Breaking the Five-Seal Barrier by Force! The Ultimate Transformation of Lightning Release!

[The high-octane action continues]

Then, before Deva Path Pain could say anything more,

the next moment,

BOOM—!

The cave shook violently again. Countless chunks of rock tumbled down onto the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Even the statue, mighty as it was, could not escape being affected.

For instance, its ten fingers, thrust high into the air, now shook along with the trembling ground.

The other members of Akatsuki were merely projected phantoms, so they were largely unaffected.

But Sasori and Deidara were both there in person, and nearly lost their footing at once.

And if they fell, the extraction of the Tailed Beast would fail!

"There are no offerings left nearby for the Shoten Technique!" Deva Path Pain's phantom said gravely, his Rinnegan filled with concern.

Outside the cave,

"Rasengan!" A thousand Narutos, each holding a Rasengan infused with one of the five chakra natures, bombarded the cave from every direction!

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—! Deafening explosions rang out one after another as the chakra of Wind, Fire, Lightning, Water, and Earth rapidly filled the surrounding area.

The cave was already on the verge of collapse beneath the relentless barrage.

Naruto's real body stood nearby, gazing at the talisman on the boulder blocking the cave entrance. His eyes glinted. "As expected, in the end, brute force beats every trick!"

The so-called Five-Seal Barrier in the original story required someone to remove the talisman from the boulder while also removing the other four sealing talismans in distant locations. Only then could the cave entrance be opened.

But that was just the way ordinary people did it.

Someone unreasonable like Naruto could simply smash through it with overwhelming strength!

As for how Naruto had managed to get here alone so quickly,

it was because, along the way...

he had kept Sage Mode active, thrown a stone marked with the Flying Thunder God Technique as far ahead as he could, then teleported to it with the technique.

By repeating that without pause, he had traveled at an absurd speed!

Seeing that the time was right, Naruto immediately dispelled all the Shadow Clones at the scene.

Then he abruptly spread his right hand.

The next moment,

WHOOSH—! A terrifying surge of Wind Release chakra swept up around him and rushed toward his palm.

The howling wind echoed through the sky.

And then, in an instant—

RUMBLE—!

A Rasenshuriken appeared, spinning at its limit and radiating enough power to annihilate all things!

With its arrival, the winds around it grew even more violent, as if they had recognized their ruler!

Inside the cave,

"This is bad! We can't keep going! The jutsu the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is forming could blast straight into the cave!" Sasori shouted anxiously. Through his intelligence-gathering puppet outside, he had kept track of Naruto's every move!

"Damn it! I'll use my art to blow him to smithereens!" Deidara snapped, his face twisting with anger.

Konan's phantom, representing the White Tiger of Akatsuki, turned anxiously to Deva Path Pain. "Pain, what do we do now?!"

Hearing this, Deva Path Pain's phantom was just about to consider their options.

"Hurry! We're out of time! He's about to attack!" Sasori's voice rang out in everyone's ears again.

With no other choice, a look of resolve flashed through Deva Path Pain's phantom's Rinnegan, and he gave an immediate order.

"Stop extracting the Tailed Beast at once! Sasori, you and Deidara take the One-Tail Jinchuriki and hide behind the statue. Once the attack lets up, return to Amegakure immediately. Don't get drawn into a fight!"

"Understood!" Sasori and Deidara replied in unison. They leaped over and took Gaara behind the statue.

At the same time, Deidara slipped his palm into his pouch and began making his powerful Clay Bombs.

But just as they finished,

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"

Naruto brought the terrifying Rasenshuriken crashing down on the boulder at the entrance.

As expected, the talisman on it was instantly shredded into nothing. The boulder, struck by the devastating attack, was also cut into countless pieces and reduced to dust!

The Rasenshuriken surged into the cave like a ferocious divine dragon, its power undiminished.

At last, it exploded in front of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

In an instant,

RUMBLE—! A massive vortex of energy appeared like a black hole. The force of the wind spun madly within it, devouring everything around it like a ravenous beast. Dust billowed as the ground was ravaged, leaving behind a bottomless pit.

There was no doubt: if this attack hit a living being, it would reduce them to nothing in an instant!

Finally, after a moment,

the terrifying explosion gradually faded, revealing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path inside the cave.

The Demonic Statue truly lived up to its reputation as the Ten-Tails' ultimate vessel.

Even a point-blank explosion this devastating had only left it looking a little worse for wear...

Deidara and the others behind it were naturally unharmed!

But then,

a stone radiating an intense space-time aura suddenly shot into the cave.

FLASH—! Black-and-gold light burst through the cave, and Naruto appeared inside in an instant. He caught the stone, then regarded the statue with interest and said,

"So this is the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path? Its hide's pretty thick."

"Oh?! You know about the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?!" a voice boomed from behind the statue.

Naruto turned toward the sound.

A strange light flickered, and the human-shaped phantoms of Akatsuki's members appeared.

The voice just now had come from Deva Path Pain's phantom.

His Rinnegan stared fixedly at Naruto, and a terrifying pressure from his ocular power washed over him.

"What beautiful eyes..." Naruto said, completely ignoring the pressure. A trace of greed even surfaced in his blue-green eyes.

If his opponent hadn't been a phantom, Naruto would already have been struggling to resist the urge to use Creation Mangekyo to forcibly absorb the Rinnegan's ocular techniques!

