How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

Sasuke opened his eyes in his transformed state. His blue and purple Rinnegan stared at Tobirama, and his smile grew even more confident: "Lord Tobirama, next, I'm going to seal you."

"Don't hold back," Tobirama nodded with approval.

Sasuke raised his right hand: "Bansho Ten'in!"

There was no chance for Tobirama to dodge. A powerful force grabbed hold of him, and he was pulled helplessly toward Sasuke.

Tobirama himself didn't react much, but his body instinctively tried to use Flying Thunder God to teleport. It worked—but not fully.

His body reappeared on the other side, but the pull from Bansho Ten'in didn't stop. Less than a second later, he was being dragged back toward Sasuke again.

"A full lock-on?" Tobirama was a bit surprised.

"As long as I don't cut off my chakra flow or switch abilities, this technique will keep going," Sasuke explained.

Tobirama didn't respond. While flying toward Sasuke, a kunai appeared in his hand out of thin air. As he formed a one-handed seal, blue chakra gathered around the kunai, spinning like water droplets, forming into a chainsaw-like blade.

"Water Style: Water Blade Stream!"

Sasuke's face stayed calm. As Tobirama flew toward him and the water blade was about to strike, Sasuke twisted his right hand. His chakra burst out again. "Shinra Tensei!"

The water blade froze in midair. Then, as the pulling force vanished, a powerful shockwave slammed into Tobirama. Bits of paper fluttered off his reanimated body, but it wasn't enough to break him completely.

Tobirama's expression shifted slightly. The moment his blade was blocked, he didn't hesitate—he threw it straight at Sasuke's head.

But even at such a close range, Sasuke only tilted his head a bit and dodged it with ease.

As his chakra burst out, Tobirama was sent flying backward. The impact was so strong that he couldn't even use Flying Thunder God.

Sasuke smirked and clapped his hands together. "Next up is—Chibaku Tensei…"

"I told you not to let your guard down!"

Tobirama suddenly appeared behind Sasuke. The floating water blade hadn't vanished yet. It hit Sasuke's shoulder hard, dragging across and tearing at his neck.

If that strike landed fully, Sasuke's whole head would have been blown off.

"Flying Thunder God mark!"

Sasuke's Rinnegan eyes shrank sharply. The kunai thrown earlier glowed with a black mark—Flying Thunder God's seal.

"This is the second-stage Flying Thunder God Slash," Tobirama said, his voice heavy. "I wait for the moment the enemy lets their guard down, then strike using a mark placed earlier. It's my specialty."

He took a deep breath. "If you're going to seal me, make sure to lock down my chakra too!"

"I understand," Sasuke nodded seriously.

In the blink of an eye, the water blade had sliced into Sasuke's neck. The tearing force ripped through his body, shattering it.

But what scattered wasn't a broken body—it was a swarm of blue paper cranes.

A black rod pierced through Tobirama's chest from behind. The blue cranes came together and reformed into Sasuke, standing behind him. His Rinnegan glowed faintly. "Paper Crane Teleportation."

Tobirama looked impressed and moved at the same time, but his attempt to teleport with Flying Thunder God—failed.

"The black rods from Yin-Yang Style can block chakra flow. Anyone without Sage of Six Paths power can't resist them," Sasuke said softly. "The lure worked."

From the start, everything had been set up for this one black rod strike.

"Nice move."

Even though he wasn't hit again, the paper on Tobirama's reanimated body started to peel away slowly.

"Now seal me using a sealing jutsu. Don't let me out until you're sure the Edo Tensei has ended."

"Got it."

Sasuke also knew one black rod might not be enough. Hearing Tobirama agree with that, he formed hand seals. "Chibaku Tensei!"

Chibaku Tensei—a powerful sealing jutsu that even Tailed Beasts can't escape. Maybe the full-power Tobirama could break it, but not in his current state.

A black sphere landed on Tobirama. The next moment, countless rocks began to form, pulled by gravity, slowly wrapping around him.

Tobirama felt the effects of the seal and nodded with approval. "Very good. You've surprised me again, Sasuke. My brother and Madara… I'll leave them to you. Use the same method."

"Yes."

Sasuke nodded, watching as the stone completely trapped Tobirama and then turned into a not-so-large round boulder that slowly floated upward.

He hadn't used much power—there was no need. Plus, the wedge took a big toll on his stamina. At this level, it was more than enough and wouldn't affect his strength in the fights to come.

The large stone drifted in the sky, not going any higher.

This ambush might've looked simple—just a few moves from start to finish. It seemed like anyone could pull it off.

But think about it—Tobirama has lightning-fast reflexes. How could he be hit that easily by a black rod?

To make sure this hit landed, Sasuke had used his strongest wedge form. It was the only way to time his attack perfectly when Tobirama missed his strike—using the paper crane teleportation, a tricky move almost like space-time ninjutsu.

At close range, especially when Sasuke couldn't see behind him, the paper crane move was even more convenient than Amenotejikara. Because if Tobirama saw any sign of a space-time jutsu coming, he'd instantly teleport without hesitation.

That was something they figured out in earlier fights—Tobirama was just way too cautious.

The horn on Sasuke's head vanished, the markings from the wedge faded, and only the glowing blue Mangekyou was left. He turned to look at Obito in the distance. "Your eye power still hasn't come back?"

Obito didn't say anything. His face was dark.

Sasuke chuckled. "Perfect. I love going after villains when they're not at their best."

Obito looked up at Sasuke. "You're already this strong. Why don't you try bringing peace to the ninja world?"

"Power alone can't bring peace."

Sasuke slowly walked up to Obito and drew the sword from his waist. "I just don't believe a dictator can bring peace. Sure, sometimes a dictator can help keep things stable, but that's not real peace."

Sometimes, ideas that seem naive might actually hold the key to peace.

"Call us naive, call us dreamers—whatever. We just have to believe in ourselves and keep moving forward with those 'naive' thoughts."

"After all... no one really cares about the losers, right?"

Sasuke pointed his sword at Obito's neck.

"So—do you still have any tricks left?"

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