Naruto: Different Path

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The group of ten ninjas saw Naruto throw down several smoke bombs, unsure if he intended to attack or flee. 

They heightened their vigilance, waiting for the smoke to clear to prevent Naruto from escaping in the confusion. 

Naruto had already vanished as the air flowed and the smoke gradually dispersed. 

The group leader said, "Did he escape using Earth Release? I didn't expect him to know that technique." 

"We can't let him get away next time. We finally got the treasure map, and now it's gone again. How are we supposed to explain this when we return?"

A female ninja said, "Captain, don't worry. Even if he has the map, he won't be able to open it immediately." 

"We still have a chance to find him and figure out how to get it back."

Meanwhile, Naruto had already returned to the temporary base he had set up earlier, carrying the treasure map box. 

Ryusen, seeing Naruto return, hurried over and asked, "Did you manage to retrieve the treasure map, sir?"

Naruto took out the box and said, "This should be the treasure map you're talking about, right?"

Seeing the box, Ryusen was visibly excited. "Thank goodness my uncle didn't find it, or my father would have died in vain."

Naruto asked, "If we had been even a little later, they would have taken it. But how did you know this box contains the treasure map?"

Ryusen smiled and pointed to the box, "Sir, take a look."

Naruto, who sensed that the box was extraordinary, had never inspected it closely. 

He now noticed that the words "Treasure Map" were written on the box, along with a description of the treasure's origin and the name of the person who hid it. 

The treasure had been left by the previous Daimyo of the Land of Grass, meant to safeguard the future of his descendants in case of disaster. 

This treasure had been accumulated over several generations of Daimyo. 

The map had remained unused in the Land of Grass, waiting for a moment of need. 

It had ended up outside the country for some unknown reason, which explained why the Grass Ninjas sought help from Iwagakure to search for it.

Ryusen explained, "My father had this treasure map for a long time, studying it alone." 

"The box, however, is made of a special material that can't be opened normally." 

"That's why my father thought of asking a ninja for help. But even the ninja who tried before couldn't open it, despite using a lot of effort." 

"That's when my father discussed the situation with my uncle and others, but they turned against him."

Naruto said, "There's no method written on the box to open it. Only the descendants of the Daimyo who know the secret can likely open it." 

"So, our only option is to force it open. Ryusen, step back."

Naruto pulled out the Sword of the Thunder God, channeling a large amount of lightning-natured chakra into it, sharpening it to the extreme. 

When he stabbed the sword into the box, the expected clean split didn't happen. Instead, Naruto felt the chakra from his sword disappear instantly. 

The box was absorbing the chakra—and in large amounts. 

This phenomenon reminded Naruto of Kisame's Samehada, a sword capable of absorbing chakra, or the mysterious box in Hozuki Castle, which could also absorb massive amounts of chakra. 

However, this box was not the same. Its size and shape were different, possibly making it a replica crafted by the Land of Grass.

Naruto continued trying to inject chakra into the box, but no matter how much he poured in, the box kept absorbing it. 

If this was indeed a replica, the only way to open it might be to inject overwhelming chakra. 

However, Naruto had yet to learn how much would be needed. 

This solved one mystery: the Iwagakure ninjas hadn't refrained from using Earth Release to find the box because they were unwilling. 

It was likely that the box absorbed any chakra used in Earth Release techniques as soon as it entered the ground, making their jutsu ineffective. 

This must have been how they confirmed the box's location in the garden. No wonder they resorted to extensive digging.

However, finding the correct method to open the box would be difficult, and it might take a long time, with no guarantee of success. 

The only option left was brute force. Naruto began channelling large amounts of his chakra into the box. 

The box started glowing as he did, but after exhausting nearly 80% of his chakra reserves, the box still didn't open. 

Naruto couldn't afford to use up all his chakras in case of an emergency, so he stopped and decided to try again after his chakra had recovered.

The next day, once Naruto's chakra had replenished, he attempted the process again, but the results were the same. 

He knew the group of ten ninjas was likely searching for him, and although this temporary base was well-hidden, there was still a chance they could find it. 

The longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it became for Naruto. 

If only he could use Sage Mode, he could draw in natural energy and not worry about running out of chakra. 

But learning Sage Mode would take too long at this point. Left with no other choice, he decided to ask for some help. 

After all, Kurama's chakra was said to be limitless. Naruto closed his eyes and entered his inner consciousness, quickly connecting with Kurama. 

