Speedrunning Naruto to the Top

"Izayoi, Hinata, Shino—thank you all."

About two hours later, outside a damaged steel warship, Temari bowed in gratitude to Team Eight.

Izayoi glanced at the ape–man and werewolf, both sealed up by the Sand ninja, and asked with feigned ignorance, "So this settles it?"

"Yes, as long as we've captured these two, we can get them to spill the location of that army's headquarters," Temari replied with a nod, brimming with confidence. "These armored troops aren't shinobi, and though these two officers can become monsters and wield power akin to ninjutsu, they're still just ordinary people. They can't possibly stand up to our Sunagakure."

"In that case, just report to Lady Chiyo," Izayoi said.

"Izayoi, please return with us. Allow Sunagakure to show you some hospitality," Temari offered earnestly.

"No need—maybe next time," Izayoi politely declined, giving a reason: "Konoha's semiannual Chūnin Exams are about to begin, and Shino still needs to participate."

Seeing his firm refusal, Temari could only smile and nod. "All right then. If one day you'd like to visit Sunagakure, have the gate guards contact me."

"Will do. We're off. Ja–ne~~"

Izayoi flashed a cheeky two–finger salute, then departed with Hinata and Shino.

…

Meanwhile, the other battle had also ended.

Already damaged, the steel warship was shattered into pieces by the fighting. Debris lay strewn across the desert sand—part from the steel vessel, part from Sasori's puppet army, and part from Izayoi's own human–puppet legion.

"You two are hopeless. Earlier, why didn't you just summon your boss out here?"

Among the puppet legions, which each had black stakes driven into them and could draw chakra at any time from their main body, only five remained. One puppet—its skin jet–black and massively muscled (clearly forged from a Kumogakure corpse)—was sitting atop another puppet, teasing the defeated Sasori and Deidara. Both of them had black rods embedded in their limbs, sealing their movements and preventing them from molding chakra.

"Tch, losing is losing—just means I was outclassed." The real body of Sasori, ever proud, declared coldly, "My art doesn't measure up to yours. Kill me or slice me up, do as you please."

Beside him, Deidara—clearly unwilling—shouted: "Toneri–chama, if you have guts, yank out these black rods! I still have one last self–destruct technique—an ultimate art that dwarfs even C4: Karura. Not even your Lightning Release could find its weakness. It absolutely won't be inferior to your meteor bombardment."

"You're not afraid to die?" the puppet asked, curious.

"Toneri–chama, who do you think you're looking down on!" Deidara, seeming deeply offended, raised his voice. Then, as if possessed, his eyes turned feverish. "When I die, I'll become true art! That final explosion—though this is a desert—it'll leave marks that last for who knows how long, so the entire world can admire my craft. Including you, Toneri–chama, you'll remember me forever… hm!"

At the end, Deidara closed his eyes in a kind of reverent bliss.

"I won't deny it. I guess I really won't forget you," the puppet said in a low voice.

"Hm, indeed a fool that's tough to forget." Sasori also nodded in agreement.

"If you don't believe me, then free me so I can show you my ultimate fleeting art!" Deidara struggled in vain, thoroughly pinned down.

Standing up, the puppet–puppeteer murmured, "That was quite fun. If you want to pull out those rods yourselves, be my guest."

"You're not going to kill us?" Sasori and Deidara blurted in unison, taken aback.

"If earlier you'd summoned your big boss, you'd be dead right now," the puppet–puppeteer snickered. "But your personalities… I appreciate them. Consider this a thank–you for last year's little gift."

Also, thanks for those 'Attributes' of yours.

Having completed its mission, the puppet–puppeteer vanished without warning.

Deidara gawked at where it disappeared, shouting, "That's so damn cool! Toneri–chama, you really are a top–class artist worthy of my admiration!"

"Hmph, we survived. But next time we might not." Sasori's tone remained calm. "In the end, if we can't even handle his puppet–puppets, then once the final showdown between him and the leader arrives—even if that boy spares us, we'll be unable to withstand the fallout."

"That stage alone… just thinking of it is exhilarating." Deidara's eyes glowed with anticipation. "When that day comes, I'll self–detonate ahead of time, so both unstoppable powerhouses of the shinobi world can witness my ultimate fleeting masterpiece."

Sasori, the puppet master, briefly clenched his brow in dismay.

…

Just like that, the incident in the Land of Wind began inexplicably and—thanks to two unstoppable powerhouses intervening—ended just as enigmatically.

By the time Sunagakure's interrogation unit managed to coerce the ape–woman and wolf–woman into talking, then led an armed search along the coast and inland of the Land of Rivers in pursuit of the enemy base, that mobile fortress had already been seized by Nagato.

Sunagakure assumed the enemies had foreseen the plan and fled, so they continued searching aimlessly. Even by the time Konoha's half–year Chūnin Exams ended, the Sand search turned up nothing. But the enemy no longer attacked, so the matter was left unresolved.

As for Team Seven—the ones whose client was snatched away—they were not punished upon returning. After all, the culprit was that "moon visitor," Ōtsutsuki Toneri. Even the fortress's leader drew Nagato himself out. One can guess how unstoppable that is.

So long as they all returned alive, Tsunade felt thankful enough; there was no need to blame them.

Indeed, things proceeded exactly as Tsunade surmised.

After Sunagakure withdrew, Izayoi and Nagato continued clashing through subterfuge across the Land of Wind and Land of Rivers.

Nagato now possessed the mobile fortress and the remainder of Haidō's Gelel Stone, while Temujin—"the key"—was imprisoned in Amegakure. Nagato didn't fully know Temujin's significance but found from Haidō's memories that Temujin was a descendant of that ancient empire and could harness the Gelel Stone's power without going berserk.

