"Unbelievable…"
Ao murmured, his Byakugan trained on the incredible scene before him. He could clearly see the chakra from the Water Dragon Bullet flowing into the yellow-haired kid's body. The boy, who looked so unremarkable just moments ago, had shattered a B-rank Water Style jutsu with his bare hands.
Cold sweat trickled down Ao's forehead. The ninja world had been in decline since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, but this kid… he fought with a confidence Ao hadn't seen in a generation. His expression grew solemn. "It's been a long time since I've met a boy as terrifying as you."
Naruto Uzumaki tilted his head, pretending to think for a moment before replying, "Maybe… it's because you just haven't lived long enough to see one?"
"..."
A vein throbbed on the middle-aged Mist ninja's forehead. Does this kid even know how to talk? Does he understand the unspoken rules of a ninja battle? he thought. When an enemy praises your strength, you're supposed to show modesty or return the compliment, not mock them!
This kid was so annoying. How could such an annoying kid exist?
Ao stared at Naruto's innocent-looking face, trying to figure out how to break the stalemate. Using ninjutsu was clearly out of the question. It was a shame. As a Mist ninja fighting in the middle of the sea, he had to give up his greatest advantage.
Fortunately, after acquiring the Byakugan, Ao had trained extensively in taijutsu with the Mizukage to maximize its potential. He had even developed his own style of pressure-point strikes.
The Mist ninja suddenly stomped on the water's surface, launching himself forward. As he closed the distance with Naruto, he brought his fingers together into a sharp point.
"Blue Dragon Penetrating Hand!"
This taijutsu technique, infused with Water-nature chakra, was the same move Ao had used to defeat both Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto showed no weakness. A swirling sphere of chakra appeared in his palm, and he charged forward to meet the attack.
Ao couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Naruto rush toward him. "Brat, your ninjutsu will never hit me."
Just as he predicted, Ao tilted his body slightly, narrowly dodging the Rasengan's path. His own fingers were now just inches from striking Naruto's vital points.
A smug grin formed on the Mist ninja's face, but just as he was about to declare victory, a sudden force slammed into him, sending him flying backward. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Ao struggled to his feet, staring at his waist in disbelief. His clothes there were torn to shreds. How terrifying, he thought. Can he really compress and reshape his jutsu's chakra at will during a battle?
His Byakugan revealed the truth: Naruto had instantly compressed the Rasengan into a small pellet and fired it at him.
"Yeah…" Naruto said, spreading his palms with a helpless look. "My attacks are too easy to dodge, so I came up with two solutions. The first is to change the Rasengan's shape mid-battle to catch people off guard…"
"As for the second method… I increase the jutsu's speed!"
The Rasengan reappeared in Naruto's palm. Fueled by his chakra, it grew larger and larger, quickly reaching half the size of a person. The immense, swirling energy whipped his hair back and forth.
Just as everyone stared in astonishment, afraid the massive sphere would explode, its chakra finally reached saturation.
Kakashi's eyelid twitched as he watched. "No matter how I look at it, that doesn't look like he's increasing the speed. It looks like he's increasing the power…"
"Nope! The Rasengan can also be used as a speed boost, so I researched a new way to release it," Naruto explained, looking at the jutsu in his hand. "Think of it as a variation I came up with!"
He manipulated the chakra, constantly solidifying it until it became a small, shining sphere of light that gleamed under the sun.
Naruto held the sphere and looked up at the nervous Mist ninja. "Even with your Byakugan, there's no way you can avoid this."
Ao's Byakugan instantly saw the composition of the light sphere. "The chakra in that jutsu… it's immense!" he muttered to himself. "The power must be beyond imagination! I have to escape!"
Without hesitation, Ao leaped up, preparing to jump away.
However, a beam of light caught him in an instant. The sphere in Naruto's hand had erupted into a massive shockwave, hitting Ao's body before he even had time to react. The speed was simply too great.
The chakra shockwave burst into a brilliant flash of light, and to everyone's amazement, it pierced straight through Ao's body. The speed generated immense power, and the recoil was so strong that even Naruto was pushed back a dozen steps.
"That's the first time I've used that jutsu. I'm still not used to it. Can't believe it actually hit him," Naruto muttered, looking from the falling Ao in the distance to his own palm. "Once I get used to it, I can use it against fast-moving enemies. It feels like something is still missing, though…"
Sasuke Uchiha was in shock. After staring as the chakra shockwave faded, he forced himself to calm down and looked at Naruto. "Naruto, you bastard, did you develop a new jutsu again?"
"Barely, I guess!" Naruto nodded and sighed. "Actually, it's just a failed project. But it seems like it might be worth researching further. From now on, let's call it the Spiral Shockwave!"
Sasuke was speechless. He had defeated an enemy in a single blow, and he was calling it a failed project? That same Mist ninja had easily beaten both Kakashi and Sasuke himself.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. He couldn't afford to relax anymore. Naruto was already developing new, more powerful ninjutsu, while he was still just using his clan's Fire Style. If this kept up, the gap in strength between them would only get wider.
Team 7 finished the battle and returned to their boat. Naruto fished the Mist ninja's body out of the sea and tossed him onto the deck. "Kakashi-sensei, this guy's dead."
"Yeah." Kakashi stepped forward, removed Ao's eyepatch, and looked at the Byakugan in the socket. He then sealed Ao's body into a scroll.
After a moment, as if remembering something, Kakashi tossed the scroll to Naruto. "Naruto, this is your prize from the fight."
"Huh?"
"It's too much trouble to hand it over to the village," Kakashi said, scratching his head and feigning indifference. "When you get back, you can take it and return it to the Hyuga clan."
He knew that if the Byakugan fell into the hands of Konoha's higher-ups, they might be tempted to keep it. The Hyuga clan was more loyal to their family than to Konoha, and if they ever discovered some of the council's less honorable deeds, it could cause another major incident. After all, the Hyuga valued their Byakugan far more than the Uchiha had ever valued the Sharingan.
It was better to let Naruto return it directly. It would earn him a favor with the Hyuga, and the higher-ups couldn't hold Naruto accountable. If anyone got in trouble, it would be him, the supervising jonin.
-----
Bonus:
Uzumaki Naruto: I'm going to marry Hinata!
Hyuga Hizashi: The bride price?
Uzumaki Naruto: Will these Byakugan do?
Hyuga Hizashi: Look at our family—who doesn't have Byakugan? We don't need that!
Uchiha Sasuke: Naruto, don't marry Hinata…
Uzumaki Naruto: Why?
Uchiha Sasuke: If you marry her, you'll have to deal with her whole family's Byakugan…