Chapter 208 : Here Comes Riku
When she finally understood what Naruto was saying, Sakura was completely furious.
"Naruto, are you looking for a death wish?!"
Seeing Sakura this angry, Naruto felt a flicker of fear—but he stubbornly refused to back down. He liked Sakura the most, so how could Riku steal her away from him?
Mustering his courage, Naruto blurted, "Sakura, you should know better than anyone—Riku clearly doesn't like you!"
Sakura clenched her fists so tightly they cracked audibly.
Naruto had just slandered her—and even worse, misrepresented her relationship with Riku.
This wasn't just about being misunderstood—it was about what she and Riku did.
Before Naruto could say anything else, Sakura's fist shot forward.
"Go to hell!"
With one devastating punch, she sent Naruto flying with incredible force—straight out the window.
Fuming, Sakura ignored the crash and stomped into her room, slamming the door behind her.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, Sakura grew angrier by the second.
"Idiot Naruto! How could he think I'm that kind of girl?! The person I've always liked is Sasuke! Riku is just a friend—just a friend! Naruto's insane, jumping to conclusions like that!"
She had always liked Sasuke. Her friendship with Riku was purely platonic, even if things had been a bit awkward when they met again at age sixteen during the mission in the Land of Waves. That wasn't strange at all, was it?
But Naruto's accusations had made her furious.
She knew for a fact that Riku had never shown any romantic interest in her. They were innocent.
But Naruto clearly didn't see it that way.
Still, after taking that punch, Naruto had no choice but to believe her. If Sakura hadn't been telling the truth, she wouldn't have hit him that hard.
Now lying on the roof of a house in Sunagakure with a fractured rib, Naruto stared up at the moon and giggled stupidly.
Thanks to his unique body, even with a broken rib, he'd be mostly healed by tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Riku had no idea any of this had happened.
He hadn't activated any sensory jutsu that night and just assumed it was another spat between Sakura and Naruto. Naruto frequently annoyed Sakura and got smacked for it, so Riku didn't think much of it.
The next morning, Riku got up and joined the group gathering in front of the Kazekage Building. He immediately noticed Naruto looked unusually pale.
Riku asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with you? You look terrible."
Naruto forced a smile. "I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well."
Riku wasn't entirely convinced, but didn't press further. It didn't seem important.
Sakura, however, was glaring daggers at Naruto.
Kakashi, observing the tension between them, had no clue what was going on but figured it probably involved Sakura somehow.
Like Riku, he decided not to interfere.
Just as they were preparing to depart, Chiyo appeared from the Kazekage Building.
"I'm going with you."
At first, it seemed odd—this was Sunagakure's problem, not Konoha's. How could they rely on outsiders?
But Chiyo clearly had her reasons. She wanted to see her grandson one last time.
This time, Chiyo led the ten Chikamatsu puppets with her. Her intentions were obvious:
She planned to personally deal with Sasori of the Red Sand.
Sakura blinked in surprise. "Grandma Chiyo, you're coming too?"
Chiyo walked over and looked Riku up and down.
"Our Kazekage's been kidnapped. It would be disgraceful if Sunagakure didn't take responsibility and act. How could I, an elder, stay behind and do nothing?"
Originally, Kankuro had wanted to join the team, but he was still recovering from the poison and needed rest.
Temari had been assigned to border patrol.
Baki had to oversee the village's defense.
At the moment, Sunagakure had fewer active shinobi than even Konoha.
Sending Chiyo was their only option.
Riku nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense for you to come. One of the Akatsuki is your grandson, after all."
Chiyo glanced at Riku and gave a small smile. "You're sharp, kid. If only that Katsuyu girl saw you as her successor…"
Sakura smiled. "Grandma Chiyo, how do you know my master considers Riku her heir?"
Kakashi's expression darkened slightly. "Sakura…"
She froze, realizing she might have said too much.
Riku didn't seem bothered. "It's fine. The Fifth Hokage's intentions were clear from the start. There's no harm in it—I'm not in any danger."
Revealing that Riku was Tsunade's heir in front of a foreign village could've been risky. If Chiyo had any ill intentions, Riku would be a prime target.
But clearly, he wasn't worried.
Chiyo observed him again, a flicker of admiration in her eyes. "So confident in your strength, huh?"
Riku didn't answer. He just turned and said calmly, "Let's move out."
And with that, he headed toward the location of Sasori and Deidara.
Chiyo and the others followed.
Riku had come as support—but somehow, he'd become the central force of the mission.
He hadn't volunteered to take the lead, but Kakashi had made the call. He was a cautious, experienced shinobi who always prioritized mission success.
And with Riku's strength, it was only logical to rely on him as the core of their strategy to rescue Gaara.
They traveled in silence for the most part.
Naruto was especially anxious to reach Gaara.
What baffled Chiyo most was why Naruto seemed so desperate to save the Kazekage of another village.
She kept watching Naruto's back, curiosity gnawing at her.
Eventually, she turned to Kakashi and asked, "Why is that boy so attached to Gaara?"
Kakashi was caught off guard by the question, but after a moment of thought, he answered.
"Because Gaara and Naruto are the same. Gaara, as Sunagakure's Jinchūriki, grew up isolated and unloved—without friends, without emotional support."
"What you don't know is… Naruto went through the same thing. He's Konoha's Nine Tails Jinchūriki."
Chiyo stared in shock.
Not because Naruto was a Jinchūriki—but because Kakashi had just said it so openly.
The identity of a Jinchūriki was a tightly guarded secret in every village. Even by the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War, many Kage didn't know Naruto held the Nine Tails.
Even the Raikage hadn't known.
So why would Kakashi reveal it here, to someone from another village?
Chiyo glanced at Riku beside her, who wore a calm, unreadable expression.
In that moment, she understood.
She remembered how the upper ranks of Sunagakure had been so guarded around Riku before.
"So they're that confident in this boy's strength… I wonder what his true abilities are."
"I can't even sense his chakra level. That alone tells me he's no weaker than Kage-level."
"He's only sixteen—and already at this level? Another ninja like the Yellow Flash, then."
Even at sixteen, Minato Namikaze hadn't possessed Riku's current strength.
Chiyo was growing more and more curious about what kind of monster Konoha had raised.
Kakashi continued, "Because Naruto is a Jinchūriki, he shares the same pain as Gaara. That's why he sees Gaara as a friend."
Chiyo looked skeptical. "A friend? He considers a Kage from another village a friend?"
She couldn't understand it. In her time, there had been no such thing as friendship between villages.
Certainly not between shadows of different nations.
The idea felt foreign and idealistic.
Meanwhile, Sakura kept glancing at Riku along the way. She still couldn't figure out how Naruto had come to such a ridiculous misunderstanding about them.
Riku definitely wasn't that kind of person. Even if she wanted something more, he clearly didn't.
After over a day of travel, they still hadn't reached the cave where Gaara's tailed beast was being extracted.
Riku could've arrived in just over an hour using his Lightning Body Flicker Technique, but he hadn't done so.
Because while he could, the others couldn't.
At that moment, deep in the cave, the Akatsuki members continued the extraction.
Zetsu suddenly frowned. "They're coming. Not far now."
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