Chapter 29: Kurama: If You Can't Beat Shukaku, It's Because You're Too Weak, Not My Problem. 

Seeing Temari take Gaara away, Sasuke just stood there panting and didn't move forward. Using Chidori twice in a short time had drained him, and he needed to recover a bit.

Naruto came over, holding his stomach, with a silly smile on his face: "Sasuke, you've gotten stronger too. We can have a proper match in the finals now."

Sasuke looked at him annoyed: "Idiot."

"What did you say!" Naruto, as usual, got fired up when he encountered Sasuke, like a fuse meeting a flame, "I beat that Hyuga Neji, you know, that Hyuga Neji!"

Sasuke was stunned, finding it hard to believe: "You really beat that guy?"

He hadn't fought Neji, but he had fought Lee. Lee's strength was overwhelming, leaving him no chance to fight back. And according to Lee, Hyuga Neji was even stronger.

He couldn't believe Naruto had beaten him.

It must be that Neji wasn't as strong as Lee said. Yeah, definitely.

Sasuke didn't believe that Naruto, the class loser, could defeat someone stronger than Lee. It had to be luck.

Naruto didn't know what Sasuke was thinking. Seeing Sasuke's silence, he thought Sasuke was shocked by him. He put his hands on his hips and boasted: "Neji wasn't strong at all. I broke his Ninjutsu and beat him head-on. You probably need a few more years of training to catch up with me."

"Idiot." Sasuke didn't comment.

"You!" Naruto exploded again.

Kurama couldn't stand it anymore and turned over, saying grumpily: "Why are you so obsessed with Sasuke? Is he some kind of beauty that makes you lose your mind?"

Naruto replied angrily: "Because Sakura likes him."

"..." Kurama rolled his eyes, "You're hopeless."

He really is hopeless, and Kurama doesn't want to save him. Just let that 'matchmaker' come down and do his job before this idiot messes up again.

Shikamaru landed between the two, looking at their antics with a helpless expression: "It's wartime, can you be serious?"

It's useless. Kurama knows these two well. Even if it's a war between villages or Otsutsuki Kaguya's revival, these two would still be joking around. Naruto is the most unpredictable ninja, and Sasuke is the cool ninja, but when they get together, they become comedians.

Oh, there's one exception, and that's when they are enemies.

Other than that, these two are like performing a skit.

Hearing Shikamaru's words, Sasuke snorted, while Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion. Shikamaru sighed at their behavior: "Shino will stay to deal with Kankuro. The three of us will go after them. Sasuke and I will handle Temari, and Naruto, you deal with the Jinchuriki."

Shikamaru hesitated for a moment, then continued seriously: "No one here understands the danger of the Tailed Beasts better than you, so you should go all out from the start."

Naruto was stunned: "You... know?"

"I'm not an idiot." Shikamaru chuckled, "I've seen how all the villagers in Konohagakure treat you, and with those strange names, anyone with a brain can figure it out."

All the villagers in Konohagakure, except for Naruto's generation, hate Naruto. And that strange name, 'Demon Fox,' even if it's only mentioned in private, Shikamaru has heard it a few times. With the Nine-Tails' attack twelve years ago, how could he not figure it out?

Shikamaru knew when he met Naruto at the ninja school, but so what? Shikamaru sees things more clearly than those adults. He knows what kind of person Naruto is and how to choose his friends.

Sasuke frowned, not understanding: "That guy is very dangerous. Naruto can't be his match."

He didn't see Naruto's previous matches. He was so consumed by hatred all these years that he didn't care about Naruto's identity. Even when Naruto unleashed powerful chakra in the Land of Waves, Sasuke didn't think about why.

He thought Naruto was still the same as before.

Shikamaru shook his head: "You're not his match. Without Jonin support, only Naruto among us can defeat him."

Sasuke clenched his fist, his voice low: "If I can't defeat him, I don't believe Naruto can."

Shikamaru glanced at him: "You overestimate yourself and underestimate the strong in the ninja world. You don't even know what a Jinchuriki is. You have no right to fight him."

"What?" Sasuke was shocked.

Indeed, although Sasuke has awakened the double Tomoe Sharingan, and even one eye is Three Tomoe, defeating a Tailed Beast with the Sharingan is not something he can do now, even if it's the weakest Tailed Beast.

The One-Tail Shukaku is an insurmountable barrier for Sasuke.

At least for now.

Naruto's face turned serious, and he clenched his fists: "I'll use my fists to show that guy the consequences of destroying my precious village."

"Good." Shikamaru nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, A-rank mission confirmed. I will be the leader and temporary commander. Uchiha Sasuke will be responsible for support and distraction, and Uzumaki Naruto will be the main attacker. The mission is to stop the One-Tail from breaking the seal or to kill the Sunagakure ninja Gaara."

"Mission start."

With that, Shikamaru was the first to rush out, followed closely by Naruto. Sasuke, biting his teeth in frustration, followed behind Naruto.

Temari didn't know the way in Konohagakure, at least not this part of the terrain. She was heading towards a training ground in Konohagakure, located in a forest surrounded by endless trees. It wasn't as exaggerated as the training ground for the second exam, which was created by Senju Hashirama's Wood Release, but it was still a natural forest.

In theory, the three of them couldn't match Temari's speed as a Wind Release ninja. But unfortunately, Gaara was injured and had gone crazy, so Temari couldn't move at her fastest speed while supporting him.

But it didn't matter, as long as they were far enough from the battlefield to ensure Shukaku wouldn't affect the Sunagakure ninjas.

Along the way, Gaara kept crying out in pain. It seemed that being injured for the first time was driving him mad. Shukaku's chakra was constantly hitting the seal. At this rate, even if Gaara didn't actively awaken Shukaku, Shukaku would break the seal and come out.

This wasn't the first or second time this had happened. Ever since Gaara went crazy after Yashamaru's attack, Shukaku would break the seal every couple of years. Fortunately, Sunagakure had the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, who could barely seal Shukaku back.

But this wasn't Sunagakure, and Rasa was dead. Konohagakure needed a ninja capable of becoming a Kage to seal Shukaku. If Sarutobi Hiruzen was killed by Orochimaru as in the original story, the only one left in Konohagakure who could stop Shukaku would be Jiraiya.

Naruto... honestly, it's uncertain. His body is too weak right now. He can barely handle Kurama's One-Tail power without going berserk. If he releases more chakra, he might go berserk immediately. If Shukaku hasn't awakened, that's fine. But if Shukaku breaks the seal and comes out, unless Naruto can handle Kurama's Four-Tail power or more, he won't be able to defeat Shukaku.

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