Meanwhile, Izayoi, who had taken away the old man and his ferret, knew precisely that Temujin's blood could activate a Summoning–style dimension rift. With that dimensional rift, one could theoretically devour the Gelel Stone's entire vein, rumored to be powerful enough to devastate half the continent.

Hence, the secret duel between Izayoi and Nagato was simple—both were entrenching their pieces.

Izayoi had already learned from the old man's memories that the Gelel Stone vein was sealed beneath the Land of Rivers in some mountain caverns. The empire had cast protective illusions so advanced that even the Tenseigan far–seeing eyes and the Mind's Eye of the Kagura detection sense couldn't perceive that hidden energy. The same presumably applied to Nagato's Rinnegan and White Zetsu.

If they actually found that monstrous energy capable of ravaging half a continent, presumably White Zetsu would have reported it long ago.

Still, Izayoi left multiple Wood Clones behind, each in turn keeping watch at that mineral deposit.

Nagato, for his part, also assigned many White Zetsu clones to the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers, all searching for that distinctive turquoise–hued mineral with its extraordinary signature.

At the same time, Nagato produced several Wood Clones of his own to roam as ordinary citizens or small–time ninjas, vigilantly scanning for strong chakra signatures—ready to deploy the moment the Tenseigan user showed up.

After a month's standoff, neither side had anything tangible.

"Could my guess be wrong?"

Reading a coded message from White Zetsu confirming they had thoroughly scoured the lands, Nagato quietly reflected:

"Or is there such a well–hidden seal or barrier that even we can't detect? Is Toneri just biding his time too?"

Unwilling to concede, Nagato instructed the White Zetsu clones via sealed note to stay and keep monitoring the Land of Wind and Land of Rivers.

So, each side was still waiting, unwittingly giving Izayoi precisely the chance he needed.

Finding no watchers above or below, Izayoi's watchers realized that indeed, neither Nagato nor White Zetsu had found the deposit.

Yet mindful of potential traps, Izayoi tested them further, embedding a Mind Sphere in a civilian to wander that area for days, while a hidden Wood Clone with Ranmaru observed for any sign of Zetsu infiltration.

Confirmed there was no sign of White Zetsu at all.

At last, the Wood Clone left Ranmaru behind. The disguised civilian carried Ranmaru while cloaked, descending into the deeper passage behind the illusions sealing the Gelel Stone.

Inside were ancient inscriptions about the empire's achievements and downfall, describing the stone's capabilities and extreme dangers.

There was also a Summoning–style array needing Temujin's blood to open a swirling dimension that could devour the entire deposit if triggered.

Ranmaru placed a Flying Thunder God seal, set up a sensor–blocking barrier, then loosened a floor plate. Beneath the ground lay the deposit.

Ranmaru's special Red Eye plus the Wood Clone's Tenseigan still perceived nothing from that chunk of earth—yet he could physically excavate the turquoise–hued stone.

Via Earth Release and ninjutsu, Ranmaru liquefied part of the land. Instantly, that chunk of earth plus the stone deposit vanished into a vacuum.

Ninja Art: Heavenly Transfer Technique!

After sealing away part of the deposit, Ranmaru replaced the flooring, a faint green glow sealing the seam. Next, he and the civilian disappeared via Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Victory."

Deep beneath the ancestral building, Izayoi gazed at the newly–appeared mass of Gelel Stone, corners of his mouth lifting in a triumphant grin.

That was the power of intelligence disparity.

Nagato never imagined that Izayoi's Tenseigan included something akin yet distinct from the Human Path—Mind Sphere—capable of reading and controlling minds, plus Ranmaru's near–undetectable Red Eye.

No matter how dire the storyline, with no advantage from canon memories, Izayoi could still come out on top.

"So, this is the Gelel Stone?"

Izayoi lifted a turquoise chunk about the size of a fist. If it were pure light formed into a sphere, it'd resemble his Tenseigan's Mind Sphere.

No one would guess it contained potent natural energy and lifeforce. Without the right know–how, it could reduce someone to a mindless beast.

But with skill, it could power up an entire domain, conjure infinite water sources, instantly–maturing livestock, anti–aging research—et cetera.

"Now let's see how such natural energy, invisible even to Tenseigan or the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, can be harnessed." Izayoi mused quietly. But instead of personally absorbing it, he extended a wooden tendril from his right arm, forming a Wood Clone.

The clone did not bother with the smaller rock but picked up a basketball–sized chunk. Immediately, it invoked Tenseigan–style chakra absorption.

A swirl of green radiance bathed the turquoise chunk, forming a brilliant orb. Soon, that green chakra returned to the clone's body, leaving the stone transparent—depleted.

The Wood Clone's face contorted in monstrous agony, revealing sharp fangs and bestial features.

But within two seconds, those traits vanished. In their place, red Sage–like markings adorned its eyes. If it disabled the Tenseigan, its irises turned gold.

Coordinating Tenseigan absorption, Yin–Yang Release creation, and Mokuton synergy, the Wood Clone had subdued the stone's natural energy, merging it with its chakra for an instant Sage transformation.

"So, this is Sage Mode, Wood Chakra?"

Receiving that info in real time, Izayoi placed his hand on the clone's shoulder, siphoning the newly–formed "Sage Wood Chakra" for himself—instantly manifesting that red eyeshadow as well.

Savoring his body's changes, Izayoi exhaled a faint laugh:

"Hmm… so that's all it takes. No difficulty at all."

~~~

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