"Naruto! You actually… actually blocked my attack?!"
Sasuke's Lightning Release: Chidori Slash had grown terrifyingly strong.
He had already pushed Lightning Release nature transformation close to its limit. And yet, even so, it was evenly matched against Naruto's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Neither jutsu could overpower the other.
Naruto was equally shocked.
He hadn't expected his ultimate technique to be stopped head-on by Sasuke.
If Sasuke can already block it… then Shigure would handle it even more easily.
That realization made Naruto feel a surge of frustration.
Had all of his effort been meaningless?
Just then—
A far stronger wave of chakra erupted from Sasuke's body.
Naruto felt it instantly.
Sasuke's chakra kept rising, growing denser and more violent by the second. At the same time, strange black markings spread rapidly across his skin.
The Cursed Seal of Heaven had activated.
The cursed chakra flooded Sasuke's body, forcefully amplifying his strength.
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
Natural energy…?
Is he absorbing it through those markings?
In a sense, the cursed seal was a crude form of Sage power—a forced method of drawing in natural energy.
If Sasuke was going that far, Naruto wouldn't hold back.
He closed his eyes.
Natural energy surged in response.
Both of them stood still, wildly gathering chakra.
Barely a minute passed.
Naruto suddenly opened his eyes.
Sage Mode—activated.
At the same time, Sasuke's cursed seal evolved further, directly entering Second State.
His body darkened completely, and grotesque, massive hands burst from his back.
At this moment, Sasuke no longer looked human.
He looked like a monster.
Naruto frowned.
"Sasuke… when did you turn into something like this?"
Sasuke glanced at Naruto's eyes—at the orange pigmentation around them.
The unmistakable sign of perfect Sage Mode.
For a moment, envy flickered through his gaze.
He hadn't expected Naruto to have already mastered Sage Arts.
Sasuke's expression hardened.
In the next instant, pitch-black lightning exploded into existence in his palm.
"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted.
"Let's see if you can still block this!'"
Naruto raised his hand in response.
A massive sphere of chakra rapidly formed.
Super-Big Ball Rasengan.
The violent turbulence caused by the two of them accumulating chakra made everyone else freeze in place.
No one dared to blink.
Boom! Boom!
Two sharp bursts echoed as Naruto and Sasuke charged forward simultaneously.
Their postures were brutal.
Unyielding.
Like warriors charging into a fight to the death.
"Sasuke!"
Suigetsu, Jūgo, and Karin all shouted in alarm.
If something went wrong here, it would be disastrous.
On the other side, Kakashi, Sai, and Sakura were just as tense.
Naruto's power in Sage Mode was terrifying—but Sasuke clearly wasn't weaker.
As expected of the former members of Team 7.
Their strength could no longer be judged by common sense.
The two techniques closed in—
And at that very moment—
Shigure appeared.
"I said!"
Her voice rang out sharply.
"Are you two planning to tear this place apart?!"
"That's enough!"
Before anyone could react, Shigure stepped directly between them.
Barehanded.
With one hand, she grabbed Sasuke's black Chidori.
With the other, she seized Naruto's Super-Big Ball Rasengan.
Six Paths chakra spread over her arms.
Six Paths — Armament Cover!
Invisible power enveloped her hands completely.
Then—
Crush.
Both jutsu collapsed instantly.
The roaring vanished.
The terrifying chakra waves disappeared.
In the blink of an eye, the battlefield fell deathly silent.
And at that moment—
Everyone stood frozen.
Completely stunned.
Naruto and Sasuke both turned their gazes toward Shigure at the same time.
She stood calmly between them, completely unaffected.
What… did she just do?
She erased both of our attacks?
Sasuke stared at Shigure in disbelief.
Barehanded.
Without even the slightest ripple of chakra.
What kind of power had she used to block his Chidori?
Was it purely physical strength?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Naruto was just as stunned.
"Shigure…" he asked slowly, eyes fixed on her, "is this… your current power?"
Shigure didn't answer immediately. She looked at Naruto, then shifted her gaze to Sasuke.
"That's enough," she said calmly. "There's no deep hatred between you two. There's no need to fight as if you're trying to kill each other."
The three of them stood there.
An oppressive pressure filled the air.
This was the former Team 7.
The former Three Monsters.
Each of them defied common sense—powers far beyond what ordinary shinobi should ever possess.
Naruto.
Sasuke.
Shigure.
All three were monsters.
Sai subconsciously stepped back twice, his breathing unsteady.
At that moment, Naruto suddenly looked up, his eyes burning with excitement.
"You're incredible, Shigure," he said seriously. "Even more terrifying than I imagined."
"But that power just now…"
"…could you let me experience it again?"
The request sounded dangerously close to asking for trouble.
Before anyone could react, Sasuke spoke up as well.
"I want to feel it again too."
Both of them were sharp.
Too sharp.
They had already sensed it—the unfamiliar yet overwhelming presence of Six Paths power.
Perhaps it was because they carried the chakra of Asura and Indra.
If so, Shigure was curious as well.
She wanted to know how different their chakra truly was.
"If you want to experience it," Shigure said with a faint smile,
"then come and try it yourselves."
Naruto didn't hesitate.
He rushed forward, throwing a straight punch at Shigure.
Shigure casually raised one hand and blocked it.
"With something like this," she said lightly,
"I don't even need to use any real strength."
"Chidori!"
Sasuke activated it instantly, lightning screaming as he thrust straight toward Shigure's heart.
Shigure opened her right hand—
And caught the Chidori barehanded.
In that instant, an invisible collision erupted.
Two forces clashed without sound.
Sasuke felt it clearly—his Chidori was being crushed.
Completely.
Shigure's hand was empty, unadorned by visible chakra, yet it felt like an indestructible armament.
She wasn't injured in the slightest.
At the same time, Naruto's Sage Mode chakra surged violently.
He spun and kicked toward Shigure's chest.
This blow carried far more power than before.
Once again, Shigure raised her arm—Six Paths power flowing invisibly—and lightly deflected the kick.
Despite the terrifying force behind it, Shigure didn't move an inch.
She stood firmly in place, effortlessly parrying the attack.
Naruto and Sasuke both felt it then.
A faint—but horrifying—fluctuation of power radiating from Shigure.
What kind of power… is this?!
"Let me attack," Shigure said calmly.
"That way, you'll feel it more clearly."
She threw a casual punch.
But the moment it struck Naruto's elbow—
Crack! Bang!
A deafening roar exploded outward.
Naruto was sent flying like a cannonball.
He skidded across the ground for more than ten meters before finally coming to a stop.
When he stood back up, his arm was still trembling uncontrollably.
His expression had changed completely.
This wasn't just strength.
This was on an entirely different level.
(End of Chapter)
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