Chapter 71: Yo

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"Yo~~"

A voice echoed in the abandoned cabin, a mix of sarcasm, mockery, and playful menace.

Kisame stood there, Samehada in hand, exuding an overwhelming and terrifying aura.

Gaara, observing him, knew immediately—he was no match for Kisame.

The tension in the air was palpable.

Kisame flicked his hat back, revealing his face.

Gaara felt his heart race as he recognized the formidable opponent before him—Kisame Hoshigaki, an S-Rankeed rogue ninja from Kirigakure, the Monster of the Hidden Mist.

He was notorious for surviving an assassination attempt on the Mizukage and escaping unscathed.

Kamira, one of Haido's followers, grimaced as she looked at Kisame. "You're ugly…" she muttered, unable to hide her discomfort.

Kisame's ears twitched. He heard the insult.

He turned to Gaara and asked, "Kid, which one of you is Kamira?"

Kamira froze. Was this monstrous-looking man here for her?

She swallowed hard and replied, "It's me."

In an instant, Kisame was in front of her, raising Samehada high before smashing it down with brutal force.

'Boom!'

The sound echoed through the cabin as Kamira's chest caved under the impact.

She gasped in pain, clutching her chest. "You really don't know how to show mercy, do you? It hurts... It hurts... Lord Haido, please help me…"

As she cried out, Kamira's body began to change.

Her skin turned a deep purple, her once-beautiful face contorted into something monstrous.

Her muscles bulged, growing stronger than even Kisame's.

But despite her newfound strength, Kamira hated this form. She despised how hideous she became when she transformed.

Kisame, however, showed no sympathy. He had long ago killed anyone he might have cared for, even his childhood sweetheart.

As Kamira completed her transformation, Kisame wasn't intimidated in the slightest. In fact, he found it entertaining. He relished the challenge.

Quickly forming hand seals, Kisame unleashed his technique. "Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"

The nearby sea responded to Kisame's chakra, and an enormous water shark burst forth, crashing through the cabin and sinking its teeth into Kamira.

The shark tore her apart, swallowing the pieces before diving back into the ocean's depths.

Kisame: "..."

Gaara: "..."

Kisame glanced down at where Kamira had once stood. "She looked pretty tough, but why was she so weak? She couldn't even take one of my attacks," he grumbled.

Gaara, still on edge, couldn't help but wonder if he was next. Why else would a legendary rogue ninja like Kisame come all the way to Sunagakure?

Sensing Gaara's tension, Kisame smirked. "Kid, you nervous?"

"Don't worry, you're not on my list today."

With that, Kisame vanished beneath the waves, disappearing without a trace.

Despite his departure, Gaara remained vigilant. He knew all too well that Kisame might return at any moment. After all, Gaara was the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, Shukaku.

But maybe… maybe Gaara had overestimated Shukaku's value. He wasn't sure anymore.

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

Temujin looked at Naruto and said, "I'm an orphan. My parents died in the war. Ever since I survived, I've been following Lord Haido!"

His eyes shone with admiration for Haido.

Naruto, however, was left speechless. This kid… Could he have been brainwashed?

Noticing Naruto's expression, Temujin's face flushed with embarrassment and anger.

"You don't have to worship Lord Haido, but you can't insult him either… Ow!" He winced as he accidentally tore open a wound.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "When did I ever insult Haido?"

Temujin snapped, "Your eyes! When I mention Lord Haido, your eyes should be filled with reverence!"

Naruto sighed, feeling exasperated. Then he asked, "By the way, if you want to create a utopia, why don't you capture the Tailed Beasts? Aren't they way more powerful?"

Temujin blinked in confusion. "Tailed Beasts? What are those?"

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You're a ninja and you don't even know about Tailed Beasts?"

Temujin shook his head, clearly puzzled. In truth, he wasn't a ninja at all—he was a "knight."

Naruto explained, "Tailed Beasts are massive collections of chakra. They have their own consciousness and possess the power to destroy entire nations."

