Not Much Time Left for Naruto

Guy, Rock Lee, Kimimaro, Gan, Wen, and Cui nodded with flushed faces, agreeing to Naruto's plan.

As Naruto left, he was greeted by five raised thumbs. To protect his eyes, he did not bother checking whether there were five gleaming white teeth as well.

Shinno did not try to stop him. On one hand, he was surrounded by six people and could not easily break free. On the other, the little blondie looked physically unremarkable, nothing like a strong fighter. Even if he reached Zero Tails, he might get killed instead.

Following the little map's directions, Naruto quickly found the place where a massive amount of Chakra had gathered.

It was a large, square room, probably big enough to fit Gamabunta. Its walls were covered in densely packed formulas.

What caught the eye most was the—giant yellow eel?—in the center of the room, wearing a mask marked with the character "Zero."

Speaking of Zero, did Pain's ring have "Zero" written on it too? This bizarre aesthetic did seem to match his taste in summoning beasts.

The moment he entered the room, Naruto felt his Chakra gradually being drained away. The effect was stronger than in the previous prison. He unconsciously muttered, "Is this Zero Tails?"

Nine Tails caught the part that concerned him. "What did you call it?"

"Zero Tails. An artificial Tailed Beast," Naruto answered.

"And it thinks it deserves to be called a Tailed Beast?" To Nine Tails, only the nine created by Old Man Six Paths counted as Tailed Beasts. This shoddy counterfeit did not deserve to be his kind.

"It's just a name." Naruto had probably watched too many anime and movies with artificial humans in them, so he did not find it that hard to accept. Kisame Hoshigaki was even called the Tailed Beast Without a Tail.

"Destroy it." Nine Tails could not accept this thing, plain and simple.

"I'm trying to figure something out," Naruto explained. "Those formulas are interfering with me. I can't even make a Dango. You know how troublesome it is to kill this kind of Chakra aggregate. If it comes down to it, I'll just seal it."

Nine Tails was unhappy. This thing should obviously be destroyed outright. "Wasn't your Sealing Technique training going well? Break those formulas, then beat it to death."

"It's too complicated. It'll take a long time." Knowing advanced mathematics and wanting to solve advanced mathematics problems were two different things. Naruto understood all the formulas and theorems now, but he did not want to work through the problems.

Besides, the idiots were fighting Shinno. They would have to open at least the Fifth Gate or Sixth Gate, and they could not keep that up for long. Naruto did not have much time left.

"For goodness' sake, let me handle it!" Nine Tails requested control of the body.

Naruto agreed and asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Nine Tails said viciously, "Doesn't it like absorbing Chakra? Then I'll let it absorb!"

"You're not planning to burst it, are you?" Naruto guessed as a red Chakra cloak emerged around his body.

"Burst it? I'm afraid it isn't even qualified to be burst by me!"

As soon as Nine Tails finished speaking, Naruto suddenly felt Natural Energy gathering rapidly. In less than a minute, his body had entered Sage Mode!

"When did you learn that?" Naruto was stunned. How was it that he, the legitimate heir of Mount Myoboku, had only earned half his credits, while this guy who had just come to sit in on classes had gone straight for the diploma?

Now that Big Fox has learned it, do I even need to work so hard? No, no. You still need to rely on yourself. I'll have Teacher Nine give me some extra lessons later.

Nine Tails smiled smugly. "I am the strongest Tailed Beast. Mastering such a trivial level of power is effortless."

"..." Naruto felt thoroughly shown up. As his bad friend, he could not let him get too pleased with himself. "Big Fox, don't make that expression with my body. It looks weird, okay?"

Nine Tails reined in his increasingly unrestrained grin and complained, "You're so noisy."

Sensing that Zero Tails was still absorbing Chakra, Nine Tails did not resist at all. Instead, he continued absorbing Natural Energy and condensing Sage Mode Chakra, with an attitude that said, If you dare eat it, I dare feed you.

Thus, the orange eyeshadow above Naruto's eyes gradually appeared, then gradually faded, over and over again, repeating three times.

"Roar—" Zero Tails let out a miserable cry. Its entire body trembled and writhed uncontrollably, like Scoundrel Snake scratching himself in The Adventures of Little Carp.

But that did not ease its suffering. As Zero Tails' struggles gradually stopped, the entire eel slowly turned to stone from head to tail.

"Tch. It can't even control such a tiny bit of Sage Mode Chakra. What a weakling." Nine Tails mocked it, then returned control of the body.

Having taken back control, Naruto fell into thought. Was that fox taking a jab at me just now? He even learned how to curse the mulberry while pointing at the locust?

Either way, the problem was solved. To be safe, Naruto casually smashed the stone statue Zero Tails had become before leaving—he truly scattered its ashes to the wind.

When he returned to the battlefield, Shinno still wore an arrogant expression. It looked like he had only just recovered and had not yet realized that something had happened to Zero Tails.

Guy maintained the View Gate, while everyone else, including Kimimaro, was in the Fifth Gate. Judging from the cratered ground and the battered walls around them, the fight just now must have been intense.

Naruto shouted, "It's done! He can't recover anymore! Gang up and kick him!"

"What?" Shinno's face showed utter disbelief.

"You bastard, how dare you!" Once he confirmed that he could no longer contact Zero Tails, Shinno flew into a rage. He raised his fist and charged at the little blondie, intending to kill him.

But the others were not about to indulge him. Kimimaro, Gan, Wen, Cui, and Rock Lee shouted at the same time:

Sixth Gate - View Gate, open! *5

Almost at the same instant, Kimimaro blocked Shinno's path. "Konoha Rock Destroying Rise!"

A fierce, precise elbow strike, carrying a brother's fury, smashed into Shinno's chin.

Crack! Naruto seemed to hear the sound of teeth shattering, then watched Shinno fly backward in the direction he had come from.

"Konoha Strong Whirlwind!" Rock Lee, opening the View Gate for the first time, became a streak of green light and charged toward Shinno in midair. A spinning kick slammed into Shinno's left ribs, changing his flight path.

"Lee! Excellent kick!" Guy praised him. Blue Chakra wrapped around his foot as he kicked Shinno's right ribs. "Fierce: Konoha Adamantine Whirlwind!"

"Argh!" This time, Shinno finally had time to cry out in pain. He barely managed to adjust his posture in midair, only to be met by Gan's kick.

And so, strengthened by the Sixth Gate, Gan passed the ball to Wen, and Wen passed it to Cui.

This time, Cui could not keep saying, "Me too." Instead, he threw an uppercut that sent Shinno flying high into the air.

Naruto thought that move might be called, "Konoha Rising Dragon Overlord."

Then, for some reason, the six masters and disciples seemed to reach a tacit understanding. They all took two running steps forward, leaped high into the air, and unleashed the same leg technique:

Konoha Great Gale! *6

Five spinning axe kicks filled with the hot blood of youth, plus one axe kick bearing a brother's fury, landed on Shinno at the same time. Unable to resist at all, Shinno plummeted to the ground and smashed out a one-foot-deep, human-shaped crater.