In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

"What about Danzo's whereabouts?" Sasuke asked.

"Well…" Suigetsu grinned, "A lot of things have happened in Konoha recently. The Root has been eradicated by the Godaime Hokage, and Danzo, along with a group of the higher-ups, has stepped down."

"Stepped down?" Sasuke furrowed his brow. He had rushed here in a hurry, but he didn't expect such a thing to happen, "Then where is Danzo now?"

"Probably somewhere in the village. Konoha is not easy to infiltrate, and there are Anbu watching everywhere." Suigetsu shrugged and said nonchalantly, "If we really want to investigate, it'll take more time."

"Call Jugo back. There's no need to stay here. Let's retreat and reconsider our next move." Sasuke is running out of patience and decided to head back to Tanzaku Town for now.

"Got it." Suigetsu responded as he slowly turned and walked into the darkness.

They would prepare thoroughly and pinpoint Danzo's exact location If Danzo continued to remain hidden in the village, then they can only try to create an opportunity to get to him.

'Given the current situation, Danzo would likely stay in hiding for some time.' Thinking of this, Sasuke became more and more irritated. He felt like he was trapped in an invisible web of conspiracies.

He was just blindly charging forward, while the real players stayed hidden in the shadows, mocking him from behind the scenes.

"Shimura Danzo…"

"You deserve to die, Uchiha Obito!" Naruto cursed as he stealthily moved through the Konoha forest. After running around from midday to nightfall, he was growing tired.

His target of scorn had shifted from Danzo to Obito, primarily because Danzo seemed like a walking corpse now, so Naruto had lost interest in him.

Even though he was exhausted, Naruto persisted in his search for Sasuke. He wasn't going to let Sasuke back down now.

'Hey Sasuke, Konoha is currently very vulnerable, so what was there to fear? Damn it, why not just charge in recklessly?!'

As long as Naruto could find Sasuke, he would figure out a way to provoke him into killing Danzo.

Sasuke wasn't much of a strategist… not that he was stupid, but he was prone to arrogance.

As long as he was given some opportunities, Sasuke would dare to rush into Konoha and take Danzo's head.

"Let's move." Seeing that his Team Taka was assembled, Sasuke nodded after surveying the surroundings.

Just as the four of them were about to withdraw from Konoha's Forest, Jugo suddenly stopped. He sharply turned his head in another direction, frowning, and signaled his companions, warning in a low voice, "Be careful, someone is coming!"

Before he even finished speaking, they heard the sound of rustling leaves. A shadowy figure descended from the trees, landing directly in front of Team Taka.

Sasuke frowned at the figure, while Suigetsu looked excited, his fingers already liquefying, ready for action at any moment. Karin's expression was tense, and her gaze was fixed intensely on the newcomer.

"Don't shoot, we're on the same side." The shadow suddenly spoke up, grinning without a trace of seriousness.

"Naruto?" Sasuke immediately recognized the figure emerging from the darkness. Looking at Naruto's face, which was now different from his memories, Sasuke could still faintly see traces of the past.

"Kyubi's Jinchuriki? Interesting, hehe." Suigetsu smirked, eyeing Naruto with predatory intent.

Jugo showed little reaction, but his tightly furrowed brow had not relaxed since Naruto appeared. Karin was also extremely nervous, as she could sense the dangerous aura radiating from the person opposite them.

"Don't throw around labels carelessly. I'm not the Kyubi's Jinchuriki anymore." Naruto turned to look at Suigetsu and said with a grin, "Otherwise, I'd kill you right here."

The smile on Suigetsu's face instantly faded. He was about to retort after hearing the other party's unscrupulous words, but was interrupted by Sasuke.

"Shut up, Suigetsu."

Suigetsu was a little dissatisfied, but didn't say anything and turned his head away.

"Long time no see, Sasuke." Naruto smiled at him and spread his hands, "I didn't expect you'd really be hiding near the village. Your hiding skills are a bit... lacking, don't you think?"

