Naruto: AFK System

As the water spheres completely dissolved from their bodies, Tsunami and Inari stood there, utterly dumbfounded.

They looked at their hands, unable to comprehend how they were still alive.

"We're actually alive. W-what's going on here?" Tsunami murmured, looking around.

The ground around them was scorched black. It seemed they were standing in the middle of a massive crater surrounded by charred earth.

The soil was still steaming, and the acrid smell of burning lingered in the air.

But the fact that they were alive was far more pressing than the unpleasant smell.

Inari's thoughts raced as he recalled what Tazuna had told him earlier.

"It's him… it has to be him. He's the one who saved us," Inari muttered, immediately thinking of Yoruha. Before this, he hadn't believed what Tazuna said.

He didn't think Yoruha and the others could defeat the ninja hired by Gato.

When he and his mother were captured, his doubts only deepened, and he had even silently mocked Naruto for the words he had spoken to him earlier.

But now, here he was, alive—and it was Yoruha who had saved him.

Yoruha really had the power to save them.

How could someone the same age as Naruto be so strong?

If his father had been as strong as Yoruha back then, would he still be alive today?

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Inari suddenly realized Yoruha was nowhere to be seen.

He looked around but couldn't find Yoruha's figure anywhere.

All he could see was Raiga in the distance, raging and flailing about, clearly furious.

"Mom, was it really him who saved us?"

Inari looked toward his mother.

Tsunami nodded. "Who else could it be?"

Meanwhile, on the other side, Sakura scanned her surroundings, but she couldn't see any sign of Yoruha. Her concern grew stronger.

"Yoruha! Where are you?" she cried out, her voice breaking.

She was genuinely worried that Yoruha had been caught in the explosion.

Despite the life-threatening danger, despite knowing he might die, Yoruha had still saved her.

Anyone would feel deeply moved in such a situation.

Especially since she and Yoruha had no real connection before.

In her most desperate moment, Yoruha had appeared, risking his life to save hers.

But after so long with no response and no sight of Yoruha, Sakura began to fear the worst.

She dropped to her knees, overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow. "It's all because of me… I got you killed…"

Before she could finish speaking, a sudden blur appeared before her eyes.

"Why are you crying? I'm not dead yet."

Hearing that familiar voice, Sakura's entire body jolted. She looked up.

Standing before her was a figure whose silhouette looked just like Yoruha.

"Y-Yoruha… you're alive!"

"What?! You're alive?!" Tsunami and Inari exclaimed from nearby, their voices filled with shock.

Both of them were utterly stunned. After such a massive explosion, Yoruha had somehow survived.

Their shock quickly turned to joy.

Sakura stood up and ran toward Yoruha, but he stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough. Look after Aunt Tsunami and Inari," Yoruha said, his tone calm but firm.

"I've been training for so long, and now I want to test the results of that training."

"That guy is a jonin, and I'm not entirely confident I can beat him. I'll just have to hold on until Kakashi-sensei gets here," Yoruha said, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Hearing this, Sakura, though still emotional, swallowed her feelings and nodded.

Even though she felt a twinge of sadness, she obediently stepped aside and stood protectively near Tsunami and Inari.

Standing in front of Inari, Sakura said firmly, "Don't worry, I'll definitely protect them."

Yoruha, however, didn't pay much attention to her words.

Sakura's current strength was too weak, and assigning her to protect Inari and Tsunami was essentially just giving her something to do so she wouldn't get in the way.

Otherwise, Yoruha would have to divert his focus to take care of them, and against Raiga, he didn't have the confidence to win.

Meanwhile, Tsunami and Inari had grown to trust Yoruha deeply.

Even under the earlier devastating explosion, Yoruha had managed to protect them. They couldn't imagine him losing now.

Inari, in particular, had transformed from his previously despondent state into someone who looked at Yoruha with admiration.

Clenching his fist, he shouted, "Big Brother Yoruha, you've got this! I'll protect Mom and make sure I don't cause you any trouble!"

"Good," Yoruha replied with a faint smile.

Although he hadn't interacted much with Inari over the past few days and had barely exchanged a few words, he acknowledged Inari's resolve.

Sakura gazed at Yoruha's back, her expression shifting. At this moment, Yoruha radiated an overwhelming sense of security.

"Yoruha, be careful. I'll take care of them, so you can focus on the fight," Sakura said seriously.

Yoruha nodded slightly.

From his pouch, he pulled out a kunai.

With a faint crackle, golden arcs of lightning surged around the blade in an instant.

"Whoa, it's lightning! And it's golden! Big Brother Yoruha's so cool!" Inari's jaw dropped in amazement, his face filled with envy and awe.

Indeed, Yoruha's display was nothing short of dazzling.

Sakura, on the other hand, knew how powerful this technique truly was.

"He can release such strong Lightning Release without even forming hand seals. Yoruha's already leagues ahead of us," Sakura thought to herself.

She understood that among the five elemental chakra natures, Lightning Release was one of the most powerful but also one of the hardest to control.

Yet Yoruha had unleashed it effortlessly, without forming seals.

This level of power was simply on a different scale.

Tsunami was equally stunned. "So this is what a ninja is capable of? He's incredible—he seems even stronger than Zabuza!"

Though Tsunami had encountered ninjas before, she'd only seen them fight with weapons, not use ninjutsu.

The fact that Yoruha's kunai was enveloped in brilliant golden lightning, which didn't harm him, seemed almost supernatural to her.

For ordinary people, Yoruha's display was nothing short of godlike.

At that moment, Raiga, who had been frantically searching for Yoruha, finally spotted him at the bottom of the crater.

His eyes narrowed. "You brat, so you finally showed up. As expected, you're not dead."

"I used so many explosive tags, and yet you're still alive. You're really starting to piss me off."

"But since you refuse to die easily, I'll make sure you die slowly and painfully. I'll torture you until you wish you were dead."

"My Thunder Blades are ready to feast on blood. This time, you won't escape."

Turning to his two subordinates, Raiga barked, "You two, use the Hidden Mist Technique to cover the area!"

The two chunin exchanged glances and then looked down at Yoruha, whose expression remained calm.

Their throats tightened as they felt the intense clash of auras between Yoruha and Raiga.

The oppressive killing intent seemed to pierce their very souls, leaving them chilled to the bone.

"How is this possible? He's just a genin, just a kid. How can his presence rival Big Brother Raiga's? What kind of monster is he?"

"It feels like his strength isn't any weaker than Big Brother Raiga's," one of them muttered.

As they spoke, the two chunin quickly formed hand seals.

"Ninjutsu: Hidden Mist Technique!"

In an instant, dense fog engulfed the area for hundreds of meters.

The already suffocating killing intent became even more terrifying, amplified by the heavy mist surrounding them.

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