Settling Accounts with the Old Dog, the God Above Hokage Rock
Naruto dragged the massive boulder, half his height, with one hand, step by step approaching the dark alleyway entrance. The stone scraped against the rough flagstones, making a teeth-grinding "screech" sound, like a death knell.
In the alley, two Root ninjas exchanged a glance, a hint of panic flashing in their eyes beneath their masks. They never expected that Naruto Uzumaki would not only escape Pain's clutches but would also instantly destroy the terrifying summoning beast and even discover their whereabouts.
"Go!" The Root on the left, wearing a fox mask, shouted, throwing down the unconscious Hyuga Branch Family child in his arms. His hands moved rapidly, forming hand Hand Seals, attempting to use the Body Flicker Technique.
"Trying to Body Flicker Technique in front of me?"
Naruto snorted coldly, not even forming hand seals, and two golden Chakra Chains suddenly burst forth from his back.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
The chains pierced the shoulders of the two Root ninjas as precisely as if they were piercing thin paper, pinning them to the crumbling walls on either side. Blood dripped from the chains into the muddy water, a horrifying sight.
The Masked Man groaned, enduring the excruciating pain, and gritted his teeth, blaming out, "Naruto Uzumaki! We are Root! We are Danzo orders from Lord Danzo to protect Kekkei Genkai. How dare you lay a hand on a fellow villager? Are you planning to betray the village?"
Without wasting words, Naruto swung the boulder in his hand and slammed it down hard on the legs of the man who had spoken.
"Snap!"
"Ah--!"
The dull thud of bones shattering and screams of agony rang out simultaneously. The Masked Man had his legs smashed into a bloody pulp below the knees, nearly losing consciousness from the pain.
Naruto stepped forward, grabbed another Root ninja by the neck, and half-lifted him into the air. A violent smile twisted his lips, "Protect? Hyuga Hiashi just handed over his pledge to abolish the 'Caged Bird' yesterday, and Danzo and steal my thunder today? Does he really think I'm that good-natured Third Hokage who only knows how to smooth things over?"
"This is... for the future of Hidden Leaf..." the Root ninja tried to argue.
"Stop trying to fob me off with that disgusting rhetoric." Naruto's eyes changed instantly, his Pure Byakugan activated, and the immense spiritual power of the Great Evolution Divine Soul Art poured into the other's brain without reservation.
Soul Search!
In just two seconds, the Root ninja's Byakugan rolled back, he foamed at the mouth, and his brain was violently turned inside out.
Naruto tossed him into the puddle like trash, pulled a Hidden Leaf defense map marked "Top Secret" from his pocket, and sneered as he flung it at the faces of the two crippled Root: "Seven hundred meters underground at the Third Training Ground, even the nuclear launch tunnel has been dug. Danzo's Danzo is certainly quite sturdy."
He turned and picked up the unconscious Hyuga Clan child from the ground, who had collapsed from Chakra exhaustion. Without looking back, he tossed out a sentence: "Go back and tell that old dog. I'll settle this score with him personally in his basement after I've killed those pretentious cripples in the sky. He'd better pick out his coffin first."
The atmosphere remained somber at the entrance to the shelter outside the alley.
Naruto carried the child out and casually handed him to the Hyuga Branch Family ninjas who had rushed over. Then, his gaze turned to Sasuke, who was slumped against the wall.
Sasuke's right side was a gruesome sight; his clothes were torn to shreds, his flesh was torn and peeling, and broken bone fragments had even pierced his skin. Sakura was kneeling beside him, her hands glowing with emerald green medical Chakra, her eyes slightly red, but she bit her lip and remained silent. Nearby, Choji lay exhausted in the mud, panting heavily, while Shikamaru leaned against the broken wall, clutching his arm, which was convulsing from forcibly using the Shadow Imitation Technique.
Seeing Naruto approach, Sasuke used his uninjured left hand to brace himself against the ground and forcefully stood up. His mouth twitched in pain, but he still held his chin high and said in a hard tone, "What are you looking at? Big brother, don't worry about me, go deal with the enemy first. This little injury won't kill you."
Naruto stopped in front of Sasuke, but didn't utter a sarcastic remark as usual.
He raised his right hand, his palm surging with gentle and mellow Yang Release Chakra, and gently patted Sasuke's uninjured left shoulder.
"He managed to trade a single blow for a devastating missile and even sliced off the Asura Path's head in the process." Naruto looked at Sasuke Sharingan, now dimmed from overexertion, and said with utmost seriousness, "Sasuke Uchiha, you didn't disgrace Team 7 today."
Sasuke was stunned. His usually arrogant and domineering older brother had given him such a direct affirmation for the first time ever. He turned his head away and gave a haughty "tsk," but his tense shoulders visibly relaxed.
Naruto flipped his wrist, pulled out a small crystal bottle filled with a pale golden liquid, and tossed it into Sakura's arms.
