Chapter 288: Naruto's Trump Card
Akainu was undeniably strong.
With the backing of Navy Headquarters and a massive pool of resources, all of his [Lava Mage] core abilities had been upgraded to max level.
Moreover,
He was a real admiral—possessing extraordinary combat skills and experience. Not one of those players who simply brute-forced their way to power with cash.
In both worlds, he stood among the best of the best.
But even that… wasn't enough.
"Do you like this lavish funeral, blond brat?"
Akainu's tone was cold.
Waves of lava warriors surged forward. Chains and shackles rained down in torrents, smashing through Naruto's shadow clones.
The magma he now controlled wasn't the ordinary kind produced by a Magma Fruit.
It came from hell itself—an infernal substance capable of incinerating all.
"You're completely unreasonable… You know Konoha wasn't at fault. This has nothing to do with justice!"
Naruto had never faced someone like this before.
Doing something clearly wrong, and yet speaking with righteous conviction.
Worst of all,
As a [Paladin], a class of divine judgment, Naruto could sense good and evil. His skills grew stronger against evil.
And yet… he couldn't detect even a trace of malice from Sakazuki.
The man bore no evil intent.
But what he was doing was clearly unjust.
"These guys from other worlds are impossible to figure out… Guess I'll just beat the truth into you first."
Naruto swung his greatsword.
Golden flames lashed out like sword winds, effortlessly shredding through the lava soldiers.
With a wave of his hand,
The divine light swirling around him condensed into an enormous golden greatsword, radiating a sacred aura that shook the battlefield.
[Paladins] were enforcers of divine judgment—holy knights who merged sacred power with martial prowess, purging evil in the name of the gods.
Judgment of Holy Flame!
With a single slash, all of the lava soldiers were reduced to cinders—nothing remained, not even ash.
Even Akainu himself was scorched across a wide area by the holy flames.
"Is… this really power a human can wield?"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni, leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, swallowed hard. He felt as if he were seeing a god in human form.
Just that one strike—
Could easily obliterate their world's most prosperous capital in an instant.
And demons who only died when beheaded by Nichirin Blades?
This would evaporate their very corpses. Even the Demon King would be turned to dust.
Moreover,
The golden aura radiating from Naruto far surpassed his own [Hunter of Evil] class in terms of light and divine power.
Even Muzan Kibutsuji would be vaporized just for daring to look at him.
"He's even stronger than my Light Giant…"
Luffy's eyes sparkled as he watched Naruto dominate Akainu in the projection.
It wasn't about the Straw Hats being enemies of the Navy.
It was just pure joy—seeing a friend he'd just made shine so brightly.
"Melee holy builds are insanely strong… Luffy really has a good eye."
Nami, too, was envious.
She had endured hardship from a young age and never trusted others easily. Even if Luffy vouched for Naruto, she'd remained cautious.
That's why she'd refused to sell intel to Tsunade.
But after seeing Naruto's in-game power firsthand, her wariness began to fade.
Even though power in the Reincarnation Game relied heavily on Reward Points,
Most players could still feel that abilities had affinity—some powers just clicked with certain people.
Like the world's greatest swordsman, Mihawk. After acquiring sword-based abilities, his growth skyrocketed like a rocket.
Other players, even with the same skills, would crawl forward like snails, no matter how many points they spent.
This was especially true for polarized classes like Light and Darkness.
If someone with a wicked heart tried to force themselves into the [Holy Light] path, the system would reject them. Even maxing the abilities wouldn't deliver full power.
But Naruto—
He could unleash the full might of the holy light.
He had to be righteous. And lawful.
"You think that's enough to beat me?!"
At this point,
Even if Akainu regretted it, there was no turning back. The intelligence team back home was definitely getting punished for this miscalculation.
The ninja known as Naruto Uzumaki was far stronger than their intel had suggested.
Just imagining the Reward Points he might lose from a loss made Akainu's heart ache.
He clenched his fists and slammed them into the magma-coated ground.
BOOM!
The sound of lava clashing echoed like thunder as fiery red geysers erupted from massive magma bubbles.
The rivers of lava he had released earlier were now nearly dried up.
A monstrous, deformed red figure slowly rose from the ground.
Jagged horns made of flame—
Armor-like blocks of infernal magma covered its incorporeal body, with rivers of molten heat flowing between the gaps.
Infernal Flame Demon!
An elemental creature born of hell's magma, bearing both fire and infernal attributes.
Even as a top-tier player, with a maxed-out Spirit stat of 99 and equipped with [Tear of the Ocean] to boost energy reserves, Akainu could only summon it for three minutes.
Watching the fight, Vice Admiral Tsuru's face grew grim.
She turned and said coldly, "Who was it that misjudged Naruto Uzumaki's strength? Your monthly pay is halved."
Navy salaries = Reward Points.
The officer who had recorded Naruto's profile looked utterly wronged.
He had reported the truth. All available data put Naruto's value under 400,000 points.
But the kid clearly had a hidden trump card! How was that his fault?
The Navy didn't know—
Even in the ninja world, Naruto was often called "the most unpredictable ninja."
Had they known, Akainu would've acted far more cautiously.
Tsuru exhaled slowly. "Still, with the Infernal Flame Demon summoned, this battle's decided."
The [Infernal Flame Demon] was the Lava Mage's ace in the hole.
Even the most powerful rebels or Whitebeard himself couldn't kill it outright.
Its only flaw was its high energy consumption—and the risk of severe backlash if the summoning was interrupted.
That had been her biggest worry.
Ninjas sounded like stealth-based assassins. She'd feared that Sakazuki's summon might get ambushed.
But that didn't happen. Apparently, this blond kid wasn't that sharp.
Just a greenhorn.
"So even the Infernal Flame Demon is out… Quite a trump card. Is this the Navy's elite force?"
In Stoneton City, Mei Terumi smirked as she watched the demon's appearance.
Currently a [Flame Emissary],
Her core powers were different, but she too was a fire-element mage—so she understood Akainu's strength better than anyone.
Even if Orochimaru outspent her and technically had a higher total value,
She didn't believe she would lose to him in an actual fight.
From the perspective of the ninja world's strongest players,
If it were her fighting this Admiral, she'd have ended the match in 30 seconds.
Konoha players were still too weak.
"Boring…"
But just as she made that judgment, the battle shifted.
The terrifying Infernal Flame Demon—
Had one of its arms sliced off by a spinning weapon.
In the center of the combat space,
A spinning top whirled violently, sending out shockwaves of teal wind that stirred the entire battlefield into a storm.
Naruto held out his hand. The Rasengan dissipated.
Once his signature move, it now often served as nothing more than a launchpad for his new weapon.
A top from a mysterious spinning world.
Its core essence lay within the top itself. When it spun, it summoned phantom beasts.
Those who mastered the top… were known as—
Bladers.
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