blogombal Chapter 55 Valley of the End
Chapter 55 Valley of the End
In Jiraiya's memory, Mavis had always been a cheerful and gentle person. This was the first time he had seen Mavis speak so sternly, and he was momentarily stunned.
Hearing Mavis's words, the Nine-Tails in her arms was moved to tears.
So many years, so many years! Finally, someone has come forward to speak up for it!
And Mavis even said she was going to ask Hashirama Senju to apologize to her!
Even if Hashirama Senju has been sealed inside the stomach of a Shinigami and will never reappear, it is enough for Mavis to have this idea!
Nine-Tails was deeply moved. It patted Mavis's hand with its paw and thought to itself, "I've made up my mind. Just because of Mavis's words, Mavis will be my best friend for life!"
Jiraiya, having regained his senses, awkwardly touched his nose and explained dryly, "The Nine-Tails did indeed inflict enormous casualties on Konoha..."
Nine-Tails immediately protested loudly, "I'm controlled by a human!" Then, recalling her actions when she was conscious, she added somewhat hesitantly, "At least initially, I was controlled..."
Mavis stroked Kurama's smooth fur reassuringly and continued, "Jiraiya-san has also witnessed Acnologia's ruthlessness, right? Believe me, compared to Acnologia, Kurama is simply an angel."
Upon hearing this, the Nine-Tailed Fox wagged its tail somewhat smugly.
As she spoke, Mavis lowered her head and smiled at Kurama, saying, "Moreover, I believe that as long as we communicate well with Kurama, he will definitely be very magnanimous and won't deliberately make things difficult for humans, right?"
Flattered by Mavis's words, the Nine-Tails grinned and said, "Of course, I am the strongest and most reasonable tailed beast. If the humans hadn't attacked first, I wouldn't have bothered with such weak humans."
Jiraiya looked at Mavis and Kurama, who was now being coaxed into a state of high spirits by Mavis, with a complicated expression.
At this moment, he finally realized why, apart from Naruto who was a Jinchūriki, only Mavis was able to establish a friendship with Kurama so quickly.
But at the same time, he also knew that he could not do this in a short period of time.
Or rather, it wasn't just him; any ninja in the ninja world who had personally witnessed the existence of a tailed beast would feel wary and fearful of its power, and would find it difficult to face the tailed beast with a normal mindset.
"Ninjas and so-called mages may have some similarities, but when it comes to creatures like tailed beasts, they are ultimately different," Jiraiya thought with a sigh.
……
Now that Tsunade has returned to Konoha, Sasuke and Kakashi's injuries are no longer a problem. Even Rock Lee, despite his serious injuries, underwent a successful high-risk surgery.
Seeing that Konoha was gradually getting back on track after Tsunade's return, Mavis began to consider leaving Konoha.
Whether it's the matter of Zeref or Acnologia, or the method of leaving this world, there are no results that can be obtained simply by waiting in Konoha.
Just as Mavis was planning to bring up the matter with Naruto and Sasuke, she heard the news that Sasuke had knocked Sakura unconscious and defected from Konoha.
At the entrance to Konoha Village, Shikamaru, along with Naruto, Choji, and Neji, formed a team to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. Mavis accompanied Sakura to see them off.
"I will definitely bring Sasuke back, Sakura. This is a promise for life!" Naruto gave Sakura a thumbs up and a bright smile, promising her.
"Thank you, Naruto..." Sakura looked at Naruto's determined eyes and couldn't help but burst into tears.
Mavis watched Naruto and the others walk further and further away in silence, then suddenly said to Sakura, who was still crying, "Is it really okay to entrust everything to Naruto like this?"
Sakura was stunned by what she heard, and turned her head to look at Mavis with a blank expression, her face still covered in tears.
She didn't quite understand what Mavis meant, and subconsciously asked, "Mavis, you mean..."
Mavis looked at Sakura, who was crying uncontrollably, and her serious expression softened slightly.
She gently ruffled Sakura's pink hair and said softly, "Sakura needs to think this through herself. Sasuke isn't just Naruto's comrade, he's your comrade too, isn't he?"
