Naruto: Different Path

(T/N: Please consider reviewing this Fanfic, Thanks and appreciate all who support me)

(T/N: Enjoy!!)

<><><><><><>

Naruto created numerous Wood Release clones, significantly expanding the surveillance range by hiding them among the trees. 

Although it consumed many chakras, the coverage proved highly effective. Hinata, using her Byakugan, supported Naruto by continuously scanning for enemies. 

As a member of the Hyūga clan's main family, Hinata's Byakugan had a broader range and greater distance than branch family members. 

Everyone patiently waited for the enemy's appearance, becoming especially vigilant as night fell since the chances of encountering foes increased significantly.

The Hyūga clan members activated their Byakugan and meticulously observed their surroundings. Naruto entered Sage Mode to enhance his perception. 

The first to detect traces of the enemy was one of Naruto's Wood Release clones. 

Although it only caught a fleeting shadow in the darkness, it gave them a general location. 

Naruto immediately used the Flying Raijin Jutsu to teleport to the clone's position. In Sage Mode, his enhanced sensory abilities granted him an advantage in the dark. 

He quickly located a source of immense chakra moving at high speed—it was unmistakably the chakra of Matatabi, the Two-Tails.

This confirmed Naruto's suspicion: the Cloud Village shinobi was behind this, and the presence of Matatabi's chakra meant Yugito Nii was involved. 

However, Naruto didn't sense any other Cloud ninjas nearby, suggesting Yugito might be acting alone. 

There was no time to ponder her motives. Without hesitation, Naruto used Lightning Release to transform into a streak of electricity and gave chase. 

Soon, a red figure appeared ahead, with two visible chakra tails behind her. It was Yugito in her partial Tailed Beast form.

Realizing Naruto was pursuing her, Yugito abruptly stopped and turned around. "I didn't expect a Leaf shinobi as skilled as you to track me in this state." 

"Judging by your use of Lightning Release, you must be the Black Flash of the Leaf." 

"But it's a shame—you're no match for me unless you're Uzumaki Naruto with his Wood Release."

Because Naruto wore a mask and used Lightning Release, his true identity remained concealed. 

He infused chakra into the Flying Raijin Sword, causing it to glow with electricity. 

Yugito, seeing this, recognized the threat and gathered chakra into her hand, forming a massive red chakra claw infused with Tailed Beast energy. 

The two forces collided violently. Yugito's red chakra clashed with Naruto's electrified blade, creating shockwaves that shook the ground and splintered nearby trees.

Back at the base, Jiraiya and the others felt the tremors from the battle. Jiraiya quickly assessed the situation: 

"The Black Flash must be engaged in combat. All jonin, come with me. The rest, stay and guard the base."

As the clash continued, Yugito realized that Naruto's Lightning Release was more powerful than the Raikage's. 

Despite her full-force attack, Matatabi's power fell short, and Naruto's strike managed to pierce her defense. 

While her Tailed Beast cloak absorbed most of the damage, she sustained a minor injury. 

From within the cloak, Yugito exclaimed, "So the rumors were true. Black Flash is a prodigy of the Leaf. Your Lightning Release is terrifyingly strong!"

Determined, Yugito fully transformed into Matatabi, a massive blue feline-tailed Beast. 

The giant cat swiped its claws at Naruto, forcing him to dodge rapidly despite the protection of his Lightning Release. 

Yugito then formed a blazing fireball in Matatabi's mouth. Unlike ordinary Fire Release, this fireball radiated intense heat and launched toward Naruto. 

Unable to evade in time, Naruto split the fireball in half with a strike from his electrified sword.

Yugito, seeing her attack fail, thought to herself, "It's no use. I have no choice but to unleash my strongest attack." 

Matatabi opened its mouth wide, combining red and blue chakra to form a concentrated Tailed Beast Bomb. 

Naruto, recognizing the imminent danger, acted decisively. His body transformed into a bolt of lightning, and he appeared above Matatabi's head in a flash.

