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Three days at sea brought Narubito and Black Zetsu to the borders of the Land of Water.
That night, in the mountains outside Kiri, hunger gnawed at Narubito's belly. He hunted a tiger. Drained its blood. Skinned it. Flouting every rule of covert ninja camping, he built a fire and roasted its meat over the flames!
Half-cooked, he speared a hunk of foreleg meat with a kunai and tore into it, dripping with primal, savage energy.
Two Kiri Anbu on patrol, drawn by the rising smoke, arrived to investigate. In the moonlit clearing, they saw it. A forehead protector, glinting cold and bright.
"A Leaf brat, this close to the village? No good. Take him down now!"
"Wait. Look. Besides his worn clothes, there's not a scratch on him. To take down a tiger like that… this is no ordinary brat."
"Senior, you're overthinking it. He doesn't even know basic ninja fieldcraft. What else could he be?"
"Listen, junior. In the Bloody Mist era, Zabuza Momochi slaughtered his entire graduating class. He was younger than that kid. The shinobi world is full of prodigies. Konoha's Kakashi Hatake, the one who ended Zabuza, was already a jonin at his age."
"Point is, the more abnormal, the more cautious we must be. I'll keep watch. You go call for reinforcements."
"Understood, senior!"
Narubito's peripheral vision caught the rustling bushes. He kept eating.
Soon, Kiri Anbu swarmed the woods. The massive tiger on the spit was now nothing but scattered bones.
Burp! Narubito rose, ignoring the circle of foes.
"Damn! Can't say about his fighting, but he sure can eat! Senior, is it time to move?"
The leader scanned the area. Ten Anbu, including himself. All Special Jonin. He was a full jonin. Hesitation vanished.
"Move. Quick and clean."
Shhh—!
Kunai filled the air.
Narubito smirked. Vanished.
"A Body Flicker?! That speed—!?"
Thk-thk-thk-thk!
The kunai struck earth. Narubito was already in front of an Anbu. The man fumbled for his sword. Narubito closed the gap. Grabbed his collar. Leapt. His knee smashed full-force into the mask.
CRACK!!
The mask shattered. Blood and teeth sprayed. The Anbu flew back ten meters, howling in pain.
Shh! Narubito landed in a flip, two kunai in hand. Thunk! Straight through the heart. The howling stopped.
Whoosh!
Wind at his back. Two blades sliced in from left and right.
"Hn. Pathetic swordplay…"
Narubito dropped low. The blades passed overhead. A subtle sweep of his foot. Clack! The left blade veered, plunging into the right attacker's chest. Narubito snatched the sword and slashed the second man's throat.
Three dead in moments. Even accounting for their carelessness, the kid's power was undeniable. The remaining seven Anbu froze.
Their leader's hands flew through seals. "He's too fast! I'll pin him with a jutsu! You all bind him at once!!!"
The final seal snapped into place.
—Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!
WHOOOOSH!!!
A torrent rose beside him, coiling into a roaring dragon that crashed down on Narubito's head.
"To use a water jutsu of this scale away from a major source… impressive. But that's all you are."
He could have dodged. He chose not to. He dropped the stolen sword, hands forming a seal. Fire erupted from his mouth.
ROAR!!
A colossal fireball met the water dragon head-on—and began to push it back.
"Using Fire Style against Water Style?! And with us surrounding him?! The arrogance!!!"
—Water Style: Water Whip!
The other six Anbu charged. Watery tendrils whipped from their hands, elongating and wrapping around Narubito's body from all sides.
BOOM!
The fire from Narubito's mouth surged, obliterating the water dragon overhead.
The six Anbu pulled their whips taut.
The junior shouted, "He broke the senior's Water Style with Fire Style! Impressive! So what?! You've lost! A brat's still a brat! Get a little power and you forget your place! You're coming to Kiri's interrogation cells! We'll find out what the Leaf is plotting! Whether you acted alone or on orders, you killed our men! When our Mizukage returns from the Five Kage Summit, he won't let this stand!!!"
Narubito's gaze darkened. "You said… Five Kage Summit?"
Zzzzzt…!
The Black Cursed Seal on the back of his neck surged. The hair on his left side darkened to black. His left eye shifted from cerulean blue to solid, depthless black.
Shuffle… Black Zetsu grinned from the tree shadows.
"My Black Cursed Seal has a trait the White Seal lacks. Its core is the power of Uchiha Madara, so it leans towards spiritual energy. This means it can accelerate its release with heightened emotion, even pushing beyond the body's limits! This trait is uniquely suited to Naruto, who fully inherited Ashura's resilience. Only under immense pressure does he break his own limits. His body will adapt to the overload of the Black Cursed Seal and reach new heights. Jiraiya… your gentle, cautious teaching was only holding him back."
BOOOOOOM!!!
Narubito tore through the six Water Whips.
"What?!"
Shock rippled through the survivors.
"Fighting you maggots… there's no thrill. No fire in the blood. I'm going to find the Five Kage…"
Gloorp… gloop…!
Red Nine-Tails chakra erupted, forming massive, clawed hands that shot out, snatching up all six Anbu.
"That… that's Lord Utakata's—!!!"
Narubito's hands formed a seal.
—Fire Style: Fox Fire Palm!
FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
Blazing fire ignited along the Nine-Tails chakra hands.
"GYAAAAAAAH—!!!"
The six captives screamed, their bodies charring into blackened husks.
"Oh?" Black Zetsu mused. "Directly refining the Nine-Tails' chakra into fire? Madara just invented a new technique on the spot!"
Madara lowered his hands, the chakra arms retracting.
"This is how tailed beast chakra should be used. Nine-Tails… now you see why I said you lacked wisdom?"
The lead Anbu had sweat dripping from under his mask. "That power… a jinchuriki's power. You… you're Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchuriki!!!"
Zzzt.
Narubito lifted his gaze. Within his eyes, the cold light of the Sharingan swirled.
The jonin's eyes glazed over. Thunk! A second later, the searing pain of a blade through his heart snapped him from the genjutsu.
"Those eyes… Sharingan… You… just what are…"
"You should thank your loose-tongued junior. Because of him… Kirigakure escapes annihilation."
Narubito's cold stare shifted to the shadows. "Black Zetsu. The Five Kage Summit. An event this major, and you didn't know? Why withhold it?"
Black Zetsu oozed from the darkness. "I knew. But I know your temperament. If you knew the Five Kage were gathering, you'd inevitably start a war. It's not that I doubt you. In your prime, five Kage were nothing. But times have changed…"
"Don't make me laugh. The weak calculate odds. The strong charge forward. I am—Uchiha Madara."
He stepped over the jonin's corpse.
—"Let's go. To meet the current Five Kage…"
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