Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 522 Before the Collision

Naruto Uzumaki announced his return in a very direct way.

Even though he is no longer the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he can still announce his return with his immense energy that the world cannot ignore.

The moment the chakra was released, the headquarters' sensory water sphere could not even maintain its perfect spherical shape, and the huge bubble symbolizing chakra bulged out as if it was about to burst through the thin water film.

White Zetsu, who possessed sensory abilities, immediately reported the situation and also discovered that his good friend Black Zetsu seemed to have lost contact and was completely silent. However, this was not surprising; that guy often went out to have fun alone. At this moment, whether Black Zetsu was there or not was no longer important, because all the Jinchuriki had already appeared.

"The clone that was hiding in the fourth line reports that Lord Madara has appeared in the fourth line, but the annoying Wood Release user has also appeared."

The face beneath the mask furrowed slightly. He knew only one living half-Wood Release user, but how could that one possibly contend with Madara?

"Naruto Uzumaki summoned the First Hokage, who was resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique."

"Oh?" The masked man paused, refusing to admit that he had been slightly nervous for a moment.

Putting the words "Naruto Uzumaki" and "Edo Tensei" together is really absurd. Putting aside the fact that the runes required for Edo Tensei are densely packed and impossible for the average person to memorize, just the fact that Edo Tensei requires a living sacrifice makes it impossible for Naruto Uzumaki to choose to use that technique.

But this guy, who always managed to give him a "surprise," not only used it, but also attracted the most troublesome one. He couldn't help but recall Kabuto's past complaints; he seemed to have mentioned that Orochimaru had tried to summon the previous Hokage, but without exception, all attempts failed. The Fourth Hokage was taken by the Shinigami, so failure was understandable, but why couldn't the First and Second Hokage be summoned? Orochimaru couldn't figure it out, simply assuming that the inventor of the ninjutsu had left a safety net for the technique.

The real reason was that someone else had preempted the summoning, and who knows how many years ago! Holding such immense power, yet doing nothing? How could that be? But surely Naruto couldn't have endured so many years just to ambush the Eye of the Moon today, could he?

"There's an even more interesting piece of news that you'll definitely be interested in."

"..." The masked man refused to be the straight man; he was currently on his way to war!

Feeling awkward, White Zetsu pursed his lips and said, "The current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is Uchiha Sasuke~"

The purple figure abruptly stopped, bringing it to a screeching halt in the treetops. The puppet army following him also stopped, following their pre-programmed routines to guard all directions and tightly surround the masked man.

"You mean Naruto Uzumaki is also a reanimated character?"

"Yes, and it was summoned by Kabuto. However, that snake is too unreliable; he can't control it at all."

No wonder Kabuto was so determined to have Sasuke; he had this pawn in his hand all along. Unfortunately, an uncontrollable pawn can backfire; the sudden burst of chakra ahead probably belongs to Naruto Uzumaki.

This guy is really something, whether he's dead or alive, he's relentlessly going against me.

The masked man slightly shifted his gaze, looking at the only red-haired person in the group. Nagato, having absorbed the tailed beast's chakra, was no longer the deathly pale figure he once was. His hair had turned red, his cheeks and body had become rounder, and he looked ten years younger. This was Nagato's true appearance.

Upon receiving the signal, Nagato clasped his hands together, and a massive amount of chakra rapidly gathered in his palms, forming a jet-black sphere.

He knew, of course, that directly unleashing this technique wouldn't be very lethal, but who says that lethality has to be on a real level?

The moment the ninjutsu was activated, Naruto, who was sitting high up gazing into the distance, suddenly turned his head and asked, "Sasuke, can your Susanoo shoot arrows?"

“Okay.” Sasuke nodded without hesitation. His disguise had long since been removed; it wouldn’t be surprising if Naruto, who could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, changed his identity at any time. “What? Do you want to change the order of actions?”

"The opponent used a dangerous spell, in that direction."

"Not shoot directly at the ground?"

"It's useless, it'll be dodged. Just destroy the core of the ninjutsu. I should be able to grab the core for three seconds, but I need to aim carefully~"

"Hmph." Sasuke snorted unhappily, but he obediently condensed Susanoo, drew his bow to its fullest extent, and even added Amaterasu as the arrowhead. Naruto, on the other hand, aimed at the distance with his hands forming a frame. This area was already filled with his chakra, and with just a slight thought, the chakra that had spread out in the distance quickly and autonomously condensed, completely filling the area.

Sasuke saw it clearly: a sphere, pitch black inside and glowing on the outside, flew out of the forest. The moment it touched the area Naruto had locked onto, its movement stopped abruptly, as if frozen in time. He seemed capable of doing the same, but Naruto's method appeared to be based on a different principle, much less effort.

Thinking didn't affect the arrow's launch; even though they hadn't fought side-by-side for a long time, their coordination remained flawless. The arrow's aim was slightly upward, precisely along the black ball's trajectory. The black ball paused for three seconds, then continued its ascent before the arrow arrived, colliding with the adjusted arrow and exploding into a shower of sparks.

It was still a black spark.

"It's already started!" Fu, who had been holding back for so long, launched herself into action the moment she saw the purple Susanoo. Her mission was to create scales to blur the enemy's vision. Knowing that the enemy had the Rinnegan and puppets, solving the visual sharing problem was half the battle won.

"It's the enemy trying to launch a sneak attack. Just stop them for a bit. Don't worry, it'll be your turn to shine soon."

Naruto, enveloped in chakra, shouted into the distance, "Are you so ashamed that you resort to sneak attacks? If you have so little confidence in victory, you might as well just admit defeat!!"

"That's it!"

"Yes, I agree."

"We've been waiting for so long, it's not good to be late."

"Hmph, who was it that tried to capture us first?"

"Wearing a mask is because you have no face~ Leading a large group in a sneak attack is a bad habit~"

Seven or eight mouths readily followed. How should I put it? It's true that Jinchūriki share some similarities in personality.

Such a direct provocation was met with an even more direct response: an impact that seemed capable of sweeping everything away came from directly in front.