Double-transformation: I, Sakura Haruno! Will crush the pirates!

Sakura pondered for a moment, then helplessly shrugged, "I guess I'm just not suited for this type of ninjutsu!"

"Is now the time to talk about this?"

Kakashi leaped up and snatched Naruto from Fudo's body.

Meanwhile, the ninjas in the temple also noticed the unusual behavior of Fudo and his group and began to surround them.

"Don't move! What are you doing here? Show me the password!"

A woman dressed in a light purple short skirt and kimono fell from the sky, her pupils shrinking upon seeing that she was motionless.

"Enemy attack——!"

A scream shattered the temple's silent night, and the entire temple was instantly illuminated by the torches.

"Trouble..."

Sakura glanced at the densely packed ninjas surrounding her.

Once we eliminate all these troops ourselves, the mastermind behind this incident will be able to escape.

But now that I've been exposed, how can I keep them in check?

Of course, it's about showing weakness to the enemy.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura looked up and met Kakashi's gaze; they both saw the sly glint in each other's eyes.

Kakashi immediately pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket and smashed it on the ground. Then, "Sakura" rushed out of the smoke and began to fight against many ninjas alone.

"Hmph, covering your comrades' escape, huh? Since you like covering the rear, I'll let you do it to your heart's content."

The woman in the purple kimono snorted coldly and waved to her subordinates, "Surround her and use ranged escape techniques to continuously deplete her strength and chakra!"

In an instant, lightning and fire filled the entire temple.

While these ninja were attacking "Sakura" above, Kakashi and his two companions were running quickly through the underground passage of the temple.

"Wow, Sakura, you're really something!"

Naruto, whose facial injuries had been healed by the Yang Release chakra within him, gave a thumbs-up to the pink-haired girl in front of him.

“That’s right!” Sakura proudly raised her eyebrows.

"The underground passage ends just ahead. Let's go see what they're hiding in this heavily guarded area!"

Kakashi easily broke through all the obstacles along the way using Earth Release, and finally reached the end of the tunnel, where the three of them burst into a huge altar.

The underground altar, filled with the dampness and musty smell, was very empty. Torches were placed around it, emitting a faint light that barely illuminated the center of the altar, where a young monk in robes was bound by a sealing spell.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Naruto, who couldn't stand seeing this kind of scene, rushed forward. The moment his fingers touched the other person's body, a resonance from chakra erupted between the two of them.

The electric shock-like sensation made Naruto instinctively step back, and he slipped and tumbled down the steps of the altar.

“These are the monks’ robes from the Fire Temple, but logically speaking, that place should have been destroyed some time ago.” Kakashi stepped forward and circled the boy, analyzing the information from his clothing.

"It's not that simple. Naruto should have realized it by now, right?"

Sakura stepped forward and grabbed the sealing chains, then crushed them with a surge of powerful energy, causing the tightly bound black-haired boy to fall to the ground.

"Ah, of course! I'll never forget that evil chakra in my entire life!"

Naruto stood up, his gaze sharp, and pressed his hand to his abdomen. "Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, this guy also has the Great Fox's chakra!"

"A giant fox... with nine tails? How is that possible?"

Kakashi stared wide-eyed at the boy in front of him in disbelief.

Sakura inscribed the Flying Thunder God runes around the altar, then stood up and clapped her hands.

"No matter how the enemy did it, let's take this guy away first!"

Chapter 273 The Two Nine-Tailed Foxes Go Rampage

The Land of Fire, Yoshiwara, the Red-light District.

Sakura used the space-time ninjutsu Flying Thunder God: Lightning Piercing Cave to open a small section of space, leading the group to escape from the temple's underground altar. Kakashi then used his ninja dogs to track Asuma's scent all the way here.

"You won't find it if you go any further in!"

Pakkun, crouching at the entrance to Yoshiwara, covered his nose with his paw. The chaotic atmosphere inside the red-light district made it really difficult for this ninja dog to continue tracking.

"Okay, thanks for your hard work!"

Kakashi released the summoning jutsu and sent it away.

"So, where should we go to find Sakura's parents and Asuma-sensei next?"

Naruto looked around, and his gaze was inadvertently drawn to the alluring scenery revealed beneath the kimonos of the geisha in the red-light district.

"You rascal." Sakura shook her head with a smile.

He found a secluded spot to lean against, closed his eyes, and maximized the spread of his Observation Haki.

From the most bustling areas of the red-light district to the dilapidated shacks where elderly prostitutes eke out a living, Sakura's Observation Haki meticulously explored the changing landscape of the red-light district, just like the development of a city, finally finding their presence in the very edge of the district.

"Found it! Follow me!"

Sakura opened her eyes, waved to Naruto and the others, and quickly ran towards a small path.

After navigating the gaps between houses for nearly half an hour, the group arrived at the outside of a dilapidated wooden hut.

After kicking open the door, Sakura saw Asuma wielding two swords, and Haruno Chizuru and Haruno Mebuki looking wary.

"Sakura..."

Haruno Chizuru and Haruno Mebuki stared wide-eyed, their voices trembling slightly.

When their daughter ran towards them, the parents opened their arms and caught her.

"You two scared me to death!"

I hugged my parents, and the same comforting feeling I had when I was a child came from them.

Sakura's heart finally settled down, and she exhaled a heavy breath.

"I'm sorry, we..."

The perceptive Haruno Meibuki noticed her daughter's exhaustion, touched her face apologetically, and brushed a strand of her hair aside.

But before she could finish speaking, Sakura covered her mouth with her finger, saying, "Don't say sorry to family members!"