Seeing Sakura's confused look, Mavis continued, "Sasuke chose to leave Konoha. Naruto made a promise to you that he would bring Sasuke back to Konoha because Sasuke is his comrade and because of your request. But Sakura, this shouldn't be Naruto's decision and resolve alone, should it?"
After saying that, Mavis turned and walked towards Konoha, leaving Sakura standing there somewhat bewildered.
When Kakashi returned to Konoha after completing his mission, he learned that Shikamaru, who had just been promoted to Chunin, had led three Genin to pursue the Sound Ninja who had taken Sasuke away. In his anxiety, Kakashi rushed to provide support.
On the way, Kakashi encountered Mavis. Even though the situation was urgent, he stopped and took some time to ask, "Mavis, I thought you would also come along to find Sasuke."
After all, Kakashi had already vaguely guessed that Sasuke had helped Zeref and Mavis conceal their identities. He thought that, based on this relationship, Mavis would prevent Sasuke from leaving Konoha.
Mavis looked at Kakashi, who was clearly anxious. It was obvious that the fact that one disciple had defected and another disciple had gone to risk his life to pursue him was causing Kakashi a lot of worry and complicated feelings.
"Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura are comrades, but now Sasuke has decided to walk a different path, a path that is destined to go against Naruto, Sakura, and Konoha."
Mavis sighed and said, "If Sasuke doesn't change his mind, then even bringing him back to Konoha won't help. This is a rupture of beliefs among comrades, and the only ones who can probably change Sasuke's mind are you comrades."
Kakashi paused for a moment, then turned around quickly without saying anything more, heading to meet the team chasing Sasuke.
……
In the Valley of the End, two enormous stone statues stand facing each other, their opposing seals mirroring the Nanga River, having stood silently confronting each other for many years.
On the flowing water, the figures of two boys faced each other. One of them, a blond boy, had a nine-tailed fox on his head, while the other boy had the Uchiha clan crest behind him.
If someone were to look at them from a distance or above, they would find that the figures of the two people standing opposite each other are remarkably similar to the two colossal stone statues in the Valley of the End.
The blond boy gritted his teeth, and the lines on his beard deepened as his emotions flared.
Naruto glared at Sasuke, who stood before him with a cold expression, and roared, "Why did you leave Konoha, Sasuke?!"
The Nine-Tails above Naruto's head squinted as it sized up Sasuke, sensing the latter's chakra, which had gradually become somewhat sinister compared to when they first met.
"I'm starting to look more and more like that man, Madara Uchiha," Kurama thought with some displeasure.
Kurama glanced again at the faint Nine-Tails chakra emanating from Naruto. Although it was somewhat enhanced by its own chakra, Kurama had a vague intuition that Naruto might not be able to bring this Uchiha boy back to Konoha so easily this time.
Hearing Naruto's roar, Sasuke's expression remained cold and unmoved.
Seeing Sasuke's unmoved attitude, Naruto became even angrier. He asked in confusion, "Sasuke, why did you go to see Orochimaru?"
Seeing that Naruto wouldn't give up, Sasuke looked up at the two stone statues in the Valley of the End and suddenly said, "Naruto, we saw these two people on the day Orochimaru attacked Konoha, right?"
Naruto was startled and followed Sasuke's gaze, where statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha came into view.
"Even Itachi Uchiha probably wouldn't be a match for Madara Uchiha, right?" Sasuke seemed to be talking to himself after he had collected information on Madara Uchiha.
Why are we suddenly talking about Madara Uchiha again? Naruto frowned, somewhat puzzled.
"The Uchiha possess such immense power, but in Konoha, I can never become as strong as Madara Uchiha!" Sasuke said coldly, suppressing his emotions.
Unable to understand what Sasuke was saying, and not caring about Madara Uchiha, Naruto just wanted to beat Sasuke up and take him back to Konoha!
Naruto charged straight at Sasuke, and the Nine-Tails above his head suddenly leaped down.
Kurama had no interest in the petty squabbles of two genin kids, let alone the idea of taking the Uchiha kid back to Konoha.
"All Orochimaru wants is your body, isn't it, Sasuke!" Naruto attacked Sasuke relentlessly.
With his Sharingan spinning rapidly, Sasuke seized an opening in Naruto's defenses and delivered a powerful kick, temporarily knocking Naruto back.
