Naruto: The Caged Bird Cannot Confine Me - Feng Hou Qi Men

Similarly, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, who are classmates, are essential members.

Since Sasuke is alone, there shouldn't be any problems as long as he catches up.

Therefore, in order to ensure that in the worst-case scenario where they have to bring them back by force, Rock Lee and Tenten, who are skilled in taijutsu and ninja tools, became the most suitable candidates.

However, this configuration has a fatal flaw: there are no ninjas responsible for tracking and reconnaissance.

"The only solution is for Naruto to borrow a ninja dog from Kakashi-sensei instead..."

Shikamaru sighed helplessly.

However, this is only the best arrangement for recovering the personnel; persuading them to act together is still a very troublesome problem!

Without delay, Shikamaru immediately took action, starting by searching for people in the village and explaining the current situation to each of them.

The result went fairly smoothly.

Upon learning that their former comrade was about to embark on a path of no return, the other members of the Konoha 12, after their initial shock, all expressed their willingness to participate in the mission to retrieve Sasuke and Hinata.

And so, the two groups gathered at the village entrance and then parted ways, heading toward their respective goals.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 118. The Operation to Recapture Sasuke and Hinata

118.

After a tense chase, the team that caught up with Hinata quickly located the Sound Four.

The entire process took much less time than the original story's search for Sasuke.

The key factor causing this is Neji, who was in charge of the search mission.

Since the day Orochimaru invaded Konoha, Neji obtained the scroll called "Wings of Freedom" from Feng Qi. Without any hesitation, he trained according to the method recorded in the scroll and successfully broke the evil Caged Bird Seal!

In other words, his white eyes have returned to their original flawless state, possessing a 360-degree all-around vision without any blind spots.

Moreover, what shocked Neji, who had been freed from his shackles, even more was that the "Wings of Freedom" not only could untie the Caged Bird, but also contained a deeper power system!

This is clearly a power system left behind by Feng Qi, and it has a very high degree of compatibility with the Byakugan.

In just a few weeks, his pupil power, along with his overall strength, has been substantially improved!

Neji deeply appreciated Fuuki's good intentions, but he did not spread the "Wings of Freedom" among the Hyuga clan.

He was not the selfish person who wanted to monopolize power, but the Hyuga clan was in a state of panic. Even though the main and branch families had been abolished, the conflict between them had only deepened.

It was like a large volcano that could erupt at any moment, but it was only able to maintain stability due to external pressure from other families in the village.

If Wings of Freedom were launched at this time, the long-simmering conflicts within the Hyuga clan would disregard everything and erupt completely from within!

Neji understood this principle well and was thinking of finding a suitable opportunity to have a proper discussion with Hinata, who came from the main branch of the family.

Unexpectedly, what they received was news of Hinata's defection from Konoha!

'We must bring Hinata back! We absolutely cannot let Feng Qi's efforts go to waste!'

Neji kept traversing the tree trunks in the forest, and the urgency that kept welling up in his heart made him subconsciously push his speed to the limit, gradually pulling away from Shikamaru and the others who were desperately chasing behind him.

In a concealed area several hundred meters directly in front of the group.

In order to adapt to the second form of the Cursed Seal in the shortest possible time, Hinata willingly allowed the Sound Four to use the Four Black Mist Formation to seal her inside a specially made wooden barrel, putting her into a state of suspended animation.

"Hinata!!"

Neji was ultimately a step too late.

By the time he arrived, the black mist that had enveloped the area had dissipated, and the ninjutsu had been completed.

Anxious and impatient, Neji rushed over without saying a word to take back the wooden barrel that sealed Hinata.

However, how could the Sound Four possibly let him have his way?

Kidomaru, the strongest of the four, swung his arms and flung out extremely resilient spider silk towards Neji.

Neji's pupils contracted, and he forcefully stepped forward to steady himself, using a powerful Tai Chi soft fist to sever all the spider silk.

While Kidomaru's attack, without activating the second state of the Cursed Seal, posed no threat to Neji, it still restricted his movement speed.

Behind Neji, Shikamaru and the others arrived one after another, standing on the tree trunk with wary eyes, watching the four Sound Ninja who had taken Hinata away.

The two sides, who had already harbored resentment during Orochimaru's attack on Konoha, stared at each other from afar.

The atmosphere around them plummeted to freezing point, filled with a chilling, oppressive air.

"Are these guys the genin who participated in the Chunin Exams?" Tayuya recognized Shikamaru and the others.

"Hey! You ugly bastards! Give Hinata back to me right now!" Kiba, with his fiery temper, cursed loudly.

"Wang Wang Wang!"

Akamaru lay on his head, baring his teeth and barking incessantly.

Shino Aburame, also a member of Team 8, kept her hands in her pockets and remained expressionless without saying a word.

But the restless parasites hidden beneath his cuffs had already revealed his inner thoughts.

Hinata is their inseparable partner, and they must not let these extremely dangerous individuals take her away under any circumstances.

