ROAR!
Within the spiritual space, the Nine-Tailed Fox's scarlet vertical pupils blazed with chilling intensity as it released a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the mental realm. The massive bijuu's red fur began to glow and flicker like living flames, radiating an aura of primal fury that had been building for decades of forced imprisonment.
"Even this isn't enough to suppress it?" Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration, his voice carrying the strain of someone who had pushed himself to his absolute limits.
From the very beginning of their confrontation, he had committed almost every ounce of his strength to this desperate battle against the Nine-Tails. Despite combining his own enhanced chakra reserves with the amplifying power of Sage Mode, his efforts were still proving insufficient to overcome the legendary bijuu's overwhelming might.
The disparity in their power levels was becoming increasingly apparent with each passing moment.
In the next instant, Naruto's shadow clones found themselves unable to maintain their grip on the Nine-Tails' massive tails. The bijuu's strength was simply too great for them to contain indefinitely.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The nine gigantic tails began thrashing wildly with unrestrained force, each movement generating enough power to shatter mountains. The shadow clones that had been desperately trying to restrain them were systematically destroyed one after another, their forms dispersing back into chakra under the relentless assault.
"This is bad!" Naruto exclaimed as he looked up from his position directly in front of the Nine-Tails.
Nine massive tails, now completely free from any restraint, descended from above like enormous serpents driven by murderous intent. They fell toward his position with crushing force that promised to obliterate anything caught beneath them.
Naruto was forced to abandon his direct assault on the Nine-Tails temporarily, calling upon his remaining shadow clones to form defensive barriers between himself and the descending attacks.
The giant tails swept downward with devastating effect, exploding the protective shadow clones one after another in brilliant flashes of dispersed chakra. Each impact sent shockwaves through the spiritual space that threatened to tear apart the very fabric of the mental realm.
Naruto's true form landed steadily on the ground and immediately began retreating, constantly dodging the Nine-Tails' successive attacks through a combination of enhanced reflexes and desperate determination.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under the devastating influence of the Nine-Tailed Fox's tremendous power, the spiritual space that served as their battlefield was being systematically torn apart. Cracks appeared in what had seemed like solid surfaces, and the very air itself seemed to burn with residual chakra.
"The Nine-Tails is simply too powerful," Kushina observed with growing alarm, her face changing color as she sensed the increasingly chaotic chakra emanating from Naruto's physical body. "It's impossible for Naruto to suppress it on his own."
During her own temporary confrontations with the Nine-Tailed Fox years earlier, she had relied heavily on the special bloodline abilities inherent to the Uzumaki clan—techniques specifically designed for suppressing and controlling tailed beasts. Even with those considerable advantages, she had barely been able to maintain any semblance of control over the situation.
Moreover, if Minato hadn't intervened at crucial moments during her own struggles, Kushina would never have been able to successfully extract and utilize the Nine-Tails' chakra for herself.
Recognizing the dire nature of Naruto's current situation, she reached out toward her son with the intention of providing immediate assistance before the confrontation could escalate beyond his ability to survive.
"Wait just a little longer," Minato said suddenly, his voice carrying a note of quiet authority that caused Kushina to pause.
His eyes remained fixed on Naruto's form with the intense focus of someone who was detecting subtle changes that others might miss. "That's not his true limit yet."
Although Minato also believed that without direct intervention from both himself and Kushina, Naruto would find it extremely difficult to achieve victory in this battle against the Nine-Tails, something about the current situation was giving him cause for cautious optimism.
At this critical moment, his enhanced senses were detecting a surge in the Sage Mode chakra within Naruto's body—energy that should have been nearly exhausted by this point in the battle.
The fundamental nature of Sage Mode was the fusion of natural energy with the physical and spiritual energy that constituted normal chakra. The strength and quantity of a ninja's base chakra directly determined the power and sustainability of any Sage techniques they could employ.
After releasing the seal that had bound the Nine-Tails for so many years, Naruto no longer needed to use a significant portion of his chakra reserves to maintain the containment barriers. This liberation meant that he could access and utilize far more powerful Sage techniques than had ever been possible during his previous training.
"Almost there," Naruto murmured to himself while continuing to dodge the Nine-Tails' relentless attacks, his voice carrying a note of grim determination.
Then, with sudden resolve, he raised his eyes and made a decision that would determine the outcome of their entire confrontation.
At this crucial moment, the Nine-Tailed Fox had already rushed directly in front of Naruto's position, its massive claws descending with enough force to split the earth itself. The air around the attack seemed to explode from the sheer pressure of the bijuu's movement.
Rather than continuing his evasive maneuvers, Naruto stopped dodging completely and raised both arms to directly intercept the Nine-Tails' falling claws in what appeared to be a suicidal gesture of defiance.
Bang!
As the devastating blow landed, the tremendous force generated a circular shockwave that spread outward in all directions, creating visible distortions in the spiritual space around them.
"What?" the Nine-Tailed Fox exclaimed in shock, its eyes gradually widening with disbelief.
Instead of being crushed by the impact, a tremendous force was emanating from beneath its claws, gradually lifting its massive form upward against its will.
"AHHH!" Naruto's shout erupted from his position beneath the Nine-Tails' palm, his voice carrying a power and intensity that seemed to transcend his normal capabilities.
The bijuu's enormous body was being gradually lifted by strength that should have been impossible for any human to possess.
"Get up!" Naruto roared as his figure became visible beneath the Nine-Tails' massive paw.