Seeing this family reunion, Naruto, who was standing outside the door, raised his hand and rubbed his nose.

"It's so good to have family!"

The blond boy's eyes were filled with envy as he sighed.

"Yes, I could have had this kind of family love too, Sarutobi Asuma!!!"

The black-haired boy, who had opened his eyes at some unknown time, swung his bladed claws from his arm and charged at Asuma.

"what!"

Upon hearing the other party's shout, Asuma drew his Flying Swallow sword, imbued it with Wind Release chakra, and blocked the boy's swung claw.

"Wait, young man, I shouldn't have any grudge against you!"

Asuma explained loudly, his Flying Swallow continuously deflecting the boy's attacks.

The sound of steel rubbing together and the sparks flying were blown around by the wind-style chakra.

"You're still pretending! Mr. Jiangtu has already told me!"

A massive amount of chakra gathered in the black-haired boy, who then unleashed a whirlwind-like claw at Asuma. "It was you who killed my father, a radical member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja!"

"Shiroto... no, Kazuma, your father isn't dead at all! You've been fooled!"

After quickly gathering the intelligence, Asuma tried to use words to bring the other party back to their senses.

However, the boy in front of him had no interest in distinguishing right from wrong. Crimson chakra kept emanating from his body, and the rapidly rising temperature scorched the surrounding ground.

"Father, Hijira, Mr. Jiriku, home..."

Having suffered repeated blows, his eyes were now glazed over, and he was now being devoured by the Nine-Tails' chakra, which was filled with malice.

The consequence of gradually closing off his mind was that he was dominated by more evil thoughts. At the same time, his cells, which had been mixed with the Nine-Tails' chakra for many years, began to transform his body, causing him to grow a beard and sharp teeth on his face.

"It really is the Nine-Tails! What did those bastards do back then?!"

At this moment, Asma could no longer maintain his usual composure and began to curse.

"It's too dangerous here! Kakashi-sensei, please take my parents and Naruto and get out of here!"

Sakura raised a finger, and with her other hand, she drew the Cloud Reaper from her waist, entering battle mode.

"it is good."

Kakashi nodded, then turned to look at Haruno and his wife, Naruto, behind him...

Naruto?

"Stop! Don't let that thing devour you!"

Naruto rushed forward and forcefully pressed down on the black-haired boy in front of him.

Even though the two were complete strangers, Naruto, who had been a Jinchuriki since childhood and could sense the likes and dislikes of others, and had also trained in Observation Haki, was now able to sense the heart of the boy in front of him who shared the same chakra as him.

That emptiness, discrimination, rejection, bullying... As Jinchūriki, they always struggle alone against malice and the beast within their bodies.

So even though he didn't know the other person's name, Naruto still wanted to rescue him from the cage of the 'beast,' just like he was rescued by his comrades.

"Let go of Naruto! You'll be corrupted by the Nine-Tails' chakra!"

Kakashi tried to stop him, but a tremendous force came from his shoulder, rendering him unable to move.

"Kakashi-sensei, let him give it a try, otherwise that guy won't be satisfied!"

Sakura grabbed his shoulders and pulled him behind her. "Please protect my parents with Asuma-sensei. If anything happens to those two, I'll take responsibility and stop them!"

"Then I'll leave it to you!"

Kakashi and Asuma exchanged a glance, then retreated, leading Haruno and his wife away from the battle between the two Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

In the center of the battlefield, the black-haired boy's arm gradually transformed into sharp claws, and hair began to grow on them.

The claw, imbued with the Nine-Tails' chakra, slashed and cut Naruto in two.

"Hey, stop using the Nine-Tails' power! If you continue like this, you'll become a vessel for the Tailed Beasts' resurrection!"

Through the resonance of chakra, Naruto continuously sensed the coldness and despair in the other's heart.

At the same time, he saw the other person's past memories through this connection, which made the look of pity on his face even heavier.

"What do you know? This is the only power I can trust. It allows me to take revenge on those who made me lonely!" The black-haired boy crawled on all fours like a wild beast, and tails grew out one after another from behind him.

"How could people like you, who are born normal, know the pain of bearing such power!"

The black-haired boy roared and swung his claws forcefully at Naruto in front of him.

The hurricane swept through in an instant, accompanied by a piercing sound that made countless eardrums bleed.

Four or five Wind Release techniques, condensed to their maximum potential, shot out and slashed towards Naruto.

Naruto ignored this, letting the wind blades slice through his elemental body, then reforming and charging towards his opponent.

"Ah, of course I know the pain of bearing it, for the power within you comes from me!"

As they spoke, Naruto grabbed the other man's hands without hesitation, letting the leaking Nine-Tails chakra enter his body.

As his sharp teeth continued to grow, Naruto's eye circles gradually deepened, and the chakra behind him formed two translucent crimson tails that swayed in the wind.

"you..."

The black-haired boy stared in disbelief at Naruto, who was wearing the same tailed beast cloak as him, speechless for a long time.

"Stop it, I can take you to Konoha. Granny Tsunade is a very skilled healer, she can cure you; Sakura may be a bit of a tomboy, but you won't be bored around her; and that arrogant Sasuke who left without saying goodbye, we can beat him up together next time..."

Naruto raised his eyes, his eyebrows trembling. "If you feel lonely, I'm willing to be your partner, so don't be sad anymore!"

"This is truly enviable... However, you've arrived too late!" Tears streamed down the black-haired boy's face.

His last shred of reason crumbled, and his skin was completely torn apart by the high density of crimson chakra.