Even if it requires the use of violence to forcibly bring her back to Konoha!

"Are you misunderstanding something? Lady Hinata chose to follow the right path of Lord Orochimaru based on her own will."

Kidomaru looked at the Konoha ninja opposite him with disdain and sneered, "As her comrades, instead of giving her your blessings, you want to hinder her pursuit of power?"

"That kind of power will only bring destruction, and what Orochimaru wants is only Hinata's eyes and body, right?" Shikamaru calmly exposed the other party's conspiracy.

From Jiraiya, he learned a little about Orochimaru's secrets and ambitions.

Therefore, Hinata must not be allowed to come into contact with such a dangerous person under any circumstances!

"You ignorant fools, you simply cannot comprehend what an honor it is to offer your body to Orochimaru!" Sakon retorted with a look of longing.

Including Kaguya Kimimaro, who did not participate in the operation to bring Hinata back, they all had an almost fanatical worship of Orochimaru, believing that he was the savior who could save the world.

At this point, the words were cut off.

A gentle breeze rustled through the trees. Knowing that negotiations were pointless, the two groups almost simultaneously reached for their ninja bags, quickly forming hand seals, and a fierce conflict erupted.

A fierce battle has begun!

-

At the same time, in a direction completely different from Hinata's route of defection.

With the help of the ninja dog summoned by Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura's team finally caught up with Sasuke Uchiha, who was dressed in civilian clothes, near the edge of the forest.

As is customary in Naruto, Naruto immediately launched into a barrage of words, spouting various bonds and insights, attempting to persuade Sasuke to abandon his idea of ​​defecting from Konoha by sharing his own experience as a Jinchūriki.

However, Kotoamatsukami, which could be used against all sorts of villains, did not shake Sasuke's determination to defect; instead, it made his emotions even more frantic.

Looking at Sakura, Lee, and Tenten standing next to Naruto, Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

He recalled Naruto's outstanding performance in the attack on Konoha, and his powerful master who was known as one of the "Three Legendary Sannin".

Despite being a complete failure who only dragged the team down, he now stands in the bright sunshine, surrounded by all sorts of friends...

Having been hurt by Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke is now both jealous of Naruto's excellence and hates his own weakness.

That's why he wanted to leave Konoha, abandon all his ties, and go to find that man to obtain even greater power!

"Sakura, if I had known that night, I should have kept you unconscious for longer."

Sasuke didn't respond to Naruto's talk-no-jutsu. Instead, he looked at Sakura Haruno and said expressionlessly, "That way, we won't have this boring trouble now."

The cold, indifferent tone of the unfamiliar voice left Sakura Haruno stunned on the spot.

The reason she didn't place all her hopes on Naruto like in the original story and instead hid in the village waiting for news was because she had been struck by Hinata's sword beforehand and hadn't seen Sasuke's resolve, so she still held onto a sliver of hope.

She fantasized that by virtue of her importance in Sasuke's heart, she could persuade him to come back.

It turned out that she was overthinking.

Everything was just the most powerful self-hypnotic illusion—the work of Betsuten Sakura!

"Sasuke, you bastard!!"

Naruto couldn't stand it any longer and charged at Sasuke with a punch, wanting to knock him out of his wits.

However, a dark purple light flashed, and a rock terracotta warrior clad in armor appeared out of thin air, blocking his attack.

"This is that man's power. You, in your current state, have no way to defeat me, Naruto."

Sasuke's skin glowed with square black patterns, and his eyes were blood-red, making his already crimson Sharingan even more eerie.

After a period of exploration and adaptation, he roughly figured out how the demonic mark on his chest was activated.

As long as you don't deliberately suppress your hatred and desires, and let them grow continuously, you can obtain a constant stream of chakra!

Under Sasuke's control, the rock terracotta warrior raised its greatsword and slashed heavily at Naruto.

Boom!

The powerful force created a huge, cracked crater in the ground. Even though Naruto reacted quickly and tried to dodge, he was still thrown back by the shockwave.

Using the dust and smoke that followed as cover, Sasuke disappeared from the spot and quickly moved through the trees and forests.

"Naruto, leave this stone monster to me. You go after Sasuke."

A bandaged arm reached out and rested on Naruto's shoulder, steadying his staggering body.

Rock Lee confidently gave a thumbs-up, revealing a set of gleaming teeth.

“Thick eyebrows, you…” Naruto was deeply moved.

“Li is right, that guy is your partner, right?”

Tenten also stepped forward, quietly unrolling a scroll containing various ninja tools, and encouraged with a smile, "In that case, we must bring him back!"

"Thank you...!"

Knowing that time was of the essence, Naruto quickly thanked them and turned to Sakura Haruno, who was still looking distraught. "Sakura, let's go!"

Sakura Haruno almost subconsciously hummed in agreement, mechanically following Naruto as she leaped out.

This state of mind meant that she was destined to be unable to fully keep up with Naruto's pace.