Why...?
Why don't you get it?!
Soon, Orochimaru's going to take your body!
If it happens, it happens...
You're still a kid, Naruto.
Revenge is everything to me.
If I can carry out my revenge,
it's no concern of mine what happens to me,
or to this world.
Put simply, neither I nor Orochimaru can defeat Itachi right now.
But if I can obtain the power to accomplish that
by giving my body to Orochimaru,
then I'll give him as much of this life of mine as he wants.
Title
The talking's over.
Naruto and Sakura...
I didn't want to do anything rough in front of you guys...
but I'm going to get serious now.
Captain Yamato!
What do you mean, serious...?
I can't just let those
who left the village in the same way as Orochimaru run loose.
So I'll do whatever I have to do to haul Sasuke back to the Hidden Leaf.
The Hidden Leaf, huh...?
I've had enough of you guys...
It's over.
Orochimaru...
Don't bother with that Jutsu, Sasuke.
Let go of me...
Hey-hey...
Don't talk to Lord Orochimaru like that...
I've got no reason to stop.
You know what the Akatsuki are up to, don't you?
We want these guys from the Hidden Leaf
to take care of the Akatsuki for us.
As many of them as possible...
Your revenge won't turn out well
if the other Akatsuki get in the way, right?
That's a pathetic reason.
It should increase your chances of revenge, even if only by one percent...
Isn't that right?
Let's go.
Once again...
Once again...I couldn't stop him...
I'm...totally weak...
Crying...
Crying won't bring Sasuke back home!
I'm here! I'll get stronger with you!
We've got... close to six months left, right?
It goes without saying that three are better than two.
Besides, I'm pretty strong myself.
Thanks...
Now then...
This is just the beginning...
I see...
Hidden Leaf Hospital
What did you say?!
Naruto and the others fought Sasuke?!
Yes...
But, their original mission was to...
Yes, their mission was to capture the spy Sasori sent to Orochimaru
and bring him back to the Hidden Leaf,
and to get information about Orochimaru and Sasuke as well.
But Sasori's spy, Kabuto Yakushi,
already had Sasori's Jutsu broken by Orochimaru.
And it seems Orochimaru tried to use this opportunity to kill Sasori,
not knowing that the real Sasori was already dead...
Naruto made contact with Orochimaru,
became unable to control his emotions...
and ran amuck.
Naruto eventually released his fourth tail...
and went wild.
Orochimaru did battle with the Nine-Tails Naruto.
Even he probably reached his limit...
Stabilize It seems he tried to disappear
while Yamato was attempting to control Naruto.
However, Yamato's clone secretly pursued Orochimaru.
Finally, they found Orochimaru's hideout and made their way in.
Then it seems they encountered Sasuke and a battle ensued.
So...then what happened?
It seems Sasuke has become significantly more powerful...
I hear Naruto didn't stand a chance against him...
I see...
Well, don't get so depressed.
It appears Naruto wasn't able to show his full power
because of damage from the Nine-Tails Cloak.
And...
No. I'm not all that depressed, you know.
I figured Sasuke would be stronger at this point in time...
And...
Now Naruto will be more fired up for future training
after having realized the difference between Sasuke and himself.
Right?
Right.
Well, I guess we should be happy they made it back safe.
It's fortunate that Naruto was able to make it back safely.
However, although unexpected situations are an inevitable part of missions...
I never thought he would end up doing battle with Orochimaru...
And here, it's best to keep Naruto in the village
because things like this end up happening...
I don't think that hard-head would depart from his opinions so easily.
So?
We aren't giving up!
Okay, I will issue your next mission immediately.
Stand by at home until I contact you!
Right!
Hey, Sakura. Let's go on a date together.
Have you forgotten what Lady Tsunade said just now?
Huh?! What'd she say again?
We're supposed to stand by at home
until Team Kakashi's next mission has been determined, right?!
What? She won't find out if we just go out for a little while!
Why don't you go by yourself if you want to go out on a date?
I won't be able to go on a date by myself.
By the way, what about Sai's activity?
Yes. You were right to be concerned, Lady Tsunade.
Danzo gave him a special mission.
A special mission?!
I knew it...
It seems Sai was put in charge of undercover work,
dealing with potential risks to the Hidden Leaf
while carrying out his mission as
an Anbu Black Ops member under Danzo's direction.
Sai's purpose for joining us in Team Kakashi was to bury Sasuke,
who is to become the new vessel for Orochimaru,
the individual of most concern to the Hidden Leaf.
What?!
I figured he was a crafty guy...
As would be expected of the leader of a hard-line military faction,
his actions are strong-armed.
But our protective feelings for the Hidden Leaf are the same, huh...?
Are you talking about Danzo?
Yes, I am...
Then could you hold off on your conclusions until you see this?
What's this?
Danzo gave this to Sai as a gift for Orochimaru
in order for the contact with Orochimaru to proceed smoothly.
Wh-What's this?!
It's a list of Anbu Black Ops members!
Damn it! That jerk, Danzo!
How did he get the list from the classified files...?
Um...Lady Tsunade...
Shizune! Tighten security at the classified files storehouse
and change the deciphering codes for the files. Quickly!
Y-Yes ma'am!
Right now!
Damn it! That sly old dog...
He's always the crafty one!
At a time when the outside of the village
is in an uproar with Orochimaru and the Akatsuki...
I never thought I'd have to be concerned about trouble inside the village...
Now I'll be forced to consider Sai's earlier proposal with caution.
In that case...
I never thought you'd fail the special mission...
That's very unlike you...
I have a favor to ask.
A favor, you say?
Yes.
Could you keep me in Team Kakashi under this name for a while?
That smile on his face...
I've already taken that up with Tsunade.
But you understand that emotions create hate, don't you, Sai?
And hate creates battles.
Bonds of hatred with my older brother...
That might be so.
But...
He's the person who acknowledged me more than anyone else.
Sasuke is my friend.
It's a special bond I was finally able to make.
Comrade
Don't you know what the word comrade is?
Of course, I do. What of it?
Hey! Sai!
We're having a meeting about our next mission!
Hurry up, man!
Right, I'm coming.
I heard about everything from Yamato.
And I heard about Sasuke, too.
We don't have time.
And yet, we can't bring Sasuke back with our power right now.
The speed of Sasuke's development was extraordinary.
According to Lady Tsunade,
there's a possibility they're using Forbidden Jutsu and perhaps drugs.
Then we just have to rapidly get more powerful.
But how do we do that...?
Well, I wasn't just lying here not thinking about anything.
Next time: "Nightmare"