At the exact same time Naruto was fully immersing himself in the Chakra Fusion.
Iruka had just finished his morning classes and walked out of the Ninja Academy when an Anbu wearing an animal mask appeared silently before him.
"Chunin Iruka, Hokage-sama has summoned you for urgent business. Please follow me."
Iruka was startled, then nodded and quickly followed the Anbu away.
At the same time, Ino was in her family's flower shop, helping her mother trim the newly arrived lilies.
An Anbu wearing an identical mask pushed open the door. "Genin Ino, Hokage-sama has summoned you for urgent business. Please follow me."
Hearing the Anbu's purpose, Ino wiped her hands and said to her mother, "Hokage-sama is looking for me. Mom, watch the shop."
With that, she followed him out.
...
In a remote mountain area of Konoha, Iruka and Ino arrived at the same time, guided by their respective Anbu. When the two met, they locked eyes, both seeing the same confusion in each other's gaze.
"Iruka-sensei?"
"Ino, you were summoned by Hokage-sama as well?"
Ino nodded, then turned her head to look around. There were none of the facilities that the Hokage Office should have nearby, there were only trees and moss-covered rock walls.
Just then, a figure stepped out of the shadows.
Keenly sensing that something was wrong, Ino shielded Iruka behind her and questioned the figure standing in the shadows loudly,
"Who are you? Wasn't Hokage-sama the one looking for me?"
"Ino, this is Elder Danzo." Iruka recognized Danzo, his voice carrying a hint of caution.
Danzo's reputation among Konoha's higher-ups was no secret even within the circle of ordinary Chunin, but the other party was an Elder after all, not someone a Chunin like him could afford to neglect.
"Elder Danzo, I wonder why you have summoned Ino and me here?" Iruka suppressed the unease in his heart, keeping his tone as respectful as possible.
Danzo's gaze swept over the two of them. He didn't speak, seeming to be waiting for something.
Iruka's heart skipped a beat. This Elder's reputation was far from good. He reached for his ninja tool pouch, but before he could even touch the handle of his Kunai, a hand chop struck the back of his neck.
Iruka let out a muffled groan and collapsed limply to the ground.
"Iruka-sensei!"
Ino shouted, only to be immediately knocked unconscious by the Root behind her.
Danzo looked down at the two lying on the ground, a scroll in his hand. On it was a list of personnel closely associated with Naruto: Karin, Hinata, Ino, Sakura and Iruka.
Danzo did not know if Iruka and Ino were sufficient leverage, so he had to keep waiting. He waited for Root to bring Karin, Hinata, and Sakura here as well.
Once all the leverage was gathered, he would send someone to secretly deliver the message to Naruto to lure him over.
"Naruto, I hope your strength is as formidable as your mouth." Danzo stroked his bandaged right eye.
Mangekyo Sharingan, Kotoamatsukami.
He did not have complete intelligence on Naruto's strength. He only knew that he had defeated Neji during the Chunin Exams and had left him speechless at the Jonin meeting a few days ago. Tsunade could promote him directly to a Hokage-direct Jonin, so he shouldn't be too weak.
But this was perfect. If Naruto was strong enough, he would gain a powerful pawn. If Naruto's strength was nothing special, he would still gain a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Regardless of the outcome, once Kotoamatsukami was activated, Naruto would be within his grasp.
"How are the preparations for the Fuinjutsu going?" Danzo asked.
"Danzo-sama, the sealing formation has been set up according to your instructions and is ready to be activated at any time." The Root member behind him knelt on one knee.
Danzo nodded. "Once the remaining people are captured, pass the message to Naruto immediately."
"Yes."
—
Elsewhere, in a cave.
At this moment, Wind, Lightning, and Fire Chakra fused into a brand new Chakra. Naruto drew this Chakra into his body, then opened his eyes, sensing the golden Chakra radiating within him.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
The next moment, he appeared on the uninhabited island where he had previously been practicing Tailed Beast transformation.
Standing on the island's reef, he looked at the surging sea. With a thought, the freshly fused Kekkei Tota Chakra circulated throughout his body, and immediately after, his entire body emitted a golden light.
Then, defying the laws of physics, he ascended and stopped at an altitude of about one hundred meters above the sea.
Naruto raised his right index finger, and pointed at the sea below.
The next moment, a scorching golden light condensed at his fingertip, followed by a laser that shot straight from his finger into the sea.
Boom!
The sea surface hit by the laser exploded into a water column a dozen meters high.
It was not over yet. Naruto continued to condense the newly formed Chakra at his fingertip, and lasers shot toward the sea like a rainstorm. Explosions rang out one after another, and countless fish floated on the surface.
The schools of fish in the surrounding waters had never seen such a situation and could only desperately swim to the depths of the ocean.
Naruto retracted his finger and condensed Chakra into his feet.
Light Speed Kick!
A dazzling golden light lit up on Naruto's right foot. The next second, he appeared in front of the largest reef on the island and kicked out.
Rumble!
The entire reef was blown apart by his kick, and shattered rocks splashed into the seawater, stirring up white sprays.
Naruto retracted his foot and looked down at his still-smoking ankle.
Wind + Lightning + Fire, the three attributes fused through his unconscious mixing ratio turned out to be Light Release.
Naruto activated Absolute Control and began to master the power of Light Release. Then, his whole body emitted light, and he moved across the island.
Soon, the island was not big enough for him to run, so he simply stepped onto the sea surface, and his whole body turned into a golden light, flying at high speed over the ocean.
The moment the light swept across the sea, the seawater on both sides was split by the air waves, lifting two rows of high water walls.
Just as Naruto was having fun, the Light Release Chakra was exhausted.
Naruto said, "Kurama, lend me some Chakra."
"Take it. What incredible thing have you come up with again?" Kurama's voice sounded in the Mindscape, with a hint of curiosity in its tone.
Naruto created a Shadow Clone and let Kurama attach its consciousness to it.
"Come and experience it yourself, and you'll know."
Kurama's consciousness descended onto the Shadow Clone, then opened its eyes. It looked down at its temporary body glowing with white light. Then a flash of light covered its whole body, and it zoomed onto the sea.
"Woohoo!"
It let out a happy shout while speeding on the sea. The extreme speed of Light Release reminded it of the feeling of running wild in the wilderness a long, long time ago when it was still free.
Naruto adapted to the speed and power consumption of Light Release and figured out the bottom line of the speed and power.
Although it was called Light Release, the actual speed did not reach the true speed of light. If the speed of Swift Release reached the speed of sound, then the speed of Light Release was supersonic.
The consumption was quite high. With Naruto's three hundred units of Chakra, what he had just done burned up more than half of his Chakra. No wonder Ōnoki didn't dare to use Dust Release continuously.
However, with Kurama, a Chakra power bank, this consumption could be treated as daily expenses.
'Supersonic, huh? I wonder what level it would reach if Kurama Mode was stacked with Light Release.'
Thinking of this, Naruto activated Kurama Mode, and the golden Chakra cloak appeared on him.
He stacked Light Release Chakra on top of Kurama Mode, and a faint white light film appeared on the surface of the golden cloak. Then his whole body turned into a golden-white intertwined light and shot toward another island in the distance.
During the flight, a series of sharp sonic booms exploded around him. In less than a second, he landed on the reef of that island.
"My god, so fast!"
Even Naruto was startled by this speed.
One second!
From one island to another!
And that was not even his limit.