Swish—
Bang!
Several black flashes streaked down from the sky.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
They embedded themselves directly in the path of the Chidori Current, acting as lightning rods to conduct the electricity into the ground.
Sizzle!
Sasuke looked up as a dark silhouette appeared. Naruto, stumbling forward, also raised his gaze.
"Who is it?"
Yamato, Sakura, Sai... Orochimaru, Kabuto... everyone looked up simultaneously.
"Hey, long ti no see, little Sasuke. You're a far cry from the kid who used to ask for action figures, haha."
Tonbo Tobitake perford a few flashy mid-air maneuvers before landing precisely in front of Naruto. Stuck in the ground before him were the kunai he had used to divert Sasuke's lightning. He gave Sasuke the smile of a middle-aged man.
"Uncle Tonbo..." Naruto's eyes went wide. "Why are you here?"
"Haha, the Hokage was worried, so she sent to check in. Looks like I ca just in ti," Tonbo laughed.
In the distance, when Yamato heard this, his honest face imdiately slumped. The Hokage doesn't trust my strength...
Sasuke suppressed the Chidori Current and gripped the hilt of his Kusanagi sword. "Captain Tonbo, is it? My target isn't you." His Sharingan spun rapidly, staying on high alert against Tonbo's Genjutsu.
"Aww, seeing how much Naruto cares about you, are you really sure you don't want to co back to Konoha?" Tonbo asked. He twirled a kunai between his fingers, looking very much like he was prepared to drag Sasuke back if he refused.
"You know nothing of the Sharingan's power."
Clang!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Tonbo's hands moved in a blur with his kunai. No matter how Sasuke attacked with his Kusanagi sword, he couldn't break through Tonbo's defense.
"Don't be so violent. I didn't say I was going to force you back. I'm just here to give you a warning: don't lay a hand on your Konoha comrades, or I won't let you off easy."
Clang! Clang!
Sizzle—
With his Sharingan pushed to the limit, Sasuke realized that Tonbo's Taijutsu techniques were remarkably similar to the combat simulations he had experienced back at the academy.
"Now!"
Under the extre dynamic vision of the Sharingan, Tonbo's movents seed to slow down into fra-by-fra motion. They were so incredibly slow. Chidori Current flared from the Kusanagi sword, striking Tonbo directly and paralyzing his body. Sasuke pressed the blade against Tonbo's neck.
"I'll spare you this once. Next ti we et..."
Sasuke flashed back to the first ti he t this weird uncle. He was only a few years old then, overjoyed to receive an Itachi action figure. The ti he spent with those figures was one of his relatively happy periods. During his missions, the figures were his only companions...
But all of that was in the past. Now, there was only hatred. He slowly began to lower the Kusanagi sword.
"Sasuke, wake up!"
Suddenly, Orochimaru's voice rang in his ear. When he snapped back to reality, there was no blade at a neck. Tonbo Tobitake was standing in front of him, smiling broadly. Naruto and the others looked on with expressions of pure shock.
In Sasuke's own hand, the Kusanagi sword was indeed held in a "throat-slitting" pose, but there was nobody there. Beside him, Kabuto and Orochimaru had landed by his side, Orochimaru placing a hand on his shoulder.
"As expected of the master of Genjutsu, Konoha's Acting Hokage!" Orochimaru laughed, licking his lips.
Sasuke's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking in realization.
"You're quite impressive yourself," Tonbo praised. "To be able to crack the technique I placed on Sasuke and even use it for your own purposes."
Kabuto added, "Truly, Senior Tonbo, this Genjutsu is incredible. I suspect even Sasuke's brother, Itachi Uchiha, wouldn't be your match in this field."
At the ntion of Itachi, Sasuke's pupils trembled uncontrollably.
Tonbo smiled and looked at Orochimaru. "Senior Orochimaru is the true master of Genjutsu. Itachi simply inherited a bloodline that enhances his innate ability. There's still a gap between him and Senior Orochimaru."
"Hehe. Any interest in collaborating? Your goal is the Akatsuki, right? Conveniently, our goal is also to weaken them," Orochimaru said, ignoring the praise and getting straight to business.
Tonbo glanced at the fallen Naruto and his team, then back to Sasuke. "It seems you really have no intention of returning to Konoha. In that case, I won't force you. After all, with Senior Orochimaru and little Kabuto here, I'm not going to start a war over one rogue ninja. My mission is simply to protect the Nine-Tails."
These words left Naruto's side in utter disbelief.
"Uncle Tonbo..." Naruto tried to speak.
"Naruto, you're the one who acknowledges him. Bring him back through your own efforts," Tonbo whispered into Naruto's ear. "If I drag him back, Sasuke might just end up in a Konoha dungeon, whipped by his forr comrades as a traitor, or perhaps even used as an experintal subject."
Naruto's pupils shrank. He wanted to say he'd bring Sasuke back even if he had to break his arms and legs, but looking at the look in Sasuke's eyes... Naruto wavered.
"Sasuke, it seems your training is still insufficient. You need to work harder," Orochimaru remarked.
Kabuto added, "Let's go. Who knows if there are more Konoha reinforcents behind us."
Orochimaru and Kabuto supported the Genjutsu-stunned Sasuke, giving Tonbo one last deep look.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
They gradually vanished before the group's eyes. Sakura and Yamato looked on, unable to understand the decision. Naruto stared at the direction Sasuke had disappeared, his body trembling. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white, and tears fell silently into the yellow dirt.
"Teacher Tonbo."
"Senior Tonbo."
Sakura and Yamato greeted him before beginning to treat their wounds. Sai, who was lying nearby, watched Tonbo closely.
This person... his emotions seem different from Naruto's, Sai thought, recalling Naruto's words over the past few days. Though he didn't fully understand emotions, he could see the difference in how Tonbo handled the conflict.
Once everyone was patched up, Tonbo perford a summoning. A massive eagle appeared beneath their feet, carrying them into the sky.
"Ti to head back."
On the eagle's back, a young man and woman looked back with complicated emotions. Yamato was still muttering to himself about how Tsunade didn't trust his abilities since she sent Tonbo.
In an unnad location.
Orochimaru leaned against a large boulder, appearing to be waiting for sothing. After a mont, he looked behind him. A figure was drawing closer.
"I've wanted to et with you again for a long ti, Tonbo Tobitake," Orochimaru said.
"I'm impressed Lord Orochimaru still rembers the Konoha secret signals," Tonbo replied. Just monts ago, Orochimaru had signaled him that he wanted to talk. Out of boredom, Tonbo decided to see what the Sannin wanted.
"Your abilities are vast. Why stay cooped up in Konoha?" Orochimaru asked aningfully.
Tonbo blinked. "Oh? You think I have so grand sche because I'm strong? Actually, I just want to stay ho with my wife and kids on a warm bed."
"Oh, I forgot. Lord Orochimaru, you're a 'single soul.' I shouldn't have said that."
"..."
Orochimaru was speechless. But given the way the Third Old Man preached the Will of Fire, he half-believed it. Still, was it really that simple? Or was he overthinking things?
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