Chapter 306: Fighting with All Your Strength
Boom!
A splash of searing red liquid slammed against a boulder. In the blink of an eye, the rock blackened, melded with the scorching, murky fluid, and oozed down the cliffside of the deep valley. It plummeted to the bottom, landing in a puddle with a sizzling splash. Steam immediately surged into the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
But the red, murky liquid didn't stop. It continued gushing from the maw of the giant beast, spraying furiously toward the dark blue figure flashing in the distance.
The Valley of the End—once the battlefield of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara—had become a devastated wasteland. Now, it was the most desolate expanse in the Land of Fire. Other than Konoha ninjas passing through on missions, almost no one dared to venture into this abyss.
"Can you only run?"
The magma-like slime spewed from the giant beast's mouth like a high-pressure water cannon. Against such a relentless long-range assault, even Naruto's Wind God Body could only dodge to avoid direct contact. Even when severed, the fluid merely split into smaller streams rather than disappearing.
"Heh…"
Hovering in the sky, Naruto moved with the wind, controlling the giant avatar at will. He launched a punch, summoning a barrage of wind blades—each forged from wind-attribute sage energy. They cascaded from the heavens, slicing toward Sasuke with lethal precision.
Though encased in the armor of Susanoo, Sasuke didn't dare underestimate the attack. He commanded the giant beast beneath him to swerve and evade.
"Aren't you just dodging now?" Naruto sneered, his second punch following without pause.
On one side, wind blades sharp enough to cleave anything; on the other, magma heat capable of melting all. Their clash tore through the sky, slammed into the earth, and plunged them deep into the valley. Blow for blow, they fought—an endless rhythm of fury and instinct. Neither showed signs of slowing. Time lost all meaning.
"Maybe… you're just trying to wear me down?"
Sasuke's Sharingan locked onto the dark blue silhouette.
"I admit it. Chakra-wise, I'm no match for you—you're an Uzumaki. You were steeped in tailed beast chakra from birth."
"In a war of attrition, I'll lose for sure."
He smirked.
"But maybe you don't realize—this kind of consumption means nothing to the monster beneath me."
He glanced down proudly.
"Magma Gorzan."
"It absorbed magma from three volcanoes. It's evolved into a super-ancient creature—its very body forged from living magma!"
Confidence laced every word. This was the ultimate trump card he obtained from the other world.
Compared to Naruto's disobedient tailed beast, Sasuke's companion was a ferocious beast that rivaled any Bijuu.
"You're still as cocky as ever," Naruto muttered, shaking his head.
It was clear now—trying to wear Sasuke down had failed.
Sasuke could have hidden that advantage and drained Naruto's chakra in secret. But instead, he flaunted it. Tactically foolish.
"So what's your next trick?" Naruto asked, calmly.
Sasuke smirked and signaled for Gorzan to stop its relentless assault.
"Come on, Naruto. Show me everything. Let me see how much you've changed these past few years."
"I haven't even used my Mangekyō yet—not my true strength."
"…Hmph!"
Naruto's heart, once calm and composed, now rippled with emotion.
The comrade who once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him now spoke with arrogant certainty of victory.
"Do you really think the Mangekyō can defeat me?"
"In the Land of Water Battle, Uchiha Madara wielded the Rinnegan—and even that was far stronger than yours."
"And I was already prepared… to face Uchiha Madara!"
As his voice echoed through the valley, the dark blue chakra around Naruto began to shift—heat radiated from his body like a furnace roaring to life. The temperature soared instantly. The puddle at the valley's base and the rushing waterfall both turned into steam and vanished into the air.
The crisp air of autumn distorted under the heat.
34°C… 36°C… 38°C…
The rising heat mirrored Naruto's burning will.
"I understand the principle of bloodline fusion!"
The once dark blue humanoid avatar turned deep crimson.
"You have your Sharingan…"
"…And I have my own—Scorch Release: Flame God Body!"
The temperature emanating from him was suffocating. Even the boundary between the physical world and the hidden realm began to warp.
