Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 367 Killer Move

Naruto really didn't intend to do anything reckless. No matter what, he would never do something so stupid as to die in the past when he was unfamiliar with the place. He just had some inspiration while studying the dragon veins, and a sample just happened to be delivered to his door, so why not give it a try?

The power of the Dragon Vein is very similar to "Source," and can be absorbed and utilized like natural forces. Unlike Centipede, who was completely overwhelmed by his meager chakra after using the Dragon Vein power, affecting his mental state to the point of madness, Naruto only needs to absorb a portion of it, while ensuring that this trace of power is not assimilated into himself.

When Naruto opened his eyes again, the blue had faded and been replaced by a pale purple gold. The world before Naruto's eyes instantly changed color, and a rhythmic vibration rang in his ears. He was thinking of killing Centipede here, but his body involuntarily took a step towards the center of Loulan, inexplicably feeling an urge to rush there immediately.

Naruto abruptly straightened up, immediately realizing that this was the will of the Dragon Vein. Well, he knew there must be something wrong with the energy that could gather together. Without a strong consciousness as a catalyst for aggregation, how could this special energy possibly gather stably in one place?

"Get out of my way!" While Naruto was still stunned, Choza's Expansion Technique finally gave way, and he was almost impaled through the heart by the centipede's scorpion tail. Fortunately, Minato was fast enough to use Flying Thunder God Technique twice to bring him to Naruto's side. Among the Flying Thunder God Marks in the vicinity, Naruto's side was the safest.

"I'm entrusting Choza to you, Shii." Minato handed Choza over to Shii, who was unable to continue fighting after losing the Parasite Insects. While calculating whether he had enough chakra left for a few more emergency rescues, he subconsciously glanced at Naruto, who was observing the enemy.

This child's chakra seems limitless, almost on par with the dragon veins controlled by the centipede. However, the centipede's wooden body doesn't tire, while Naruto is made of flesh and blood, with a limit to his stamina. Defeating the centipede wouldn't be difficult for Naruto; the challenge lies in breaking this endless cycle of resurrection. If Sara were even a fraction slower, they would have to consider conserving their strength and letting that behemoth roam freely throughout the city.

Minato was pondering how to persuade the justice-fueled Naruto to give up, but Naruto turned to him first and said, "I might be able to kill him, but I need your help to draw his fire."

Suddenly meeting those obviously abnormal golden eyes, Minato almost didn't react, subconsciously answering, "Okay, what do I do?" Only after answering did he realize that those eyes might be proof of Sage Mode.

Back then, Fukasaku said that the more perfect Sage Mode was, the more human the user would resemble, without any strange animalistic changes. Jiraiya's Sage Mode required the assistance of two sages and even resulted in facial animalization, including a toad-like nose. He himself developed frog eyes and orange eyeshadow, which was already quite close to human transformation. Who would have thought Naruto's change was merely a change in eye color? What a perfect Sage Mode!

Naruto, of course, had no idea that Minato could think so much after seeing the slightest change in him. He simply continued, "I'm afraid I can't defend against the Centipede's attack while using the Dragon Vein. I have to launch a sneak attack. If you can distract the Centipede, or send me directly to its side, I can try to kill it."

Calling upon the dragon veins?

It was only then that Minato noticed a hint of pale purple mixed in with the gold of those eyes. So Sage Mode could be used in this kind of situation? I've learned something new...

Attracting attention wasn't difficult; the challenge was preventing Centipede from moving. Centipede had already revived, and dozens, even hundreds, of its lower legs were pushing it forward, as the dragon vein refused to fall asleep again and was desperately urging it to stop Sara.

"My chakra is running low, so it's better to just send you there directly. Wait a moment." Minato, as expected of the fastest ninja, understood Naruto's plan and rushed out without hesitation. With a few leaps, he caught up with Centipede, and his shuriken shadow clone technique, which resembled a shower of flowers, followed immediately, intercepting Centipede's huge body.

"Useless, useless!" Centipede's head was slightly damaged, but it still managed to summon the dragon veins to repair itself. As for Minato, he seemed to have planned everything perfectly. When he descended from the sky onto Centipede, the purple electricity just subsided, completely exposing its pristine back.

Minato didn't linger for long. Instead, he lightly leaped out, deliberately leaving himself wide open, allowing Centipede to turn around and fire a light blast, seemingly killing him easily.

"The mark's on, are you ready?" Minato returned to Naruto's side just before the missile hit him, calmly adding, "During the battle, I noticed a small puppet clinging to this monster's left chest; it's very likely its weak point. But you managed to put the centipede back together after you smashed it, so I wonder if this weakness can still be used..."

"Dad was a huge help! That's exactly where I'm going to attack!" Naruto held up a seemingly unremarkable sphere, its pure black color making it hard to see in the darkness. But Minato felt a strange sense of familiarity about it. Spherical, containing high-density chakra, it seemed incredibly powerful... Aside from the wrong color, wasn't this just a Tailed Beast Ball?!

But there was no time to think about that now. Centipede had already leaped dozens of meters ahead, and if they didn't stop him, he might actually reach the city center. So while Minato was still brainstorming, he grabbed Naruto's shoulder and flew behind Centipede, carrying him with him.

The black sphere suddenly changed its appearance, abruptly stretching into a flat plane before thrusting and spiraling in one direction, easily piercing through the sturdy body of Centipede like a drill. Minato couldn't understand what it was, but Naruto was moving forward, so he had to follow, pushing against the not-so-imposing back with all his might.

The two passed right through the centipede's body in the blink of an eye and landed safely. Only then did Minato notice that Naruto's previously empty left hand now held something—a... indescribable purple sphere of light. Several pale purple rays, not resembling chakra, were attached to the sphere, and judging from their source, they were still emerging from the hole in the centipede's chest!

"No...impossible...die! Die!" Centipede paused for a moment, then roared a high-pitched curse like a madman, and its two pincers, inlaid with sharp blades, suddenly swung at them.

Naruto simply tightened his left hand slightly, and the purple orb shattered into pieces and disappeared.