"Hey, kid, what's the problem this time? Need my power again?" Kurama's voice echoed in Naruto's mind.

"Yeah, I've hit a bit of a roadblock. Could you lend me your power?"

"Fine. Since you need it, I'll give it to you," Kurama responded. Naruto immediately felt a surge of energy flowing into him. 

Strangely, Kurama's attitude seemed better than before. 

It wasn't exactly friendly, but at least it wasn't hostile. Naruto didn't have time to dwell on it, however. 

The red chakra of the Nine-Tails surged out from the seal, and Naruto directed it into the box. 

As the box absorbed Kurama's immense chakra, it began glowing brighter and brighter. 

Even Naruto had to admit that Kurama's chakra was far more potent than his own. It seemed endless, truly deserving of the "limitless chakra." 

While Naruto's chakra reserves hadn't reached their peak, they were still no match for a Tailed Beast.

As the chakra continued to pour into the box, it began floating into the air, glowing more intensely with each passing moment. 

The ground around them started to shake, and Naruto sensed a large amount of chakra building up inside the box. 

Worried that something dangerous might happen, Naruto grabbed Ryusen and quickly ran outside the temporary base to wait for the reaction to settle.

With a loud boom, a massive chakra shockwave exploded from the base, sending the box flying into the sky, radiating blinding light. 

The chakra storm that followed was intense. Ryusen, unable to stand, grabbed onto a tree to avoid being blown away. 

Naruto also had to use his chakra to stay anchored. Now, it was clear that the box was indeed a replica. 

After absorbing too much chakra, it couldn't hold the power and had to release it. But at least it was finally open.

The chakra storm caused significant damage to the surrounding area, with trees within a kilometer being blown down and a large crater forming where Naruto's base had once stood. 

After the storm subsided, Naruto retrieved the box and opened it, finally pulling out the treasure map. 

After all the effort, they had finally unlocked the mystery. Now, the question remained: where exactly was this treasure hidden?

Naruto was about to check the treasure's location when they suddenly sensed a shadow dropping from above. 

It was a familiar scene, so he quickly dodged, jumping out of the jutsu's range. In an instant, he rushed toward one of the four ninjas. 

Lightning crackled as he struck heavily against an earth wall. 

Though Naruto pierced through the wall and continued his attack, it slowed him enough for the enemy to escape. 

The ninja Naruto had targeted was drenched in sweat. He was thankful that his comrade had used Earth-Style: Earth Flow Wall to block Naruto's attack—otherwise, he would have been a corpse.

Naruto remarked, "The same jutsu won't work twice. I've already seen through your techniques."

The leader of the group, an Anbu member, responded, "I don't know which village you're from, but you're quite the genius to have cracked the treasure box. Too bad you're going to die here. This time, we won't let you escape."

With a quick hand signal, the team launched a barrage of ninjutsu at Naruto. 

Though none of the attacks were fatal, Naruto had to constantly be on guard, especially against being trapped by an Earth Prison again. 

If he focused on attacking one of them, he'd immediately be blocked by Earth-Style techniques, making it difficult to gain the upper hand. 

What complicated things further was that Naruto had already used up much of his chakra to open the treasure box, and he had to protect Ryusen, who had no combat abilities.

The Iwagakure Anbu also noticed this and started targeting Ryusen more frequently, forcing Naruto into a defensive position. 

One of the Iwagakure ninjas sneered, "Why don't you just drop the treasure and run? How are things going? You'll get killed trying to protect that useless guy. What's wrong with your brain?"

Hearing this, Ryusen clenched his fists tightly. 

Although furious and guilty for being a burden, he could only shout to Naruto, "My lord, leave me behind! Don't worry about me!"

Ryusen's words surprised Naruto. Initially, he had intended to deal with these enemies, but the Iwagakure ninja's comment reminded him of a few things: 

First, Naruto was ambushed, putting him at a disadvantage. Second, his chakra was nearly depleted. 

Third, Ryusen was slowing him down. The chances of defeating the group were slim. 

Returning temporarily to find a better opportunity is the only option if that's the case.

Naruto instantly created hundreds of shadow clones, all scattered in different directions. 

This was the first time the enemy had seen Naruto use such a technique, and for a moment, they were overwhelmed, forced to use wide-area jutsu in an attempt to catch him. 

Despite their efforts, the Iwagakure ninjas struggled to block all the clones. 

