Crash!
Naruto grabbed onto a protruding rock and forcefully pulled his body out of the rubble.
Looking up, he saw a Tailed Beast Bomb, approximately six meters in diameter, already upon the mountain peak where he stood.
Endless light instantly filled his vision.
"Tch…"
Boom!
After the light dissipated, the once-steep mountain cliff had vanished.
On a distant stone peak, Naruto's battered figure abruptly appeared. He reached out, pulled a Flying Thunder God kunai from a crevice in the rock, and hurled it forcefully in another direction.
The number of Flying Thunder God kunai Naruto Clone Four had set up for him was limited; if they were all destroyed, the ensuing battle would become dangerous.
Gazing at the abrupt gap in the distant landscape, Naruto couldn't help but feel a strange sense of irony.
Is this the legendary turning of fortune's wheel?
It's always been me bombarding others with Tailed Beast Bombs; today, it's my turn to be bombarded.
Just as he was contemplating how to separate the two opponents, another Tailed Beast Bomb flew towards him from afar.
Sensing the other Flying Thunder God formulas in the distance, Naruto's figure vanished once more. He didn't transform; the Raikage's earlier attack had made him realize that against their combined assault, Kurama's massive form would only be a liability.
If it were a one-on-one fight with Killer Bee, he would gladly enter his Tailed Beast state for a Jinchuriki-style 'fist-to-flesh' brawl.
"Bee, stop wasting chakra!" The Fourth Raikage, A, leaped onto Gyuki's shoulder. "Without restricting his movement, your Tailed Beast Bombs will never hit him."
"We must quickly ascertain the locations of his Flying Thunder God formulas."
A's gaze swept back and forth, wary of the enemy launching a sneak attack via the Flying Thunder God Technique.
During the Third Great Ninja War, he had clashed with Konoha's Yellow Flash. He had his own insights on how to counter the Flying Thunder God.
The Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't a jutsu that could freely traverse space-time; it had its limitations, requiring relevant formulas for marking.
As long as one could predict the enemy's movements and arrive at the Flying Thunder God formula's location a step ahead of the user the instant they activated the technique, a single strike could decide the battle.
"Got it, Big Bro!" Killer Bee responded. He exited his full Tailed Beast state, shifting into a more agile partial Tailed Beast transformation. Crimson Tailed Beast chakra reinforced his body to an inhuman degree.
The rock beneath the two of them suddenly rose!
Naruto's figure, a golden streak of light, appeared before the partially transformed Killer Bee.
"Good chance, Bee!" "Yeah, Big Bro!"
Naruto, caught between the two brothers, instantly understood their intention.
"Ultimate Lariat!"
Both brothers cocked their right arms, aiming to clamp down on the enemy's head from front and back. Even from a distance, Naruto could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within their attack.
He had no doubt that even with Kurama's chakra cloak protecting him, he wouldn't be able to withstand this blow.
However…
Naruto looked at Killer Bee before him. He hadn't charged into their pincer attack just to take a beating!
His figure suddenly lunged forward, right into Killer Bee's embrace.
"Bee!" Fourth Raikage A's expression changed slightly at this sight, and he shouted a warning.
Killer Bee also realized Naruto's intent and tried to enter his full Tailed Beast state to make teleportation more difficult.
But unfortunately, the time it took to transform was more than enough for Naruto to teleport him several times over.
Both their figures vanished from the spot in an instant.
Boom!
The Fourth Raikage landed on the ground, directly smashing out a sizeable crater.
"ROAR!"
Gyuki's pained roar echoed from the distance. The Fourth Raikage swiftly locked onto their location and, with a powerful leap, crossed several hundred meters.
"Bakayaro! Konoyaro!" (You idiot! You bastard!)
Killer Bee stared at his two severed tails and quickly exited his Tailed Beast state.
The massive size of a Tailed Beast transformation might be terrifying to lower-level ninja, but to Kage-level powerhouses, that same size meant slower reaction times.
That was fatal.
Killer Bee drew his seven swords, five crimson tails and both hands each wielding a long blade.
Acrobat—his self-created technique, flexibly manipulating seven swords with various parts of his body to fight and slay enemies!
"Oh Yeah!!"
With a roar, Killer Bee charged at his opponent, manipulating his seven swords.
Seeing this, Naruto's eyes lit up with the thrill of the hunt. He met the charge, Kusabimaru in hand.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Countless sparks erupted violently.
They were the product of their blades clashing at high speed.
Killer Bee with his swords and Killer Bee without them were two completely different people. The numerous blades, far from being a hindrance, seemed like extensions of his own body. Each sword's appearance was bafflingly unpredictable; even Naruto would suffer several wounds if he was even slightly careless.
At this moment, Killer Bee seemed to have transformed into a killing hornet, his entire being covered in man-devouring sharp edges.
"Your swordsmanship is very strong," Naruto commented.
This was the strongest swordsman he had encountered since coming to this world.
"You're not bad yourself! Bakayaro! Konoyaro!" Killer Bee was equally astounded by Naruto's swordsmanship.
In this era where samurai were in decline and ninjutsu had reached unprecedented heights, very few ninja were willing to diligently study swordsmanship anymore.
More often, swords were merely treated as tools, like kunai or shuriken.