"Apply the purest Yang Release extract to him externally." Naruto looked at Sakura's blood-covered hands and nodded approvingly. "You too. To be able to pull him back from the brink of death in the eye of that explosion, Sakura Haruno, you're a qualified medical-nin now."
Sakura gripped the crystal bottle tightly, sniffed hard, and shouted, "I understand! Leave this to us, and we will never let anyone set foot in the shelter again!"
Shikamaru struggled to his feet, his forehead covered in cold sweat. "Naruto, something's wrong. Besides the rhinoceros and Asura Path you just blasted away, there are several other extremely troublesome guys wreaking havoc in the village. Their target is very clear..."
"They came for me." Naruto cracked his neck, his bones popping repeatedly.
Just then, a slimy, blue and white mollusk emerged from a crack in the rubble not far away.
The Katsuyu raised its antennae, and Tsunade's anxious yet authoritative voice rang out. "Naruto! Latest intelligence from the Barrier Team: Six Paths of Pain are advancing simultaneously in the southeast, west, and north, causing numerous casualties. Moreover, the one with the strongest Chakra reaction among them is currently hovering directly above the Hokage Rock. He is accumulating a massive amount of Chakra, and his target appears to be the entire heart of Hidden Leaf!"
Before the words were even finished, the air in the entire Hidden Leaf suddenly became thin.
A suffocating, terrifying pressure pierced through the dense rain, pressing down on everyone's hearts as if it were a tangible force. The rubble on the ruins began to tremble slightly involuntarily, and even the falling raindrops seemed to pause for a moment.
Everyone instinctively looked up, gazing towards the deepest part of the village.
Directly in front of the Hidden Hokage Rock, hundreds of meters above the ground.
A figure dressed in Akatsuki cloak hovered silently there. A gust of wind blew off his hood, revealing short orange hair and a face covered with Black Rod.
Deva Path Pain slowly spread his arms, like a god judging the world. His pale purple Rinnegan remained calm as he looked down at the village struggling in the flames of war.
He didn't use any amplification Ninjutsu, but his flat, hollow, and cold voice clearly resounded in the ears of everyone in Hidden Leaf.
"I've come to end this flawed world."
The voice of the Deva Path was completely flat, "Hand over the Nine-Tails. Otherwise, Hidden Leaf will cease to exist. Feel the pain."
In front of the shelter, many civilians and Genin so overwhelmed by this aura that their legs went weak and they almost knelt down.
Shikamaru gritted his teeth, his mind racing. "The distance is too far, and he's high in the sky; ordinary Ninjutsu can't reach him at all! If we're going to engage, we must organize the Anbu for high-altitude fire support, or..."
"Cover up my ass."
Naruto rudely interrupted Shikamaru's analysis.
He ripped off his charred jacket, revealing a well-defined, muscular upper body. His perfect Uzumaki Sage Body, sculpted by the torrential rain, emitted a palpable heatwave, instantly evaporating the surrounding rainwater into a thick white mist.
"This is my territory, and it's not up to a blind man with iron rods sticking out of his head to set the rules."
Naruto flipped his right hand, and a trident Kunai engraved with the Flying Thunder God Formula seal appeared out of thin air. He then planted the Kunai in the soil at Shikamaru's feet, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "Keep a backup plan. If I don't kill him within ten minutes, or if I encounter trouble you can't handle, channel your Chakra into it."
Then, Naruto slightly bent his knees, and a surge of violent golden Chakra erupted from his body like a volcanic eruption.
"Eight Gates, Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit —Open!"
Boom!
The water within a ten-meter radius was instantly emptied by the terrifying blast wave, creating a brief vacuum zone.
Naruto raised his head, staring intently at the arrogant figure above the Hokage Rock, a wild and murderous grin spreading across his face.
"Want to find me? Fine. I'll personally deliver myself to your door and teach you a lesson!"
Bang!
The bluestone slab beneath Naruto's feet, along with half a meter of soil, collapsed instantly. Using this terrifying recoil, he transformed into a blinding golden bolt of lightning, rising from the ground and tearing through the thick rain curtain. Trailing a long golden tail, he hurtled towards Pain, the Deva Path Pain, above the Hokage Rock.
The air was repeatedly shattered, producing a series of ear-piercing sonic booms.
High in the sky, Deva Path Pain lowered his head slightly. In the vision of his Rinnegan, the golden lightning bolt was approaching at a speed that defied the laws of physics.
"So you've finally come out, Nine-Tails." Deva Path slowly raised his right hand, palm facing Naruto who was charging towards him, and the Chakra around him began to gather wildly in a spiral.
Below, amidst the soaring golden light, Naruto clenched his right fist, his intense Chakra illuminating half the night sky as bright as day.
Two men standing at the pinnacle of Shinobi World power are about to engage in the most primal and brutal head-on clash.