Naruto: Nawaki was already dead, how could you bring him back to life?

A hoarse voice rang out from the center of the battlefield. The orderly Konoha army seemed to be slowly parted by an invisible hand, revealing the tiny figure sitting cross-legged on the ground.

boom!

The moment Chiba saw the other person's face clearly, he was struck dumb, and Nonou's words echoed in his mind once again.

"His name is Kugo, the nephew of the Third Tsuchikage. Given the current Tsuchikage's vengeful nature, if he finds out that you killed Kugo..."

"This is a trap, a setup!"

Chiba said with a bitter expression, "We've been betrayed by our own people, and we've stepped into a hellish situation specifically set up for the three of us!"

Chapter 25 The Oppression of Shadows: There's No Way to Turn the Tide!

"What, how could this happen?!"

After hearing Chiba's words, Nawaki's face turned as pale as paper.

"You, you all...!"

Rope Tree stared ahead with bloodshot eyes, but no one responded to his gaze; one Konoha ninja after another turned their eyes away.

Although they did not expect that the higher-ups would actually compromise with the enemy, after this happened, their original fighting spirit to fight to the death was greatly diminished, and they silently "accepted" this fact.

"Oh, so that's how it is..."

Kosuke sighed heavily. He silently took two steps forward, his not-so-tall figure blocking Nawaki and Chiba's path.

"What a touching scene."

Onoki's figure slowly hovered in the air, leisurely passing over the Konoha army formation, as if he were inspecting his own troops.

"hateful……"

Many Konoha ninjas gripped their weapons tightly, their faces showing humiliation, but they gritted their teeth and suppressed the urge to attack.

The higher-ups have ordered these three to be recalled; what else can they do?

Just to vent his anger, would he want his comrades to die alongside these three men in a meaningless and pointless way?

Raging, raging, raging!

As the distance closed, the oppressive aura emanating from Onoki grew stronger and stronger, pressing down on Chiba and the other two like a raging storm.

"Gudu."

Chiba swallowed hard, feeling as if his heart was being squeezed by a giant hand, making it difficult to even breathe.

"Is this what a Kage-level powerhouse is like? This tangible pressure is so overwhelming that it leaves no room for resistance!"

With Chiba's current strength, let alone fighting a Kage-level opponent, even trying to escape from them is a pipe dream!

"So, is this a dead end...?"

Chiba murmured, realizing the vast difference in strength; he couldn't see any way to break the deadlock.

"So it was the three of you who killed Kugo?"

Soon, Onoki appeared in front of the three of them, looking down at them.

"Tsk tsk, two children and a disabled person, how am I supposed to get involved?"

Onoki stroked his beard, looking somewhat troubled.

"How about this? I'll only use one move. If you survive, I'll let you go. What do you say?"

"Idiot, do you think you're funny?" Chiba cursed inwardly.

"Pfft hahaha!"

Seeing that Chiba and the other two remained silent, Onoki chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "Why are you being so serious? I was just joking with you."

"As the leader of this village, I would never personally bully you juniors; it would damage my reputation if word got out."

After saying that, Onoki pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, a life for a life. You choose one of you to pay for my nephew's life, and I will let bygones be bygones. Isn't that fair?"

"Only one person is needed...?"

Nawaki turned around and glanced at Chiba and Kosuke, then resolutely stepped forward and shouted at Onoki.

"I killed your nephew. I'll take responsibility for my actions. Just kill me!"

The three of them ended up in this situation because of that idiot who doesn't use his brain.

If he could exchange his own life for Chiba and Kosuke's survival, Nawaki would feel it was a huge win!

"Let me do it. You're still young, live well."

Kosuke shielded Nawaki behind him and stood in front of the two of them once again.

Chiba closed his eyes and said with some pain, "Nawaki, Kosuke-senpai, you two should stop arguing..."

Watching the interaction between the three, Onoki raised his arm, pretending to wipe away tears, and said insincerely.

"It's truly touching; I'm almost moved to tears by your sincere affection."

"He simply..."

