Battle the Raikage

"So you're the child of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. No wonder you look so much like him," the Raikage said.

Naruto watched the Raikage warily. "You knew my dad?"

"Of course I knew him. He was the opponent I admired most in my life. I once thought he would put an end to this world's chaos and wars, becoming a savior of sorts. Sadly, he died. Once someone is dead, they're nothing, and they leave nothing behind—only regrets and sighs," the Raikage reminisced.

Naruto looked at the Raikage sternly. "You're wrong. My dad may be dead, but he left me something precious: his will. I inherited his will and his ideals, and I believe I'll become the savior of this world and put an end to the sorrow caused by its chaos and wars."

The Raikage burst out laughing, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Hahaha! You say you'll become a savior and end this world's wars? That's hilarious. You little brat, how dare you make such a boast?"

Naruto replied firmly, "That's right. I'm just a kid, but I have the potential to say something like that."

"Hmph. If you can land a hit on me, I'll admit you have the potential to make that happen. And I'll promise you this: as long as I'm Raikage, I won't wage war against Konoha. But if you can't hit me, you'll have to stay in Kumogakure and become my subordinate. So, kid, do you dare take the bet?" the Raikage said disdainfully.

"Lord Raikage's bullying someone again. There's no way that kid can hit him. Even if he has a lot of potential, he can't do it now," Yugito said as she watched from the sidelines.

Killer B responded in rap, "You're a fool—, you're a jerk—, yeah, oh, yeah, big bro's bullying someone, oh, ah."

Naruto watched the Raikage warily and said sternly, "All right."

With that, he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside the Raikage and struck at him with a Rasengan. But the Raikage dodged even faster than Naruto. The Rasengan hit the ground, blasting a huge crater into it and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Using the dust as cover, the Raikage flashed to Naruto's side. "Lariat!" The Raikage slammed his arm, charged with lightning nature transformation, into Naruto's body. Naruto managed to block some of the blow with his Adamantine Sealing Chains, but he was still sent flying more than ten meters and crashed into a boulder, shattering it with the force of the impact.

"Is that the end of it?" the Raikage asked in confusion.

But when the dust cleared, Naruto was still standing, though covered in wounds.

Naruto pulled several Kunai from his ninja pouch and threw them at the Raikage, vanishing at the same time. The Raikage dodged some of the Kunai, but he couldn't evade Naruto, who followed them using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Naruto hit the Raikage in the back with a Rasengan, but froze in surprise when it left no mark on him. The Raikage swept backward with a Lariat, but Naruto avoided it with the Flying Thunder God Technique. Naruto stared at the Raikage in disbelief.

"What's the matter? You look surprised," the Raikage said smugly.

Naruto came to his senses. "I didn't expect your body to be so tough. It's incredible. I thought the Third Raikage was the only one whose body came closest to a Tailed Beast's, but yours doesn't seem much weaker than the Third Raikage's."

The Raikage said in surprise, "I didn't expect you to know about the Third Raikage. A lot of kids these days have already forgotten him. My body hasn't reached the Third Raikage's level, but with the strength you have now, you still can't hurt me. What's wrong, kid? Ready to give up?"

"Yeah, give up? Don't make me laugh. I'm not giving up," Naruto said firmly. It looks like ordinary methods won't hurt the Raikage. What should I do?

Just then, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto spoke. "Naruto, you really can't hurt him with your current strength. But have you forgotten that you still have me? You're a Jinchuriki, not an ordinary human. You're my host, Kurama, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—the strongest Tailed Beast. You're not alone."

Hearing the Nine-Tails' words, Naruto smiled. "That's right. I'm the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and I'm Kurama's partner. Let's defeat the Raikage together and let Konoha and Kumogakure live in peace. Come on, Kurama!"

"Hmph, that's more like it. But I should warn you: your body can only handle the chakra from four of my tails right now. You can't take any more, or your body won't be able to bear it and you'll lose control. After all, you're only five," the Nine-Tails cautioned.

Naruto replied, "Four tails are enough. Don't forget, I still haven't used my Sharingan or White Eye."

When the Raikage saw Naruto standing still, he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside him and punched at his face. But just before the fist struck Naruto—

An astonishing amount of Nine-Tails Chakra suddenly burst from Naruto. It blocked the Raikage's fist, then formed a tail that swept toward him. Seeing the chakra erupt from Naruto, the Raikage realized he was a Jinchuriki and quickly retreated to avoid the sweep rather than block it head-on.

The Raikage finally grew serious. "A Jinchuriki—and it looks like he's a Perfect Jinchuriki, just like B. But he's only five. He shouldn't be able to handle all of a Tailed Beast's chakra yet."

Yugito and Killer B, who had been watching from the sidelines, were too surprised to speak. Gyuki, inside Killer B, said, "I didn't expect this kid to be the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. B, I bet you and this kid will get along."

"Oh, yeah, you're a fool—, you're a jerk—. We're both Jinchuriki of Tailed Beasts, we're friends, oh, ah."

Yugito said to Killer B, "Master, I didn't expect him to be a Jinchuriki too. And from the looks of it, he can control his Tailed Beast."