But words alone couldn't convey the sheer might of a Tailed Beast. You had to see one to truly understand.

...

The next morning, Naruto discovered that Temujin was gone.

He turned to Kahiko, a local villager. "Hey, Uncle, have you seen Temujin?"

Kahiko shook his head in frustration. "No, I haven't. And my ferret is missing too! That ferret's been in my family for generations. It's older than I am!"

Naruto grinned reassuringly. "Don't worry, Uncle Kahiko. Temujin's still injured—he can't have gone far. I'll bring back your ferret too!"

With that, Naruto set off in pursuit of Temujin.

Not far down the path, he spotted the boy limping along. Temujin's wounds hadn't fully healed yet.

Naruto couldn't help but be impressed by Temujin's resilience.

Despite his own impressive healing abilities, courtesy of the Nine-Tails, he had to admit Temujin's recovery was remarkable for a normal person.

Temujin petted the ferret on his shoulder, puzzled. "Why are you following me?"

The ferret nuzzled against Temujin's blond hair, clearly enjoying his company.

Meanwhile, Naruto was still running in the wrong direction.

Inside Naruto, Kurama, the Nine-Tails, grumbled, "Hey, kid, you're going the wrong way."

Naruto frowned. "How do you know?"

Kurama's voice dripped with disdain. "That ferret smells awful. I could smell it from miles away."

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly and muttered, "Thanks, Nine-Tails."

Kurama growled, "!!! Don't call me that! I have a name, you know!"

It was simply… incomprehensible!

...

Naruto quickly caught up with Temujin, who was limping away. Temujin turned around, frustration evident on his face. "Why are you following me?"

Naruto grinned. "I suddenly realized that what you said about creating a Utopia is pretty interesting. I want to join Lord Haido's organization and help establish this Utopia!"

Temujin's eyes widened with surprise. He stopped in his tracks and nodded earnestly. "Alright! I'll take you to see Lord Haido right away!"

On a distant cliff stood a colossal moving castle. It towered above the landscape, supported by eight enormous crab-like legs.

Naruto was taken aback at the sight of the moving fortress. "What is that?!"

Temujin beamed with pride. "This is Lord Haido's masterpiece!"

As they approached the moving castle, hidden in the shadows, Shikamaru watched the scene unfold. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. 'What?! Naruto actually made it to the moving castle?'

He clenched his fists in frustration. 'Sakura went to get reinforcements—why isn't she back yet?!'

The moving castle continued its majestic march toward Sunagakure. Meanwhile, Kahiko's caravan also made its way toward the village.

Inside the castle, Haido, cloaked in blue and with a bloated appearance, noticed Temujin returning with a stranger. With a gentle but curious tone, he asked, "And who might this be?"

Temujin introduced Naruto with enthusiasm. "This is Naruto. He's strong, and he wants to join us in building the legendary Utopia!"

Haido smiled at Naruto. "To create a Utopia, we must first break the monopoly of the Five Great Shinobi Villages."

"To do that, we need immense power. The only thing that can grant me that power is the legendary Gelel Stone."

Naruto tilted his head curiously. "Why not just capture the Tailed Beasts?"

Unlike Temujin, Haido knew exactly what Tailed Beasts were. He sighed, exasperated. 'If I could capture a Tailed Beast, would I really need to go through all this trouble for the Gelel Stone?'

Haido explained, "It's not that simple. The Tailed Beasts were long ago divided among the major villages by the Emperor."

"We can't simply take them by force. Since those beasts are out of reach, we'll focus on finding the Gelel Stone instead."

Meanwhile, Shikamaru, still hidden in the shadows, quickly scribbled down notes on a scroll. His fingers trembled as he wrote: '"Moving Castle", "Sunagakure", "Utopia", "Haido", "Gelel Stone".'

He bit his finger, leaving a bloodied mark on the scroll before summoning countless small butterflies. They fluttered away, carrying his message to Konoha.