Hearing his words, the ferocity of Naruto's attacks suddenly intensified severalfold.
A large golden claw suddenly shot out from his golden chakra cloak, viciously grabbing at Killer Bee.
Rip!
Both were constructions of Tailed Beast chakra, but the crimson Tailed Beast chakra couldn't offer much effective defense against the sharp claws. Glancing at his mangled waist, flesh and blood a blur, Killer Bee couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
Naruto's eyes narrowed, seizing the opportunity. His long sword swept up from the ground, launching Bee into the air.
Two large golden claws shot out, clasped together, and slammed down heavily upon him.
Killer Bee's figure flew backward uncontrollably, carving a trench across the water's surface before finally smashing hard into a rock peak.
Roar!
Naruto entered his Tailed Beast state and, at top speed, fired a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"You bastard!"
The Fourth Raikage's figure descended from the sky. A fierce flying kick pierced through the golden chakra avatar's outer layer and slammed viciously into Naruto's shoulder – and that was only because Naruto had dodged at the last moment.
Otherwise, that kick would have landed on his head.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Naruto's figure smashed through more than ten stone peaks, disappearing into the swirling mist.
Boom!
At the same instant, the Tailed Beast Bomb he had just fired accurately struck Killer Bee, and a blinding light instantly engulfed Bee's form.
"BEE!" The Fourth Raikage's face contorted in alarm.
Crash!
Naruto stood up from a pile of rubble, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at his drooping right shoulder. He coated his left hand with Wind Release chakra.
Slice.
He made a cut on his right shoulder, reached in with his left hand, and began to set the shattered bone fragments back into place one by one. If he couldn't find where a piece belonged, he pulled it out and tossed it on the ground.
When he felt it was about right, he took out a roll of gauze from a storage scroll and roughly bandaged his bleeding right shoulder.
He was only halfway through bandaging it.
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal!"
The Fourth Raikage's figure shot towards him from a distance. His right hand, crackling with a massive amount of Lightning Release chakra, had yet to reach its target when Naruto's figure vanished from the spot.
A quickly scanned his surroundings, confirming there were no Flying Thunder God formulas, then leaped onto a nearby stone peak, looking down from above to search for the enemy.
To take a hit from my Righteous Lightning Sinking Fury Axe and still be standing… this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's hide is pretty thick.
And also…
Gazing at the bone fragments and bloodstains on the ground, the Fourth Raikage's eyes narrowed.
Ruthless!
Behind a stone peak, Naruto leaned against the rock wall, continuing to bandage the wound on his shoulder.
"A wound this severe will take some time to recover, even with my chakra," Kurama commented. "Want to hide for a while first?"
"No need." Naruto bit down, tying the bandage into a tight knot, then picked up Kusabimaru with his left hand.
"It's not like both hands are useless."
His figure vanished once more.
"Bakayaro! Konoyaro! Hiss…" Staring at his severely burned body, Killer Bee's rap had lost its usual spirit.
"Are you alright, Bee?" Gyuki's voice sounded in his mind.
"Not dead yet… for now." Looking at the golden figure that had suddenly appeared not far away, Killer Bee disregarded his injuries and re-entered his partial Tailed Beast state.
"Konoyaro!"
Snatching up a long sword, Killer Bee's movements were somewhat sluggish, but his fierce aura hadn't diminished in the slightest.
Naruto raised his left hand slightly, Kusabimaru held horizontally before him. A massive amount of Wind Release chakra instantly enveloped the blade.
"Kanshin-ryu: Crescent Moon!"
Dozens of sword beams, each many meters long, danced forth from the blade.
To take down Killer Bee in the shortest time possible, Naruto was going all out, his chakra depleting at a visible rate.
The amount of chakra he consumed in one second was already comparable to the total chakra reserves of an ordinary jounin.
"Bakayaro! Kono…"
Faced with such a number of sword beams, Killer Bee could only block the first few attacks.
A large amount of blood gushed from his body. His partial Tailed Beast chakra cloak seemed somewhat powerless against this kind of assault.
The extensive injuries even forced him out of his partial Tailed Beast state.
Thud…
Killer Bee collapsed powerlessly to the ground. A large amount of blood flowed from his wounds, instantly staining the nearby pool of water red.
Naruto stood before Killer Bee. The white bandages wrapped around his right shoulder had, at some unknown point, turned completely red.
Drip! Drip!
Blood trickled down his right hand and slowly dripped onto the ground.
Boom!
From the exploding muddy water, a figure wreathed in lightning suddenly burst forth.
"Lord Raikage, perhaps we can talk," Naruto said, his expression unchanging, his left hand slightly raised.
The edge of Kusabimaru rested lightly against Killer Bee's neck.
Wham!
A potentially lethal fist stopped scant millimeters from Naruto's face. The Fourth Raikage, glancing at the blade mark on his brother's neck, slowly retracted his right fist.
"What are your conditions?" he asked.
"You should already know my intentions, Lord Raikage," Naruto said.
"…" The Fourth Raikage looked at him deeply for a moment. "You will see Kumogakure's statement tomorrow."
"Lord Raikage, I look forward to our next encounter." Naruto withdrew Kusabimaru and vanished from the spot.
He had no doubt about the Raikage's promise.
Strong individuals possessed overwhelming power, but they also possessed an admirable conviction…