Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 330 Savior

When did you leave the mark?

"I wasn't in the carriage the whole time."

Do you usually experience this when you go out on missions?

"Hmm... You finally learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, why not use it? This is something your Lord Danzo tacitly approved."

Torune, who was traveling with Danzo, was finally speechless. Having served Danzo for many years, he knew a thing or two about the man's methods. This was something Lord Danzo might actually approve of—planting a time bomb right in the enemy's headquarters...

"I know you want to see my abilities. There's no point in hiding anything, but to see the full picture, you'll need a worthy opponent." Naruto turned back with a playful expression. His sensory abilities weren't easily fooled; he knew perfectly well whether the clone he'd encountered was the real Toriyama. The Aburame clan's shadow clone technique used insects, making it stronger and longer-lasting than ordinary shadow clones.

Even with his thoughts exposed to his face, Qu Gen still maintained his composure. "How many enemies are there? I can help you out."

"Three. Just help me split one of them."

Thus, this battle under the moon turned out this way.

"So, what's the last one?" asked Qu Gen, who had relied on poison to wear down his opponent.

"He destroyed my clone and ran away with an old man as a hostage," Naruto replied, carrying the only surviving prisoner.

Take a deep breath and said calmly, "You left a mark, didn't you?"

Don't think he missed the exciting moments just because he was fighting. He saw Naruto taking down an opponent with one punch, and he personally experienced how fast this guy was. He absolutely couldn't believe that anyone could escape from a user of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"He's skilled, but not skilled enough. I was just curious why they would attack a seemingly unremarkable caravan, so I decided to play along. What if we could find their hideout?"

Naruto was genuinely curious. He knew the escaped boy was the only one of the three who didn't intend to kill, which was why he felt comfortable handing the old man over. The rest of the caravan seemed to have lost their leader after losing the old man; they were clearly naive and probably didn't understand why they had been attacked. As for interrogation... he couldn't do any of that.

“Since you have the Flying Thunder God Technique, why don’t you go back to Konoha and report this matter? The ninjas who randomly attacked caravans within the Land of Fire clearly don’t take Konoha seriously. They should be taught a lesson. Moreover, they possess a peculiar power. If this power could be used by Konoha…” Torune had already accepted the fact that Naruto could travel the world anytime, anywhere, and had begun planning his actions.

"Torogen." Naruto called out Torogen's name without any honorifics. He saw a pair of rather dignified eyes, a look Naruto had never shown before. "If there really were such a powerful force that could be used without paying a price, then that force would have already occupied a corner of the world and dominated a region. We haven't even figured out the cause and effect of this matter, how can we report it? Let's wait until we find the enemy's lair before we talk about it."

It must be said that Naruto, when serious, is quite imposing, even if it's just a shadow clone. Whether it was the influence of his demeanor or the overwhelming power of his chakra, Torune actually felt that what this person said made some sense. Besides, their arrival to rescue people had already broken the rules; it was better to keep things small.

With this sudden change of heart, Naruto conveniently passed the heavy responsibility of interrogation to him, while he himself observed the movements of the escapees and comforted the caravan that had suffered an undeserved misfortune. These were tasks that Torune was truly incapable of; he dreaded seeing crowds of weeping people and couldn't possibly be as patient and soothing as Naruto. And you know what? This guy's skill in this task was almost as adept as his fighting skills. He rallied the scattered crowd with just a few words, even providing them with some meat to help them endure the difficult wait.

As for the captured prisoner, her name was Ranke, and she was a woman with a fiery temper, easily provoked. Because she was killed so quickly, she was completely unconvinced by the defeat and vowed to fight Naruto again. However, Torune was no merciful man; his abilities were fraught with danger, and even this woman's accomplices were "accidentally" poisoned to death during the battle. After being eaten by poisonous insects, she finally became frightened and spilled everything she knew.

She was a subordinate of Lord Hyde, who rescued her from dire straits and saved her from a fate of destruction. He was a savior, a saint who sought an ideal land free from war, and she fought for him without regret.

"Hyde? Ever heard of him?"

Gen shook his head honestly. He wasn't in the intelligence business, and the Gen faction focused more on intelligence about the other four major powers; they hadn't really investigated smaller places outside of that.

"Creating an idyllic paradise free from war... Many people use this as a pretext to realize their own ambitions," Naruto commented unexpectedly.

"You don't understand Lord Hyde at all!" Rank was furious, like a gorilla, and she could indeed transform.

Naruto sighed and said, "I don't really understand him, but I can't sense the compassion you speak of from your actions."

"What did he tell you? Did he say that this massacre was merely a necessary sacrifice to achieve his ideal world?"

Rank's anger faltered, because that was indeed what Lord Hyde had said. She paused for a moment, then began a new round of sophistry.

"We must obtain the Grell Stone; only then can we possess the power to change the world."

Naruto sneered and said, "If you were fighting an army or ninja of a nation, I wouldn't say anything, but... to kill civilians for an inanimate object, isn't that bullying the weak? Don't tarnish the title of 'savior'."

"And you, don't use 'Hyde' as an excuse. That night, you were practically bursting with excitement when you jumped. You enjoyed the killing, didn't you?"

Rank's eyes widened, and her response became even more intense, but her evasive gaze revealed the truth.

Naruto ultimately didn't kill him, but instead knocked him unconscious, preparing to lead his men to catch the last remaining fugitive. The swordsman and his companion had been traveling all day and were now almost at the east coast. Naruto feared that if they waited any longer, the fugitive would end up at sea, and even if they won, they'd still have to rescue him—a huge hassle.

As for Torune, who witnessed the entire process of breaking through the defense, his emotions were also very complicated, but his matter could be dealt with later, and Naruto was not in a hurry.

"By the way, do you need to change your clone?"

"...Yes, I need it. Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome."