance.
As expected, it was Shimura Danzō, the man in charge of Root.
After stepping into the office, Danzō did not bother with any pleasantries and went straight to the point:
"Hiruzen, you should understand the chain reaction this light screen will bring. Regardless of whether it truly is what we suspect, the other hidden villages are certain to keep their eyes fixed on Konoha from here on out."
"And once the jinchūriki falls into their sights, the risks will be far too high. Better to hand him over to Root. We will take responsibility for his protection."
Even before Danzō had spoken, the Third Hokage had already guessed why he was here.
Over the years, this was far from the first or second time Root had set its sights on the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. Every single time, Hiruzen had rejected the idea outright.
Because he understood better than anyone what kind of place Root truly was.
It was a place of nothing but cold control and endless missions—not an environment where a child could grow up in any healthy way.
From beginning to end, he had never intended to hand Naruto over to Danzō.
So after Danzō finished stating his მოთხოვ案 in one breath, the Third gave him no opportunity to continue persuading him and refused directly:
"Danzō, there is no room for discussion in this matter. Naruto will never be handed over to Root. That environment is fundamentally unsuitable for him. As for his safety, I already have arrangements in place, so there is no need for you to trouble yourself further."
Likewise, Danzō was not in the least surprised by the Third's answer.
For him, this proposal had only ever been a test. Even if it failed, it did not matter much. Still, his long-standing habits pushed him to ask one more question:
"So you truly are not worried that something unexpected will come of this later?"
"There is no rush. Now is not the time to discuss that."
Hearing this, the Third calmly drew on his pipe, his tone steady and unyielding:
"At the very least, we should wait until the light screen has finished showing everything and we have a basic understanding of its purpose. Then we can sit down and discuss the matter."
"Hmph. You'll regret this sooner or later, Hiruzen!"
Bang!!
The moment he finished speaking, Danzō turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him without the slightest hesitation. The crash of the door against the frame echoed through the office.
Long since used to Danzō's impulsive behavior, the Third Hokage did not bother taking offense. He merely withdrew his gaze, turned back around, and looked once more at the light screen floating in the sky.
[There were simply too many black-horse samurai chasing Fujikaze Yukie. Even though Naruto managed to intercept part of them, some still slipped past the blockade and caught up with the fleeing white horse once more.
Then, those samurai lunged at the rider, dragging the Princess Fūun atop the horse brutally down to the ground.
But before the black-horse samurai could make their next move, a dull bang rang out.
As white smoke billowed up, everyone finally realized in shock that the Fujikaze Yukie they had just tackled was no longer Fujikaze Yukie at all—
but Sakura Haruno, who had originally been chasing after them from behind.]
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 172)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 116)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter119)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 66
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 52
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 55
The Way the Umamusume Look at 42
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 40
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 36
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 30
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 26
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