"This... this is impossible!"
Beside the Water Prison Technique, Zabuza Momochi's true body stood frozen, his only exposed eyes bulging beneath the bandages wrapped around his face.
His mind had gone blank. Reason and experience had been blasted to pieces in that instant.
What was the Kubikiribōchō?
It was the ninja blade that had followed him for years, one of the seven weapons Hidden Mist took pride in, renowned for being indestructible and capable of regenerating through blood!
Yet now, in the hands of a twelve-year-old brat, it was like a fragile piece of pottery, its blade... its blade crushed barehanded into grotesque dents?!
This had surpassed everything he knew about the ninja world!
This wasn't taijutsu at all. This was a monster!
A pure, humanoid monster!
"Is that all the strength you've got? Didn't you eat?"
Naruto's voice rang out again, filled with utter contempt.
It was not a question, but a disdainful verdict.
A verdict that the strength Zabuza took such pride in was nothing more than a laughable joke before true violence.
Before the words had even faded, Naruto's right hand, still gripping the blade, suddenly clenched inward!
"Crack—!!!!"
This time, it was no longer the teeth-grating sound of twisting metal, but an incomparably crisp, explosive crack!
The fracture Naruto had squeezed into the blade spread wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Zabuza's Water Clone Technique looked down in horror. The weapon known as the "unbreakable blade" in his hand now looked like steel struck by a massive hammer, its edge covered in terrifying spiderweb cracks!
"You... you monster!"
The Water Clone Technique let out a roar filled with fear and fury.
But Naruto had already lost the patience to keep playing with him.
"Too noisy."
He spat out the three words coldly and suddenly released the blade with his right hand.
At the same time, his body twisted at an unimaginable angle. The muscles around his waist and abdomen tightened instantly, turning his entire body into a powerful bow drawn to its limit!
His right leg, carrying incomparably mighty blood and vitality, transformed into a golden whip-shadow that tore through the air as it lashed out violently!
There was no chakra enhancement from any ninjutsu in this kick. It contained only the purest, most primal, most savage... power of the Perfect Uzumaki Sage Body!
"Boom—!!!"
A deafeningly dull explosion rang out!
That kick landed squarely on the Water Clone Technique's chest!
Something bizarre happened.
The clone formed from high-density chakra and water did not burst into a spray of water the instant it took the blow. Instead, as though it had been fed into an ultra-high-pressure water cutter, the "water" forming its body was instantly pierced through, scattered, and shattered by that extreme force into billions of suspended droplets too tiny for the naked eye to distinguish!
It had been "disintegrated"!
Then, the force of that devastating blow continued unabated, piercing through the water mist that had suddenly spread out and smashing viciously into the empty bridge deck!
"Boom!!!!!"
A world-shaking boom echoed out, as if some ancient beast were pounding a war drum!
Centered on where Naruto stood, the bridge deck paved with hard marble instantly caved inward beneath his foot, leaving a clear footprint. Spiderweb cracks spread madly from its edges for three or four meters in every direction!
Countless fragments of stone jumped from the impact. A violent shockwave exploded outward from Naruto, forcibly blasting a huge hole through the thick mist that had blanketed the bridge!
"Thud!"
Sasuke, sprawled on the ground, and Sakura, limp and helpless, did not even have time to cry out before the violent gust sent them tumbling backward several times in a miserable heap.
Inside the Water Prison Technique, Kakashi's jaw nearly dropped to the ground.
His prized Sharingan stared fixedly at the cracked bridge deck and the tall figure standing before it, his heart shaking violently.
That pure, unreasonable physical destructive power... even Tsunade's Monster Strength was no more than this, was it?!
No!
Tsunade's Monster Strength was the result of extreme chakra control.
But Naruto... this was not technique at all!
This was something he had been born with!
He was like an ancient beast wearing human skin!
Is this fucking guy really a Genin?!
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Sasuke, who had been thrown away by the shockwave, clutched his already agonizing chest and coughed violently.
But he could not feel the pain.
All pain had been completely drowned out by the immense shock of the hellish sight before him.
He stared blankly at the man standing at the center of the cracks.
That man had used only one kick.
With that one kick, he had shattered the enemy Sasuke could not budge even with all his strength, along with the solid ground beneath his feet!
What kind of gap was this?
This was not the gap between an ordinary person and a genius.
This was an ant looking up at a meteor crashing down upon it!
The despair and unwillingness that had risen in him after being instantly defeated had not vanished. Instead, under the catalyst of that even more absolute power, they twisted into an extreme... jealousy and desire!
Sasuke's nails dug deeply into his palms, piercing his skin and drawing blood. The sharp pain gave his trembling body something to anchor itself to.
For the first time, doubts arose in his mind about his own way of taking revenge.
This kind of power...
This is... true power!
The so-called honor of an Uchiha genius that I sought, Fire Release, the Sharingan... before it, they're all bullshit!
They're toys for children playing house!
Killing that man... with my current strength, it's nothing but a joke!
I need... I need this kind of power!
I have to obtain it!
Before absolute power capable of crushing all living things, every scheme was empty illusion.
For the first time, Sasuke understood with perfect clarity just how laughable and insignificant his obsession with revenge was without power to match it.
The mist over the bridge had been blown apart at one corner.
Sunlight poured down again, illuminating the chaotic ruins.
Naruto slowly lifted his foot and stepped onto the shattered stones, producing a faint crunch.
The knotted, bulging muscles that had risen across his body after that eruption of strength slowly settled back down, returning to his original lean and well-proportioned form, as if the earth-shattering scene moments ago had been an illusion.
Yet the cracked and ruined bridge deck silently declared just how real everything that had happened had been.
Naruto did not even glance at the two companions behind him, who had already been utterly stunned.
Slowly, he turned around.
His azure eyes were calm without the slightest ripple as they crossed dozens of meters and precisely locked onto the Hidden Mist Demon who stood rigid beside the Water Prison Technique.
"Release Kakashi."
His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable command that rang clearly across the deathly silent bridge.
"I'll leave you an intact corpse."
Before you continue