"Ah—!"

The man let out a miserable scream, rolling on the ground in a desperate attempt to extinguish the black flames clinging to him.

However, the black flames were like maggots gnawing on bone—clinging stubbornly to his body, refusing to go out no matter how he rolled.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

Almost at the same moment the No.1 Spore Clone attacked this man, the other three Iwagakure ninja simultaneously launched assaults against him.

The three split into different directions, each thrusting their weapons toward the No.1 Spore Clone.

Just as their weapons were about to strike—

Buzz—

A half-formed, orange-red skeletal structure appeared around the No.1 Spore Clone, shielding both himself and the unconscious Uzumaki Naruto.

Crack—

The three weapons slammed into the orange-red skeletal structure, shattering instantly.

In the next moment, the skeletal form extended two massive bony hands from either side, grabbing at two of the three attackers.

"Ah—!"

One man narrowly dodged, but a female ninja failed to escape and was caught.

With a crushing squeeze, she was turned into a mess of mangled flesh, her dying scream echoing with heart-wrenching agony.

"Use ninjutsu!"

In the brief span of time it took for two more companions to be killed, the middle-aged man shouted in anger—tinged with fear.

Because of the presence of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, they had originally avoided using ninjutsu against "Uchiha Fugaku," relying instead on taijutsu.

But now, they could no longer afford such restraint.

"Earth Style: Earth Long Spear—!"

The middle-aged man formed hand seals and slammed his hands onto the ground.

Countless sharp stone spears erupted from the ground around them, even from beneath the No.1 Spore Clone's feet, stabbing upward toward him.

Thanks to the insight of the Sharingan, the No.1 Spore Clone detected them before they emerged.

He quickly dodged, evading the sharp spikes as they burst from the earth.

"Earth Style: Rock Fist Technique."

Another Iwagakure ninja's right hand became encased in stone, transforming into a massive rocky fist that came crashing down toward the No.1 Spore Clone.

The No.1 Spore Clone raised the skeletal right hand to meet the attack.

Crack—

The rock fist shattered, and the skeletal hand slammed into the ninja's body.

The sound of numerous bones breaking echoed from within the man, who coughed up blood laced with fragments of his internal organs.

He was sent flying heavily, landing motionless.

"Earth Style: Hiding in Stone Technique—!"

With yet another comrade slain, only the middle-aged man remained.

He cast a fearful glance at the No.1 Spore Clone before activating an invisibility technique and vanishing from sight.

With the other four dead, he knew he was no match for "Uchiha Fugaku."

The mission had failed—retreat was his only option.

He tried to escape, but the No.1 Spore Clone had no intention of letting him go.

The Hiding in Stone Technique could fool ordinary ninja, but it could never deceive the Sharingan.

Through its gaze, the target's position was perfectly clear.

"Ten Fist Sword—"

In Susanoo's right hand, a gourd-shaped weapon appeared.

From its mouth extended a blade of flame-like energy.

The fiery blade pierced the middle-aged man, then retracted back into the gourd.

As it did, the man's body twisted uncontrollably, being sucked into the gourd until he vanished completely.

Thus, all five of the Iwagakure ninja who had kidnapped Uzumaki Naruto were annihilated.

Each one possessed the strength of an elite jōnin.

Unfortunately for them, they had encountered the No.1 Spore Clone—who not only wielded the Mangekyō Sharingan, but whose body allowed him to use it freely without worrying about side effects.

With such unrestricted use, even five elite jōnin could not survive for long.

Naruto was still under some kind of genjutsu, unconscious. The No.1 Spore Clone made no effort to wake him, instead slinging him over his shoulder and retracing his steps back.

About half an hour later, he encountered Uchiha Fugaku, who had rushed over at full speed using the Body Flicker Technique.

He handed Naruto to Fugaku, then used the Mayfly Technique to sink into the ground and return to Konoha from beneath the earth.

"The rescue of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki is complete!"

Fugaku set Naruto on the ground and dispelled the genjutsu on him.

The second "reputation boost" mission was accomplished.

Everything had gone exactly as planned—Naruto was successfully rescued.

"I really should thank Iwagakure for this!"

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

In a way, Iwagakure had been a great benefactor to him—coming to his aid at just the right times when he needed to raise his reputation.

First, they had hired Orochimaru to cause trouble in Konoha, allowing him to personally capture the S-class missing-nin alive.

Then, they kidnapped the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Naruto, giving him the chance to recover him and claim another great merit.

"Bad guy… ah, uncle, it's you! Where did the bad guys go?"

Naruto slowly came to, scrambling backward in a panic—only to relax slightly when he recognized Fugaku.

He knew this man—he was the husband of that kind-hearted lady.

"They've already been driven off," Fugaku said with a smile.

He had no intention of brainwashing Naruto the way the Third Hokage did—he found it unnecessary.

But if he could gain some goodwill in the process, he certainly wouldn't refuse.

"Uncle, you're amazing!"

Naruto's eyes widened in awe.

When he had been captured by those five enemies earlier, he had been completely powerless.

For this uncle to have driven them away meant he was far stronger than all of them.

"Come on, I'll take you back to Konoha."

Fugaku wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulder, leaping up into a tree.

From there, he bounded from branch to branch, heading back toward the village.

Along the way, he fired a signal to notify the other search teams that Naruto had been recovered.

Seeing his signal, the other rescuers converged on their position.

"Clan Leader Fugaku…"

Many among them had a strange glint in their eyes when they saw that Fugaku had saved Naruto.

To capture Orochimaru not long ago, and now to rescue the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—Fugaku had accomplished two deeds in one day, each enough to shake the village.

And the strength he displayed in the process left them in awe.

"At least he's safe…"

When they returned to Konoha, the Third Hokage himself came to greet them at the village gates.

But his feelings were complicated.

He was relieved that the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki had been rescued—after all, losing such a trump card would have been disastrous.

What displeased him, however, was that the rescuer was once again Uchiha Fugaku.

Capturing the S-class missing-nin Orochimaru had already raised Fugaku's standing dramatically among the village's clans.

Now, with the rescue of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, his reputation would surely soar even higher.

A faint unease stirred in the Hokage's heart.

With such prestige, if Fugaku were to run for the position of Hokage… wouldn't his chances be very high?

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