Most of Naruto's shadow clones were eliminated in the chaos, leaving just one Naruto and Ryusen. 

The ten ninjas surrounded Naruto, closing incautiously. The female Anbu member said, "This must be real." 

"Too bad for you. Even after all that effort, you still couldn't escape. But I must admit, it's impressive that you could create so many shadow clones at once."

Naruto smiled and replied, "Is that so? Too bad for you. The ones who failed... are you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto and Ryusen vanished into a puff of white smoke. 

The ten Iwagakure Anbu were stunned. One of them exclaimed, "What?! Did he escape again? Didn't we block all the clones?"

The others responded, "We definitely blocked every one of them."

The Iwagakure leader said, "We can confirm we stopped all the shadow clones, but his speed is incredible, and he seems to have some kind of jutsu we don't know about." 

"He escaped right under our noses before too. But for now, the priority is recovering the treasure map. Failure is not an option. We have to get it back."

On a small hill, two figures appeared in the Land of Grass—one dressed in black, the other a young man in his twenties. 

It was Naruto and Ryusen who had just escaped. At this point, Naruto was completely drained of chakra and utterly exhausted. 

Ryusen helped Naruto sit down, and Naruto said, "Ryusen, I need to rest. Go fetch some water and prepare dinner while I recover."

Ryusen quickly replied, "Yes, my lord. I'll be right back."

As Ryusen went off searching for water and food, Naruto felt relieved. Luckily, he had marked a few safe spots along the way in case of emergencies. 

Otherwise, this situation would have been much more dangerous. 

After this ordeal, Naruto noticed that Ryusen was becoming increasingly loyal to him, and he felt that saving him had been the right decision.

Since Ryusen had spent years travelling with his father for business, he was experienced in finding food. 

He quickly returned with some water and a few fish. 

Seeing that Naruto was exhausted, Ryusen gave him water and started a fire to cook the fish. As Naruto ate, his energy gradually returned.

Naruto opened the treasure map, which continued to emit a faint blue glow. Calling Ryusen over, they studied the map together. 

The drawings were fairly detailed, but Naruto wasn't too familiar with the Land of Grass. 

However, Ryusen could identify the general location, though they would still need to search for the exact spot.

After travelling and examining the map, the two fell asleep quickly after a long day. 

He reflected on the previous day when Naruto fully rested the next morning. 

Despite their secluded hiding spot, they were still in the Land of Grass, and the Grass ninja might have had special ways of tracking the treasure map. 

If they were found again, things could go south quickly. 

Using the Flying Thunder God technique, Naruto sent Ryusen to a different location and stayed behind to set up some traps, preparing to deal with the troublesome ninjas. 

After about half a day, one of Naruto's wood clones detected the enemy. They were carefully searching for him. Naruto smirked. 

One of his wood clones pretended to be resting and was soon spotted by the enemy, who immediately pursued him into the forest.

The ten Anbu members, confident in their numbers, quickly gave chase. Before they knew it, they had been lured deep into the forest. 

Realizing something was wrong, the clone disappeared. "Water Style: Water Wave!" A large stream of water surged from the forest. 

It was rare to see a Water-Style jutsu of this scale in an area without natural water sources. 

The Iwagakure ninjas were surprised, but as elite Anbu, they reacted quickly, forming hand signs.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!" "Earth Style: Earth Formation Wall!" Various earth walls rose to block Naruto's water jutsu. 

But the Water Style was only a distraction. Naruto's Flying Thunder God Sword flashed through the trees, claiming the lives of two enemies from the group of four who had used the Earth Prison.

Hearing the cries of their comrades, the remaining eight ninjas focused their attention. Seeing their fallen comrades, they began attacking Naruto furiously.

"Water Style: Water Wave!" Another of Naruto's clones launched a water attack from a different direction. 

The remaining eight ninjas thought, "Does he have allies? Why didn't they appear before?" 

As they blocked the second water attack with Earth-Style jutsu, Naruto seized the opportunity to eliminate the remaining two who had used Earth Prison.

With their comrades slain, the remaining ninjas became enraged. Their leader shouted, "No matter who you are, we'll tear you apart!"

Naruto responded calmly, "Without your Earth Prison to suppress me, what do you plan to do?"

Suddenly, one of Naruto's wood clones sent a signal, and Naruto launched another Water-Style jutsu. 

By the time the enemy reacted, Naruto had already vanished into the forest.

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