The Raikage crashed backward, his landing stirring up a thick cloud of dust that briefly concealed his figure.
Before Killer Bee could react, a surge of lightning chakra burst outward, scattering the dust and revealing Ay's towering form. The air crackled around him, his hair standing on end, and his face twisted with fury.
Seeing Naruto cloaked in golden chakra, the Raikage's expression hardened—but deep within, a spark of excitement flared.
"A Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, huh?" he growled, lightning dancing across his arms. "Heh… let this old man see what you're really made of!"
Ay stomped down with explosive force, the ground caving beneath his feet as dust erupted around him. His immense speed caused his hair and cloak to whip violently behind him.
Naruto met his glare with a faint, mocking smile.
"Fourth Raikage… if your father had said that, I might've taken it seriously. But you? You're not quite there yet."
Ay's veins bulged with rage.
The next instant, their fists collided—golden chakra and blue lightning intertwining in a blinding flash.
A deafening shockwave exploded outward, flattening the terrain around them.
The Raikage felt the pressure surge up his arm and into his chest, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Impossible… this brat's raw strength rivals mine?!
A moment later, Ay was sent flying once again, crashing into the snow and carving a long trench across the ground.
"Raikage Ay," Naruto called out calmly, his voice carrying across the battlefield, "your power's not bad… but far too weak to stand before me. If that's all you've got, you might as well stay down."
Ay rose from the crater, electricity arcing violently around him. Naruto's power exceeded anything he'd imagined—but the Raikage's pride as a Kage refused to let him yield.
"Brat!" he roared. "You dare mock this old man?!"
"Lightning Release: Lariat!!!"
Ay launched himself skyward, his legs wrapped in surging lightning chakra. He twisted mid-air and came crashing down, aiming a thunderous kick at Naruto.
Naruto's eyes gleamed with curiosity.
So this is the same technique he once used to break through Sasuke's Susanoo… Let's see how it compares.
He raised his arm, forming a colossal golden fist of chakra to meet the strike.
Boom!!!
Ay's lightning-infused kick smashed into Naruto's chakra fist, shaking the earth. The ground beneath Naruto collapsed, leaving a deep crater as their power clashed.
Naruto licked his lips. It had been a long time since he'd felt such a pure thrill from battle.
The Raikage's strikes were brutal—each one capable of killing dozens of ordinary shinobi outright.
The two blurred into streaks of gold and blue, their movements too fast for the eye to follow. Dust billowed, stones shattered, and the battlefield itself became a storm of destruction.
Around them, even the ongoing clashes began to slow. Shinobi from both sides instinctively pulled back, unwilling to get caught in the storm between these two monsters.
From a distance, Sasuke and Neji watched with solemn expressions.
Sasuke clicked his tongue softly. The sheer pressure of their exchange made his chest tighten.
"The gap between me and Naruto… it's grown again," he muttered bitterly.
Ever since childhood, he had never once defeated Naruto. The blond's strength only grew more incomprehensible with time.
Frustration and jealousy twisted inside him. Damn it! Why won't my Mangekyō awaken?!
Fueled by emotion, his attacks turned sharper, his Chidori piercing cleanly through an enemy's heart. His crimson Sharingan spun faster, its reflection fierce and unyielding—yet the transformation he longed for still refused to come.
Neji, meanwhile, felt no resentment—only awe. His pale eyes followed the golden figure fighting the Raikage, admiration glowing in his expression.
Naruto-kun was right… Fate is only as strong as you let it be.
Naruto had grown to the point where he could battle Kage-level shinobi on equal ground—and even overpower them. The sight ignited a fire within Neji's chest.
So what if I'm a Hyūga? Even if I'm fated to be lesser, I'll surpass that fate myself!
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams—Sixty-Four Palms!" Neji's strikes became sharper, faster, deadlier.
Elsewhere, Lee's shout echoed through the chaos.
"Konoha Hurricane!"
He spun through enemy lines like a green whirlwind, scattering foes as easily as autumn leaves. His sheer speed made him nearly untouchable by ninjutsu.
Amid the roaring battle, Naruto suddenly heard the voice of the mysterious system echo within his mind:
[Strength +12 | Speed +5 | Chakra +8 | Combat Skill +5]
A grin tugged at Naruto's lips. As expected—fighting strong opponents pushes me even further.
Battle.
That was the essence of his growth.
With that thought, Naruto deliberately eased up his attacks, prolonging the fight.
But as the duel dragged on, the Raikage began to sense something unsettling.
No matter what technique he used—whether a lightning-cloaked strike or a killing move—Naruto always matched him blow for blow, perfectly mimicking his rhythm and power.
The realization began to gnaw at him.
What… what kind of monster is this boy?
How could he not realize that reaching this point meant Uzumaki Naruto had already surpassed him—both in raw power and in the precision with which he controlled it?
From the attacks Naruto had unleashed earlier, it was clear that this boy's strength was far from being fully revealed.
"Uzumaki Naruto, fight me with your full power!" the Raikage roared, his voice rumbling through the battlefield. "Even if I die here, I will not tolerate being insulted!"
The Raikage's glare could have cut through steel. Did this brat think he was some kind of training dummy?
To hold back in battle against him—against the Raikage—was the greatest insult imaginable.
At the same time, however, an unease welled up within him. He could not deny the fear that crept into his heart. When this battle ended, he would summon a Five Kage Summit. This world… could not afford another Uchiha Madara.
From what he'd seen, Uzumaki Naruto was nothing like Senju Hashirama.
This was not a man of peace. This was a force of destruction that could overturn the world.
"The Umbrella…" Naruto said, his tone calm yet sharp as a blade.
"If you've figured things out, then take my advice—don't try to meddle. The Umbrella isn't something you can afford to provoke."
No longer suppressing his strength, Naruto exhaled slowly. The fight had already yielded everything he needed. A single battle with the Raikage was worth ten days of training.
In an instant, his chakra flared, golden light flooding the battlefield as he entered his full Kurama Chakra Mode.
A colossal, golden hand took form behind him, followed by a dark, pulsating sphere of pure destruction—its aura warping the air around it.
"This is… a Tailed Beast Ball!" the Raikage muttered, his face twitching.
"Don't tell me… I've angered him too much."
The Tailed Beast Ball shot forward like a blazing meteor.
The Raikage's instincts screamed, and he leapt away just in time. Even for him, being hit by such an attack would mean disaster. One blast might not kill him outright—but two or three? Even he would fall.
He dodged, but the surrounding shinobi were not as fortunate. They lacked his speed.
In an instant, more than a dozen of them were swallowed by the explosion.
A thunderous boom split the air, and when the dust cleared, a vast, semicircular crater scarred the earth.
The Raikage's expression hardened. He had seen the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball before—but compared to the Nine-Tails' power, that was nothing.
"Big Brother!"
Killer Bee, the Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails, rushed to the Raikage's side, leaving Uchiha Shisui behind.
"Yo, you good?"
"I'm fine," the Raikage replied, breathing heavily, his sharp gaze never leaving Naruto.
Killer Bee followed his brother's line of sight. His expression grew serious as he looked at Naruto, golden chakra blazing like a miniature sun on the battlefield.
...
TN:
⚒️ Pa-treon-com/LordMerlin (Support me! 😊)