Mini Rasengan

"Tea... Team Leader!"

The four men opposite stood frozen in a daze.

Their captain, usually so incredibly powerful, had actually died just like that?

This was far too hasty!

"What about you lot? Do you plan to resist, or do you plan to resist?"

Uchiha Kei flicked the residual blood off his ninja blade and looked up at the four of them.

"Y-you... don't come over here!"

One of the four stepped forward, his expression flustered.

It was no wonder he was panicked; even their high-and-mighty team leader had died at this man's hands. Since they were even less capable than the leader, wouldn't their deaths be even more miserable?

Under their astonished gazes, Uchiha Kei obediently stood where he was.

"Fine, I won't come over."

The four men: ...

For some reason, such an obedient Uchiha Kei made them feel even more creeped out.

"Naruto, they're yours. Good luck."

Uchiha Kei gave Naruto a thumbs-up, flashing a set of bright white teeth.

Naruto pointed at himself in disbelief.

"Me?"

The four men turned their heads to look at Naruto.

This little brat wasn't with that monster?

"That's right, you."

Uchiha Kei sheathed his ninja blade behind his back.

"Rest assured, I won't interfere. As long as you can defeat him, you won't have to die."

Upon hearing this, a clear look of pleasant surprise erupted in the eyes of the four.

The whiskered brat in front of them didn't look like an expert no matter how they saw it, which meant...

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"

A ruthless glint flashed in the eyes of two of the four men as their hands blurred through seals, instantly unleashing two B-rank ninjutsu.

The two techniques intertwined, and the already formidable ninjutsu expanded instantly.

Dozens of half-meter-wide fire dragon bullets, bolstered by the Wind Style, suddenly swelled to about three meters in size.

The overwhelming fireballs, carrying fierce winds, hurtled toward Naruto.

"Nani!"

Naruto was shocked, scooped up Twilight Spring Valley beside him, and leaped away to dodge the coverage area of the fire dragon bullets.

"Boom..."

The fire dragon bullets slammed into the ground one after another, forcibly blasting out a charred, deep crater filled with intense heat.

"Naruto, ninjutsu has a casting time. Pay attention and observe."

Uchiha Kei sat leisurely on the ground, plucked a blade of grass, and chewed on it happily.

"E-easy for you to say."

Facing the relentless barrage of ninjutsu, Naruto could only keep leaping and dodging while holding Twilight Spring Valley, and within moments, he was panting for breath.

"Remember the Rasengan I taught you earlier? Give it a try."

Naruto narrowly dodged another fire dragon bullet and dashed toward Uchiha Kei with a burst of speed.

"Try my foot!"

Naruto set Twilight Spring Valley down and shot Uchiha Kei a resentful look.

"Besides the Rasengan, you should have mastered the Three Body Technique by now, right? Is running away blindly really your ninja way?"

Uchiha Kei took the still-shaken Twilight Spring Valley from him.

Naruto froze.

That's right, running away was not his ninja way!

Do not fear, do not retreat, and persist to the end!

That was his ninja way!

"Whoosh!"

A sound of something piercing the air rang out, and Naruto instinctively lunged forward.

His movements were swift and efficient, without a hint of hesitation.

Naruto turned back, still shaken, and locked eyes with Uchiha Kei's strange, twisted smile.

With a slight flush on his face, Naruto stood his ground, his gaze fixed firmly on the four men.

"Come on! Defeat me if you can! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage!"

The four men exchanged mocking glances. Without a word, they surrounded Naruto from all four directions.

Naruto watched them warily, several shuriken appearing in his hands in an instant, ready to strike.

"Kid, you're no match for us. Give up the struggle."

The four were no fools; Uchiha Kei had ordered them to defeat the brat, clearly intending to use them to temper him.

If they actually injured him, that monster would surely kill them.

"Give up? That word doesn't exist in my ninja way!"

A flash of intensity crossed Naruto's eyes. He hurled the shuriken and lunged forward.

"Trying to run?"

The four men sneered, easily dodging the shuriken.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Four identical water-style techniques surged toward Naruto from every direction.

Nearly a hundred water projectiles tore through the dense forest, closing in on Naruto with ferocious speed.

There was nowhere to hide!

Uchiha Kei held Twilight Spring Valley, a playful smile on his face.

Naruto's current talent could already be considered formidable.

With the immense chakra of the Uzumaki Clan, combined with the powerful physique and stamina forged by the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Even without knowing many ninjutsu, his strength was already on par with a formal genin.

But Naruto's greatest strength wasn't his talent.

It was...

"BOOM!"

Nearly a hundred water projectiles slammed into Naruto at the center, the massive impact sending sprays of water flying.

"Splash!"

The water converged into a stream like a small river, crashing violently against the ground.

In the center of the flow, a small, limp figure drifted.

The four attackers froze.

Beads of cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

This little brat...

Why didn't he dodge?

Although their Water Dragon Jutsu had come from all sides, the speed was incredibly slow; anyone with even a basic grasp of ninjutsu shouldn't have been hit.

Yet...

This guy just stood there and took it!

It's over, we're dead...

Uchiha Kei showed no sign of shock, but Twilight Spring Valley couldn't help herself.

"Is... is he dead?"

Uchiha Kei lowered his head to look at Twilight Spring Valley.

"Do you want him to be dead or alive?"

Twilight Spring Valley blinked, looking up in confusion to meet his bright, piercing eyes.

She lowered her head, feeling a bit guilty.

"Of course I don't want anything to happen to him..."

Uchiha Kei smiled mysteriously and turned his gaze back to the figure floating in the stream.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine."

As one of the two main protagonists of the Naruto World, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and the reincarnation of Asura, he was the last person who would ever die.

"What do we do now?"

On the other side, the four men quietly wiped the cold sweat from their brows, whispering to one another.

"What can we do? The kid asked for it. He couldn't even dodge something that slow—how can he blame us?"

"Whether it's unjust or not doesn't matter now. What matters is whether that monster will take his anger out on us."

One of the four turned his head stealthily to observe Uchiha Kei.

"He shouldn't, right? I think he looks quite calm; he doesn't seem to care much about that brat."

"Maybe he's just trying to lull us into a false sense of security."

"Stop talking nonsense. Is his strength even worth him trying to deceive us?"

"How about... we go over and take a look?"

The four fell silent, and the one who made the suggestion dared not say anything more.

"Let's go look!"

After a long while, the four finally made up their minds.

Whether it was to put some distance between themselves and the monster, or to see if the brat was dead, the best course of action right now was to go over and take a peek.

The four approached the corpse floating in the small river with extreme caution.

Just as they were about to get close, the floating corpse moved abruptly!

A small, sky-blue sphere gathered in Naruto's hand, the condensed orb swirling with surging wind.

His hand pressed easily against one man's chest.

The person who was struck froze, staring blankly at his own chest.

"Bang!"

A figure was sent flying like a cannonball.

Scarlet blood sprayed from his mouth, and his clothes burst open at the chest, revealing a gruesome, spiral-shaped wound.

"Rasengan!"

Two more small spheres appeared in Naruto's hands once again.

"Whoosh!"

The remaining three retreated in terror.

Just now...

What on earth was that?