A counterfeit is just a counterfeit!
Watching that hideous monstrosity that had been dancing right on his bottom line get utterly obliterated by that Tailed Beast Bomb, Kurama finally felt some of the resentment pent up in his heart ease slightly.
Perhaps there had been moments when he resented his own fate.
Maybe he had even questioned the purpose of his creation.
But he knew that the Sage of Six Paths hadn't created him just to be a tool of war!
The Nine Tailed Beasts were originally meant to be balancers of natural energy, not walking calamities.
The real sinners were the ones who exploited their power to wage war against each other.
He wasn't some mindless disaster that only knew destruction, as those humans claimed.
Leaving aside Kurama's apparent breakthrough in overcoming some mental barrier-
Naruto, who had regained control of this clone's body, didn't immediately move. Instead, he stood there, lost in thought, gesturing with his hands as if trying to grasp something.
That Chakra just now had given him a very peculiar feeling. It wasn't the five elemental attributes like Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning, that he had mastered over the years in different environments.
But something else…
A Chakra Attribute that had always existed within his body, hidden and unnoticed.
It wasn't until today, when he personally experienced it, that Naruto finally understood the source of the 'disharmony' he had always felt.
And actually feeling the fusion process of the Tailed Beast Bomb gave him a whole new understanding of the Rasengan.
"Nine-Tails, that Chakra Attribute just now, the one filled with vitality and willpower, what was it?"
"…"
Naruto's sudden question caught Kurama off guard. He hadn't expected Naruto to be thinking about this in the middle of battle.
But after a few seconds of silence, Kurama answered anyway.
Maybe it was because he didn't want to be 'outdone' by Naruto's trust this time.
Or maybe it was because their fusion had given Kurama some insight into Naruto's heart as well.
Either way, his impression of Naruto had improved significantly compared to before.
"That's Yin and Yang Chakra."
"Among them, Yang Chakra is the Chakra that controls the creation of life, while Yin Chakra is related to spiritual energy."
Despite Kurama's beastly appearance, his knowledge was anything but lacking.
Even Hiruzen, the so-called [Professor], would be nothing more than a junior in front of him.
Besides, Yin and Yang Attribute Chakra wasn't exactly some top-secret knowledge… it was just that Naruto, with only a Ninja Academy's diploma, had never had the chance to learn it. That's why he hadn't figured it out until now.
Now everything made sense.
Naruto had always wondered-
While Fire and Water Release Ninjutsu had clear origins, but Medical Ninjutsu and those secret clan techniques didn't seem related to the Five Chakra Attributes at all.
A green glow emerged from his palm.
Feeling the vitality within the Medical Ninjutsu's Chakra, Naruto actually started mimicking Kurama's Tailed Beast Bomb, trying to form one himself.
"You-"
Kurama was speechless for a while.
Naruto spent a while trying to mold it, but only Yang Attribute Chakra surged from his palm. The Yin Attribute Chakra, representing spiritual energy, was nowhere to be found.
"Don't bother. Your body doesn't yet-"
Kurama opened his mouth, wanting to tell Naruto to focus on the battle at hand, but the scene before him left him utterly stunned.
In Naruto's palm, the Yang Attribute Chakra, which symbolized the power of life, was now merging with another force.
It was the Conqueror's Haki, which also stemmed from spiritual energy!
Zzzzt-zzzt-!
A black-red sphere hovered quietly in the center of Naruto's palm, occasionally crackling with arcs of electricity.
"Th-this-"
Even Kurama was at a loss for words, staring at this sphere that he couldn't even properly define.
"See? Not that hard after all~"
Naruto grinned like a kid showing off a handmade toy, proudly waving it at Kurama.
Of course, to everyone else, it just looked like he was talking to himself for no reason.
At that moment, Killingham, who had just fled as an afterimage, returned to the battlefield. Seeing that Naruto seemed distracted, he immediately activated his ability at full power.
Countless nightmare energies surged forth from the dreams of others.
This time, they didn't take the form of monsters but instead poured into Killingham's body like a raging flood.
Killingham's original half-human, half-beast form immediately underwent a transformation.
He dropped onto all fours, nightmare energy swirling around him like storm clouds, and his originally human-sized body expanded more than tenfold under the power's influence.
"Die!"
A nightmare-forged trident, wrapped in Haki, stabbed viciously toward Naruto from behind.
Bang!
The smoke cleared, revealing only a wooden log where Naruto had been standing.
Before Kirin Gomu could react, a voice rang out above him.
"Perfect timing. Let's test this out on you."
Immediately afterwards, there was sharp pain.
The Pseudo-Tailed Beast Bomb, which is a fusion of Haki and Yang Attribute Chakra mixed in precise proportions, was far more destructive than a mere Rasengan.
Without a sound, the Pseudo-Tailed Beast Bomb pierced straight through Killingham's body, then continued downward unchecked.
Only when it struck the ground of the Red Line did it finally detonate.
Boom!!!!!
Perhaps due to insufficient compression, the explosion wasn't as wide-ranging as the one from Kurama's full-powered Tailed Beast Bomb, but its sheer force was no less terrifying.
Not only that, but the two energies from different worlds seemed to trigger some kind of chemical reaction. Cracks spread outward from the epicenter of the blast, spider-webbing through the very air itself.
For the briefest moment, space itself seemed to fracture.
But the cracks vanished almost instantly, as if they had never existed at all.
Of course, with Observation Haki and Nine Tails' Chakra enhancing his senses, Naruto didn't miss it.
But right now, he had bigger things to worry about.
Because he had used the Pseudo-Tailed Beast Bomb like a point-blank Rasengan, he had been way too close when it exploded.
So much so that after the explosion, its power even affected this clone himself.
"Tch."
Landing from midair, Naruto clicked his tongue as he examined the half-shredded Tailed Beast's Chakra Cloak and the burns covering his upper body.
'It seemed like this technique still needed refining… at the very least, I shouldn't use it at point-blank range.'
Unbeknownst to him, Kurama was already stunned.
He had just witnessed a human perform a Tailed Beast Bomb without relying on Tailed Beast Mode.
That's right… even though Naruto was now having Nine Tails' Chakra Cloak, that sphere hadn't actually used the Nine-Tails' power.
In other words, even if Kurama were sealed away right now, Naruto could still make another one.
As for Killingham, who had been pierced and then caught in the explosion-
Only half of a hoof remained, clattering to the ground.
His body tried to regenerate under some lingering power, but the Conqueror's Haki infused into the Pseudo-Tailed Beast Bomb suppressed the recovery.
This Celestial Dragon, who had once delighted in tormenting others with their deepest fears, slowly lost his life in this agonizing pain.
The other members of the God's Knights on the battlefield witnessed the death of their companions with their own eyes.
A shadow fell over their hearts, and even Junko, who had shown no emotional fluctuation until now, wasn't spared.
Naruto, meanwhile, was feeling something else entirely.
Originally, he had just planned to recreate the same legendary feat from over a decade ago.
But now, he realized he could do so much more.
'Why not go all out… and crush Mary Geoise in one fell swoop?!'