Hard Clash

The three Tomoe on the back of Sasuke's neck twisted wildly, and cold purple Chakra flowed backward along his meridians. Orochimaru's mark went completely berserk under the stimulation of being surrounded by powerful enemies, attempting to forcibly take over this body.

Naruto turned around, his eyes cold. Without Hand Seals or hesitating, he strode to Sasuke's side, his right hand outstretched, and pressed down on the back of Sasuke's neck.

Liquid-like Yang Release Chakra surged in, extremely domineering, forcefully washing away the chilling aura.

Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply, and his breath hitched. Extreme cold and extreme heat clashed within his body, and needle-like pain shot through his meridians, but he gritted his teeth and did not cry out. Three seconds later, the writhing Tomoe faded abruptly, retracted under his flesh, and fell into dead silence.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the collar and casually tossed him behind him.

Sakura quickly caught Sasuke, cold sweat beading on her forehead. She dragged Sasuke towards safety, then looked up at Naruto's retreating figure, speaking rapidly, "Don't worry, brother, I know the rules of this line of work, I'll follow them. I won't let anyone get near him."

Naruto didn't turn around; his gaze returned to the Raikage, who was ten meters away.

The Raikage slowly rubbed his rough, large hands together in his sleeve, crushing the metal coded token that symbolized the traitor into iron powder. The fact that a festering sore within Hidden Cloud had been exposed by a Hidden Leaf Genin utterly humiliated the Raikage.

But Naruto's ability to suppress the evil Cursed Seal with one hand just now caused a barely concealed sense of apprehension to appear in the Raikage's eyes. This absolute control over high-purity energy was simply not something a Genin could possess.

"Old man," Naruto kicked away the pebbles at his feet, his smile turning cold, "You seemed to be saying, 'Alright, let's call it a day, let's call it even.' Sorry, I've changed my mind. Interrupting me will cost you extra."

Raikage's eyes drooped, and the veins on his neck bulged like cast iron.

Killer B stepped forward from behind, lightly tapping the rock wall with his tentacle, and whispered, "Big brother, this brat's Chakra is bottomless. If we really go all out, the mineral veins at the bottom of this abyss won't be able to withstand the strain, yo."

"Step back!" Raikage interrupted abruptly.

He refused to believe it. As a peak Kage Level Taijutsu master, he had to personally probe the limits of this kid's power. Without this battle, the Hidden Cloud's forces wouldn't be able to leave the Land of Fire.

The Raikage stepped forward, azure lightning expanding wildly across his body, the brightness of his Lightning Release Armor almost blinding. "Arrogant! You want to talk? I'll give you a chance! Can you withstand my attack before we discuss terms!"

Naruto twisted his neck, his joints cracking twice. The basalt beneath his feet was crushed by the invisible force of gravity, and golden Chakra overflowed from his pores, forming a tangible halo on his body.

"Okay." Naruto raised his right hand, index finger pointing at the Raikage. "Let's establish a rule: no harm to civilians, no touching prisoners. Whoever crosses the line first is a coward."

The moment the words left his mouth, Raikage moved.

Only a piercing sonic boom remained in the air. The Raikage's massive body transformed into a beam of blue light, spanning ten meters, heading straight for Naruto's face. There were no fancy Ninjutsu tests, only pure speed and physical destructive power.

Another Heavy Style: Lariat struck, compressing the air pressure into a transparent wall.

Naruto did not take the hit head-on.

The perfect Sage Body granted Naruto extraordinary dynamic vision allowed him to pinpoint the minute flaw in the Raikage's charging trajectory. Just as his fist was about to touch his nose, Naruto unleashed a burst of Chakra from the soles of his feet.

Swish!

Naruto vanished into thin air.

The Raikage's heavy fist slammed into empty air, and a terrifying gust of wind emanated from his body, shattering a ten-meter-high boulder behind Naruto. Debris rained down in all directions.

On the open ground ten meters away, a golden light flashed, Naruto landed steadily, holding a Special Kunai engraved with profound magical symbols upside down in his hand.

Flying Thunder God Technique!

Samui, watching from afar, felt a tightness in her throat and a chill creep down her spine. She watched the unpredictable Space-Time Ninjutsu, her heart skipping a beat. This speed of spatial teleportation, appearing and disappearing without warning, was far beyond the comprehension of the Hidden Cloud's intelligence files.

The Raikage's attack missed, but he didn't stop. He stomped his right foot on the ground, forcibly stopping his forward momentum, and suddenly exerted force from his waist and abdomen. His thick right leg, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, delivered a sweeping kick towards Naruto's ribs.

