In Konoha, they wiped out the Sarutobi clan at the start.

Chapter 225 Naruto Knows Sasuke's Defection, Jonin Karin

"Did you cast an illusion on him? I don't remember Yura obeying anyone but me after regaining his memories."

Seeing that Yura actually went to move the rocking chair, Sasori Hiruko's eyes turned bloodshot as she spoke to Chiya.

"Don't worry about such a small thing." Chiya smiled nonchalantly, turning her gaze to Deidara. "Deidara, it's up to you now."

"Brother Qianye, just you wait and see. Hmm." Deidara said confidently.

At that moment, Yura strode over. "Lord Sasori, Lord Chiya, Lord Deidara, everything is ready. Please follow me."

soon.

The three of them followed Yura through the narrow passage and arrived inside Sunagakure Village.

From this vantage point, one can have a great view of the entire Sunagakure village.

Looking at the densely packed, earthen-yellow buildings of Sunagakure, Deidara couldn't help but sigh.

"Judging from the architectural structure alone, it's quite an artistic village. But that also makes it more worthwhile to destroy."

"Brother Qianye, Brother Xie, you two just stay here and watch."

As Deidara spoke, he reached into the clay pouch at his waist, bit off a piece of clay with his palm and mouth, infused it with chakra, and kneaded it into a flying bird.

Deidara formed hand seals, and the clay bird suddenly grew larger.

Deidara jumped onto the bird's back. The giant bird spread its wings, flapped them, and flew into the sky. A moment later, it turned into a black dot and disappeared into the horizon.

"Now we just need to stay here and watch." Looking at the spot where Deidara disappeared, Chiya lay down on the rocking chair.

Scorpion glanced at Chiya, clicked his tongue helplessly, and said to Yura, "Yura, there's nothing for you here. You can leave now."

"Yes, Lord Sasori." Yura replied respectfully and disappeared at the entrance of Sunagakure.

Sasori turned his gaze to Sunagakure and looked in the direction of Deidara with Chiya. Next, it was Deidara's turn.

at the same time.

The Hokage's office.

Upon returning to Konoha, Naruto learned that Sasuke had been kidnapped and defected by Orochimaru not long after he and Jiraiya went out for training.

She burst into the Hokage's office immediately, "Grandma Tsunade, Sasuke, has Sasuke really been taken away by Orochimaru's men?"

Accompanying him were Sakura, who had grown into a medical ninja; Shikamaru and Temari, who were discussing the joint Chunin Exams between Sunagakure and Konoha in the second half of the year; and Jiraiya, who was helping Naruto complete his training.

"It seems you already know." Looking at Sakura, Shikamaru, and Temari who had come with her, Tsunade instantly understood everything. She sighed helplessly and told them about Sasuke's defection.

When Naruto heard that Tsunade had sent people to pursue Sasuke and had sought help from Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro of Sunagakure, who killed all the Sound Ninja, but Sasuke still managed to escape on his own, Naruto fell silent.

He regretted not being there back then; if he had, he would have been able to bring Sasuke back.

Shikamaru fell silent, filled with self-blame, because his command error had led to Neji and Choji being seriously injured and nearly losing their lives.

Jiraiya fell silent, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall. He looked at Naruto, recalling his bond with Orochimaru, and thought to himself, "This guy must be feeling really bad right now."

Temari remained silent, her gaze fixed on Naruto, the man who had changed Gaara's life trajectory. No one knew what she was thinking.

As for Sakura, nearly three years later, she shed tears of pain and loss once again.

But having grown somewhat, she quickly became resolute. Wiping away a tear, she looked at Naruto. Naruto's shoulders trembled slightly, and he lowered his head, his eyes obscured by shadows.

Just as Sakura was about to say something to comfort Naruto, Naruto suddenly raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and shouted, "I've decided that one day, I will bring Sasuke back to the village!"

"I keep my word; that's my way of the ninja."

At this point, Naruto extended his right hand, gave a thumbs-up, and made a victory sign for everyone.

Upon hearing these words, the crowd seemed to be inspired, and the previously oppressive atmosphere instantly rose.

Everyone, including Tsunade, wore faint smiles. Only Chika, standing behind Tsunade, was speechless, thinking to herself, "Is this what Chiya called 'talk-no-jutsu'? How boring."

"Alright, it's time to test your training results. Sakura too. This test will determine your future."

Just like in the original story, Tsunade proposed to test Naruto's training results.

"Test?" Naruto and Sakura exchanged a glance, their faces showing confusion.

Resting her chin on her delicate hand, Tsunade observed the two with interest. "So, you mean to be a rival to a certain man? For that purpose, I haven't given him any tasks for several days. I've been keeping him preparing. Your rival is…"

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Tsunade said, "Come in."

With a creak, the door opened, and Shizune and Karin entered. "Lady Tsunade, as you commanded, I brought Karin with me."

"Thank you for your hard work." Tsunade nodded.

"Shizune-nee, and who is this?" Naruto recognized Shizune at a glance, but when he saw Karin, he was completely confused and his head was full of question marks.

Although Naruto met Karin when Jiraiya invited Tsunade back to the village to become Hokage, Naruto was focused on practicing the Rasengan at the time, and the two didn't exchange any words.

In addition, Karin had grown up, and Naruto's intelligence was a mystery, so he did not recognize Karin.

As Sakura introduced them, she looked at Naruto with an expression as if he were an idiot, "This is Karin-senpai, Uzumaki Karin. She was forced to represent the Grass Village and participate in the Chunin Exams with us because her mother was taken hostage."

"Later, she was rescued by Lady Tsunade, who took her in as a disciple and brought her back to the village. She became a ninja of Konoha, and now she's a Jonin of Konoha, just like Neji."

"Speaking of which, you two even share the same surname. And didn't you meet her when you and Jiraiya went to invite Tsunade to become Hokage? Don't tell me you don't remember her."

Karin greeted Naruto with a smile, "Hello, Naruto."

"Huh?" Naruto was shocked, recalling Karin's beautiful appearance back then, and then looking at her now:

His signature red hair was slightly split, and his eyes were the same red color as his hair. He wore glasses, giving him an intellectual air. The frames were brown and narrow. He wore a purple crop top that exposed his midriff, black hot pants, black stockings, and black ninja shoes.

Compared to her pretty appearance three years ago, she doesn't look as good as she did three years ago.

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(End of this chapter)