"Hey, hey! Where are you taking me, you guy?"
"To see Lord Hyde, he's the person I respect the most."
To figure out why Timusi attacked them, Naruto followed Timusi to meet the Lord Hyde he mentioned after leaving the merchant caravan.
Along the way, Naruto found that Timusi was not a bad person, or rather, not entirely bad-hearted.
And as long as they weren't completely evil, it was hard for Naruto to make a move against them. Although the village had been destroyed earlier, there were no bodies or burial traces in the village, so they were likely captured by the Lord Hyde Timusi spoke of.
Naruto decided to follow and find an opportunity to rescue them. As for whether there would be danger... wasn't that the purpose of his leaving the village!
The two of them shuttled through the forest under the moonlight. Timusi drew his long sword, and a green energy immediately wrapped around the blade, transmitting some kind of message to the sky.
"I've already notified Lord Hyde to come towards us."
Naruto scratched his head and asked, "Say, what is that thing of yours?"
"You'll know when you meet Lord Hyde."
"So stingy!"
Not long after, they saw the huge mobile fortress shrouded in mist beside a mountain range.
"Wow, such a big ship, how did it get onto land?"
Timusi had no intention of answering Naruto's question. With a cold face, he leaped onto the entrance of the fortress, "Follow me."
"What's so smug about you? If that Hyde you keep talking about turns out to be a bad guy, I, Uzumaki Naruto, will beat you all up!" Naruto pouted and muttered softly, trotting behind Timusi.
Passing through corridors and taking elevators, the fortress did not have the futuristic feel Naruto had imagined, but was filled with a retro atmosphere and many strange decorations that Naruto had never seen before.
Of course, there were also many puppet soldiers encased in black armor, and Naruto had been giving them dirty looks all the way.
"We're here."
Timusi led Naruto to the topmost floor of the fortress. A man in formal attire was seated on a high throne, smiling with gentlemanly grace.
"Timusi, you've worked hard. Do you have good news for me?"
Timusi knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and respectfully said, "Lord Hyde, I've found a young boy with a special power in his body. He might be of help to Lord Hyde in realizing his ideal kingdom?"
Hyde's smile remained unchanged. He looked at Naruto, who was behind Timusi, and said softly, "You must be the young boy Timusi mentioned. What is your name?"
Naruto adjusted the Konoha forehead protector on his forehead and said loudly, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. You are Lord Hyde? Did you capture those villagers?"
"No, no, no, I believe you've misunderstood. They joined voluntarily. I didn't force them."
Hyde stepped down from the high platform and explained to Naruto with a smile, "Timusi knows, this is all for the sake of realizing the ideal kingdom."
"Ideal kingdom? What exactly is that?" Naruto asked.
Hyde sighed, his expression becoming increasingly complex. He waved his hand, and a screen lit up, displaying scenes of homes destroyed by war.
"The ideal kingdom is a world without conflict, where the weak are not bullied."
"Our homeland, on a faraway continent, is constantly plagued by conflict..."
Listening to Hyde's narration, Naruto learned that these people came from the other side of the sea, a group striving to create a country without conflict. His heart gradually surged. Wasn't this also the peaceful world their ninja world yearned for?
"Conflict, at any time, is an ugly and sad thing. Therefore, I want to create an ideal kingdom without conflict. That is my dream."
"To realize my dream, I traveled through various lands, recruited comrades, and finally achieved this scale."
Hyde spread his arms to Naruto and said enthusiastically, "Naruto, join us! I want to use your strength to make this world a better place."
Naruto was somewhat moved. Hyde's words struck him to the core. Creating a beautiful world without conflict, how desirable that was!
Naruto touched his face and chuckled foolishly, holding his head, "Uh, well... I really want to go with you, but I have someone very important to me, and that guy isn't interested in that sort of thing."
"Is that so?" Hyde looked slightly disappointed, retracting his outstretched hands into his formal wear. A shadow flashed in his eyes before he resumed his gentle smile, "Then I really wish to meet that person. To be able to make Naruto make a choice without hesitation."
"No need. I don't want to meet you. And Naruto is right, your stuff might fool idiots, but it won't work on me."
A sharp voice came from above. Sasuke leaped down, pulled Naruto back, and created distance between them and Hyde.
"Sasuke! Why are you here?" Naruto's eyes were filled with confusion and surprise. Had his comrade come to find him? And what did that last sentence mean? Was he admitting something?
Seeing an unknown intruder in his fortress, Hyde's eyes flashed with anger, but he suppressed it and asked, "Do you think creating a beautiful world without conflict is wrong?"
Sasuke's stern face showed no emotion. He said coldly, "There's no need for nonsense. I'll ask you just one question. I don't believe everyone is willing to leave their homes and follow you. What about those who refused you?"
Hyde's originally gentle expression slowly calmed down as he said, "When creating an ideal kingdom, some sacrifices are inevitable."
"You scoundrel!"
Sacrificing comrades for peace was what Naruto hated the most. He never expected to be almost tricked by this guy. Damn it!
"Timusi, do you also think so?"
Timusi's red pupils remained unchanged, and he said firmly, "It's not just me, they decided it themselves."
"What do you mean?"
Sasuke said coldly, "While investigating the fortress, I discovered some secrets. These black-armored puppets are actually controlled by the consciousness of children. They have all been deceived by this guy."
"Despicable guy!"
Seeing this, Hyde also dropped his smile and said indifferently, "It seems our conversation was not very pleasant. Timusi, please see them out."
Timusi drew his long sword, and the Grell Stone on his chest emitted a green light, his aura rising. He charged at Sasuke with his sword trailing.
Naruto's heart was greatly alarmed: Sasuke is not like me, he won't hold back against you!
Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan flashed, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.
At the same time, the temporary encampment of the traveling merchant caravan that had previously rescued Naruto and Timusi was engulfed in flames...
...
In the Hidden Leaf Village, on the Hokage Rock, Lin Yu and Kaguya sat side-by-side on the edge of the rock. Below them, they stepped on the head of the Third Hokage. For some reason, among the four Hokage Rocks, the view from the Third Hokage's position was the best.
It wasn't late yet, probably about two hours after dinner, just the time for young people's nightlife. Looking down from above, the Hidden Leaf Village was illuminated by countless lights, large and small, like a beautiful red dragon.
Kaguya raised her delicate chin, still holding an ice cream cone she had packed from the dessert shop. She licked it absentmindedly. The cool, sweet sensation immediately made Kaguya fall in love with it.
Before leaving, she had bought a bunch of ice cream cones and stored them in her ice and snow space. This made Kaguya feel for the first time that her Amenominaka was so useful!
However, neither the bright moonlight in the sky nor the bustling human world below caught Lin Yu's eye. All his attention was now focused on Kaguya, who was licking the ice cream cone, or perhaps on that intensely pink and tender appearance.
He really wanted to turn into an ice cream cone and have Kaguya lick him.
Lin Yu swallowed, and subconsciously said, "Want to sleep together, Kaguya?"