The distance is too close, and the angle is too sharp.

Naruto raised his left hand.

Splash!

Three thick, golden chains shot out from his palms, weaving together to form a tight shield at his sides. Yang Release Chakra was infused into them, and the chains shimmered with a dazzling golden light.

Bang--!

The Raikage's heavy leg slammed into the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

A deafening metallic clang echoed through the valley, sparks flying everywhere.

The chains caved inward in an astonishing arc, and the immense impact traveled along them. Naruto's arm muscles tightened, his feet gripped the ground tightly, and he slid backward seven or eight meters on the hard rock, carving two deep furrows.

The Raikage his leg back, his right leg muscles throbbing slightly. The chains were not only hard, but also possessed an extremely powerful recoil force, rapidly depleting his Lightning Release Chakra.

"Space-Time Ninjutsu, Uzumaki Sealing Technique." The Raikage stopped, his chest heaving as he adjusted his breathing. "Good lad, no wonder you dare to be so arrogant!"

"Old man, your speed isn't bad either, better than those barking dogs." Naruto shook his numb left arm, and the abnormal recovery power of his Sage Body smoothed out the soreness in two seconds.

The brief tug-of-war ended.

The two men's probing ended there. The Raikage then completely let loose.

The azure light of the Lightning Release Armor deepened, and the crackling of electricity became extremely piercing. The air within five meters of the Raikage distorted due to the intense heat, causing the rubble on the ground to levitate and be ionized into powder.

He compressed his Chakra to the limit his body could currently withstand.

Naruto, on the other side, also suppressed his smile.

Green flames rose from beneath my feet. The Eight Gates, the Gate of Life, open again!

The golden Yang Release Chakra and the green Taijutsu aura merged perfectly. The gravity around Naruto seemed to go out of control for a moment, and the ground suddenly collapsed downwards by an inch.

The Raikage moved.

This time, it wasn't a straight-line advance.

He moved with strange, zigzagging steps, using Lightning Release to stimulate his nerves to reach peak reflexes, leaving five or six afterimages at the bottom of the mine. These afterimages surrounded Naruto from different directions, completely sealing off any possible space for the Flying Thunder God Technique to dodge.

The real body suddenly appeared from the blind spot on the right.

The Raikage's right arm was bent, his elbow raised horizontally, and a high-density Lightning Release Chakra, about to explode, was compressed between his upper arm and forearm.

Lariat!

The ultimate Taijutsu of the Hidden Cloud. A perfect combination of speed and power. The air along the way is violently pushed aside, forming a brief vacuum.

There's no way to avoid it.

Samui stared intently at the battlefield from afar, his breath catching in his throat. This attack was one that almost no one in the Shinobi World dared to directly block.

Naruto didn't intend to dodge.

He gripped the Flying Thunder God Kunai tightly in his backhand, but instead of throwing it, he used the force of his arm chopping down to drive the Kunai hard into the rock beneath his feet.

Crack. The rock strata split open.

Naruto slightly parted his legs, lowered his waist, and assumed a horse stance. All eight core muscle groups contracted to their maximum simultaneously, and liquid life energy surged wildly into his right arm. He didn't use chains, nor did he use any Ninjutsu.

"I'll take this punch."

Naruto looked up, staring directly at the blue light that crashed down like a meteorite. He clenched his right fist and unleashed a savage and pure punch to meet the Raikage's elbow strike.

Boom--!!!

The fist and the elbow collided at the last second.

There was no sound.

For the first tenth of a second, absolute silence fell over the surroundings. Then, a visible white high-pressure ring of air erupted from the point of impact, rapidly expanding outwards in a circular pattern.

Completely devastating.

Within a radius of thirty meters, all the protruding rock pillars and abandoned railway tracks were crushed into dust the moment they touched the air ring. Gale-force winds, mixed with thunder and fire, howled and swept towards the valley walls.

Killer B pinned his tentacles firmly to the ground, protecting the Hidden Cloud members behind him. His ever-present sunglasses clearly reflected the two figures locked in a stalemate in the center.

The light was so bright that no one could see the outcome of the collision.

Just then, the ground tremors suddenly changed rhythm.

A drop of dark red blood fell silently from the center of the bright light, landing on the scorching hot earth.

Almost the instant the blood seeped into the ground, the abandoned lightning vein below, which Naruto had kicked into the dead rock layer, suddenly emitted a low rumble. It seemed to have sensed some terrifying energy far exceeding that of the Tailed Beast, and the magnetic field underground instantly reversed.

The raging primal lightning, like thousands of venomous snakes, surged through the cracks to the surface, completely engulfing the two wrestling opponents.