Chapter 117: Jūgo, Suigetsu, and Gaara

Naruto and Karin walked to the side and chatted for a while.

After searching the Grass Ninja and helping Karin bury the bodies, Suigetsu and Jūgo also came over.

Karin glanced at the two of them, secretly feeling a little annoyed.

They really didn’t know how to read the room.

Couldn’t they see that she was finally enjoying some rare alone time with Naruto?

Jūgo walked up to Naruto and said, "Naruto, the natural energy inside me is being absorbed too quickly. I’ll have to trouble you."

Hearing this, Naruto placed a hand on Jūgo and absorbed the natural energy inside his body.

At the same time, he said, "Is it because of the Forest of Death?"

Jūgo’s body could absorb natural energy on its own, but he couldn’t control the process.

Once there was too much natural energy inside him, he would lose control and become overwhelmed by the urge to kill.

Normally, Kimimaro was the one who suppressed him.

Sometimes, when Naruto visited the Sound Ninja Village, he would also take the initiative to absorb the excess natural energy from Jūgo’s body.

The Forest of Death was a primitive forest, so the natural energy there was somewhat denser than in ordinary places.

Jūgo nodded.

"After entering the Forest of Death, my body started absorbing natural energy much faster. I estimate that if I stay here for another two or three days, I’ll have a problem."

Naruto nodded.

"No problem. I’ll come over once a day and absorb it for you."

That was also why Jūgo had come over, so he nodded.

"Then I’ll have to trouble you during this period."

Naruto gave a slight nod.

After absorbing most of the excess natural energy from Jūgo’s body, Naruto withdrew his hand.

Jūgo moved his body around, immediately feeling much more relaxed.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Suigetsu, standing nearby, kept glancing at Naruto from time to time, looking as though he wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he started winking at Karin.

Karin nearly burst out laughing when she saw this.

Where had all that bravado gone?

Wasn’t he the one who had said he wanted to take it?

Now he couldn’t even bring himself to ask!

Jūgo had something to say, so he simply told Naruto directly. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Suigetsu, on the other hand, looked completely timid and didn’t even dare open his mouth.

He even wanted Karin to ask for him.

Noticing Suigetsu’s strange behavior, Naruto asked in confusion, "Suigetsu, what are you doing?"

Suigetsu’s body immediately stiffened.

He mechanically turned his head toward Naruto.

He opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, then tactfully asked, "I heard from Kimimaro that you took Zabuza’s..."

Naruto immediately understood.

"The Executioner’s Blade?"

Suigetsu instantly nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, his face filled with longing.

But he was too embarrassed to ask for it directly.

He didn’t know how important the Executioner’s Blade was to Naruto.

If Naruto really treasured it, then asking for it outright would be going too far.

Seeing this, Naruto smiled and directly took out a scroll, handing it to Suigetsu.

"The Executioner’s Blade is useless to me. Take it. You can open it with the standard method."

Naruto had intended to give the blade to Suigetsu when he first took it.

However, the Chūnin Exams weren’t over yet.

He was worried that Suigetsu might not be able to resist taking it out and using it, which was why he hadn’t given it to him beforehand.

Since Suigetsu had asked now, there was no reason not to give it to him.

Suigetsu without the Executioner’s Blade was simply incomplete.

Suigetsu’s face immediately lit up as he took the scroll.

"Thanks, Naruto~!"

He eagerly spread the scroll out on the ground.

In the center of the scroll was a large character: "Blade."

He immediately formed a hand seal.

Bang~!

A cloud of smoke erupted.

The Executioner’s Blade appeared.

Suigetsu couldn’t resist picking it up and swinging it a few times.

Then, with an expression as though he were looking at his lover, he lovingly stroked the blade several times.

Seeing this, Naruto said to him, "Suigetsu, the plan hasn’t started yet. Don’t take it out and use it, understand?"

Hearing this, Suigetsu also understood the seriousness of the matter. His expression became solemn.

"Yes."

Reluctantly, he sealed the Executioner’s Blade back into the scroll.

After staying with them and chatting for a while, Naruto stood up.