"Impossible!" Yugito gasped as Naruto planted his hand on Matatabi's head. 

Chains extended from Naruto's palm, piercing Matatabi's body and beginning to extract its chakra. 

As the Tailed Beast's energy was siphoned, the incomplete Tailed Beast Bomb disintegrated. 

Shocked, Yugito exclaimed, "Who are you? Not only can you suppress a Tailed Beast's power, but you can also extract its chakra from me!"

Matatabi's voice echoed in Yugito's consciousness: "This is bad. This man must have some connection to the Sage of Six Paths to wield such a technique."

Despite Yugito's desperate struggles, Naruto's chains held her tightly. As more of Matatabi's chakra was drained, its size shrank significantly. 

However, Naruto could only sustain the technique briefly. After extracting around 40% of Matatabi's chakra, he lost control of his chakra flow, and the chains disappeared. 

Matatabi, now greatly diminished, was freed from the chains. Yugito, having lost a significant amount of chakra, reverted to her human form and collapsed to one knee, gasping for air.

Naruto assessed the Tailed Beast chakra he had absorbed and thought, "I need more training to master this technique completely."

Just as Naruto was about to capture Yugito, Jiraiya and the reinforcements arrived. 

Seeing Yugito, one of the jonins remarked, "Looks like we missed an incredible fight. If only we had hurried."

Jiraiya approached and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this is Yugito Nii, one of the two Jinchūriki from the Cloud Village. No wonder she was so hard to catch." 

Turning to Yugito, he continued, "You're surrounded. Surrender now and come with us quietly."

Yugito closed her eyes, her tone laced with frustration. "To think that Konoha has so many powerful shinobi. As a perfect jinchūriki, I never thought I'd end up like this." 

"But no matter what happens, I will never surrender." Forcing herself to stand, she prepared for one final act of resistance. 

Jiraiya sighed regretfully, "If that's the case, then we have no choice but to use force." With a gesture, he signaled several jōnin to move in and subdue her.

Suddenly, Naruto sensed another surge of powerful chakra. He urgently warned the group, "There's danger—everyone, get back!" 

Hearing Naruto's warning, the group quickly retreated while Naruto rushed toward the source of the ominous chakra. 

Emerging into his view was Killer B in his Tailed Beast Mode. Realizing Naruto was no ordinary opponent, Killer B unleashed a barrage of Tailed Beast Balls with reckless abandon. 

Each attack packed immense destructive power, throwing even the strongest shinobi off balance.

Naruto relied on his speed to evade the assaults while steadily closing the distance between them. 

Aware of Naruto's intent, Killer B launched attacks while retreating simultaneously. 

Naruto knew his sealing technique required preparation time and couldn't be used consecutively. 

Furthermore, he avoided using Wood Release to keep his true identity hidden. 

Killer B, who had learned caution from previous encounters, maintained his defensive strategy, making it difficult for Naruto to gain the upper hand.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of Killer B's distraction, the Raikage and his forces acted swiftly. One of the Kumo shinobi rescued Yugito and brought her to safety. 

This time, the Raikage himself had joined the mission, accompanied by a squad of elite shinobi, including Darui and others. 

Their combined strength rivaled that of Konoha. Seeing the Raikage, Jiraiya remarked, "It seems Tsunade's decision was indeed a mistake. Raikage-sama remains as ambitious as ever."

The usually hot-tempered Raikage, feeling the weight of Jiraiya's words, momentarily faltered, unable to respond. 

Turning to his Kumo forces, he ordered, "Yugito has been retrieved. Our mission is complete. Prepare to retreat!" 

However, a member of the Kumo Anbu hesitated and spoke up, "Raikage-sama, with our current advantage, shouldn't we seize this golden opportunity?" 

The Raikage's anger flared, "What? Are you questioning my decision?" 

