As the oppressive pressure radiated from Naruto, Ōnoki's heart skipped a beat.
Until now, Naruto had behaved quite casually—even easygoing.
It made Ōnoki almost forget that this was the same young man who had single-handedly massacred an entire village.
Now, feeling the suffocating pressure firsthand, Ōnoki snapped back to reality.
He sighed internally, recalling his teacher—the Second Tsuchikage—and slowly began to explain:
"Dust Release is a Kekkei Tōta formed by merging the wind, earth, and fire chakra natures in a precise ratio."
"Sounds simple, but mastering it is another story. I spent years just to—"
"Stop," Naruto cut in with a raised hand.
"No need for all that. Just show me how it works."
Ōnoki looked at him, inwardly scoffing.
'Hmph. This is Dust Release. Not a single shinobi in Iwagakure can use it—not even one.
You think you can master it just by watching once?
If you do, I'll write 'Iwagakure' backward for the rest of my life!'
At the same time, Ōnoki couldn't help but feel how similar this arrogant young man was to Uchiha Madara.
Especially with the rumors that Naruto could use Susanoo—
It was enough to make him wonder if Naruto really was Madara reincarnated.
If so, everything—the strength, the talent, the speed—would make sense.
"Watch closely then! Dust Release consumes a tremendous amount of chakra.
This old body of mine can only manage it a few times."
Ōnoki placed his hands together in front of him, assuming a preparatory stance.
Naruto, meanwhile, activated both his Tenseigan's x-ray vision and Transparent World,
granting him dual-layer perception.
He wasn't taking any chances.
If Ōnoki tried to sneak in an attack—he wouldn't even have time to move before dying on the spot.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
A clearly defined translucent cube began forming in Ōnoki's hands—
BZZZZT! A unique buzzing rang out as the Dust Release built up.
In that moment, as the energy gathered in his palms, Ōnoki even briefly considered aiming it at Naruto.
But when he looked into Naruto's radiant blue eyes, the thought instantly vanished.
Those eyes… made him deeply uneasy.
The cube in his hands suddenly surged with blinding light.
Ōnoki expanded it into a massive cube, hurling it down onto a small mountain below.
In an instant, half the mountain was erased—
No rubble, no debris—just gone.
As if it had been absorbed by space itself.
It was a terrifying display of power.
Even Susanoo could be destroyed by this technique.
Naruto watched silently and nodded.
'Dust Release… definitely lives up to the hype.'
Though, Ōnoki's charging time was far too long—
Longer than even the hand seals of a normal jutsu.
That would have to be improved.
Ōnoki lowered his hands, breathing heavily.
Just that one attack had left him winded.
Still, his eyes gleamed with pride.
This was the strength that Dust Release gave him.
But unbeknownst to him, Naruto had already analyzed everything.
From chakra movement to release mechanics—
Using Transparent World and his chakra mastery, Naruto had seen it all.
Even the exact fusion ratio of wind, earth, and fire chakra.
Naruto raised one hand, mimicking a forward palm strike—
And with perfect control, began fusing the elements using Absolute Chakra Mastery.
What took Ōnoki 2–3 seconds…
Naruto completed in under a second.
BZZZZZT!!!
An ear-piercing shriek far louder than Ōnoki's earlier Dust Release echoed in the sky!
To Ōnoki's absolute horror, in front of Naruto's extended hand—
A massive Dust Release crystal, nearly 100 meters in diameter, hovered silently in the air.
The chakra radiating from it was hundreds of times stronger than his own!
Ōnoki gulped.
Sweat drenched his forehead.
'He… He not only learned Dust Release in one glance…
He conjured this monstrous crystal in less than a second?!'
Ōnoki had spent decades mastering Dust Release.
And yet… if this Dust Release detonated,
Iwagakure would be wiped off the map.
For the first time in his life, Ōnoki felt true fear.
Naruto wasn't just dangerous—he was no longer human.
Even a hundred Ōnokis couldn't manage what Naruto just did.
If Iwagakure were destroyed by a Dust Release…
It would be unforgivable.
"Naruto… d-don't detonate that, please!
We—we can negotiate anything.
If you fire that now, even the Five-Tails will be killed!"
"Relax," Naruto replied calmly.
"You're more sensible than the Fourth Raikage. I'm not some mindless killer."
Ōnoki exhaled in relief.
The next moment, Naruto casually tossed the massive Dust Release upward.
Thousands of meters above, the cube detonated—
Becoming a blinding white cube-shaped explosion dozens of kilometers wide!
Like a miniature sun, it lit up the entire ninja world.
The closest villagers in Iwagakure were blinded, as if flashbanged point-blank—
Panic erupted everywhere.
The massive cube hovered in the sky for several minutes before slowly fading.
The implication was clear:
If anything had been caught in that blast, it would've been utterly obliterated.
Ōnoki stood slack-jawed, staring at the sky, unable to speak.
As one of the only Dust Release users alive…
Even he couldn't comprehend what he'd just seen.
Unprovokable… completely unprovokable…
Even facing Uchiha Madara's Susanoo,
he hadn't felt this much despair.
Across the continent, other shinobi villages saw the "cube sun" in the sky.
It threw the entire ninja world into unrest.
So many shocking events had occurred recently—
everyone was on edge.
Naruto lowered his hand, very satisfied with the result.
'This isn't Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World…
This is Dust Release: Nuclear Separation Technique.'
Being able to unleash something like that gave Naruto even more clarity:
It's never the jutsu that's strong.
It's the one who casts it.
A stat monster's normal attack…
is basically an ultimate skill.
"Yeah… Dust Release is a pretty neat power."
Naruto smacked his lips thoughtfully.
Ōnoki forced a dry smile.