"Hm?!" At Naruto's words, Deva Path Pain's phantom froze. An ominous feeling rose in his heart, as if his eyes would be gouged out in the future.

But as the leader of Akatsuki,

Deva Path suppressed the turmoil in his heart. His Rinnegan flashed with authority as he continued to bark,

"Uzumaki Naruto! Answer the god's question!"

"Answer my ass!" Naruto had no intention of humoring this terminally chuuni guy. He raised his hand and launched a Five-Style Rasengan at him.

Terrifying chakra of all five natures filled the surrounding space. The attack wasn't as astonishing as the Rasenshuriken, but it was still nothing to take lightly!

However, Deva Path and the others were only phantoms, so they couldn't be hit.

From the very beginning, Naruto had only had one target: the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!

Few things in the Shinobi World could threaten him for now, but the Demonic Statue right before him was one of them!

So if he got the chance, he had to cripple it first!

"This is bad!" Deva Path's phantom was alarmed.

The Demonic Statue might have tough skin, but who knew what might happen if it was left to be attacked at will!

With that thought, Deva Path's phantom hastily formed Hand Seals. Just before Naruto's Rasengan could hit,

POOF—! The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path finally vanished in a cloud of smoke.

As the statue disappeared,

WHOOSH—! Dozens of tiny white beetles suddenly flew out from where it had been, beating their white wings as they swarmed toward Naruto to bite him to death.

"Art is an Explosion! Take this!" Deidara's crazed voice rang out at the same time.

The beetles' bodies trembled, then exploded with a roar. Terrifying flames surged upward like a fire dragon, completely engulfing Naruto.

"Art! Success!" Deidara exclaimed, excitement on his face, as if he'd just accomplished something monumental.

Sasori looked puzzled. "Did that really take him out?"

But in the next moment,

Naruto's amused voice came from outside the cave.

"Using bombs to ambush a young man like me? No honor! You rats need to learn some manners!"

As his voice faded, Naruto stepped into the cave once more.

"He used Body Flicker to get out. Was it the Flying Thunder God Technique?!" Deva Path's phantom mused.

"Tch! It didn't work? Then I'll just blow him up again!" Deidara said disdainfully.

"Don't let your guard down. He's strong," Sasori warned gravely.

Deva Path's phantom kept his Rinnegan fixed on Naruto. Then he suddenly shouted,

"Deidara, make a Clay Bird! We're retreating!"

"But..." Deidara's face filled with displeasure.

He still wanted Naruto to experience his instant art properly!

"Get the One-Tail Jinchuriki back first. You'll have plenty of chances to show off your art later!" Deva Path's phantom said again, his voice echoing through the cave.

After being urged repeatedly, Deidara reluctantly gave up on his plan. He quickly took out a lump of clay, and the little mouth in his palm began chewing furiously.

In the blink of an eye, a huge clay owl appeared in the cave.

"Let's go!" Sasori grabbed Gaara from the ground and leaped onto the owl.

"Got it." Deidara followed close behind, hurling several Bomb Spiders toward Naruto as he went.

WHOOSH—! The owl spread its wings and soared to the highest point of the cave, then flew toward the blue sky outside.

Seeing this, Deva Path's phantom couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. His strange Rinnegan turned toward Naruto as he spoke with commanding confidence.

"Nine-Tails! Treasure the time you have left!"

"Heh..." Naruto sneered.

Then—

Naruto casually released Lightning Release Chakra, turning the Clay Spiders into dust. Ignoring Deva Path, he looked up at the clay owl in the air and taunted, "Seriously? You think you can just walk away in front of me? Do you take me for some useless NPC?"

With that, Naruto abruptly formed Hand Seals.

A tremor seemed to rise in the air. It was the most extreme form of Lightning Release Chakra!

The moment he completed the seals, Naruto raised his right hand high.

FLASH—! Terrifying purple lightning burst from his right hand, then shot in every direction. The extreme power of the lightning ravaged the land, radiating an overwhelming presence!

Then, under the gazes of Akatsuki's phantoms,

Naruto roared like a thunder god descending from the heavens,

"Purple Lightning: Shadowless Sharp Spear!"

As soon as the words left his mouth,

WHOOSH—!

The purple lightning in Naruto's hand suddenly surged. A long spear formed from lightning appeared, radiating the power to annihilate everything!

This was the result of mastering Purple Lightning to its highest level and naturally reaching the ultimate transformation of Lightning Release's nature!

The instant the Shadowless Sharp Spear appeared, it surged forward like an enraged dragon awakening, rapidly extending its length.

Then it pursued the clay owl in the sky with enough power to obliterate everything in its path!

Fueled by Naruto's immense chakra, the Shadowless Sharp Spear could extend far beyond the Chidori Sharp Spear Sasuke had used in the original story!

And it was blindingly fast!

"S-so fast..." Sasori murmured, staring at the scene.

But he hadn't even finished speaking when—

WHOOSH—! A piercing sound tore through the air. The Shadowless Sharp Spear had already reached them.

In almost an instant, the clay owl had no chance to fight back before the spear struck it squarely and pierced straight through!

Naruto gave his wrist another slight flick, and the Shadowless Sharp Spear swept across the owl's body.

In an instant—

ZZZT, ZZZT—

Endless lightning surged from the Shadowless Sharp Spear. Under the onslaught of that ferocious force, the clay owl was completely sliced in two!

Its head and tail split apart, leaving a gruesome sight!