-Forest near Taki no Kuni -

Several days had passed since he had been found in the forest by Tokito. He was too cautious when it came to his injuries, as he worried too much, even though he didn't know him at all. Something about it amused him, as in the times to come, he was more than sure that it would be exploited by the enemy to cause harm. So, to a certain extent, he agreed with his twin brother, Yuichiro, in being angry with him, as he shouldn't help anyone who begged for his help. In the shinobi world, one couldn't trust any ninja who was affiliated with any village.

It was well known in the shinobi world that everyone affiliated with a village would seek to benefit it to make it stronger. The best example was Kumogakure (the Land of Lightning). Some years ago, there was an incident between some envoys of the Raikage and Konoha to sign a peace agreement after the war. All that turned out to be a farce to kidnap the heiress of the Hyuga clan to obtain the Byakugan in their village, turning it into a baby factory, something sick in his eyes. But it was avoided by killing the kidnapper at the cost of the twin brother of the clan leader.

Stupid but honorable in his eyes, as killing one from your own village to appease the anger of the cause of the conflict was foolishness when you were not at fault, and yet, you had to pay a price. But that mattered little or not at all to him now. It was not that it didn't matter at the time, but it was mostly because the Hyugas were idiots, excessively traditionalists, who sank themselves with their absurd traditions, oppressing their own just because they were the branch family instead of the main one. But none of that mattered to him anymore. The only ones that mattered to him now were his father, his mothers, for some reason there were two of them, one of them being the lady of the lake, and the empty heads who were his half-brothers, including among them his suicidal brother-in-arms, Itachi.

However, he snapped out of his thoughts when not far from him, he began to hear footsteps. He directed his gaze toward the sound of the breaking branches, expecting to see one of the twins calling him for something while he was training to not lose his condition even while recovering. The footsteps ended, and he found himself facing someone wearing one of Akatsuki's cloaks, hiding their face under a wide-brimmed hat, leaving only their mouth visible, which smiled when they met his gaze.

He narrowed his eyes at the sight of that person because meeting someone from the Akatsuki organization never meant anything good to him since he refused to join such an organization. A peculiar smell invaded his nose when that person brought a hand to their back, reaching for some sort of scythe that was dripping something reddish from its tip to the ground.

Hidan: "Ah, this day couldn't be better, another sacrifice for Lord Jashin, besides those brats."

Naruto: "Oh, how interesting, you're one of those crazy worshippers of Jashin."

Hidan: "I see you know my god, but don't worry, I'll let Lord Jashin relieve you of your suffering."

Naruto: "Well, you can try if you want, but tell me before I kill you, which poor devil did you kill before coming for me?"

Hidan: "Hmn, since you're going to die, I don't see why I should tell you, but I'll tell you anyway. They were not poor children, they were saved by Lord Jashin."

Naruto: "Children... tell me, were those children twins by any chance?"

Hidan: "Ah, I see you know them, but don't worry, soon you'll be reunited with them."

With that little information gleaned from that conversation, it was clear that the guy had done something to the twins, something he wouldn't overlook because they had taken care of him since they found him on the brink of death. So, he needed to quickly finish off that crazy guy to go check on the state of the Tokito twins. Normally, he would play around with his opponent, but this wasn't one of those moments. He would go all out despite his injuries, which his body still presented.

He wouldn't play games, moving his feet apart to provide a stable base. The position of his toes pointing forward helped Naruto generate power in his kicks. His legs were slightly bent to absorb the impact of the shockwaves. His torso was upright to allow Naruto to move freely. His arms were extended to the sides so Naruto could generate more power in his punches, and his head was upright so Naruto could see his target, activating the Technique Development.

He felt the tension in his body as he used his taijutsu in conjunction with the Technique Development, forcing his body, which was still recovering, but right now, that didn't matter to him. He needed to finish off that guy quickly, and that was the best way to do it. Strengthening his muscles with chakra to increase the hardness of his skin, upon contact with the scythe, he began exchanging blows, clashing his fists with the weapon, until it tried to cut his arm, only managing to make it bleed. He jumped backward in the air, turning upside down, ready to implement one of his techniques.