Ever since that day—when he witnessed the battle between Hashirama and Madara—and later saw Ryosuke utterly crush Uchiha Madara, Naruto had immersed himself in study. He focused his spirit and chakra into research, determined to craft a bloodline limit of his own.
And he did it.
"A fusion of Wind and Fire Style?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Gorzan, show him what real heat is."
With a roar, the magma beast halted its build-up and resumed its terrifying assault. The liquid magma surged once again—but this time, Naruto made no effort to dodge.
The flaming mucus struck his crimson body dead-on—only to be absorbed by the intense energy of the Flame God. It vanished without harm.
"Amaterasu!"
Before Naruto could retort, Sasuke activated the Mangekyō.
From nothing, the black flames emerged, clinging to Naruto's Flame God Body like a curse.
The crimson avatar recoiled.
This flame… wasn't ordinary.
It couldn't be absorbed.
It couldn't be extinguished.
No matter how Naruto manipulated the surging fire chakra within him, the black flames resisted all assimilation.
Flame release...?
Only when two bloodline limits were equally powerful could their elements clash.
Naruto hadn't expected this.
The Mangekyō granted Sasuke direct access to such an overwhelming elemental inheritance?
"Fire Seal!"
Naruto gritted his teeth.
He always envied how easily Sasuke accessed power through bloodline. Still, if it couldn't be absorbed or extinguished, only one option remained.
Before the black flames could fully engulf him, Naruto rapidly formed hand seals. Two sealing chains wrapped in runes shot from his body, enclosing the corrupted region.
The next second, the chains pulled the Amaterasu flames toward his palms.
"Then take it back!"
The crimson giant shifted—morphing into a spear-throwing stance. The sealed black flame condensed into a sphere of pure destruction.
With a roar, he hurled it back toward Sasuke below.
His movement was but a fleeting moment.
Blood and tears slowly trickled from Uchiha Sasuke's eyes. Before he could even assess the effect of his Mangekyō technique, a sphere of black flames descended from the sky, streaking straight toward him.
"So fast…" Sasuke was slightly startled by Naruto's reflexes and ability to adapt under pressure. Yet on the surface, he remained composed. "That's my flame."
The next second, the incoming black fire exploded midair, morphing into a sharp arrow.
Sasuke had long understood—Naruto wouldn't fall to something like Amaterasu. He'd spent too many years refining his techniques. That was why Sasuke stayed vigilant, constantly anticipating his next move, calculating his next strike.
"Roar!"
Gorzan let out a thunderous bellow. Two dark purple arms extended from the beast's armor, moving as if drawing a bow. A projectile composed of Mangekyō chakra took shape, nocking the arrow forged from pure black flames.
"Don't die…" Sasuke muttered coldly, then released the string.
Swish—
A piercing sound split the air. The flaming arrow tore through the sky, aimed directly at the crimson giant dodging mid-flight.
Having just witnessed the destructive nature of Amaterasu, Naruto didn't need reminding—resisting it head-on would be suicide.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
But even as he evaded, the black arrow twisted and pursued him like a curse. Forced into a corner, Naruto hurled several Flame Bombs to intercept the oncoming shot.
Yet even with the power of Scorch Release—a bloodline limit combining two elemental attributes—the bombs couldn't cancel out the Mangekyō-forged black flames.
"Tch… You can't even fight back?" Sasuke scoffed, watching Naruto's struggle with a rare smile. It was the first time since returning to the ninja world that he felt something genuine.
But he didn't bask in it for long. Without pause, he tapped into Gorzan's power reserves, drawing more chakra to himself. He nocked another flaming arrow. Then another. And another.
Shot after shot.
Sasuke didn't just control a monster—he wielded a new kind of tailed beast. Uchiha Madara once commanded the Nine-Tails. Now Sasuke, through the Mangekyō, had mastered Gorzan—an ancient creature capable of chakra refinement and devastating attacks.