"Alright, I’ll head back first."

The three of them also knew that staying in contact for too long would be bad, so they didn’t say anything else and nodded.

When Naruto returned to the riverbank, Hinata’s face lit up.

" Naruto, you’re back."

Although she had seen everything, she didn’t ask a single question.

Hinata might have been gentle and soft-spoken, but she wasn’t stupid.

As the eldest daughter of the Hyūga clan, she had received strict education since childhood.

She knew that some things should be asked about, while others shouldn’t.

She knew that if Naruto could tell her, he would take the initiative to do so.

Since Naruto didn’t say anything, she would simply pretend she knew nothing.

She was very clever.

Naruto gently took her hand without saying anything.

Although he had intentionally been revealing certain things to Hinata during this period, some matters weren’t suitable to be explained directly.

He was afraid she wouldn’t be able to accept them.

For now, letting her notice some clues would give her time to prepare herself mentally.

When the sudden changes came later, she wouldn’t be too confused or lost.

Evening gradually descended.

After happily finishing a meal of roasted pork, Sasuke continued training alone.

Naruto and Hinata sat together beneath a large tree not far from the river, chatting.

Hinata, who once again sensed a squad approaching, said,

" Naruto, another squad is coming. They’re... the Sand Ninja."

Naruto’s heart stirred, then he smiled.

"Forget it. We don’t need to bother with them. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll leave on their own."

The Sand Ninja were one part of the plan, and Gaara was extremely important to it.

Orochimaru was worried that Gaara, being as unpredictable as he was, might provoke Naruto and cause the plan to deviate.

Therefore, Orochimaru, disguised as the Fourth Kazekage, had already warned Gaara not to provoke Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

He had also warned the Sand Ninja not to cause any unnecessary trouble before the plan was activated.

The reason given was that the One-Tail Jinchūriki would be the main force responsible for dealing with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki once the plan began.

If the two Jinchūriki started fighting before the plan was activated, it would be difficult to control the situation.

If the battle escalated and Gaara’s identity as a Jinchūriki was exposed, it would affect the subsequent deployment of the plan.

Meanwhile.

The Sand Ninja squad, which had approached to within several hundred meters, spotted Sasuke training.

Kankurō’s pupils contracted.

"That’s Sasuke Uchiha, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki’s teammate."

The Sand Ninja had already gathered intelligence on Konoha’s various squads.

Naturally, they knew the most important squad of all—the squad containing Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—extremely well.

Temari and Kankurō couldn’t help but look worriedly at Gaara.

They were afraid Gaara would ignore the Kazekage’s warning and force his way forward.

If a conflict broke out, they wouldn’t be able to stop Gaara.

Temari softly said to Gaara,

"Their squad has a member from the Hyūga clan. She has probably already detected us. This isn’t the right time for a conflict. Let’s go, Gaara."

She didn’t mention the Kazekage’s orders, worried that doing so would trigger Gaara’s rebellious nature.

As though he hadn’t heard Temari, Gaara murmured,

"Jinchūriki."

He really wanted to meet Naruto, another Jinchūriki like himself.

Back then, Konoha had concealed the fact that Uchiha Shisui had controlled Naruto.

And during the night of the Cloud Ninja War, the Nine-Tails, despite transforming into its Tailed Beast form, had still been able to distinguish friend from foe.

Because of this, a rumor had spread throughout the shinobi world that Naruto was a perfect Jinchūriki.

Gaara had heard this rumor as well.

Suffering deeply because of the One-Tail, Gaara also wanted to control the Tailed Beast inside him.

However, the Sand Village had an important plan to carry out in Konoha.

He couldn’t reveal the fact that he was the One-Tail Jinchūriki.

Therefore, even if he went over, he couldn’t really discuss anything with Naruto.

Gaara also didn’t believe that Naruto would voluntarily reveal how to control a Tailed Beast.

Without thinking any further, Gaara said,

"Let’s go."

With that, he turned and left.

Seeing this, Temari and Kankurō secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

They exchanged a glance before quickly following Gaara.

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