Killer B continued rapping. "Oh, yeah, you gotta keep it up, yeah. Don't let me outdo you, yeah, yeah. Tailed Beasts are all friends, yeah." When he finished, he held out his fist to Yugito.

"Mm, I'll do my best." Yugito held out her fist and bumped it against Killer B's.

Naruto launched the first attack. He reached out, and the Tailed Beast Cloak covering his arm extended toward the Raikage.

The Raikage dodged repeatedly, but the claws formed from Tailed Beast Chakra kept chasing him, as if they wouldn't stop until they caught him. As he evaded the chakra claws, the Raikage kept closing in on Naruto. Suddenly, he flashed to Naruto's side.

He kicked Naruto hard in the stomach, but Naruto was quick enough to block it with his Adamantine Sealing Chains. More than twenty chains then shot from Naruto's body toward the Raikage, forcing him back.

The more than twenty Adamantine Sealing Chains coiled around the Tailed Beast Cloak and wrapped it up. Naruto had copied the Viper Nine-Tails Mode he remembered from his previous life.

It added a layer of protection to the Tailed Beast and increased its attack power. Besides, the Adamantine Sealing Chains were Sealing Jutsu, making it even stronger than the Viper Nine-Tails Mode. If Naruto could handle all of the Nine-Tails' chakra right now, the Raikage wouldn't even need to fight him.

Seeing Naruto combine a Tailed Beast with a Kekkei Genkai, the Raikage praised him. "I have to admit, you're a genius. You've managed to combine a Kekkei Genkai of the Uzumaki Clan with a Tailed Beast. This really can hurt me. But don't forget, my greatest strength isn't my body—it's my speed."

With that, the Raikage flashed behind Naruto and struck him hard. Naruto was sent flying, crashing through countless rocks.

But Naruto wasn't injured. He quickly steadied himself, then extended his arm, wrapped in chains, toward the Raikage. The Raikage dodged again. Naruto fiercely added his four tails to the attack, but still couldn't catch him. He did, however, completely reshape the surrounding terrain.

"I told you, my greatest strength is my speed. With your speed, you can't catch me," the Raikage said confidently.

"Naruto, hurry up and end the fight. This is your first time fighting in this mode, and you won't be able to keep it up for long," the Nine-Tails warned him.

"I know," Naruto replied to the Nine-Tails. He gathered a large amount of chakra in his mouth, preparing to use a Tailed Beast Bomb.

Seeing Naruto prepare a Tailed Beast Bomb, the Raikage quickly retreated. Naruto fired the Tailed Beast Bomb from his mouth, but the Raikage dodged it with ease. The Tailed Beast Bomb exploded, raising a huge cloud of dust. Naruto quickly disappeared into it and sent countless chains rushing toward the Raikage.

"I told you, your attacks can't hit me. And now you've given away your position. It's over, kid," the Raikage said from behind Naruto, having dodged all the chains.

Once behind Naruto, the Raikage unleashed a flurry of attacks. Even Naruto's Tailed Beast Cloak was battered and torn, and the Raikage's blows made him cough up blood. But at the very moment the Raikage thought he was about to win and let his guard down, he saw Naruto's eyes suddenly turn into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

The instant the Raikage met Naruto's eyes, Naruto cast a genjutsu and activated his White Eye at the same time.

Naruto's genjutsu was only strong enough to trap the Raikage briefly before he could break free, but even that little bit of time was enough for Naruto to gather the last of his chakra.

The moment the Raikage woke from the genjutsu, Naruto had already gathered all his chakra and struck at the Raikage's heart meridian. The White Eye let him drive chakra into an enemy's meridians to inflict serious injury.

Naruto's chakra struck the Raikage's heart meridian, and the Raikage immediately spat out blood. Naruto also collapsed, unconscious from exhausting his chakra and suffering the Raikage's heavy blows. In truth, without sheer willpower keeping him going, Naruto would have fallen long ago.

The Raikage looked at Naruto with a complicated expression and sighed. He turned toward the rocks behind him. "Aren't you coming out?"

"Heh, as expected of Lord Raikage. You actually noticed me. I thought I'd hidden myself well," Jiraiya said as he emerged from behind the rocks.

The Raikage said unhappily, "Hmph, I noticed you as soon as you entered Kumogakure. You're Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. I was curious about why you'd come to Kumogakure, so I didn't do anything to you. Now that this kid's shown up, I understand—you came for him, didn't you?"

Jiraiya replied with a grin, "That's right. I came for Naruto. The kid's too impulsive, and I was worried he'd offend you, Lord Raikage, so I came ahead of him. After all, he's my student."

"You can take him," the Raikage said calmly.

Jiraiya went over to Naruto and picked him up. "Then thank you, Lord Raikage. I'll take my leave." With that, he headed for the village gate.

Watching Jiraiya's retreating figure, the Raikage said, "Tell that kid I'll deal with the Hyuga Clan strictly. And he won the bet."

Hearing the Raikage's words, Jiraiya's mouth curled into a slight smile. "I'll pass it on."