I Do Not Acknowledge Your Attack Power

After finishing off the enemy, Naruto sifted through the pile of bones, picking out a slightly more attractive one and tossing it into the sealing space.

"Such a hassle."

With that, Naruto immediately ran off.

When he caught up to Neji, he saw Kidomaru shoot a large arrow straight through his shoulder.

"Ugh~"

Naruto sucked in a breath sharply, feeling the pain just from watching.

...

"Is he dead?" Neji, lying on the ground, holding his shoulder in pain, gritted his teeth and asked.

"Yeah, he's dead!" Naruto pulled the grass-cutting sword from Kidomaru's heart and delivered a final blow, "Cold as ice."

"Everyone's dead?" Neji gazed up at the sky between the trees, asking about Kimimaro.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, picking Neji up and carrying him on his back. "The pursuit plan is most likely canceled. You're injured, and the others are probably not doing much better."

"You're strong."

"Thanks, but that's not a compliment." Naruto's sharp tongue remained.

If they left Neji here in this wilderness, he'd be dead within half a day. Naruto wasn't sure if Tsunade had called for backup, nor whether they could arrive in time. The only thing he could do was bring Neji with him to catch up to the others.

And call off this mission, temporarily halt it.

Facing opponents stronger than themselves individually, the outcome was either mutual destruction or certain death.

If these Konoha heirs were all taken out at the same time, Tsunade would likely be held accountable by the higher-ups.

The Nara clan, Inuzuka clan, and Akimichi clan were all close to the Hokage's faction. For them, as long as a direct descendant of the Third Hokage became Hokage, it didn't matter who it was.

But if Tsunade lost power, their future wouldn't be any better.

"Damn it, Danzo will be the scapegoat!"

After a furious dash...

"Neji, check the location." Naruto followed the marks. "We've traveled this far; they should be nearby."

Enduring the pain, Neji opened his Byakugan.

His vision was like that of an eagle, cutting through the thick forest, and eventually, he spotted something deeper in the woods.

"Chouji is over there."

In an unknown clearing to the east of the Konoha Forest, Chouji was kicked away by a cursed form of Jirobo and crashed heavily into the ground.

Before transforming into his cursed form, Jirobo was a cautious person. But once he entered the cursed state, he became like a Zuan person, constantly spitting trash talk during battle.

He was what people called a Zuan meat tank.

"You really are discarded trash, die, you scum." Jirobo stepped on Chouji's chest. "A fat pig like you has no value alive."

"It looks like your teammates have already abandoned you, pitiful fat pig."

With that, Jirobo picked up a bag of chips that Chouji had dropped and ate the last piece.

"You're worthless, and the chips aren't enough. You can only die!"

"But don't worry, after I kill you, I'll eat your worthless teammates too!"

Chouji couldn't speak, his chakra almost depleted. He trusted his teammates and now had resigned himself to dying with Jirobo.

Lying on the ground, barely breathing, he faced Jirobo's ceaseless insults, using the last of his strength to pull out the red pill that would cause him to completely go berserk and die.

Just as Chouji was about to swallow the pill, a familiar and somewhat annoying voice rang out above the forest.

"Don't eat it. One more bite won't make a difference."

Naruto, carrying Neji on his back, jumped down from a giant tree and grabbed Chouji's wrist, stopping him from consuming the pill and going berserk.

With a quick use of Lava Release, Naruto forced Jirobo back several dozen meters.

"Naruto… and... Neji?" Chouji turned around suddenly.

He saw the bloodstain on Neji's left shoulder, hastily treated, and immediately became anxious, trying to speak but failing. His small eyes narrowed in seriousness, but his lack of presence made him appear somewhat comical.

"How... How did you...?"

"How? We just happened to pass by." Naruto casually tossed Neji to Chouji, "Here, Neji's all yours."

Neji glared at Naruto, but was ignored.

Chouji caught Neji as if he were a ball and noticed that Naruto wanted to deal with Jirobo alone. But when he looked at Jirobo, now in his cursed form, he was still shocked.

That guy was as tough as iron, his rare hair resembling steel nails, and his hands like steel claws.

"Naruto, be careful of him," Chouji warned.

Naruto didn't reply, just walking straight toward Jirobo.

Jirobo smiled madly as Naruto slowly approached, but his face, due to excessive fat, made the smile look hideously distorted.

"The fat pig can't fight, so you brought a garbage person instead? What's the use?"

"Why are you so quiet? A useless teammate is still a useless teammate? Or...?"

Naruto didn't say a word, stepping steadily toward Jirobo.

He ignored Jirobo's low-level taunts, unfazed. In terms of provoking people, Garen Benren hadn't even entered the scene yet.

But Naruto didn't have time to play the taunting game with Jirobo. He activated the Four Symbols Seal and pulled out the Grass-Cutting Sword from an unexpected place.

"You all come at me together. After all, you're all a bunch of trash..."

Jirobo froze halfway through his taunt, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Damn it! Don't pull your sword from there! Are you trying to disgust me on purpose?!"

He roared, slamming both hands on the ground. Huge rocks flew, and massive stone slabs shot toward Naruto.

In less than two seconds, the stones were instantly sliced apart. The rocks were sliced like tofu by the sharp edge of the Grass-Cutting Sword, with earth and stones flying everywhere.

Naruto used Lava Release to coat the sword, stopping ten meters away from Jirobo, and said flatly.

"Stop shouting, you malformed freak."

"Orochimaru doesn't like ugly children."

...

Without a word, Naruto took out a cloth and silently wiped the blood from Jirobo off the blade.

Chouji stared, stunned, at how easily Naruto sliced through Jirobo as if he were cutting vegetables. He blinked several times, unable to process it. What did Naruto just pull out?

"Naruto, you..." Chouji stuttered for a long time before finally blurting out, "You're such a trash-talker!"

Chouji, being somewhat shy and sheltered, could never match Naruto's biting sarcasm. His attack power still needed improvement.

Naruto put the Grass-Cutting Sword away and patted Chouji on the shoulder, saying meaningfully:

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, don't quite acknowledge your verbal attack power."

The three didn't waste any time, continuing along the trail marked by Shikamaru, Lee, and Kiba, rescuing the severely injured Kiba and Akamaru, as well as Lee, from the massive ravine.

After swiftly eliminating nearby threats, Naruto continued on the path, ready to find Shikamaru and call off the mission.

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