Naruto: Troublesome Ninja Haruta

Chapter 14: What Exactly Happened Here?

It wasn't strange for Haruta to have such thoughts—

Because the Earth Dragon he had just summoned was absurdly massive!

"Nearly 50 meters long…"

"It's almost the size of a Tailed Beast or even a lower-level Susanoo…"

Susanoo's height and power scale with the evolution of the Sharingan.

The early-stage Susanoo was barely a dozen meters tall.

And Wood Release?

That was on another level entirely—Senju Hashirama had used it to defeat Uchiha Madara himself.

"W-What the hell is this?!"

The Sunagakure shinobi who had been about to attack Haruta froze in fear.

They could barely contain their panic, their voices trembling.

"A structure this massive… is this really Earth Release?"

Since when did Earth Release reach this level of power?

"Damn it…"

Not far away, Pakura's expression darkened.

Their squad had just finished dealing with a wave of Mist ninja—

They hadn't even gotten a chance to catch their breath, and now another enemy force had appeared.

And this time… the enemy seemed even more dangerous!

The speed of that one opponent was unbelievable—his combat ability was beyond expectation.

If she let her guard down for even a moment… she might lose.

And that shinobi in the distance—the one who summoned the massive Earth Dragon—

She had never seen anything like it.

"Who the hell are these people?!"

"You… Who are you?"

Pakura gritted her teeth, her voice low.

"Iwagakure?

Konoha?

Or maybe…?"

So, they never trusted us to begin with!

Shisui almost laughed out of frustration.

Originally, he had felt a little guilty about attacking an ally village.

Sure, Sunagakure had done far worse in the past, and this entire mission was ordered by the Hokage himself.

But still, it didn't sit right with him.

But now?

Now, he didn't feel guilty at all.

"Screw it. Let's just capture her."

"Haruta is really strong… Well, that makes sense. He did fight Orochimaru and survive."

Shisui silently reassured himself.

Yugao, still locked in combat, had similar thoughts.

Orochimaru had always been a legend in Konoha—

If Haruta had managed to fight him and escape alive, then maybe his absurd abilities weren't so shocking after all.

"Don't fall for his tricks! Attack!"

The Sunagakure ninja were shaken, but they didn't back down.

This was their home turf—if they could hold out long enough, reinforcements would arrive.

They just had to stall for time.

"Still resisting?"

Haruta raised an eyebrow.

But the Sunagakure shinobi didn't respond.

Instead, they spread out, attempting to surround him from multiple angles.

Clearly, they didn't want to be wiped out all at once by the Earth Dragon.

Some began forming hand seals, while others drew kunai tied with explosive tags.

Their actions made their intent clear—

They weren't giving up!

"Fine, then…"

Haruta didn't hold back.

He commanded the Earth Dragon, which let out a thunderous roar before charging at one of the Sunagakure shinobi!

"Damn it—Wind Release: Wind Blade!"

The targeted shinobi attempted to counterattack—

But the Earth Dragon didn't give him the chance.

BOOM!

The ground trembled violently as the massive dragon smashed into him.

In an instant—there wasn't even a corpse left behind.

"Good impact force, excellent destructive power. The size advantage is clear."

Haruta quickly analyzed the jutsu's performance.

"But there are obvious drawbacks—high chakra consumption, low durability, and no regeneration."

The Earth Dragon's attack had completely annihilated the enemy—

But in the process, the dragon itself had shattered into pieces.

Its durability was nowhere near that of a Wood Dragon.

Not to mention—Wood Dragons could absorb chakra and self-repair to keep fighting.

In comparison, Haruta's Sage Art: Yin Release was clearly lacking in sustain.

But he wasn't too bothered.

He understood his own limits.

And this was just one technique—he had other combinations to test.

"Also, the chakra cost is too high… I need to focus my Free Points on physical stats and chakra reserves next."

"DIE!"

As Haruta was lost in thought, the remaining Sunagakure shinobi launched a full-scale assault!

A barrage of Wind Release jutsu and explosive kunai rained down toward him.

Haruta lifted his head slightly, then raised one hand.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Rampart!"

Instantly, massive earth walls erupted from the ground, forming a solid barrier around him.

The enemy's attacks struck the walls with tremendous force—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions and shockwaves cracked the stone, sending dust and debris flying.

But with the Cursed Seal's reinforcement, Haruta's Earth-Style Rampart wasn't so easily broken.

He even had time to inspect the walls, wondering if he should pull a "Kakashi" and carve some faces into them.

"Anyway, it's about time to wrap this up."

Forming hand seals again, Haruta activated his jutsu.

Outside the Earth-Style Rampart, the shattered Earth Dragon suddenly stirred.

Then—

It let out another earth-shaking roar.

"What?!"

"That thing is still alive?!"

"Damn it!"

Seeing the Earth Dragon begin to move again, the Sunagakure ninja felt their blood run cold.

Then—

A voice rang out from above.

They looked up.

At some point, Haruta had leaped onto the highest point of the earth wall, looking down at them with a smirk.

"Ja ne~ (Goodbye)."

At his command—

The Earth Dragon let out a final, deafening roar before diving down toward the Sunagakure ninja!

The ground shook violently once more…

---

"W-What… is this…?"

No one knew how much time had passed.

The Sunagakure reinforcements had finally arrived.

But as they surveyed the battlefield, their minds went blank.

The entire area was in ruins—

And massive craters still remained, yet to be covered by the shifting sands.

Each ninja had the same thought in their mind—

"What the hell happened here?!"

"Who… Who was even fighting here…?"

One of the Sunagakure shinobi muttered under his breath.

He was genuinely terrified by the devastation before him.

"Yeah… I'd like to know that too."

A voice suddenly spoke from behind them.

Immediately—the Sunagakure shinobi tensed, preparing for battle!

They turned around—

Only to see a young man with short, fiery red hair, wearing a black cloak with red clouds.

"Y-You… Who are you?!"

For some reason—

Just looking at this young man sent chills down their spines.

Even speaking to him felt terrifying.

The young man simply shook his head indifferently.

"Hmph. So you've all forgotten me.

Well… that's fine."

His tone was calm, almost lazy.

"I only came back to collect some things.

Didn't expect to stumble upon something this interesting."

Then, with a slight smirk, he continued—

"Oh right. My name is Sasori.

You used to call me—Sasori of the Red Sand."

"!!!"