In another world's terms, Gorzan was a walking power plant—supplying Sasuke with the chakra he otherwise lacked compared to Uzumaki Naruto.
High above, Naruto knew exactly what Sasuke was doing. But he was helpless. His Flame Bombs were pierced with ease. The black arrows continued their chase, one after another. And worse…
With each arrow Sasuke released, the intensity grew.
Though both techniques stemmed from the fire attribute, Naruto's Scorch Release couldn't match the penetration of Sasuke's Flame Release. The reason was simple—Sasuke's technique was built from the Mangekyō's ocular mastery, while Naruto's was a product of elemental blending—a fledgling evolution.
"Then…"
The massive crimson figure suddenly halted midair.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Six arrows slammed through the giant, piercing it completely.
Black flames erupted and engulfed Naruto.
"You bastard…" Sasuke panted, the strain finally showing in his breath. "Are you giving up?"
The cost of firing six Kagutsuchi arrows was heavy. Even with Gorzan acting as a power bank, his body was pushed to its limits.
Yet the giant, though consumed in flames, stood unfazed.
From within the blaze, Naruto's voice emerged—calm, steady, resolute.
"The fusion of two chakra natures creates a bloodline limit."
The crimson body was nearly swallowed by black fire—Naruto's silhouette barely visible within it.
"Then the combination of three chakra natures… becomes Kekkei Tota (Bloodline Selection). That's what Grandfather Ōnoki of Iwagakure taught me!"
Three elements…?
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He realized what Naruto was preparing.
"Most Jōnin-level shinobi can master at least two elemental changes," Naruto continued. "My first was Fire Style, chosen to complement my Wind. That fusion became Scorch Release."
"But of course, I wasn't content with just that."
His voice lowered, heavier now—yet pulsing with power.
A surge of natural energy erupted from his body, stirring the clouds, drawing lightning across the sky. The climate itself began to shift under the overwhelming influx of power.
"The combination of Wind and Fire creates Scorch Release. Fire and Earth form Lava Release…"
"Then what happens when you fuse Wind, Fire, and Earth together?"
He paused.
"I haven't named it yet… But this power, Sasuke—this will not disappoint you."
There was a fire in his tone. Not from anger, but from exhilaration. Just as Sasuke had been pushed back into that nostalgic, primal thrill—so too was Naruto.
Crimson and black flames swirled, fusing into molten energy. Cracks ran through the avatar's body, like glowing veins of lava beneath hardened skin. Natural energy swelled wildly. Sage chakra bloomed and intensified, surging through Naruto's form.
His body began to expand—not symbolically, but literally.
Gone was the humanoid outline. In its place stood a true behemoth.
Two horns jutted from his skull. His skin cracked and steamed like volcanic rock. His eyes blazed crimson, as if fire itself had taken root within.
This was no longer the Flame God Body or the Wind God Body.
This was something beyond.
No longer just a construct—this transformation was a bloodline that had taken root in his very cells. The bloodline had become him.
The towering lava titan now gripped a massive black rod, its sharpened ends glinting like polished obsidian. His horns shimmered gold beneath the sunlight, fierce and regal like those of a demon god.
To say this was just a technique… was madness.
It was transformation in its purest, most terrifying form.
Even Sasuke, watching from afar, began to question it—did Naruto's chakra even have a limit?
This fight had gone on for days.
From their reunion and the early skirmish, to drawn-out attrition, to this moment—neither side had held back.
And still… Naruto wasn't tired.
Sasuke couldn't help but feel dread creep into his mind.
To fight someone who never fatigues.
To face someone who never stops burning.
To clash with a man who grows stronger the longer the fight goes on…
Who wouldn't feel fear?
"You're not afraid to make a fool of yourself," Sasuke muttered.
His body screamed under the strain, yet he straightened, refusing to let Naruto look down on him.
The figure standing before him now wasn't human.
He was more monster than the beast standing beneath Sasuke.
And yet, Sasuke didn't realize—his own cursed form from another timeline wasn't much different from what Naruto had become.