"Hell Stab · One Strike—!"
"Magnet Style: Gold Dust Explosion · Tornado Cone—!"
The two Kage-level powerhouses, perfectly synchronized, charged from opposite directions.
They aligned on the same plane, the same straight line—aimed directly at the stone pillar beneath Naruto's feet.
Like thunder.
Like falling stars.
Boom—!
"W-what just happened?! I can't hear anything—I'm deaf!"
"This is insane… I can see the shockwaves. If Lord Uzumaki's clones weren't blocking the front, that blast alone would've killed us!"
"What did you say?! It's too loud—I can't hear you!"
"My ears hurt… my whole body's shaking—I can't even control myself!"
Panic rippled through the stands.
But no one was paying attention to the audience.
Every ninja had their eyes wide open, breath held tight.
"With those two techniques… even if I went Sage Mode, I couldn't block them. I'd have to dodge,"
Jiraiya muttered grimly.
"Even if I push the Strength of a Hundred to its absolute limit, my output still falls short,"
Tsunade said, fists clenched.
"My Dust Release is stronger in raw power—but it's too slow. I wouldn't even have time to activate it,"
Onoki thought, his heart sinking.
"Even as a perfect Jinchuriki… even with a Tailed Beast Bomb, I might not stop that,"
Yagura sighed heavily.
"Cloud and Sand really do have terrifying trump cards."
"So… how will Uzumaki Naruto handle this?"
Every Kage-level figure stared, eyes burning.
Naruto moved.
"Earth Style: Diamond Earth Flow Wall—!"
"Wind Style: Spiral Tornado—!"
In an instant, two jutsu were completed.
A towering wall with a metallic sheen rose in front of the Raikage.
Before the Kazekage's tornado cone, a counter-rotating vortex formed—spinning in the opposite direction, violently stripping away the power of the attack.
"One Strike—!"
Lightning shrieked as chakra compressed onto A's fingertips, turning them into pale-blue lightning cones.
Crash!
The diamond earth wall shattered.
Raikage A burst through the debris and continued forward—
but the moment his fingers touched the stone pillar, his body froze.
His face went white. Sweat poured down.
The lightning vanished.
His chakra was completely depleted.
On the other side, Rasa staggered, eyes bloodshot, watching his ultimate technique being peeled apart layer by layer.
The spinning gold cone slowed…
then stopped.
The condensed gold dust lost cohesion, scattered, and struck the stone pillar like harmless sand.
"…A dirt wall."
"…A B-rank Wind Style."
A and Rasa collapsed where they stood, staring blankly up at the red-cloaked boy smiling above them.
A monster.
A peerless monster.
They had never truly believed they could win.
But they never imagined this.
Naruto didn't overpower their ultimate moves.
He perfectly countered them—
using ordinary techniques, at exactly the right time, with exactly the right force.
Their chakra was drained.
Their trump cards erased.
The most terrifying thing in battle isn't brute strength.
It's precision.
Perfect, merciless precision.
What else was there to say?
In front of Naruto, even Kage-level shinobi were no more than insects in his palm—
alive or dead at his whim.
"Lord Raikage—!"
"Kazekage-sama—!"
The exhausted Jonin cried out, voices trembling.
"…Enough. Cloud Village surrenders."
"…Sunagakure also surrenders."
A and Rasa spoke one after the other.
They were utterly convinced.
Escape was impossible.
Surrender was the only way to live.
The Jonin collapsed to the ground as if their strength had been ripped away.
Surrender.
A word they had never expected to say.
Yet now, it felt inevitable.
Naruto smiled and nodded.
He brought his palms together.
Green branches burst forth instantly, binding every Cloud and Sand ninja in place—no one escaped.
Some struggled.
Useless.
The seemingly delicate wood was tougher than steel.
"Wood Release…?"
Jiraiya and Tsunade stared at Naruto, shock reaching its peak.
"When did he learn that?!"
"My god… both the Raikage and Kazekage captured—along with their Jonin and Genin. This is unbelievable!"
"Is this going to trigger a war with the Land of Lightning and the Land of Wind? A Fourth Ninja War?!"
"Idiot. With Uzumaki-sama here, even ten times their courage wouldn't be enough. Remember the First Hokage—who dared make trouble back then?"
"…Right. Uzumaki-sama is here."
"When does Uzumaki-sama become Hokage? Fifth Hokage Uzumaki—sounds good."
"Don't be stupid. The Third Hokage is still alive."
"Ah—right. Where is the Third Hokage?"
"On the roof."
The audience stared in stunned silence at the bound Kage and their forces.
This was unprecedented.
In the entire history of the ninja world, no one had ever captured two Kage at once.
Today would be written into history.
The realization sent shivers of excitement through the crowd.
Their worship of Naruto reached a new height.
Some even openly called him the Fifth Hokage.
Only then did people suddenly remember—
The Third Hokage hadn't abdicated yet.
So why did it already feel like the throne had changed hands?
"This is an open, undeniable conspiracy,"
Orochimaru laughed loudly from the rooftop.
"Using overwhelming merit to force the position. Sarutobi-sensei—can you feel the wind of the new era?"
"Too domineering," he added happily. "I love it."
"I feel it," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied with a smile.
"And honestly… I'm at a loss for words."
With the Raikage and Kazekage captured, Konoha had completely turned the tide.
Freed of all worries, Hiruzen's fighting spirit surged.
Naruto appeared on the rooftop, carrying the restrained Kazekage and Raikage.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Guy, and other Konoha shinobi followed.
Kirigakure and Iwagakure's forces arrived as well.
"My legs are shaking…"
"Hold it together, if your legs are weak, I'll support you."
"We're done for… we can't escape. Are we going to die?"
"Don't talk nonsense. The Four Violet Flame Formation is still up—who could possibly break it?"
"…Uzumaki Naruto could."
"Sh-shut up."
The four Sound ninja maintaining the Four Violet Flame Formation trembled violently.
Surrounded by Jonin—and monsters far beyond Jonin—they felt pure terror.
If not for Orochimaru's presence…
They might have surrendered on the spot.
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