Naruto: Reborn in His Younger Self

Anko collapsed to the ground, unconscious. She never imagined that the Kabuto she once knew had changed so drastically—becoming someone who had now far surpassed even Orochimaru in power and ambition.

Kabuto stood over Anko's fallen body, frowning.

Back when he was still in Konoha, he had worked as a loyal medical-nin for a long time. So, Anko showing up here could only mean one thing—she hadn't come alone.

"In that case…"

Kabuto raised his hand, summoning a signal with a flare of chakra.

High above in the sky, three massive clay birds soared through the air. Deidara rode solo on the center bird. On the two flanking birds stood Kakuzu, Sasori, and two other Edo Tensei reinforcements—Aburame Gen and Hōzuki Nakayoshi.

Suddenly, each of their reanimated minds flickered with the same command as Kabuto's voice echoed directly into their thoughts:

"Search the direction of Konoha. There may be hidden Leaf shinobi in the area!"

Gen, who had once lived and trained in Konoha, froze momentarily. So, Kabuto's true objective was an attack on the Hidden Leaf!

His instincts cried out to protect the village, to resist—but the Edo Tensei technique denied him the will to act. His consciousness was suppressed, and he was nothing more than a puppet in Kabuto's grasp.

"Heh! Already on the hunt—nice!" Deidara laughed.

He directed the three clay birds to veer toward Konoha, eyes gleaming with anticipation. At the same time, Nakayoshi from Kirigakure activated his sensory ability, scanning the land below.

"There! I've locked on to their chakra signatures—heading straight toward the Leaf!"

Deidara grinned and squinted with one eye, forming a monocle with his fingers as he peered into the distance.

"Kabuto was right. I can see them. Three Konoha shinobi—definitely Leaf-nin!"

Kakuzu chuckled, his voice grim.

"It's been a while since I've ripped out someone's heart. Let me go first."

Sasori replied indifferently, "Do what you want. I'm not interested in fighting over scraps."

Down below, the Konoha ninjas were running at full speed. Among them, Hyūga Dekai, whose Byakugan granted exceptional perception, suddenly paused. With a deep frown, he turned and looked behind him. His all-seeing eyes detected movement far above—three chakra sources approaching rapidly.

Dekai halted immediately.

"Dekai, what is it?" his two comrades asked in confusion.

"Ushida, Lanhua," Dekai growled, gritting his teeth. "You two go on ahead—I'll hold them off."

"What?! No!" Ushida protested. "There's no way we're leaving a comrade behind!"

Lanhua shouted, "He's right! Let's fight them together!"

"You idiots!" Dekai snapped. "Don't you understand? If they're pursuing us, it means Captain Anko has already been discovered! The enemy is on high alert now. Someone has to delay them, or none of us will make it out alive!"

He looked at them with fierce determination.

"The mission comes first! Now go! And remember—change your route! Avoid the main path and stay away from the water channels!"

Without waiting for a reply, Dekai turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.

"Dekai!!" Ushida shouted, his hand reaching out as if to stop him.

But Dekai was already gone, a warrior racing to meet his fate. Tears welled in Ushida's eyes as he clenched his fists.

"…Let's go."

The two remaining shinobi picked up their pace, their legs moving faster than before—knowing a friend had just risked everything to buy them this chance.

Meanwhile, Dekai activated his Shadow Clone Jutsu.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Poof! Poof!

Two clones appeared beside him. He quickly performed another seal.

"Transformation Technique!"

The clones instantly transformed into perfect replicas of Ushida and Lanhua, then darted off in slightly different directions. Dekai knew the enemy had likely identified their course—so sticking to the main road to Konoha was suicidal.

The trick was to create just enough deviation to throw off pursuit, without being too obvious. That way, the real Ushida and Lanhua could slip away.

Dekai made himself visible, deliberately entering Deidara's line of sight, and bolted.

From above, Deidara narrowed his eyes.

"There!" He formed clay in his hands and tossed three small birds down.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The clay birds scattered into dozens of tiny explosive spiders as they descended.

Dekai dodged furiously, commanding his clones to do the same.

"Carpet bombing?! Damn it—I can't go down yet. I need more distance!"

Just as he finished the thought, one small spider landed right at his feet.

"Damn—!"

BOOM!

The explosion engulfed Dekai, obliterating his body instantly. His Shadow Clones vanished in tandem.

On the clay bird, Nakayoshi blinked in realization.

"That was just one person! A decoy to throw us off!"

He immediately performed a sensory jutsu, widening his chakra detection field.

"Over there! In the forest!"

Deidara redirected the birds and accelerated. Within moments, they closed the distance between them and the real Ushida and Lanhua.

"Damn it!" Ushida cursed. "We won't make it at this rate!"

He quickly formed a seal.

"Insect Jamming Technique!"

A massive swarm of kikaichū burst from his sleeves, buzzing into the air and flooding the skies with interference.

"Tch!" Deidara scowled. "These bugs are seriously annoying!"

Nakayoshi growled. "So much chakra noise—I can't distinguish anything!"

Sasori muttered, "Disgusting creatures. It's like hunting rats…"

Kakuzu scoffed. "Let me go down there. Your high-altitude fireworks aren't enough to pin them down."

Deidara shot him a glare.

"Don't underestimate my art."

He grinned, pulling out more clay.

"If they want bugs—then I'll give them bats!"

He released a dozen clay figures, which rapidly formed into bat-like constructs with wings and sharp fangs—each one infused with explosive chakra.

The bats dove toward the forest.

Spotting them, Lanhua shouted, "I'll distract them—run ahead with the intel!"

She flung her kunai wildly, hoping to draw the bats to herself.

Deidara smirked and made a hand sign.

BOOM!

The bats exploded mid-air.

"AAAAAH!!!"

Lanhua's screams echoed through the forest as her body was torn apart by the explosion.

Ushida flinched, tears streaming down his cheeks. He kept running, his legs trembling under the weight of grief and exhaustion.

Still, the bats chased him.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One explosion nearly caught him, but his swarm of kikaichū surged to intercept, cushioning the blast. Though saved, Ushida staggered, burned and bruised from the shockwaves.

He finally stumbled to the base of a massive tree and collapsed. With shaking hands, he removed the insect gourd from his back and gently placed it on the ground. His breathing was ragged.

Opening a scroll, he poured all his remaining strength into one final plea.

"Please… old friends… deliver this intel to HQ."

The kikaichū surrounded his hand, gently lifting the scroll and buzzing with resolve. They lingered in the air, reluctant to part.

Ushida offered a weary smile.

"Go. I'll do my best to survive… somehow."

As if understanding his farewell, the insects zipped away at full speed, carrying the scroll across the forest.

Ushida watched them go until they disappeared from sight.

Then, grimacing through his injuries, he stood once more.

"…I promised them. I can't die just yet. I need to make it back—to the others!"0

------------------

Check out other novels

Naruto: l Aspire To Become Hokage Man

🚨🆕Haikyuu: To The Top 🆕🚨

To Get This Week Bonus Chapter - 100 Power Stones

Dear Readers

For 120 Advance Chapters Join My Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/NF25

-------

Please Support My Patreon 🥺