Chiba suddenly opened his eyes, pointed at Onoki and shouted angrily, "He was just playing us! He never intended to let us go from the beginning!"

Nawaki gave a bitter smile: "I know, Chiba, I know, but what if... what if he..."

“There’s no chance of anything going on!” Chiba and Onoki said at the same time.

"To maintain this courage under the pressure of the Shadow of the Village, I must give you a second look."

At this moment, the smile on Onoki's face had disappeared, and the wrinkles on his old face were piled up, making him look as ferocious as a demon crawling out of hell.

"You guessed right, I was indeed playing a trick on you. As a reward, I'll send you on your way ahead of time."

Onoki's gaze swept over the three of them one by one, and he pronounced the verdict in a hoarse voice.

"All three of you must be buried with my nephew!"

……

Meanwhile, in the central part of the Land of Rain.

Having just left one battlefield, Tsunade used her summoning jutsu to remotely gather intelligence during the break on her way to the next one.

Upon seeing two of the messages, Tsunade froze on the spot, her expression instantly changing.

"Nawaki and Chiba are in danger! Jiraiya, we must return to the south immediately!"

Tsunade looked at her two clueless companions and spoke anxiously.

"Tsunade, you can't leave!"

Jiraiya stopped Tsunade, who was about to turn and leave. Under Tsunade's surprised and uncertain gaze, Jiraiya slowly shook his head and said.

"The next base is very important to Konoha. We... we can't just turn around and leave like this."

"Konoha? To hell with it!"

For the first time in her life, Tsunade swore.

She flung Jiraiya away, ripped off her headband, and with a snap, crushed the steel Konoha emblem into a lump with her slender hand.

"If Chiba and Nawaki die, I'll become a rogue ninja. Let whoever wants to protect Konoha protect it, I'm not going to play along!"

Tsunade slammed her headband to the ground and said angrily.

"Tsunade, don't be stubborn! We must consider the bigger picture!"

Seeing the Konoha headband lying quietly on the ground, Jiraiya's expression changed slightly, and he wanted to dissuade him.

Just then, Orochimaru, who had been silent all along, walked up to Tsunade and said, "Tsunade, I'll go back with you."

"Tsunade, Orochimaru, you...!"

Jiraiya's expression changed completely upon seeing his two companions standing on the opposite side.

"Jiraiya, I'm asking you one last time, are you coming back with us or not?"

Tsunade had lost her patience and asked in a cold voice.

"...You all go ahead, I'll guard the outpost ahead for Konoha."

After a brief silence, Jiraiya spoke with a resolute gaze.

It's true that Jiraiya liked Tsunade, but in his heart, Konoha was far more important than Tsunade.

Otherwise, in the original storyline, he wouldn't have said to Tsunade, "If you betray the village, I will kill you with my own hands."

"Perhaps I was too willful... Orochimaru, let's go!"

Tsunade gave Jiraiya a deep look, then turned and left with Orochimaru. Jiraiya also quickened his pace, heading towards the base ahead.

Everyone is moving forward, and no one is looking back.

……

Let's turn our attention back to the southern battlefield.

"Dust Escape·The Art of Original Realm Peeling!"

Onoki clasped his hands together in mid-air, revealing a small, transparent cube that made Chiba below feel utterly hopeless.

"Seriously? They're only dealing with the three of us, is it really necessary to use a technique like 'Original Realm Detachment'?"

Chiba smiled bitterly to himself. This Dust Release technique was enough to obliterate the bodies of the three of them. Even if he had the trump card of "Resurrection", he was powerless to turn the tide!

"Ah, what a pity..."

Looking at the transparent cube in Onoki's hand, Chiba sighed deeply.

With the system at his disposal, he clearly had a bright future ahead of him, but who could have imagined that his life, which had just begun to take off, would come to such an abrupt end?!

Chapter 26 White Fang Saves the Day, Born Commander

buzz~

With a casual wave of his hand, Onoki sent the small cube gently falling towards the three of them, its power just enough to envelop them.

"Try to struggle a bit, it will make me feel better," Onoki said with a sinister grin.