Loose stones tumbled into the deep crater. Dust still hung in the air, where lingering traces of flames and chakra intertwined into visible trails of distortion.
Scorching heat continued to spread, burning the ground red as though it were the heart of a volcano about to erupt.
"Cough..."
Naruto Uzumaki shook his head, a teasing smile still on his face. He opened his mouth to complain. "Hah-that was way too brutal-"
But a moment later, Sasuke Uchiha's cold, angry shout cut through his levity.
"Naruto, stop fooling around. Take this seriously."
His voice was as cold as a blade on a thousand-year-old ice field, severing every trace of carelessness and delusion.
Sasuke's expression was grim. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly, interwoven crimson patterns surfacing deep within his pupils like shackles that could pierce the soul.
A nearly suffocating pressure followed, making even the air seem to solidify into an invisible sheet of ice.
"You bastard, Sasuke..." Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head in irritation. "Yemu isn't just attacking me. Why are you acting like a spectator?"
His tone was flippant, but in the next instant, his expression turned deadly serious. An unprecedented fighting spirit flashed deep in his eyes.
BOOM!!!
Nine-Tails chakra erupted inside him as though a forbidden seal had been broken. Dense waves of chakra flame, like molten gold, surged from his body and shot into the heavens!
The force instantly swept back the crater's edges. Rubble flew dozens of meters into the air, and the entire ground seemed ready to collapse.
At the same time, Naruto's body underwent a drastic transformation amid the flames!
Three heads and six arms-Asura had returned!
Each of the six mountainous arms of flame channeled chakra. Lightning, fire, wind, magnetism, electricity, and Yang Release thundered in succession within his