The images of Zeref and Orochimaru resurfaced in Sasuke's mind. He gritted his teeth and charged towards Naruto, shouting, "So what? As long as I can gain power!"
……
After some time, the outcome of the battle was finally revealed.
As Naruto was finally defeated by Sasuke, who had activated the Cursed Seal mode, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) jumped onto Naruto.
It stared at Uchiha Sasuke and said in a deep voice, "Uchiha brat, you should know that I would never let you kill Naruto!"
Kurama naturally heard Sasuke's words about needing to kill his best friend to gain power.
It even muttered something like, as if possessed by Tobirama Senju, "As expected of the evil Uchiha."
Seeing that Naruto had already fainted, Kurama could no longer sit still. With its beastly eyes coldly fixed on Sasuke, it issued a warning.
If Sasuke truly intended to kill Naruto, it would stop him even if it meant returning to Naruto's body and losing its freedom!
A light rain began to fall from the sky, but Sasuke ignored Kurama's warning.
After glancing at Naruto, he closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, there was no longer any lingering affection for Konoha in his eyes.
Sasuke turned and left expressionlessly, stepping into the dense forest and heading towards Orochimaru's Sound Village.
When Kakashi arrived with Pakkun, all they found was Naruto lying on the ground and Kurama (the Nine-Tails) guarding him.
Seeing Kakashi arrive, Kurama impatiently scratched its ears, which were wet with drizzle, and complained, "You might as well wait until Naruto is killed before you come to teach me."
Parker couldn't help but whisper an explanation for Kakashi: "Kakashi rushed here with all his might..."
The subsequent sounds were silenced by the Nine-Tails' glare.
"Ahhh, how scary!" Parker stretched out his paw and covered his mouth.
"The Nine-Tails is still the Nine-Tails! Even though it's smaller, it still has such a powerful presence!" Puck shouted inwardly, covering his mouth with his paw.
Kakashi silently carried the now-awake Naruto on his back and glanced at the two stone statues he had just seen in person not long ago.
Parker then lowered his hand from his mouth and exclaimed, "I never expected it to be here."
Then he turned to Kakashi and complained, "Kakashi, why didn't you call me out when you saw those two lords? That was a battle between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha! I wanted to see it too..."
Before Parker could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
It turned its head shakily and saw the Nine-Tailed Fox, with its nine tails swaying simultaneously, looking at it with a sinister smile. Its fangs gleamed with a cold white light as it spoke: "Looks like you admire those two guys."
Parker's short legs twitched, and he quickly added, "Of course not, of course not. My idol is none other than Lord Nine-Tails. Those two guys are not even as good as one of your tails, hahaha."
Listening to Parker's praise, Nine-Tails let out a cold snort from its nasal cavity.
It turned around and jumped onto Kakashi's white head. No matter what, it wouldn't bother with a weak summoning beast.
Feeling the sudden weight on his head, Kakashi glanced upwards, then led Naruto back towards Konoha.
Pakkun, whose head was occupied by the Nine-Tails, dared not be angry or speak out, and obediently followed behind Kakashi.
After Kakashi and the others had gone far away, a half-black, half-white figure suddenly appeared on the ground; it was Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu also saw the miniature form of the Nine-Tails, but in this form, the Nine-Tails' power was almost non-existent.
Black Zetsu wanted the Nine-Tails' massive chakra, not its consciousness, so he stopped paying attention to it.
Even with the interference of otherworldly magic, Sasuke still defected from Konoha as Sasuke had predicted. In fact, Zeref's existence only strengthened Sasuke's resolve to defect.
Black Zetsu's anxiety finally eased a little after receiving information from Madara Uchiha about magic.
He had waited far too long. It was only with great difficulty that Madara Uchiha had successfully awakened the Rinnegan, and he had finally managed to convince Madara Uchiha to believe in the Eye of the Moon Plan.
As for Sasuke and Itachi, they were his backup plans just in case!
Whether it's ninjas or some magical world, he will not allow anyone to interfere with the Eye of the Moon plan!
A fierce glint flashed in Black Zetsu's eyes as his body slowly sank into the ground.