Chapter 208: Chapter 208 – If She Grows Up, Could She Outshine Hinata?
When the Tailed Beasts finished their conversation, the One-Tailed, Three-Tailed, and Four-Tailed Beasts returned into Naruto's body one after another.
Karin simultaneously released the Adamantine Sealing Chains jutsu.
Hinata leapt onto the back of the Two-Tailed Matatabi.
Naruto leapt down and landed atop the Five-Tailed Kokuo.
Hinata wore a joyful smile as she rode on Two-Tailed Matatabi, feeling thrilled by the speed.
Two-Tailed Matatabi moved swiftly like lightning, like a streak of blue lightning slicing through the night sky, its movements unpredictable—rising high and diving low in an instant.
Under the moonlit sky, the Two-Tailed leaped with Hinata on its back, soaring thousands of meters into the air in an instant.
"Ahhhh!" Naruto shouted loudly from atop the Five-Tailed Kokuo.
The Five-Tailed Kokuo burst forward, its white body moving like the wind. It looked just like a horse but with five tails.
"Quickly catch up to Two-Tailed Matatabi and bring me to Hinata," Naruto commanded the Five-Tailed Kokuo.
The Five-Tailed roared loudly, lowered its head, and charged ahead at full speed.
The ground shook violently; mountains trembled, and the entire area crumbled apart.
"Hehehehe—" Hinata's gentle laughter came from ahead, making Naruto's heart tingle.
"Why can't I see Two-Tailed? I can only hear Hinata's voice."
Naruto glanced around absentmindedly while riding the Tailed Beast, eventually entering a barren wasteland.
"So fast! Had I left Hinata far behind?" Naruto turned his head to look behind him.
Suddenly, a blue demonic cat appeared right before his eyes.
Two-Tailed Matatabi excelled at jumping, while Five-Tailed Kokuo was built for sprinting—one was built for leaps, the other for speed.
Hinata suddenly jumped off Matatabi's back, stretching out her arms as she dove into Naruto's embrace.
Delighted beyond expectation, Naruto opened his arms wide and caught Hinata mid-air.
Immediately, Five-Tailed Kokuo started running again, galloping wildly across the uninhabited land.
Naruto and Hinata joyfully poured out their feelings to each other while riding on Kokuo's back.
Later, when words were no longer enough to express their emotions, they expressed their feelings the most honest way possible—with physical closeness.
As long as Naruto and Hinata didn't stop, neither would the Five-Tailed Kokuo stop running.
By the time Naruto and Hinata finished what they were doing, the Five-Tailed Kokuo had already galloped nonstop for thousands of kilometers through the night.
Naruto happily kissed Hinata's forehead, gently calming her to sleep.
He stretched lazily, only now realizing he had no clue how he'd ended up somewhere so unfamiliar.
"What the heck? Where the hell am I? And how the hell did I even get here?"
At that moment, Five-Tailed Kokuo stopped—it had never run so freely and intensely before.
"Not even birds crap here. No need to stick around. Let's return to Konoha."
Just as Naruto was about to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport back to Konoha, he heard sounds of battle coming from ahead.
"Hmm? Something's up." Naruto summoned Two-Tailed Matatabi. "Two-Tailed, you stay here to protect Hinata. I'll be right back."
Leaving Two-Tailed and Five-Tailed to guard Hinata, Naruto headed alone toward the source of the fighting sound.
It hadn't been long after arriving when Naruto smelled blood in the air. It seemed a fierce battle had already taken place here, and people had died.
After searching around briefly, Naruto discovered several corpses.
"These people... They don't have the insignias of any ninja villages from the Five Great Nations. Just who exactly are they?"
The more Naruto thought about it, the more suspicious he found the situation. As he moved forward to investigate further, he finally saw both sides locked in battle.
After watching quietly for a moment, Naruto realized the two sides weren't evenly matched.
One side had nearly twenty fighters and clearly had the upper hand.
The other side only had six people—completely surrounded.
"Hand over what you're hiding! We'll let you die swiftly!" shouted one of those with the advantage.
"No way!" the outnumbered group shouted, refusing to back down.
"Hmph! Prepare to burn in hell—all of you!"
Another fierce clash erupted.
Watching for a while longer, Naruto thought these fighters were pitifully weak.
"They're no match for ninja from the major villages—probably just some local gangs fighting over nonsense."
He decided it wasn't worth his time. "Forget it, I'm out. Guess I should head back home."
A sly grin spread across his face. "Hinata sleeping peacefully is really tempting..."
Just as Naruto turned to head back to Hinata, someone spotted him.
"Are you from Konoha?" a sudden voice called out.
"What's it to you?"
"If you're from Konoha, please help us!"
"Why would I help you?"
"Because we are the Tsuchigumo Clan."
"The Tsuchigumo Clan?" The name sounded familiar to Naruto.
Thinking hard for a moment, he recalled something.
Long ago, Konoha had formed an alliance with a certain clan—the Tsuchigumo Clan—and signed a treaty with them.
This clan once wielded a terrifyingly powerful ninjutsu—capable of devastating destruction.
Because the Tsuchigumo Clan's techniques were so terrifying, Konoha unilaterally declared them forbidden jutsu and banned their use.
From that point on, the Tsuchigumo became allies of Konoha, protected by the village.
After all, since Konoha had restricted the Tsuchigumo's strongest technique, they bore the responsibility of protecting them.
"No wonder Hinata and I unknowingly wandered into the land of the Tsuchigumo Clan."
Naruto smiled.
"In that case, I'll step in."
In an instant, Naruto sprang into action—using Shadow Clones combined with the Flying Thunder God technique and the Rasengan—swiftly defeating the more than twenty enemies.
He dusted off his hands. "Is everyone alright? Any injuries?"
"T-that strength… just who exactly are you?"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki—the future Hokage of Konoha. I happened to be passing through and, recognizing you as the Tsuchigumo Clan—Konoha's longtime allies—I decided to lend a hand."
"Oh thank goodness! You're most welcome, future Hokage-sama, to our Tsuchigumo Castle."
Naruto agreed, eager to see it for himself.
When Naruto arrived at Tsuchigumo Castle, he noticed it stood on high ground—an easily defensible position.
Guided by members of the Tsuchigumo Clan, he entered the castle grounds.
But once inside, he saw how ruined it was—homes shattered and deserted, with barely anyone left alive.
"The Tsuchigumo Clan was once mighty. How did you fall into this state?"
Naruto voiced the question on his mind.
"Because... because..." a member of the Tsuchigumo clan stammered, hesitating for so long that he couldn't even finish a single sentence.
"Spit it out already if you've got something to say!" Naruto snapped impatiently.
"It's entirely our fault… Our clan has been in decline, and we're barely holding on. That's how things ended up like this."
Since he didn't want to talk, Naruto saw no point in pressing further.
As he passed through the courtyard, Naruto noticed a little girl training diligently.
She looked around fifteen—quite short, but her figure had already matured completely.
Especially her chest—it could give Hinata a run for her money.
"Woah," Naruto blurted out. "If she grows up, she might even surpass Hinata. After all, Hinata herself wasn't nearly that developed when she was younger."
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