The Anbu member replied cautiously, "I wouldn't dare, but I hope Raikage-sama won't let personal feelings interfere with our actions."

Before the Raikage could respond, Mabui intervened, "Raikage-sama has his reasons. We're within the borders of the Land of Fire." 

"If we remain here, we risk being surrounded. A swift retreat is the most prudent course of action. Have you forgotten the bitter lessons of the past?" 

The Anbu member reluctantly fell silent. With that, the Raikage ordered a full retreat. 

Killer B launched several more Tailed Beast Balls to cover their escape before retreating, but Naruto relentlessly pursued him.

Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Kumo's forces retreat. 

"It's a good thing they pulled back. Otherwise, we might have been in for a grueling battle." 

However, noticing that Naruto was still chasing the Kumo shinobi, Jiraiya felt worried. 

Still, his priority was safeguarding the base, so he could only trust Naruto's abilities.

As Naruto closed in on Killer B, the latter found it increasingly difficult to shake him off despite his impressive speed. 

Before long, Naruto had chased him beyond the borders of the Land of Fire. The Raikage, realizing Naruto was still in pursuit, ordered his forces to stop. 

Turning to Naruto, he declared, "Konoha's Black Flash, I let it slide when we were within the Land of Fire, but now you've crossed the line. Don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The Raikage activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and prepared to engage Naruto. 

However, Mabui interjected, "Raikage-sama, we just received an urgent message from the village. You need to return immediately!" 

The Raikage glared at her, frustrated. "What? At a time like this?!" Mabui explained, "It's about Yugito and the Two-Tails." 

Glancing at Yugito, who was clearly in no condition to fight, the Raikage reluctantly said, "Darui, I'm leaving this to you. Stall him at all costs."

The Raikage departed with most of his forces, leaving Darui and a few others to confront Naruto. 

As Naruto charged, Darui quickly formed seals and unleashed his Storm Release: Laser Circus. 

Streams of electrified light shot from Darui's hands, powerful and highly accurate. 

Despite his Lightning Release Chakra Cloak absorbing much of the damage, Naruto was momentarily forced back. 

Standing atop a tree, Darui called out, "Black Flash, I apologize for stopping you here, but this is as far as you go. I hope you're ready."

Naruto retreated slightly, summoning a clone to replenish his Sage Mode chakra. 

Sensing Naruto's strategy, Darui launched his Lightning Release: Double Black Panther, sending twin black lightning bolts in the shape of panthers racing toward Naruto. 

Though the attack caught Naruto off guard, he managed to endure it, thanks to his enhanced defenses.

Naruto, now reinforced with Sage Mode, intensified his assault. Ignoring Darui's attacks, he charged with his Flying Thunder God Sword. 

A Kumo shinobi leaped in to block him but was instantly repelled by Naruto's Lightning Armor. 

Darui, shocked by Naruto's resilience, thought, "His Lightning Release is even stronger than the Raikage's!"

Despite the combined efforts of the Kumo shinobi, Naruto overwhelmed them. In moments, he had his blade at Darui's throat. 

Darui said, "I never thought your strength would reach this level. Forgive me, Raikage-sama... I failed." 

Naruto withdrew his sword and replied, "Forget it. The Hokage let the Raikage go. I have no interest in taking your life. This is getting dull." 

With that, Naruto vanished, leaving Darui bewildered by his mercy.

Returning to Jiraiya's base, Naruto reported, "It seems Yugito acted independently. The Raikage's actions were merely to recover her. He had no intention of attacking Konoha." 

Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully. "The events confirm as much. Still, even if the Raikage has no hostile intentions, there may be factions within Kumo who don't share his restraint. Not everyone in Kumo may obey his commands."

Though known for his carefree demeanor, Jiraiya's analysis was sharp and precise.

If you want to support me, join my patr**on. Have 20 advanced Chapters for you guys.

patr**n.com/saitamablast > N:DP NOVEL TIER