Armor Fusion? Naruto Was Thrilled!

Naruto suddenly remembered that before they had set out, Uncle had split off something strange from his body and sent it into Naruto's shadow.

Could that thing have blocked the attack for him? Swallowing hard, Naruto cautiously extended his right index finger and tried to touch the Metal Shield in front of him.

Hiss! The shield turned into fluid and shrank back into his shadow.

Naruto jumped in fright and lifted his foot to stare at his own shadow.

Reflected in the soft moonlight, his shadow was darker than normal, as though something indescribable was writhing within it.

This scene also fell into the eyes of the Cloud Ninjas.

They gritted their teeth unwillingly.

"Split up and attack! I refuse to believe that ghostly thing can block all of us!"

The two Cloud Ninjas immediately spread apart and charged at Naruto from two different directions.

Naruto's lips trembled in fear, but when he thought of Uncle's power dwelling in his shadow, he was no longer quite so nervous.

Sure enough, just as the two Cloud Ninjas were about to reach him—

Two streams of fluid shot out from his shadow, forming two slender Metal Arms in midair that struck the Cloud Ninjas squarely in the abdomen.

The heavy blow to their stomachs made the two Cloud Ninjas' expressions change drastically. Their stomachs churned, and their bodies flew backward to either side like kites with snapped strings.

The remaining two Cloud Ninjas had already finished forming their hand seals.

They slammed their hands onto the ground.

"Lightning Release! Earth Run!"

"Earth Release! Earth Spire Spear!"

Under the night sky, the crackling blasts of Lightning Release and the rumbling of earthen spears breaking through the ground surged toward Naruto and Hinata at once, as if they meant to crush them both!

Hinata's face had gone completely pale, and she shrank behind Naruto in terror.

Naruto's face trembled as well.

But he did not run away.

He knew Uncle would not let him fall into danger.

Buzz! Just as the two ninjutsu were about to hit, a huge amount of Silver Fluid suddenly emerged from his shadow. Like a vortex, it spun around them and formed an airtight Hemispherical Protection! Rumble! The two ninjutsu struck Naruto's position precisely.

The Earth Spire Spear even passed through Naruto and hit the wall behind him. The powerful attack caused that wall to collapse, leaving it covered in a chaotic mass of Earth Spikes.

The two Cloud Ninjas held their breath and stared unblinkingly at the wreckage.

The crackling Blue Lightning Arc stood out vividly against the silver hemisphere beneath the moonlight.

Accompanied by the sound of fluid squirming, the airtight silver hemisphere turned back into liquid and flowed into Naruto's shadow.

"Th-that scared me to death!"

Naruto patted his chest in lingering fear.

There was still no sign of injury on him. Even his clothes had not picked up a speck of dust.

Hinata, whom he had shielded behind him, had likewise suffered no injuries.

It was as though that fairly powerful attack had been nothing more than a loud fart.

The faces of the two Cloud Ninjas who had cast the ninjutsu turned black as coal.

How were they supposed to fight this? What could they even use?

Just as they fell into despair, the Silver Fluid beneath Naruto's feet moved, slowly and evenly creeping up from his ankles to cover his body.

"Eh? Ehh... what is this?!"

Naruto stared in shock at the Silver Fluid covering his hand. It seemed to be alive as it flowed upward along the surface of his body.

Arms, torso, neck...

In the end, a suit of full-metal armor appeared perfectly over Naruto's body.

Naruto tentatively clenched his hand.

His eyes were full of delight.

"My strength has increased this much?!"

Behind him, Hinata looked at Naruto covered in armor, her pale eyes filled with admiration.

The faces of those Cloud Ninjas turned green.

That ghostly thing could transform like this too?

"Quick! Faster!"

Hyuga Hiashi was utterly tense. His Byakugan was already activated, and the veins around his eyes bulged like earthworms.

Behind him followed a group of Branch Family guards.

Their Byakugan had also been activated.

As a Kekkei Genkai Clan of Konoha, possessing the Byakugan, the strongest Scouting Eye, they had actually allowed enemies to infiltrate their clan grounds and abduct Hinata, the direct heir.

Just thinking about it was unbearably shameful! But who could have expected the enemy to strike at this time? Today was the day Konoha signed the Peace Treaty. With the relaxed atmosphere, security had already been lax, and on top of that, it was Hinata's birthday banquet, so the clan's defenses had fallen to their lowest point in history.

Even so, Hiashi could not forgive himself! Hinata was not only his daughter, but also the Main Family heir of this generation of the Hyuga!

If the Byakugan were to fall into outsiders' hands, he simply could not bear the consequences! No matter what, they could not be allowed to take Hinata away! "Faster! We must find them before the enemy takes Hinata away!"

The remaining four Cloud Ninjas stared blankly at Naruto, clad in armor as though he had successfully transformed.

What exactly was this ghostly thing? Its endless transformations were unlike anything they had ever heard of.

Ninjutsu? Secret technique? Or some kind of Forbidden Jutsu?

"Forget it! We have to deal with him!"

Having been toyed with so thoroughly by a three-year-old brat, their cheeks had long since burned with humiliation. If they returned to Kumogakure and the Raikage learned of this experience—

He would probably jump right off his desk in fury and reward each of them with a huge iron fist.

Kumogakure's honor had been completely disgraced by the lot of you!

The four moved at once, their exchanged glances sealing off every direction Naruto could use to evade.

Naruto panicked, but a force suddenly came from the armor on his body and drove him into motion.

His right hand shot upward, and Silver Fluid fired from his palm like a tentacle. It wrapped around one man's ankle and yanked hard.

That Cloud Ninja immediately lost his balance. As he fell, the Magnetic Fluid dragged him into the shoulder of the companion beside him.

The direction in which the two fell happened to block the companion charging from behind them.

Like a chain reaction, all four fell at once, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.

"Brat, unforgivable..."

One Cloud Ninja gritted his teeth, rose to his feet, and charged at Naruto like a madman.

Their patience had run out.

They had no interest in continuing to play Naruto's hero-saving-the-damsel game! If this dragged on, forget taking Hinata away—even they themselves might all end up dead here! Faced with this furious attack, Naruto somehow found a surge of strength beneath his feet. He scooped Hinata up and leaped, jumping four or five meters high in one bound as the Magnetic Fluid behind him formed wings and carried them gliding onward.

"This is so exciting!"

There were no stars in the sky tonight, and the soft moonlight spilled across Naruto's face.

Feeling the night wind brush against his face, Naruto cried out excitedly.

Hinata, held in his arms, felt her heart pounding wildly and did not dare look at the ground at all.

"Brat! Get down here!"

The Cloud Ninjas could only stare anxiously from the ground. Even the Kunai they threw could not possibly hit the two of them.

Watching their companions fail one after another and be toyed with by Naruto at will—

The two Jonin whose shoulders Namikaze Mirai held down finally could not restrain themselves any longer.

They had already wasted enough time here. If this continued, Konoha's reinforcements might arrive.

Then they would have no chance at all!

The two exchanged a subtle glance, preparing to break free at the same time and seize Naruto as a hostage in the shortest possible time! Just one second before they acted—

The pressure on their shoulders suddenly increased.

"Why can't you understand an uncle's desire to make his nephew happy?"

Under the dim moonlight, Namikaze Mirai was still smiling, but that smile carried a chilling coldness.