Even Gyūki found Naruto's demeanor startling.
Kurama—the prideful and arrogant Nine-Tails—had actually chosen to lend his power to a mere brat.
"Big Brother, looks like we're fighting side by side again!"
Killer Bee, his usual carefree grin replaced by a rare seriousness, extended his fist toward the Raikage. Their fists met with a resounding thud, and a brief smile crossed both their faces.
It had been a long time since the brothers had fought together. There were few enemies left in the world that required their combined might.
"Killer Bee, be careful," Gyūki warned, his voice rumbling like distant thunder. "The Nine-Tails' power is the strongest among us!"
Though they were both Tailed Beasts, they stood on opposing sides. Gyūki's bond with Killer Bee was that of true partners, but his relationship with Kurama was… complicated. Neither friendship nor enmity, merely coexistence. Yet now, they found themselves as enemies.
Even so, Gyūki couldn't help but feel curious. What kind of boy could make the Nine-Tails acknowledge him? The chakra swirling around Naruto wasn't something taken by force—it was power willingly given.
In the distance, Shisui was about to move when Naruto halted him with a single look.
Minato Namikaze watched the scene unfold, memories of his past battle against the AB Duo—Raikage Ay and Killer Bee—flashing before his eyes. The two warriors before him were older now, their strength dulled slightly by time, yet their fighting spirit remained unchanged.
Killer Bee had already heard about Naruto's strength from Gyūki. With the Nine-Tails' cooperation, such power wasn't surprising. But even without Kurama's help, Naruto's own strength was nothing short of extraordinary.
As the Raikage thought to himself—this boy, at such a young age, could already control the Nine-Tails' chakra. His future was unfathomable.
Another Madara… another Hashirama… perhaps even something greater.
And someone like that—someone so powerful—would never be tolerated by the shinobi world for long.
"Yo, bro—let's hit it!" Killer Bee's voice snapped through the tension.
Chakra surged violently as the brothers unleashed their full power.
Lightning cloaked Raikage's body, flaring like a living storm. Killer Bee's chakra pulsed beside him in rhythm with Gyūki's.
"Double—Lariat!!"
They moved as one, two streaks of power converging into a single killing strike—fast enough to decapitate a lesser man in an instant.
But before they could connect—
Naruto caught both their arms mid-swing.
In a single motion, he pivoted, swung them around, and hurled them into the ground like rag dolls.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Twin craters exploded into existence. Dust and rubble filled the air.
The two brothers staggered to their feet, barely maintaining their footing—only for Naruto to vanish from sight.
Flying Thunder God—!
Before the Raikage could react, Naruto appeared behind him and kicked upward, sending him soaring into the sky. In the blink of an eye, Naruto teleported above him and delivered a crushing kick downward.
BOOOOM!!!
The earth trembled under the impact, a massive crater marking the point of collision.
Naruto then flashed beside Killer Bee, who immediately transformed into Gyūki's full form. Yet even the Eight-Tails' massive body was flung backward by Naruto's follow-up strike, crashing through the landscape like a meteor.
Both Killer Bee and Gyūki were stunned.
How… how is he this strong?
On the sidelines, Shisui and the others could only gape.
"This… this is insane," murmured Uchiha Renji. "He's treating the Raikage and the Eight-Tails like training dummies."
The sheer force of Naruto's blows was terrifying—violent beauty in motion.
The Raikage groaned, blood trickling from his mouth. Yet his pride would not allow him to yield. With a roar, he lunged forward once more—only to have Naruto appear behind him in an instant and strike a precise blow to the neck.
Ay's eyes rolled back as he collapsed, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Naruto turned his gaze toward Gyūki, who instinctively recoiled. For the first time, true fear flickered across the Eight-Tails' eyes.
Naruto grinned.
In response, Gyūki hastily began to condense a Tailed Beast Ball.
Naruto extended his hand, a massive chakra construct forming behind him—Kurama's manifestation—mirroring the same technique.
Two orbs of pure destruction collided midair.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion shook the entire battlefield, shockwaves tearing through the ground and scattering the surrounding Kumogakure shinobi. Many were knocked unconscious, others dragged into the blast radius.
When the dust cleared—five enormous chakra hands loomed above Naruto.
Within each palm, a Tailed Beast Ball began to take shape.
Gyūki's pupils contracted in disbelief.
How… how can he create them that fast?! Doesn't he need to charge them?
But Naruto just stood there—calm, silent, and smiling faintly—as the blinding glow of the five orbs reflected in his eyes.
The era of monsters had returned.
The Nine-Tails had gone through something no one would've believed possible—special training.
And the one who demanded it… was Naruto himself.
Despite possessing power far beyond most Kage, Kurama's strength still fell short when compared to legends like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. So, after endless complaints from Naruto, even the prideful fox was forced to begin its own path of growth.
Naruto's reasoning had been simple:
"You're my Tailed Beast. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if you couldn't even defeat Madara Uchiha one day?"
When Naruto first said that, Kurama had scoffed in disdain. But after Naruto released him and challenged him to a one-on-one fight, the Nine-Tails had fallen silent.
Ordinarily, when a Tailed Beast is extracted from its jinchūriki, the host dies soon after. But Naruto wasn't ordinary. By using his immense life energy, he had completely sealed his own life force in place—preventing his death even after separation.
That was how he broke the curse that had claimed every jinchūriki before him.
Kurama and Naruto had been bound together for so long that their chakra and even their life force had begun to intermingle. That connection—the merging of man and beast—was what made sealing a Tailed Beast possible in the first place.
But when Kurama left Naruto's body, Naruto used precise chakra control and his mastery over his own vitality to stabilize the process. Though some of his strength was carried away with Kurama, the bond between them granted Naruto new insights and power in return.
It was after that moment that the Nine-Tails truly witnessed the vastness of Naruto's strength.
Hashirama Senju could simply clap his hands and restrain the Nine-Tails with Wood Release, as though catching a wild animal. Uchiha Madara needed only a glare to seize control with his Sharingan.
Those two had subdued him completely.
But Naruto? Naruto had faced him head-on—using nothing but his own ninjutsu and physical might—and had won.
That battle was the first time Kurama realized the terrifying depth of Naruto's potential. Back then, his power had been slightly below that of Hashirama and Madara. But now… now, Kurama doubted that even those two titans could compare.
At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if Naruto had already surpassed them—perhaps even standing on the same level as the Sage of Six Paths himself.
Because only someone of that caliber could be the one the Sage once spoke of—the savior of the world, the one destined to bring change.
Naruto had conquered him not only with strength, but also with spirit—with that relentless determination that refused to bow before anyone.
Now that Kurama was free, he too began to train, determined to refine his power just as Naruto had demanded.
After all, Tailed Beasts possessed near-limitless chakra, but their control over it was crude. They were creatures of instinct and raw strength—never needing refinement until men like Hashirama and Madara had appeared and forced them into submission.
Among all the Tailed Beasts, only Shukaku, the One-Tail, had ever actively sought to learn ninjutsu.
And if even a summoned beast could master techniques, then why not a Tailed Beast?
Still, Shukaku's Wind Release was mediocre at best. Even Danzo Shimura once claimed that his Wind Release surpassed it.
Kurama, however, refused to stay inferior. He began training in chakra control and power modulation, mastering the precision that once belonged only to humans.
And under Naruto's guidance, the mightiest of Tailed Beasts began to evolve.
...
TN:
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