"Naruto-kun!"
Hinata exclaimed, barely maintaining her Heavenly Spin against the wind pressure, her situation critical.
Naruto's eyes turned cold as he shielded Shion behind him.
"Petty tricks."
He didn't even form hand signs; he merely lifted his right foot slightly, then stomped it down hard.
"Boom!!!"
A terrifying impact force erupted from Naruto, scattering the heavy divine wind pressure. The earthen corridor walls that had just risen on both sides shattered into countless rubble, as if struck by an invisible giant hammer!
He had brutally broken the opponent's combined suppression with pure physical strength alone.
Naruto's current four-dimensional basic attributes were even stronger than Rock Lee's when he activated the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates Formation.
"What?!"
Yitai and Setsuna's expressions changed.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Zero seized the opportunity, completing her hand signs. A massive water dragon roared forth from beside her, opening its huge mouth to bite Naruto!
"Water Release: Water Cutting Wave!"
Immediately after, she raised her leg high, a drop of water at her toes, then chopped down fiercely. A high-pressure water line, thin as a cicada's wing yet incredibly sharp, silently skimmed the ground, slashing towards Naruto with a cunning and vicious attack.
Naruto had just shattered the rock wall when the water dragon arrived before him.
Yet, he didn't dodge, merely extending a single finger.
"Daikokuten."
A black hole, as black as pitch and larger than a carriage wheel, instantly appeared in front of his fingertip, like a bottomless abyss. It directly swallowed the roaring Water Dragon Jutsu completely.
At the same time, another black hole opened beside Naruto, releasing the water dragon that had been absorbed into the Void Cage. It precisely collided with the "Water Cutting Wave" water line that was attacking along the ground, causing water to splash everywhere.
"This guy—..." Zero's face turned ugly.
"Don't give him a chance to breathe! Use a combined Ninjutsu!"
Yitai roared, forming hand signs again.
Unfortunately, Naruto was faster than Yitai and the others.
"A bunch of short-sighted fools, can't you see the gap in strength between us? If I wasn't planning on using you to temper Hinata and Ino, I would have instantly killed you with one move."
"All of you, freeze!"
Naruto gently supported Shion's buttocks with one hand, making her cheeks flush, and snapped his fingers with the other.
Mist Time.
Through the Shadow Monarch's dominion over shadows and the improved Shadow Imitation Technique, Zero and Kusuna, who had been lurking nearby, were immediately bound and unable to move.
Even Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto had stood still when hit by this move, let alone Zero and Kusuna, who had become stronger through 'cheats'.
The other two members of the four-person team were not frozen, clearly because Naruto left them for Hinata and Ino to practice on.
"Wind Release: Revolving Wave!"
Setsuna's blown whirlwind also became a multi-rotating current, engulfing Naruto from all directions.
"Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu!"
Yitai's skin became as hard as rock, and he charged fiercely towards Naruto, preparing for close-quarters combat.
"Hinata, Ino, they're yours."
Naruto, carrying Shion on his back, directly used the Shadow Instant Kill Array's teleportation, creating distance between them and moving out of the Ninjutsu's range, causing both attacks to miss.
And when Setsuna and Yitai prepared to pursue, they were blocked by Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuga.
"Hmph, the Hyuga Clan of Konoha Village? In that case, I'll start with you! Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu Enhanced!"
Yitai clashed his fists together, roaring as he formed hand signs.
His exposed skin instantly became covered in a grayish-brown rock-like sheen, and this layer of rock rapidly thickened and spread, covering every inch of his skin in an instant, making him look like a three-meter-tall moving rock giant!
His heavy footsteps on the ground made dull thudding sounds, his presence astonishing.
"Before my Absolute Defense, your soft punches are nothing more than a tickle!"
Yitai's voice came through his rock mask, sounding muffled and full of confidence.
He charged forward, his massive rock fist carrying the might to crush everything, directly smashing towards Hinata's face without any fancy moves. The force of his punch made the air explode!
"I'll show you that Gentle Fist is not a soft punch!"
Hinata's eyes widened slightly. In her Byakugan vision, even though Yitai's body was covered with thick, hard rock, his Chakra flow and tenketsu were still clearly visible.
"Swish!"
The next moment, Hinata advanced instead of retreating, her movements as fast as lightning, striking first despite moving later.
"Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
Her palms, covered in a brilliant blue Chakra, instantly transformed into countless palm shadows. Instead of directly meeting the giant rock fist, she moved like a gracefully dancing butterfly, precisely striking Yitai's arm joints, wrists, and other Chakra tenketsu as he swung his fist. "Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!"
A series of crisp sounds, dense as rain on banana leaves, erupted!
Yitai's charging momentum abruptly halted.
He was horrified to discover that his immense strength, capable of splitting mountains and cracking rocks, was being layer by layer weakened, guided, and dissolved by the opponent's seemingly light palm strikes.
What alarmed him even more was that an extremely sharp, incredibly pure Chakra, like a needle, penetrated his hard rock layer, directly impacting his internal meridians and muscles, bringing waves of soreness, numbness, and stinging pain.
"What?! Your Chakra—"
Yitai was incredulous. His Hardening Jutsu had already covered him with a hard, thick layer of rock. How could the opponent's palm force penetrate so easily?
"Your Hardening Jutsu is not Absolute Defense."
"The last guy who claimed to have Absolute Defense got a good beating!"
Hinata's pretty face was serious, her voice calm yet imbued with an unprecedented sense of power.
Her palm techniques became even swifter, her footwork agile, as she constantly moved around Yitai's massive body. Each time her palms landed, they precisely struck the crucial nodes of the Hardening Jutsu's Chakra flow.
The Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms of the Gentle Fist Art were executed in quick succession.
"Arrogant! Watch me crush you!"
Yitai roared in fury, sweeping his other giant rock arm like a battering ram, while simultaneously raising his massive foot to stomp fiercely at Hinata, attempting to overwhelm her agility with range and power.
"Byakugan Palm: Heavenly Spin!"
Hinata's body spun rapidly, and a brilliant blue Chakra shield instantly expanded!
It wasn't a complete defense, but rather a clever bumping and deflecting of Yitai's heavy blows through her rotation. At the same time, the centrifugal force generated by the spin further increased the speed and power of her palm strikes.
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!!!"
Palm shadows fluttered, their number suddenly doubling!
The penetrating characteristic of Gentle Fist, which countered powerful physical bodies, was brought to its fullest extent.
Fine cracks began to appear on the rock layer covering Yitai's body, and these cracks spread rapidly.
With every palm strike, a sharp, needle-like Chakra penetrated, making his blood churn and deeply embedding itself into his tenketsu, hindering the flow of Chakra!
"Impossible! My Hardening Jutsu is Absolute Defense!"