Deidara soared through the sky on his giant Explosive Clay bird.
"Explosive Clay: Flying Birds!"
Several white birds made of Explosive Clay descended rapidly into the depths of Unyō Gorge, flapping their wings furiously.
"Hmph!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of violent explosions shook the entire gorge. Massive rocks shattered and rolled down the cliffs, while the nearby river churned violently.
Using the smoke and shockwaves created by the explosions, the six members of the Akatsuki successfully broke through the defensive line and landed on the battlefield.
Samui and Troy stared in shock.
"It really is the Akatsuki!"
"All six of them came!"
Their hearts sank. They had expected an attack, but they never imagined the Akatsuki would mobilize nearly all of its members for a full-scale assault on Unyō Gorge.
Even hundreds of elite shinobi would struggle against six S-rank rogue ninjas.
Still, retreat was no longer an option.
"Protect Brother Bee!"
"We cannot allow the Eight-Tails to fall into the Akatsuki's hands!"
"Even if we die, we won't retreat a single step!"
"Attack!"
The Hidden Cloud shinobi charged forward with fearless determination.
Kisame Hoshigaki smiled coldly.
"How pathetic..."
He quickly formed a series of hand seals.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
An enormous amount of water erupted from his chakra, merging with the river surrounding Unyō Gorge. Within moments, the battlefield transformed into a vast lake as towering waves crashed across the valley like a raging ocean.
The immense flood swept countless Hidden Cloud shinobi into the air.
Cries of pain and shock echoed throughout the battlefield.
"So this is the strength of the mighty Hidden Cloud?" Kisame sneered.
At that moment—
"Ha!"
"Eight-Tails: Eight-Way Twist!"
Killer Bee instantly transformed into his complete Eight-Tails form.
The gigantic ox-octopus roared as its eight massive tentacles wrapped tightly around its body before exploding outward with overwhelming force.
The resulting shockwave spread across the battlefield like a devastating tsunami, tearing through everything in its path.
Kisame's Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave was blown apart instantly.
Violent winds roared across the gorge as enormous waves crashed into the surrounding cliffs. The earth trembled beneath everyone's feet, and countless boulders tumbled into the valley below.
Even the Akatsuki members were forced onto the defensive.
Deidara was blasted backward as he lost control of his clay bird. He flew over a thousand meters before finally regaining his balance.
Despite this, he grinned excitedly.
"As expected... this is the terrifying power of a perfect Eight-Tails Jinchūriki."
"Hmm."
Zetsu immediately buried his plant-like body underground, avoiding the devastating shockwave altogether.
Sasori, Itachi, Kakuzu, and Kisame each relied on their own abilities to withstand the attack.
"Brother Bee!"
Samui and Troy were surprised that Bee had entered his full Tailed Beast form so quickly.
Although they were worried about him, they also understood the situation.
Without Killer Bee personally joining the battle, the Hidden Cloud Village stood no chance against the Akatsuki.
Everyone instinctively looked toward Samui.
Although she was not the strongest among them, she possessed exceptional judgment and remained calm under pressure, making her one of the Raikage's most trusted subordinates.
Samui took a deep breath.
"Everyone, protect Brother Bee and fight beside him!"
"Yes!"
Dozens of elite Hidden Cloud shinobi quickly assembled into formation and advanced alongside the fully transformed Eight-Tails.
Kisame chuckled.
"It won't be that easy."
Itachi spoke calmly.
"He's a perfect Eight-Tails Jinchūriki."
"But..."
"No matter how powerful a shinobi is, everyone has weaknesses."
Sasori said coldly,
"Let's begin. I dislike waiting."
Deidara returned to the battlefield with a confident smile.
"Don't worry, Brother Sasori."
"I'll show them what true art really is."
"Hmm."
Kakuzu flexed his fingers impatiently.
"These replacement hearts are nowhere near as satisfying as my old ones."
"I'll simply collect new hearts from these people."
Under the silent gaze of Pain and Konan, every member of the Akatsuki charged forward.