Despite his arrogant tone, Naruto was in a disheveled state after searching for Sasuke all afternoon and evening. But at this moment, he had to maintain his air of confidence.

Sasuke, typically one to respond to such provocations, stared at Naruto and asked, "What do you want with me? You're not here to persuade me to return to the village, are you?"

"You are a Missing-nin now, so you should just stay outside." Naruto waved dismissively, "You're overthinking it. I'm just here to tell you some news."

"What news?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"Danzo's location. I know where he is. You've been looking for him, haven't you?" Naruto said without hesitation, "The commotion you've made… I heard it even from inside Konoha."

Hearing this, Sasuke's face looked a little unhappy, "Why are you helping me?"

"Huh?" Naruto let out a mocking laugh, standing in the shadows, confronting the four of them, "You can't be unaware of who took out Danzo's Root, do you?"

"You?"

"It seems that your intel is a little out of date, Sasuke." Naruto didn't care for a reunion with his former teammate and cut straight to the point, giving Sasuke Danzo's location.

"Don't ask me why I'm telling you this. Danzo's still alive, and I want him dead."

Sasuke didn't look very good. He had thought his transformation would shock his former comrades, but it seemed the changes in Naruto were even more dramatic.

It wasn't that Sasuke was petty, but he couldn't help feeling a bit irritated. It was as if his departure hadn't mattered at all, and no one seemed to care whether he returned or not.

Now that Itachi was dead, there seemed to be few people left who genuinely cared about him.

"I understand." Sasuke nodded, setting aside his earlier frustrations. For him, revenge was now the top priority.

"Good luck. Oh, and one more thing." Naruto suddenly turned his gaze to Suigetsu, who was standing beside Sasuke, then his face twisted into a mocking smile as he prepared to unleash his sharp tongue, "Your brother, Hozuki Mangetsu, sure died young, didn't he? He thinks he's a prodigy just because he can play with a few broken swords? What a joke, right, Suigetsu?"

"You!! Damn it! I'm going to kill you!" Suigetsu flew into a rage. His fury surged as he was instantly provoked by Naruto's words.

His dream was to inherit his brother Mangetsu's will, collect the Seven Ninja Swords, and revive the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. However, he had been captured by Orochimaru before he could fulfill that ambition.

In a flash, Suigetsu charged at Naruto, but Naruto was faster. before Suigetsu could touch him, Naruto disappeared, and then reappeared behind Suigetsu.

With a resounding boom, Naruto's Lava Release punch scattered Suigetsu's liquid body. The intense heat forced Suigetsu to revert to his solid form, and the ground beneath them cracked with the impact.

"Cough cough cough!!!" Suigetsu spat blood as he struggled to his feet, clutching the ground.

Amid the rising dust, Naruto stood there, asking with a mocking look on his face, "What's wrong? Did I say something untrue?"

"You!!!" Suigetsu knew he was no match for him, but he still glared at him with resentment.

"Feeling wronged? I will say what I want to say. You think you can shut me up?" Naruto sneered, "Go on, say something else. Weren't you so talkative a moment ago?"

"You keep calling me Kyubi's Jinchuriki. Do you feel comfortable? Your short-lived brother who plays with those lousy swords, do you believe that I can make Hozuki Mangetsu dig himself out of his grave and dance in front of you?"

Naruto's words were so over-the-top that even Karin was completely stunned. At this moment, she could only gulped nervously, 'Suigetsu had only made a single joke, and now he was...'

Jugo, being the honest type, had never witnessed such a scene and was growing increasingly solemn.

Sasuke, however, wasn't too surprised. He was more puzzled as to how Naruto knew so much about Suigetsu.

'Also, how had Naruto become even more like a villain than himself?'

'What was up with this guy?'

"Naruto, that's enough." Sasuke finally spoke. "Suigetsu, apologize."

Suigetsu was visibly reluctant, but he had no choice. After all, he genuinely feared this madman would dig up his brother's grave.

"I'm sorry. I misspoke."