Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 328 Anomaly

The guard duty was indeed a demanding and time-consuming task, requiring complete concentration and leaving no room for carelessness. It certainly made Shan Zhongfeng suffer a lot.

There's a world of difference between ninjas, and sensory ninjas are no exception. Naruto is used to constantly activating his sensory abilities; his passive sensory perception is more than enough. He doesn't need to use his brain to deal with his surroundings, and even when he takes turns with Yamanaka Fu, he's as lively and energetic as if nothing's wrong. Yamanaka Fu, on the other hand, has never done continuous sensory work, especially not while moving around. So even though he's sitting in the car, he's mentally exhausted.

Seeing that he was indeed extremely listless, Naruto still went to Kakashi to apply for more shifts to avoid any casualties on his side without any combat.

"So continuous use of sensory abilities is this taxing?" Kakashi had never sensed Naruto's strain before, and the only sensory users he'd ever encountered were Naruto's family—each one a formidable individual capable of standing on their own. He truly had no idea that intermittent sensory use for over half a month could break someone's spirit. He instinctively asked Shizune to check both sensory users, and the conclusion was that Yamanaka Fu definitely needed rest, while Naruto was full of energy.

“It must be because of my constitution, I feel very relaxed.” Naruto suggested, “Why don’t you try Kurama’s chakra? Ordinary medical ninjutsu can’t relieve mental fatigue, but Kurama’s chakra is full of vitality, which can make you feel a little better.”

The name Nine-Tails is quite taboo for some ninjas, and Yamanaka Fu was unwilling to associate with it or owe it any favors. However, his body was honest; any mistreatment he suffered would be reflected in his pain. His head was throbbing so badly that he answered slowly. A massive surge of chakra was then forcefully injected into him, and he immediately felt his body lighten, his headache disappear, as if he had been reborn—a feeling so wonderful it was indescribable.

"Are you alright, Kaze!" Torune exclaimed in alarm. "Chakra is mutually exclusive; how can you just give your chakra to someone else like that!"

Before Naruto could reply, Shizune frowned and stepped forward, saying, "Through special methods, the chakra of different ninjas can be transferred to each other. This is one of the principles of medical ninjutsu. If you don't understand anything, then please shut up."

"Torone, I'm fine." Feng quickly pulled Torone back before he could say anything more, and stared at the blond boy behind Shizune with a probing look. "Is this the Nine-Tails' chakra?"

"It's Kurama," Naruto corrected. "Don't call him by the wrong name, Kurama holds a grudge."

...Making friends with a tailed beast...I still can't understand it.

Over the course of more than half a month, they had traversed almost half of the Land of Fire, and their destination was now within reach. Fortunately, the logistics along the way had been smooth, and they hadn't encountered any formidable opponents, except for a strange caravan traveling with the elderly, women, and children. The leader of this caravan was an old man with completely white hair who didn't look like a local of the Land of Fire. When they met the main group, he was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, thinking they had committed some crime. However, the general who hadn't treated them well was surprisingly easygoing. He simply checked the caravan's documents carefully, and after confirming that everything was in order, he let them go.

Originally, this was just a minor incident, and everything was proceeding smoothly. Once the princess was delivered, they could return home. But this incident unexpectedly unfolded into a significant event.

"There are three very strange chakra reactions behind us." On an ordinary evening, Naruto, who hadn't called the police until now, suddenly spoke up.

Today's patrol team consisted of Kakashi and Asuma. Shizune was alone with the female doctor who accompanied her and was not in the ninja's carriage. Unfortunately, only the two members of Root heard the alarm.

"An enemy attack?" Toru was about to squat down. Although he would get angry over the wind, he had naturally come to trust the information provided by Naruto.

"I guess so, but they're not targeting us." Naruto was also puzzled by the situation, but he wasn't the type to keep things mysterious at crucial moments. "Remember the caravan we encountered five days ago? These three were after us."

Unfortunately, like the other Aburame clan members, Torune wore glasses; otherwise, Naruto would have been able to witness the stunned expressions of the two cold-faced Root members.

Five days ago?

"A caravan?"

Five days is enough time for them to travel two hundred li. Even if the caravan travels slowly, it should have covered at least one hundred li by now, right? They must be traveling in the opposite direction, right? How did Naruto determine that the caravan was related to the ambush? Just how far does his perception range extend?!

"Hmm, the caravan is already about 230 miles away, which is why I'm certain those three strong chakra reactions were chasing after them. It's really strange, that caravan didn't seem to have anything special about it, so how did it get targeted by such a being?" Naruto completely ignored their shock and was diligently searching through his memories, trying to find some clues, but unfortunately, there was just too much stuff in his head, and he couldn't find anything at all.

"As long as those people don't cause us trouble, it's none of our business, right?" Feng, who had also been on standby, sat back down.

Naruto stared at him with an incredulous look and said, "How can it not concern us? That caravan is operating in the Land of Fire, so it should be under the protection of the Land of Fire. If no one had found out, that would have been fine, but now that we know, we have to do something about it."

“Our primary task is to protect the princess,” Feng retorted.

“The princess isn’t in any danger, and there’s nothing wrong around here.” Naruto shrugged and said matter-of-factly, “Besides, I wasn’t expecting you guys to lend a hand anyway. I’ll just send a clone to check.”

This behavior is simply incomprehensible to traditional ninjas.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you are the guard sent by Konoha to protect the princess. How can you leave your post without permission!"

"Konoha swore an oath to protect the territory of the Land of Fire. Protecting the princess is one thing, but protecting the common people is another? Besides, I haven't left my post; I've only sent a clone."

Seeing that the clone had already taken shape and was about to use Flying Thunder God Technique to leave, Feng was both angry and anxious and tried to stop him, but he was instead pulled off balance by Torune.

“You can leave, but Root has the responsibility to supervise the Jinchuriki, so you have to take my shadow clone with you.” Surprisingly, Torune conceded.

Feng was stunned. Just as the two sides reached a consensus, Naruto and Tokun's shadow clones disappeared from the carriage in the blink of an eye.

"This is insane! Did you go on this crazy spree with him? Get rid of him!"

Qu Gen remained expressionless, calmly patting Feng on the shoulder and saying, "That caravan was mostly made up of elderly people and children; they couldn't withstand the ninja's attack. Don't forget, these unknown ninjas have set foot on the land of fire. What if they are spies? We should gather intelligence and report to our superiors."

This was an irrefutable reason, and Feng had no choice but to give up arguing and let them be.