Naruto: "Destructive Death: Demonic Core."

Hitting the empty air in front of him, he began to create shockwaves with the pressure of his fists consecutively, causing his opponent to start retreating due to the force exerted behind the blows. Not wasting any time, he landed on the ground while his opponent was still recovering. He used his leg overloaded with chakra to send a shockwave directly at his opponent, who couldn't dodge it, receiving it head-on, sending him flying and taking down several trees.

Even though he was sure the blow hit him squarely, it would be better to finish him off. But before he could advance to finish him off, his instincts shouted at him that something was coming quickly toward him. So, turning to his right, he saw a dragon-shaped fireball coming at him. Acting quickly, he knew he couldn't dodge it in time, so he launched himself against the attack, creating a void in his hands that unleashed when it hit the fire, creating an explosion.

Emerging among the trees, another person with the same Akatsuki cloak headed toward his companion, taking a few minutes to find him, seeing him on a rock with a tree through him from side to side.

Hidan: "Kakuzu, look what the son of a bitch did to me! He dared to use a tree against me!"

Kakuzu: "I see, and you're lucky it was just that, because right now, you could be dead."

Hidan: "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?!"

Kakuzu: "It doesn't matter now, we just have to get out of here because I'm sure that guy is still alive."

He was running towards the Tokito twins' house after receiving that attack. He came out with some burns, but that was the least of his concerns. His wounds reopened due to the tension his body forced upon it, but it was something he could endure. What was on his mind now was knowing if the twins were still alive. It didn't take him more than 10 minutes to reach the house where he had been recovering. Upon entering quickly, he saw part of the house destroyed with the smell of blood throughout the place. He searched for the twins and found an unpleasant sight: both were lying on the floor, one of them missing an arm, and the other holding the hand of his older twin.

He approached the bodies to see if one of them was alive, checking on the older one, who was already dead due to blood loss and the lack of an arm. The other one was motionless but he could see slight breathing, clinging to life. Without thinking twice, he treated him as best as he could, stopping the bleeding with some bandages.

He looked at the other one who was already dead and sealed him in a scroll to give him a dignified burial in the Land of Demons when he returned. As for the other one, he took him in his arms and left the cabin, beginning to move away. Something was clear, and that was that he had to get away from Taki no Kuni because if those two found him, he was sure they could kill him in his current state. For that reason, his only option was to go to the nearest country, which was Nami no Kuni, although he wasn't sure if Muchiro would survive the journey. But he would do everything possible to keep him alive. If that happened, he was more than determined to take him under his protection as payment for having helped him.

-Middle of the sea -

Traveling in a moderately large boat for about five people, Kay was sitting, looking at the horizon with the mission of finding his nephew to take him back to the Land of Demons. After the priestess's vision about Naruto's death, with Artoria's permission, he took two of his half-brothers to accompany him on that mission, and they were more than willing, especially when it came to their younger brother. Being the youngest of five, it was clear that they would worry about the smallest one.

Not far from him, he could see Gareth and Gawain talking amicably in tranquility, paying no attention to their surroundings.

Gareth: "Do you think Mordred is okay?"

Gawain: "Naruto, tell him, Naruto. You know he gets annoyed when we call him Mordred, and yes, I think he's okay. You know he's just as stubborn as father."

Gareth: "Mohh, I don't understand why he doesn't like being called Mordred if that's his name."

Gawain: "Maybe in Britain he was called Mordred, but here he's called Naruto. You know why it bothers him that we keep calling him Mordred."

While those two continued their discussion, he just sighed at having to listen to them argue all the way. They got along well, complementing each other in battle, which was why he chose them, but they were mostly idiots. If it wasn't about his younger brother, he would tolerate them just to find his nephew.

And that's the end of the chapter.