"Luck and strength are separated by the thinnest of lines. Are you sure it's just my luck that's better?" Naruto fired back.
Tobi didn't respond. Instead, he reactivated his Uzumaki vortex.
This time, he gave Naruto no chance to dodge, immediately charging forward and vanishing into the vortex before Naruto could even react.
Danger returned once more. When Tobi entered his other dimension, Naruto could no longer sense his presence through Sage Mode. The next attack could come from any direction.
"Stay focused, kid," the Nine-Tails reminded him from within. "Keep calm and steady your breath. You're not in a desperate situation, so don't panic. You're ready for this—you can defeat him. We can win."
This was a battle among Kage-level fighters. Though it might not seem like it on the surface, the Nine-Tails could feel the darkness churning deep within Tobi. Naruto's chances of victory against such a powerful opponent weren't high.
His previous fight with Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha had ended as a narrow victory, because he hadn't personally defeated Itachi. And when facing Pain—regardless of whether he claimed to be Nagato or not—he'd nearly been killed in a single blow.
Naruto kept his teammates' words close to his heart. He took several deep breaths and retrieved five explosive tags, each imbued with a distinct nature of chakra.
He hesitated for a moment before affixing one tag to each arm, both legs, and his chest.
Timing was crucial. If he messed up, he'd waste this opportunity and leave himself vulnerable to Tobi's attacks.
Activating them too early would render the tags useless and fail to halt Tobi's assault. Activating them too late, and he wouldn't have enough time to strike before Tobi reappeared and closed in.
The real question was—would this technique even work?
"Just do it already," the Nine-Tails said. "In Sage Mode, it shouldn't be nearly as dangerous as it was the first time you tried it. At least you've found a way to use those inferior, practically useless explosive tags you made over a year ago."
Naruto formed a few hand seals, closed his eyes, and prayed the Nine-Tails was right. Otherwise, this would turn into an incredibly stupid suicide move. Since completing Sage Mode training, war had broken out, giving him no chance to test those techniques—those he'd once deemed too risky or failed to perfect after learning them.
Before mastering Sage Mode, every clone he attempted—even with just two or three chakra natures—died screaming in agony.
"It probably won't kill us... probably," the Nine-Tails muttered uncertainly.
Just then, Naruto sensed Tobi's familiar malevolent chakra signature return once more. Without hesitation, he formed the final hand seal.
[Sage Art: Five Elements Collapse!]
A surge of powerful chakra instantly enveloped Naruto's body, as if engulfed in roaring flames. The colors rapidly shifted between red, yellow, blue, brown, and green—a dazzling spectacle, like a living rainbow.
"Aaaaaaah!" Naruto roared as he swung both arms outward, just in time to block Tobi's attack. Tobi's weapon had nearly pierced straight through his body. Then all hell broke loose.
"If I'm going to die, I'm taking you with me!"
Then, everything went white before his eyes...
******
At that moment, the battle seemed to come to a standstill as a deafening roar erupted in everyone's minds.
For those sensitive to spiritual energy, it felt as if an Explosive Tag had gone off right beside their ears.
At the same time, the sky north of the Hokage Rock turned pale and lifeless.
A few seconds later, a searing wave of heat engulfed the mountaintop, as if the gates of hell had burst open, sending clouds of dust and debris rolling toward the village.
This scorching heat lasted for several minutes before finally fading away, and the sky returned to its usual evening hues—though it was no longer as peaceful as before.
"..." Many ninja locked in fierce combat against White Zetsu clones paused mid-combat, locking eyes with each other in confusion about what had just happened. They had just caught a brief respite from battle and were beginning to regroup.
******
Konan thought it was the end for her.
At that moment, she assumed Naruto had activated his technique.
She had been watching from afar, believing herself to be at a safe distance.
High above, nearly a quarter-kilometer away from the battlefield, she bore witness to the clash between the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the former leader of Akatsuki. She had carefully avoided every large-scale attack they launched.
When Naruto expelled a terrifying whirlwind from his mouth, he hadn't targeted her, and she narrowly avoided that overwhelming force of nature.
Even when Tobi summoned his deadly Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands technique, though the ground below was rapidly swallowed by trees, they hadn't reached her altitude.
Then, Naruto radiated all five chakra natures across his body before triggering a catastrophic explosion.
That blast nearly struck her directly.
Luckily, when she saw the five elemental colors flaring across Naruto's body, she realized something was terribly wrong and increased the distance between them as much as she could.
By the time that fatal white light shot into the heavens, she had already exited the blast radius. Only the shockwave struck her, sending her flying far away.
Unable to control her descent, she could only watch helplessly as the world below vanished into oblivion.
"Nagato…" Konan murmured, gazing upon the apocalyptic sight. Then, gathering her strength, she soared back into the sky, frantically searching for any sign of either Naruto or Tobi. Her tone suggested that the person she was calling might actually hear her. "...Please, don't let me go yet. I need to see how this fight ends. For your sake."
******
Combining all five chakra natures with Sage Chakra was, without doubt, the most unstable technique ever attempted. Using such a technique defied all logic—it was nothing short of sheer madness.
This technique had never been tested before, so Naruto had no idea what effect it would have on his own body. Each time he tried having a clone perform it, the clone combusted from within, leaving only ash behind.
This taught him one thing clearly—that under normal circumstances, this jutsu would kill him outright, and nothing more.
Afterward, he gained a deeper understanding of the relationship between chakra and nature transformations. However, he still didn't understand the immense strain that would result from all types of chakra erupting simultaneously within him—there was no sensation that could compare to it.
What he did know was that this was the first time he had ever contained such massive chakra inside him, and he had to release it all at once—otherwise, the consequences would be catastrophic. So he did just that.
He released that power the only way he could think of in such desperation.
He didn't realize just how shocking the outcome would be—or how close to death it would push him.
He couldn't even begin to imagine the scale of destruction this power would unleash. Thankful for Mount Myoboku's Sage Mode, which enhanced every aspect of him—his endurance, recovery, and even the Nine-Tails' healing ability even while he wasn't transformed.
Dust and smoke still lingered heavily in the air. The effects of this explosion would linger for kilometers around, lasting for quite some time.
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