...

At the same time, in the vast desert of Sunagakure…

Two figures walked under the scorching sun—Hidan and Sasori of the Red Sand.

Hidan groaned in frustration. "Hey, hey, why are we out here roasting in the desert?"

Sasori responded calmly, "The leader instructed us to wait here, so we wait."

Bored, Hidan combed back his long hair and turned to Sasori. "So, you're the famous rogue ninja from Sunagakure. Why'd you become a rogue anyway?"

Sasori remained silent.

Undeterred, Hidan continued, "Come on, Sasori, are you really that ugly? Aren't you a puppet master? Where's your real body? Let's talk."

Hidan's chatter didn't let up. "By the way, I heard the leader's here too, but I haven't seen him. And what about Orochimaru? I joined Akatsuki because of him, and now he's gone rogue from the rogues!"

Despite Hidan's incessant talking, Sasori didn't utter a word.

Finally, Hidan threw his hands up in exasperation. "You're so boring, man. Teaming up with you is a drag."

Sasori's puppet tail suddenly aimed at Hidan, and he said coldly, "Shut up, or I'll kill you."

Hidan's eyes gleamed with excitement. He grabbed his signature three-bladed scythe from his back and challenged Sasori, "Kill me? You can't do it! But I can sure as hell kill you!"

Just as the two were about to clash, a figure descended from the sky—it was the Animal Path of Pain.

Though it was just one of the Six Paths, the shared consciousness made the Animal Path the de facto leader.

The Animal Path's voice was commanding. "Enough. Stop arguing. Do you know why we're here?"

Hidan shook his head. "No idea."

Pain's voice was calm yet foreboding. "Long ago, before the Land of Wind was established, there was a mighty empire known as the 'Land of Phantoms.' The king of that land ruled with the power of the Gelel Stone. It granted them strength beyond imagination.

"In the Land of Phantoms, children grew up rapidly, crops ripened within a day, and the knights were stronger than ever.

"But no matter how great power is, it's still just an external force. Greed from within led to a rebellion. The empire was destroyed in a single day.

"The remnants of that civilization buried the Gelel Stone deep beneath the sand—what is now the Land of Wind. When the Land of Phantoms fell, so did the other small nations. That's when the Warring States period began."

Hidan's curiosity got the better of him. "How do you know all this, leader?"

Pain answered, "Absolute intelligence. Whether true or not, there's little reason to doubt it."

As Pain finished speaking, the ground began to tremble violently. A massive moving castle came into view, marching towards Sunagakure.

Pain narrowed his eyes.

The three followed the moving castle until it stopped. A large group of people disembarked and began digging through the yellow sand.

Pain observed the scene and declared, "It seems this is where the Gelel Stone is buried."

Hidan could barely contain his bloodlust. He rushed forward with his scythe, eager to spill blood.

"Hahahaha!"

As his scythe spun through the air, it sliced through the undead monsters with brutal efficiency.

Hidan cackled maniacally as he watched the creatures fall, only to rise again moments later.

He was ecstatic. "What?! They're immortal too? Do these monsters worship the same god I do? It doesn't matter—believers can still serve Jashin!"

"Hahahaha!"

Just as Hidan reveled in the carnage, a figure appeared atop the moving castle. It was Ranke, one of Haido's three loyal subordinates.

Ranke called out, "Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Hidan grinned wickedly. "Isn't it obvious? I'm killing these monsters!"

Ranke smiled coldly. "Then don't blame me for killing you~"

In a flash, Ranke appeared behind Hidan. An almost invisible silk thread sliced through the air, severing Hidan's head from his body.

Ranke whispered, "Another one down."

But when she turned back, she froze in shock. Hidan's body was casually holding his severed head, and his face showed nothing but pure bliss.

"Mmm~"

"This feels so good..."

Ranke shuddered. 'What the hell?! This guy's a freak!'

...