The Price and the Desire

Dead silence.

A tangible dead silence weighed on everyone's hearts.

Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist who delighted in slaughter, felt for the first time what it meant to have cold seep from the depths of his bones.

It was not the solemn pressure of facing a powerful enemy, nor the tension of a brush with death. It was... the pure terror of a top predator being reduced to prey in an instant.

Everything he had taken pride in—his experience, techniques, fearsome reputation—had collapsed the moment that boy crushed the Kubikiribōchō with his bare hands.

"Step."

A soft sound shattered the frozen air.

Naruto stepped over the ruins he had created with his own hands, walking out from the center of the collapsed crater one unhurried step at a time.

The terrifying muscles that had bulged from his explosive burst of power were gradually settling at a visible rate, returning his body to its original lean, balanced form.

No one thought he had grown weaker, because that world-destroying sight had been permanently branded into the souls of every witness.

"Let Kakashi go."

Naruto stopped by the shattered bridge, his azure eyes calmly fixed on the rigid figure standing atop the water as he repeated himself.

It was neither a threat nor a negotiation.

It was a statement of fact, an unquestionable command from one above to one below.

"Y-you monster..." Zabuza gritted out through clenched teeth.

Humiliation, fear, fury... all manner of emotions churned violently in his chest!

A beast driven into a corner erupted with its final madness!

"Don't... don't look down on me, you little brat!!"

Zabuza roared. He maintained the Water Prison Technique with one hand while the other desperately began forming seals!

"Water Release: Water Dragon..."

"Too slow."

Three cold, emotionless words thundered beside his ear!

They had not come from the bridge. They were right next to him!

What?!

Zabuza's mind went blank. He whipped his head around—

A golden bolt of lightning, carrying a shrill scream that tore through the air, leaped down from the bridge!

That was not the Body Flicker Technique. It was an even purer, more savage, terrifying charge that drove the body's explosive force to its absolute limit!

Naruto appeared on the water's surface almost instantly, right at his side!

"Opening Gate, open!"

Naruto let out a low roar in his heart, and the first gate of the Eight Gates burst open within him!

A surge of chakra and vital energy far beyond the ordinary flooded into his right leg like a breached torrent!

At that moment, Naruto could even hear the faint wail of the muscle fibers in his leg as they failed to withstand that violent power!

But he did not care!

His right leg rose high, transforming into a golden battle axe that lashed viciously toward the sphere of water imprisoning Kakashi with the will to crush everything!

"Bang—!!!"

A deafening explosion rang out!

That A-rank Water Release ninjutsu, said to be extremely difficult for even jonin to escape, could not hold on for even a second beneath that kick!

Like glass struck head-on by a battering ram, it instantly filled with cracks before exploding apart!

Water sprayed high into the sky.

"Pfft—!"

The technique had been forcibly broken, and the immense backlash slammed into Zabuza's chest like a massive hammer.

An irresistible force sent him flying backward, and he violently spat out a mouthful of blood!

Within the Water Prison Technique, Kakashi broke free and gasped for air.

He had no time to care about his disheveled state. His Sharingan stared fixedly at Naruto as turbulent waves rose in his heart.

That presence just now... was the Eight Gates?!

And the destructive power of that kick was practically a replica of Lady Tsunade's Monster Strength!

No, it was rougher and more violent than that!

Forcibly combining the explosive power of the Eight Gates with Monster Strength's chakra control technique... just how had this kid managed it?!

This was not talent at all. He was an unreasonable madman!

On the bridge.

"Gulp."

Sakura swallowed with difficulty and completely gave up trying to think.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was an entirely different sight.

He sat limp on the ground, but his newly awakened One-Tomoe Sharingan spun frantically at an unprecedented speed, greedily capturing and analyzing everything before him!

Powerlessness?

Despair?

What were those supposed to be?!

The instant Sasuke witnessed Naruto's kick, every negative emotion born from his crushing defeat was burned away by an even fiercer, more obsessive flame!

That flame was called [desire]!

"Eight Gates... and that technique for instantly erupting chakra... is that where his power comes from?"

Sasuke's fingernails dug deeply into his palms, yet he did not notice the blood seeping out.

His brain raced wildly, carving every detail recorded by the Sharingan—the rhythm of Naruto's muscles, the flow of chakra, the instant of eruption—into his soul!

The revenge he had spoken of before truly seemed laughable in the face of that power.

But that did not mean he should give up!

It meant that the Uchiha bloodline, Fire Release, Shurikenjutsu... everything he had always taken pride in had been the wrong answer!

True power stood right before him!

That "dead last" concealed a shortcut that could allow him to reach "that man"!

"I need... I need this power!"

Sasuke's breathing grew heavy, and a sickly gleam flickered in his eyes.

"I have to obtain it! Naruto Uzumaki... no matter what secrets you're hiding, I'll dig every last one of them out! Become my whetstone, or... become my stepping stone!"

At that moment, Naruto was no longer a companion in his heart. He was a living [treasure trove of power] on the path of revenge, something that had to be analyzed, surpassed, and perhaps even devoured!

On the water.

Naruto slowly withdrew his right leg, sending ripples spreading across the water beneath his feet.

He frowned slightly as he felt waves of stabbing pain coming from his right leg.

[Warning: Forcibly combining the Eight Gates (First Gate) with a Sage Body burst has caused a 7% tear in the right leg muscle group.]

[Sage Body rapid repair in progress... Estimated repair time: 60 seconds.]

"Tch, was that still too much..."

Naruto felt somewhat displeased. It seemed his body's strength was still far from sufficient if he wanted to use that power at will.

He turned around, his azure eyes locking onto Zabuza in the distance as he struggled to flee.

The intelligence had been completely wrong!

That was the only thought left in Zabuza's mind.

The twelve-year-old before him was a super monster who could forcibly open the Eight Gates, use Monster Strength, and possessed an unknown Kekkei Genkai!

Retreat!

He had to retreat immediately!

Enduring the intense pain, he began forming seals with both hands, intending to use the Hidden Mist Technique to leave this damned place!

However, just as his hand seals were about to be completed—

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Several sharp whistles tore through the air without warning, shooting out from the shadows of the distant forest!

Dozens of Ice Senbon glinting with an eerie chill rained down like a dense storm toward Naruto, who had just finished his burst of power and was briefly stiffened!

The attack was ruthless, and its timing was viciously precise, exploiting the opening between the end of Naruto's old strength and the rise of his new strength!

Someone was launching a sneak attack!

Kakashi and Sasuke's hearts tightened at the same time!

Naruto, however, could not even be bothered to turn his head.

He merely murmured softly, as though he had been waiting for this all along.

"So you finally decided to come out."