He wrapped both arms around a portion of one of the Nine-Tails' enormous fingers and suddenly exerted force that defied all logical understanding of physical limitations.
The Nine-Tailed Fox—a creature whose size made Naruto appear like an ant in comparison—was actually thrown through the air by the young ninja's incredible burst of strength.
As Naruto executed this impossible feat, a familiar figure materialized from his abdominal region in the form of condensed chakra. It was his dark side—the representation of his doubts and negative emotions that had been transformed into an ally through his earlier internal confrontation.
The dark Naruto rushed forward as a beam of pure chakra energy and established a connection with the airborne Nine-Tails, creating a link that would be crucial for the technique that was about to follow.
"Let's finish this in one decisive strike!" Naruto declared after exchanging a meaningful glance with his dark counterpart.
He formed the necessary hand seals and created two additional shadow clones, each one designed to serve a specific function in the ultimate technique he was preparing to unleash.
Extending his hand forward, the two shadow clones positioned themselves in his palm and began condensing enormous quantities of chakra into a single focal point.
Buzz!
In Naruto's palm, a massive Rasengan with a diameter of over one meter began taking shape, its spinning chakra creating visible distortions in the air around it.
Then, sharp wind blades quickly materialized around the core Rasengan, transforming the technique into something that resembled an enormous shuriken composed entirely of cutting wind and raw chakra.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The wind blades spun with increasing velocity, generating powerful gusts that filled the entire spiritual space with the sound of rushing air. Naruto raised the completed technique above his head and focused his gaze on the Nine-Tails, which was beginning its descent back toward the ground.
"Sage Art: Wind Release: Great Ball Rasenshuriken!" he announced, his voice echoing with the combined power of his enhanced chakra and unwavering determination.
The massive technique traced a long arc through the air as it flew toward its target, its rotation creating a trail of compressed wind that left visible distortions in its wake.
Boom!
When the Great Ball Rasenshuriken made contact with the Nine-Tails, the resulting explosion was tremendous. Powerful chakra erupted in all directions, and the devastating force of the technique began systematically extracting fox-shaped chakra constructs from the Nine-Tails' main body.
After Naruto had expended all of his remaining Sage Mode chakra in this ultimate attack, the distinctive markings around his eyes gradually faded away, indicating that he had exhausted his enhanced state.
He stretched out both hands and firmly grasped the streams of chakra that were extending from his abdominal region, pulling back with every ounce of strength he possessed.
The Nine-Tails' chakra was being rapidly extracted from its source, and Naruto couldn't help but feel a surge of hope and excitement as he witnessed the apparent success of his desperate gambit.
"Has he actually succeeded?" Kushina asked with amazement, her beautiful features showing clear signs of joy as she sensed Naruto's chakra beginning to suppress and overcome the Nine-Tails' legendary power.
However, Minato's expression remained cautious and concerned rather than celebratory.
"He's incredibly strong for his age, and his performance has been truly remarkable," Minato acknowledged with pride in his son's achievements. "Even I wasn't this powerful when I was his age."
"But the enemy he's facing is the most unfathomable and dangerous of all nine tailed beasts."
As someone who had personally sealed the Nine-Tails twice using his own techniques, Minato possessed a deeper understanding than most about just how terrifying the bijuu's true power could be.
Sure enough, within the spiritual space, just as Naruto appeared to have successfully extracted most of the Nine-Tails' chakra, the power of his Great Ball Rasenshuriken technique finally reached its limits and began to dissipate.
"Damn it!" Naruto's expression shifted to one of shock and growing desperation as he realized that his ultimate attack had not been sufficient to achieve complete victory.
However, at this critical juncture, he certainly couldn't afford to give up easily. He continued straining to extract the Nine-Tails' chakra, pouring every remaining ounce of his willpower into maintaining his tenuous advantage.
"Little brat, you're asking for death!" the Nine-Tails snarled with absolute fury, its eyes blazing with murderous intent as it glared at the human who had dared to challenge its power so directly.
The bijuu raised its massive head and opened its mouth, revealing the beginnings of chakra light rapidly gathering at the back of its throat. The technique it was preparing would be devastating enough to obliterate Naruto completely.
"In this weakened state, it can still use such powerful chakra?" Naruto thought with profound shock as he observed the fox-shaped chakra constructs that remained suspended between himself and the Nine-Tails.
Soon, he began to feel the overwhelming fatigue that came with having expended virtually all of his available energy. His body was approaching its absolute limits, and his determination was beginning to waver under the pressure.
As Naruto's willpower faltered, the negative emotions contained within the Nine-Tails' chakra took advantage of the opening and began surging outward, threatening to corrupt his mind and turn his own power against him.
"There's nothing more I can do," Minato sighed with resignation as he observed the situation taking a dangerous turn.
He suddenly reached out and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, establishing direct contact with his son's chakra network. Through this connection, he could intuitively sense the intense emotional struggle that Naruto was experiencing at this critical moment.
"I cannot lose to it!" Minato seemed to hear Naruto's voice roaring with desperate determination from within the spiritual battle.
"What's happening?" Minato asked himself with growing amazement as he detected something completely unexpected.
He suddenly sensed something unusual occurring deep within Naruto's chakra-depleted body—a phenomenon that defied his understanding of normal ninja physiology.
A power that even Minato, with all of his experience and sensitivity to chakra, couldn't identify or comprehend was beginning to surge forth from somewhere within Naruto's being.
Within the spiritual space, the expression in Naruto's eyes suddenly underwent a subtle but significant change, as if some dormant aspect of his nature was finally beginning to awaken.
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