The mere 0.5% of "A" chakra remaining in Darui's arms caused the corner of Naruto's eye, hidden behind his mask, to twitch violently.
Why...?
Naruto had no intention of killing the Fourth Raikage, A. After all, everyone has their value, even a small screw. This was one of Naruto's personal mottos. How much more valuable was an actual Kage like the Raikage?
He was a raw talent! With a few minor adjustments, he could become a super Kage-level existence, a powerful enforcer who could surely contribute to the great journey of the empire (not really). Even if he was assigned to carry bricks at the bustling construction sites in the Land of Grass, he would be worth ten ordinary people.
And yet...
This was truly an incredible assist from his teammate! The Raikage, who could have lived to contribute to the revolutionary cause in another way, had now been "killed" by his own subordinate. For a moment, Naruto couldn't even tell if the Raikage was killed by him or accidentally taken out by his own people.
Blond-haired Dragon-Sage: Guess it was just his fate.
"Lord Raikage!!!"
A heart-wrenching wail suddenly tore through the dust-filled battlefield. Darui's face was ashen, and many surrounding ninja cried out, running toward the half-a-corpse. A team that had just been on its way to support the Raikage and Naruto's fight arrived just in time to see this devastating scene.
"Uchiha Obito!!!"
Several red-eyed ninja from the Cloud Village charged at the masked man like rabid dogs, roaring and brandishing their blades.
The masked man easily phased through their attacks. With his goal of creating chaos achieved, Naruto prepared to leave. His cold, indifferent voice, masked by the deeper voice of Obito, rang out once more, "Keep your lives for now. I'll come for them another time!"
A swirling vortex of space enveloped the masked man. Space twisted and contracted, and with an absurd finality, his figure vanished completely.
"Uchiha Obito!!!"
The moment Naruto entered the Kamui dimension, he was greeted by a fist crackling with lightning. A's half-severed body was like a blood-soaked mad lion, burning its last ounce of strength to unleash a lightning punch infused with a lifetime of resolve!
Bang!
There was no need for pretense now. Naruto's single hand firmly caught the heavy, lightning-infused punch.
Then, with a "bang," a kick like a bolt of lightning struck A directly in the chest! The explosive force sent A flying back like a broken sack. The Raikage, who had barely managed to bounce back with his arms, tumbled like a rolling gourd, his half-body rolling for more than a dozen times before finally coming to a stop.
Naruto took a closer look and realized this guy was incredibly resilient. Despite being reduced to half a body and his face deathly pale from blood loss, he was still using his powerful arms to force himself back to his feet. He had cauterized the bloody, severed portion of his body with Lightning Release, stopping the bleeding for the time being.
He's a real badass!
Without a second's hesitation, Naruto's eyes switched to the Rinnegan. A vast, mental tsunami of spiritual energy crashed down! The genjutsu activated! A's body instantly stiffened, his eyes losing focus as he fell into a state of absolute stupor.
Naruto raised his hand and extended it. "Universal Pull!"
A powerful suction dragged A's body toward him. Naruto's hand grabbed his head with precision and began to extract his memories. A massive, complex flood of information instantly poured in! Countless secrets, plans, and jutsu scrolls flashed through Naruto's mind.
"Tsk, this is the correct way to acquire information!" he muttered with a sigh. It was hard not to feel how inefficient his intelligence gathering via clones all over the world was in comparison.
Unfortunately, he only had one pair of eyes.
He pulled out a scroll and sealed A's half-body and entire soul within it, just in case someone tried to use Edo Tensei on him to get information.
After completing this task, Naruto's gaze turned to the depths of the Kamui dimension. There, more than a dozen ninja from the Cloud Village were either unconscious or groaning in pain. These living ninja were now ready to be put to use!
With his Rinnegan still active, Naruto grabbed the nearest one and used his Yin-Yang Release. The ninja's injuries were healed in an instant, and then the modifications began.
There were thirteen people in total: one Kage-level template, six Jōnin templates, and six Chūnin templates. These modified clones were all prepared for Shimura Danzo's "Root" organization, to help him cause trouble around the world.
A moment later, the mission was complete!
He also took the opportunity to send a message to the news tycoon!
[Uzumaki Daitong]: "Root" is ready. Thirteen members: 1 B-rank (Kage-level), 6 C-rank (Jōnin), 6 D-rank (Chūnin). They are in the Kamui dimension. You can take them whenever you need them.
[News Tycoon Suigetsu Sanjo]: Yes, boss. Heart emoji.
[Uzumaki Daitong]: When is the plan scheduled to begin?
[News Tycoon Suigetsu Sanjo]: We estimate we have about six months. The people of the Land of Water are easily brainwashed and are quite receptive now, but the ninja of the Hidden Mist Village are more rigid and need a change of mindset. In six months at most, we'll need to take action to personally help them change their minds.
[Uzumaki Daitong]: Good. Obito's reputation here is a bit tarnished. This is a good time for it to settle down a bit, especially since I just killed the Raikage, A!
[News Tycoon Suigetsu Sanjo]: What? You killed the Raikage? Boss, this is explosive news!
[Uzumaki Daitong]: Rokusuke will send you the photos. Ask him for the details.
Tomorrow, with a huge publicity push from the newspapers, Uchiha Obito's notorious reputation was sure to resonate throughout the shinobi world once again!
He hoped the real Uchiha Obito would be able to handle it.
Ending the chat, Naruto took stock of his spoils. Money and chakra were insignificant. The attribute points were useful, but the most important thing was the badge!
[Two-Tails Badge]
Fire-style chakra proficiency: +2000Fire-style jutsu power: +35%+2% chakra regeneration
Rating: Dear player, your choice to reclaim the tailed beast was a wise one. Welcome to the Tailed Beast Reclamation Project!
This rating... reclaiming the tailed beast was, of course, a wise decision. For only about 30% of the price, plus some chakra and attribute points as compensation, he could reclaim a high-value tailed beast. How could that not be a "wise" decision?!
Naruto decided to try equipping the badge to see its effects. His Fire-style chakra was already maxed out, so the key was the chakra regeneration.
(Recovery: 7.9% (small) × (1 + 200% + 100% + 500% + 2000%) × 2 = 458.2%/hour)
This badge was powerful indeed! As a player in his twelve-year-old youth stage, his total chakra regeneration was only 3% per hour. Over the years, the bonuses from various missions, rewards, badges, and titles had only raised that number to 5.9%. And yet, a single Two-Tails badge gave him a 2% increase in chakra regeneration!
If the Two-Tails was this strong, how much would the Nine-Tails give him?
Naruto suddenly felt an urge to go for it. However, thinking of the potentially unacceptable accidents that could happen, he decided to find another test subject first.
His chakra sensing instantly went out. Just a dozen kilometers away, a powerful chakra signature was shining like a lighthouse in the darkness.
Eight-Tails, here I come!