Naruto's body twisted in midair, his core muscles tightening like a coiled spring. In one explosive motion, he drove his right elbow down like a falling meteor, the air howling around it as it hurtled toward Tsunade's back.
But Tsunade reacted in the blink of an eye. Years of battle-honed instinct screamed a warning through her veins, and before she could even think, her body was already moving. With a sharp roll, she narrowly evaded the crushing strike.
Naruto's elbow smashed into the ground where she had just been, detonating with the force of a cannon blast. The earth caved in, scattering debris and dust into the sky.
Through the storm of dust, Tsunade charged forward. Her right hand clenched into a fist, the sound of cracking knuckles echoing through the haze. The gathered strength in her arm was monstrous—raw, concentrated power that could pulverize boulders. She roared and swung forward, her fist slicing through the air toward Naruto.
Naruto's pupils tightened—but he didn't retreat.
Instead, he sank into a solid stance, his weight dropping low as power surged through his spine and into his right arm. His entire body became a conduit for force. He clenched his fist, taking a traditional forward punch stance—simple, unadorned, yet filled with unyielding determination. He met Tsunade's blow head-on.
Two pure, mountain-breaking forces collided midair.
A deafening boom erupted as the point of contact exploded outward in a sphere of blinding pressure. Dust and gravel were blown away in an instant, leaving behind a massive crater tens of meters wide. Trees snapped like twigs, torn apart by the shockwave.
For a fleeting heartbeat, time itself seemed to stop.
Then came the pain. Agonizing force rippled through both their arms, muscles twitching from the impact. Yet neither of them backed down.
The ground beneath them splintered and sank, unable to withstand the backlash of such terrifying strength.
Watching from afar, Jiraiya's expression grew serious. "Tsunade's power... she's starting to regain her old form in battle."
Sasuke smirked faintly. "Naruto isn't fighting seriously yet."
Orochimaru's eyes glimmered. "Looks like Naruto wants to draw out her combat instincts—to awaken the warrior she once was."
The clash continued, raw and primal, drenched in sweat and dust.
Tsunade's heartbeat pounded in her ears. For the first time in years, her blood felt alive again. She hadn't expected anyone—especially a boy so young—to challenge her pure physical power head-on. Yet here he was, unrelenting, eyes burning with fire.
Naruto's breathing was steady, his excitement barely contained. This was what he lived for—battle fought with nothing but will, body, and spirit. Only Guy-sensei had ever pushed him like this before.
Their fists blurred into a storm. Tsunade's iron punch swung low at his ribs; Naruto blocked with his elbow, countering with a knee aimed at her abdomen. Tsunade met the strike with her forearm, the impact cracking like thunder.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Each collision was like a hammer striking the world itself.
They moved faster and faster, their figures vanishing into a haze of motion. Jiraiya and Orochimaru could barely follow the afterimages. Even Sasuke had to activate his Sharingan to keep up, watching the two titans trade blows in the crater.
The earth buckled and split beneath their feet. Each strike carved furrows into the ground, filling the air with smoke and flying stones. The battlefield became a blur of shadows and flashes—two forces of nature locked in unrelenting combat.
For nearly an hour, they fought without pause.
Every punch Tsunade threw was heavier than the last. The long-slumbering fire in her blood was fully awake now, burning through the years of self-imposed numbness. Her fists roared through the air, fueled by the thrill of battle she had nearly forgotten.
Sweat and dust streaked her face, but her eyes shone with fierce exhilaration.
Naruto matched her, blow for blow. His movements were precise, clean, almost elegant in their brutality. His shirt was torn in several places, blood streaking his arms where Tsunade's monstrous strength had grazed him. Yet his eyes gleamed, bright and wild, savoring the pain and the power it unleashed within him.
This was what all his training had built toward—this moment where body and will fused into something unstoppable.
Tsunade blocked another punch, panting, but grinning wide. "You really are full of surprises, brat. But let's see how long that body of yours can keep up! Come on!"
Her chakra flared, the air trembling around her fists.
But Naruto only smiled faintly. "Lady Tsunade, if we keep this up, we'll probably fight for three days and nights without a winner." His tone grew calm, focused. "So let's end it here."
Before she could react, his entire aura changed.
An overwhelming surge of energy exploded outward, blue steam erupting from every pore in his body like a volcanic eruption. The temperature around him spiked as the air rippled and cracked.
The ground beneath his feet shattered, spiderweb cracks spreading out in all directions. Rocks and debris shot into the air as gale-force winds burst outward, forming a vacuum around him.
"Ha—ah!"
Naruto's roar shook the battlefield. The blue flames swirling around him weren't chakra—they were pure life energy, burning at its limit.
He was no longer just a boy.
He was a living storm—a beast unchained.
Tsunade froze mid-step, every nerve in her body screaming danger. The air pressure alone made her skin crawl. This wasn't ordinary chakra. This was raw vitality unleashed—an energy that could tear the soul apart.
"Run," her instincts screamed.
Then she heard it—Naruto's steady voice, calm yet thunderous:
"The Seventh Gate... Open!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock. "The Seventh Gate?! The Eight Gates Formation—he's opened the seventh already?!"
Sasuke's expression flickered with quiet pride. "That's Naruto's real strength."
Orochimaru's tongue flicked across his lips as he watched the blue aura blaze brighter.
On the battlefield, Naruto's hair stood on end, glowing gold beneath the blue radiance. His eyes had turned a piercing azure, calm and merciless.
And then—he vanished.
No, not vanished.
He had simply moved faster than the eye could follow. The air imploded where he stood, a thunderclap echoing as the pressure ripped through the earth.
A streak of blinding blue light traced across the battlefield like a comet, cutting through the dust-filled air, racing straight toward Tsunade.
The Seventh Gate was open—and the real fight was just beginning.
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