At the same time, Killer Bee roared toward the heavens and rushed to meet them head-on.
An unprecedented battle between the strongest shinobi had officially begun.
---
Episode 173
The Akatsuki Unleashes Its Full Strength! Naruto's Life Is in Danger!
"Good."
"Then everything has been settled."
"The Dawn Alliance has officially been established."
"The Five Great Nations will unite as one, and together we will destroy the Akatsuki Organization."
At the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron, Hokage Tsunade stood before everyone and formally announced the alliance.
The other four Kage nodded in agreement.
"Please return to your respective villages and begin carrying out the agreed plan immediately."
"Understood."
"Very well."
The Five Kage Summit lasted for three full days before finally reaching its conclusion.
Naruto was completely exhausted.
Listening to endless political discussions felt even worse than enduring the Raikage's Lightning Release training.
As soon as the meeting ended, he stretched his body with a sigh of relief.
Tsunade immediately noticed.
"Naruto, you always say you want to become Hokage."
"But you can't even stay focused during an important meeting."
"What are you going to do when you actually become Hokage?"
Naruto answered without hesitation.
"That's easy."
"If I become Hokage, there will definitely be people helping me."
"Hinata."
"Sasuke."
"Shikamaru."
"Just like Shizune helps you."
Tsunade immediately protested.
"I handle everything myself!"
Shizune, whose eyes were surrounded by dark circles from exhaustion, looked at her speechlessly.
"Lady Tsunade... that isn't exactly true."
Tonton snorted helplessly.
Tsunade scratched her head.
"Forget it."
"I don't enjoy meetings either."
"But at least we've finished organizing the Dawn Alliance."
Naruto nodded.
"I listened to that part."
"Right now, five Tailed Beasts remain under the protection of the Five Great Nations."
"I'm the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki of Konoha."
"Fū, the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, is also under Konoha's protection."
"Gaara remains with the Hidden Sand Village."
"Killer Bee stays under the protection of the Hidden Cloud."
"And the Three-Tails of the Hidden Mist has reportedly been resurrected."
"The summit decided that Konoha will continue protecting Fū and me."
"Gaara will be guarded by a joint force from Konoha, the Hidden Sand, and the Hidden Stone."
"The Hidden Cloud will protect Killer Bee."
"As for the Three-Tails, teams from the Hidden Mist, Hidden Cloud, and Konoha will continue searching for and monitoring it."
"That's basically everything, right?"
Tsunade sighed.
"You only remembered the main points."
"You ignored all the important details."
Naruto laughed.
"That's what you and Shizune are for."
"I was secretly training during the meeting anyway."
Tsunade and Shizune exchanged helpless smiles.
After a brief pause, Tsunade asked,
"Naruto, how is your new ultimate technique coming along?"
She wasn't referring to his Wind Release: Extreme Piercing Needle.
That technique was merely a stepping stone.
What Naruto truly wanted was a devastating attack comparable to a Tailed Beast Bomb.
His goal was to combine Rasengan, Wind Release: Pressure Damage, and his Wind Release Chakra Mode into a single overwhelming technique.
If successful, it would rival the destructive power of both the Tailed Beast Bomb and the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Naruto scratched his head.
"It's much harder than I expected."
"I haven't even completely mastered the Extreme Piercing Needle yet."
Shizune frowned.
"That technique pierced through the Raikage's Lightning Release Armor."
"And you still don't think you've mastered it?"
Naruto shook his head.
"That's because the Raikage wasn't using his full strength."
"If he had activated his strongest Lightning Release Armor, I probably wouldn't have broken through it."
"My technique still hasn't reached its true limit."
"It feels like it's constantly being compressed..."
"But at the same time, it feels as though it's about to burst with even greater power."
Tsunade nodded thoughtfully.
"That's only natural."
"If a powerful ninjutsu could be perfected so easily, everyone would possess terrifying techniques."
Shizune suddenly smiled.
"Actually, Naruto..."
"Maybe you should try approaching it from the opposite direction."
Naruto blinked.
"What do you mean, Shizune-nee?"
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)