Naruto: Born Gifted in Konoha

Saitama was in terrible shape, but he still couldn't stop.

The enemy could come after him at any moment, so he didn't dare let his guard down for a second.

Leaping from tree to tree on one leg, Saitama wasn't very fast, but at least his pace was steady.

One leg was completely useless and couldn't support any weight, yet Saitama showed little sign of pain.

Gritting his teeth, he had already set the broken bones himself, leaving no visible deformity.

...

In a hidden spot where nobody could see, two ninja clad in long robes stood silently on a tree branch.

They were stationed about one kilometer away from the Stone Shinobi camp.

"Any updates?"

One of them, wearing a Tanuki mask, spoke first.

"I don't know how to describe it, but the target has definitely exited the camp."

The other ninja squatting nearby paused before answering.

They had been ordered to monitor the target here and report its status immediately.

"What happened?"

The standing ninja clearly felt surprised. Though he didn't understand exactly how strong someone needed to be to escape from an enemy camp alone, the target obviously lacked such power.

"Maybe some secret technique! He summoned [Skeleton Frame]—a massive bony structure—and then broke out!"

"That's impossible!"

They exchanged glances. The observing ninja nodded reluctantly, reaffirming that what he had just said was indeed true.

"We should report this to Lord-sama immediately—he will surely find it interesting!"

The Tanuki-masked ninja spoke calmly, sensing that this matter wasn't simple. He had never heard of any Uchiha possessing such a technique before.

Puff! As he finished speaking, he made hand seals and pressed them onto the branch, spreading dark runes across it.

In a flash of white smoke, an extremely ugly bird appeared on the branch, sporting a disproportionately massive beak.

Meanwhile, the other ninja took out a brush and scroll, hurriedly writing something down.

About thirty seconds later, he rolled up the scroll and placed it inside the bird's beak.

Without a word or any apparent communication between them, the bird immediately took flight as soon as it swallowed the scroll.

"Keep following him. The target isn't in good shape now, though I've no idea what our Lord-sama wants with him."

Standing up, the crouching ninja wore a bird-patterned mask, revealing pale white eyes through its eye holes.

"Right!"

After nodding at each other, they stepped forward in unison, making absolutely no sound.

...

Saitama himself had lost track of how far he had traveled. He kept heading in one direction until morning finally arrived after endless darkness.

All his wounds had stopped bleeding, yet he still looked dreadful.

His upper garment had become tattered during last night's fight, hanging off his body in mere ragged pieces.

Dried blood coated his skin like hardened shells, creating an appearance resembling a crimson armor formed entirely from dried gore.

Huff!

Exhausted after fleeing all night, Saitama collapsed flat onto the ground.

"Should be able to rest for a bit, after running for so long!"

Saitama turned and sat down with his back against the tree trunk.

Gasping for breath, he finally had a chance to assess his injuries.

It was hard to tell exactly how many ribs were broken, but fortunately none of the fractured bones had pierced his internal organs. His chest kept throbbing painfully as a reminder of his wounds; his left leg was broken at a ninety-degree angle; his abdomen and back had several deep puncture wounds, causing pain even with each breath. Besides those, countless smaller wounds covered his body, but none as severe as the ones mentioned above, so Saitama simply chose to ignore them.

Without Saitama's extraordinary healing ability and hyperactive cells, these injuries would have already incapacitated him completely.

Over the course of one night, some of his chakra had also recovered.

Gazing at his abdominal wound, he summoned a green glow from his right hand and pressed it onto the injury.

[Mystical Palm Technique]

This medical ninjutsu had been hard-earned by Shizune before she passed it on to Saitama, and this was actually the first time he had used it himself.

A cool sensation spread across the wound, accompanied by a slight itchiness—Saitama recognized these as signs of new granulation tissue growing, so he wasn't surprised.

Using this method, Saitama treated several more serious wounds on his abdomen, then turned his attention toward his left leg.

Rip! He tore away the fabric covering his left leg, transforming perfectly good trousers into shorts.

Looking at the fracture site, he clearly saw dense purple bruising. And since it was almost a complete bending fracture, the broken bone segment had initially protruded through the skin but had been pushed back in by Saitama during his escape.

Using [Mystical Palm Technique] to treat such an injury was somewhat challenging, but at least it could halt further deterioration.

With both hands covering his leg, green light began to spread outward.

After spending some time giving his wounds basic treatment, Saitama prepared to continue moving.

This area still belonged within Stone Shinobi territory—remaining here was still unsafe. Only returning to Konoha's defensive line would grant him peace of mind.

And only upon returning to their camp could his injuries receive proper medical care.

In a way, he had completed this mission successfully.

Alone, he had destroyed most of an important Logistics Transfer Station belonging to enemy forces. While not much supply had been damaged, the number of ninja he'd killed was extremely high.

By Saitama's own estimation, more than one hundred Stone Shinobi had died by his hand that night, especially during that chaotic massacre when Susanoo appeared.

After wrapping strips of cloth around his injured leg, Saitama stood up directly.

The effects of using [Mystical Palm Technique] were better than he expected; although his leg still ached slightly, it seemed like he might actually walk normally now?

Standing upright, Saitama took a few casual steps and found the feeling quite satisfactory. Although the fractures hadn't healed fully from using the [Mystical Palm Technique], gritting his teeth allowed him to endure the pain.

After recalling a mental map, Saitama realized going straight ahead would take him across open plains to Konoha's frontline.

Though it was called Konoha's frontline, it wasn't actually within Fire Country yet.

Fire Country and Earth Country were not direct neighbors. Separating them lay several smaller countries—such as Grass Country and Waterfall Country—and in between, the triangular Rain Country region.

Because the Land of Grass and Konoha have long maintained good diplomatic relations, they are considered allies.

This battle between Iwagakure and Konoha has broken out along the border of the Land of Grass—in fact, the entire conflict is being fought on Grass territory!

It's a cruel reality. Small villages and minor nations are nothing more than pawns before mighty ninja villages—powerless to resist in any meaningful way.

"Hold on just a little longer—we'll deal with everything when we return."

After running all night, Saitama could feel his stomach growling with hunger, but right now was neither the time nor place to stop.

He fastened the Ninja Sword to his waist and resumed moving.

After last night's battle, his Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyou—but at the moment, he couldn't use it again. Yesterday, as soon as he awakened it, he immediately used Susanoo, which placed immense strain on his eyes. Worse yet, he had sustained it using his own life force. Right now, Saitama clearly felt a deep emptiness in his body.

Still, he already had some understanding of the Mangekyou's abilities.

The left eye housed what seemed to be the ultimate Fire Release technique—[Amaterasu]. As for the ability within the right eye, Saitama remained unclear—it was still very vague.

Although fire techniques weren't Saitama's specialty, one of the Mangekyou's powers was indeed [Amaterasu].

Now wasn't the time to analyze these abilities. Keeping his senses sharp, Saitama darted swiftly through the forest.

He was nearing the open plains now and needed to adjust his condition before facing whatever unknown danger lay ahead.

Out in the open fields, he would easily be spotted. He had no idea how close his pursuers were by now.

Saitama narrowed his eyes; sharp pains shot through his brain repeatedly.

...

—Whoosh! Whoosh!

A group of Stone Shinobi dressed in crimson red ninja uniforms followed Saitama's trail through the mountains and forests.

Before long, they arrived at a spot where Saitama had paused earlier.

"Keep chasing!" A tall, muscular figure squatted down to examine the traces Saitama had left behind, then issued the order.

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