After Sailing with the Pirate King, I Returned to Konoha - 234

Chapter 234: The Will of Nature Appears Again!

Naruto looked in the direction the Shukaku’s Spear had flown from; beyond the limit of his sight, there was a very powerful presence.

A powerhouse.

At least someone stronger than the likes of Kakuzu or Kisame Hoshigaki.

Yet in his memory, that red-haired kid with the dark circles was nowhere near this strong.

Even if he called out the tailed beast in his body.

It could not be that he, too, had an adventure like Naruto’s and trained for decades in another world, right?

"I’ll go take a look over there. You all stay here."

With that, without waiting for an answer, Naruto’s body floated up.

A sonic boom tore through the air as his figure shot out at extreme speed.

Super Light-Weight Rock Technique, combined with Moonwalk, granted Naruto excellent aerial mobility; he could now fight easily in midair, with much greater maneuverability.

Watching Naruto’s figure vanish, the others looked at one another.

Sasuke said nothing and darted after him in that direction; Killer Bee glanced around, thought a moment, and followed.

Yugito and Rōshi had clearly not yet learned the essence of this squad; for a moment, they failed to react to the two taking off.

"But...didn’t he tell us to wait here?"

As she said it, Yugito looked unsure, wondering if she had misheard.

Rōshi just shook his head, said nothing, and sat cross-legged with his back to a surviving tree.

One and all, a bunch of willful types.

Onoki could never have dreamed that the notoriously difficult Rōshi would make such a comment about others.

Garuda’s form descended and turned back into human shape.

"Sister Yugito, what did Naruto-sama go to do?"

Karin asked Yugito.

She had just delivered Takigakure’s villagers to safety; on returning, she saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Killer Bee rush off elsewhere and had no idea what had happened.

Hearing the question, Yugito hesitated but dutifully explained what had happened.

As expected, the next instant, Karin shifted into her beast form and shot after them with equally fast flight.

"Am I the one who’s out of step?"

Yugito started doubting herself. She had always followed orders to carry out missions; now she felt out of sync with the team.

"It’s fine. You’ll get used to it."

Jiraiya stepped forward, patted her shoulder, then set off in that direction at an unhurried pace.

"Hey! Dark Circles, why did you suddenly move!"

Kosei ignored Zabuza and Haku, trying to stop her, and jumped in front of Gaara, shouting.

But Gaara seemed not to see her at all. His gaze stayed fixed on the direction of attack, and he did not answer.

This went back to when they entered the forest.

Perhaps because he had grown up in a dry climate and rarely saw endless woods like this, even with amnesia, Gaara felt an instinctive joy.

It was as if he were born to yearn for this environment.

At the time, the three adults walked abreast while Kosei sat on Gaara’s shoulder like a child riding a horse. That weight meant nothing to Gaara in his semi-sage form.

More importantly, ever since Kosei saved him, Gaara had followed the little girl’s words to the letter.

He seemed long used to living by others’ instructions.

That did not mean others could treat Gaara the same.

At least Haku and Zabuza could not approach him. As soon as they got close, sand would float up of its own accord and block them.

Only this little girl Kosei, was not rejected by the sand. When she wanted to hop onto Gaara’s shoulder, the sand would even form steps for her to climb.

Though with Kosei’s physical ability, she did not really need it.

Their usual pattern was Kosei chattering, Gaara listening in silence, and the other two worrywarts cleaning up the messes the pair caused.

Compared to Kosei, who at least had some common sense, the amnesiac Gaara caused more problems.

Like not knowing to pay when buying things, or grabbing food from other people’s tables and digging in.

At the moment, Gaara was like a newborn child, acting purely on instinct.

His original personality only "took over" the body now and then.

Even so, the direction this odd little team traveled was decided by the amnesiac Gaara.

They had no choice.

Kosei only said she wanted to find her father.

She did not know where he was, what he looked like, or even his name.

Ever since they left the Land of Vegetables—no, ever since landing in this world—she had been completely at a loss.

As for Haku and Zabuza, there was little to say. Wherever Kosei went, they went.

And it was true that over this time, the "new parents" seemed to have tasted a feeling they could never have known.

Troublesome, yet warm.

So very different from their old lives.

Originally, everything should have continued to develop gently in this manner. The party would have continued in a certain direction, like a pilgrimage, experiencing all kinds of things, and in the end, each would have gotten what they wanted.

Until today.

Gaara, who had been dutifully playing mount, suddenly changed expression and stopped where he was.

A powerful surge of energy burst from him.

If not for Kosei’s quick reaction, she would have been blown away by the shockwave.

Haku and Zabuza immediately took fighting stances. To be honest, they had been wary of this unknown person from the start; if Kosei had not insisted, they would have already parted ways with him.

After Kosei was knocked back, countless imperceptible strands of energy started to burrow into Gaara’s body and fuse with his chakra.

Outwardly, a keratin layer like "grit armor" grew across his skin. The short horn on his forehead lengthened, and another sprouted on the other side.

Dark red stripes and sand-colored sage chakra formed a robe that draped over Gaara’s altered form.

Gaara then reached out and grasped at the air, and a "Sage Art: Shukaku’s Spear" manifested—its energy density far beyond the normal version.

Ignoring Kosei’s shouts, the Gaara who seemed like a different person hurled the spear into the distance.

He also seemed able to observe his target from afar. As soon as he sensed the spear being caught, Gaara formed another Shukaku’s Spear and threw it again without hesitation.

"Hey—"

Kosei wanted to keep asking, but the instant her eyes met Gaara’s, her tone changed completely.

"Who are you! Why are you hiding inside Dark Circles’ body! Are you an enemy!"

At her words, the other two turned to look.

Haku and Zabuza were shocked, but they did not doubt the little girl’s judgment.

They knew Kosei’s intuition was always strong.

Gaara, who now seemed a different person, looked down at the angry Kosei with emotionless eyes and suddenly spoke.

"Good perception. As expected, you and that boy—"

Before he could finish, Shukaku’s Spear, wrapped in Armament Haki, came hurtling back even faster than before, aimed straight at his chest.