The fight began the instant they all moved at once. They moved with no hesitation, just pure, synchronized aggression collapsing in on Naruto from every angle.
Fū, the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, was the fastest to close the distance. Translucent wings burst from her back, vibrating with chakra as she lifted off the ground and shot forward.
The air whined around her as she came in from above, her fist driving straight down toward Naruto with surprising force.
Naruto stepped into it.
His hand snapped up, catching her wrist mid-strike. The impact thudded through his arm, but his grip held firm. Using her own momentum, he yanked her downward, dragging her out of the air as his other fist pulled back, ready to drive straight into her but it never landed.
Utakata was already there.
The Six-Tails Jinchūriki slipped into range almost silently, his movements smooth, almost calm compared to the others. The moment he arrived, dozens of shimmering bubbles formed around Naruto, expanding outward in an instant and trapping him within their radius.
Naruto's eyes flicked around them for a split second.
'…I don't remember much about this guy,' he thought, his grip on Fū loosening slightly as he recognized the technique. 'Even after the filler… but one thing I do remember—'
The bubbles pulsed.
'—his stuff explodes. Pause!'
BOOOOM—
A violent explosion erupted around Naruto, the clustered bubbles detonating all at once. Fire and pressure blasted outward, tearing through nearby branches and sending shockwaves rippling through the forest.
The force ripped Fū free from his grasp, her body lifting back into the air as she stabilized with her wings.
Smoke and mist swallowed the area where Naruto stood.
For a brief moment, nothing could be seen, just drifting ash and the faint hiss of fading chakra.
Then the mist began to clear.
Naruto stood at the center of it.
His clothes were torn in places, edges singed and fluttering slightly in the lingering heat, but his body remained completely unharmed. Not a burn. Not a scratch.
He exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off the impact.
Around him, the Jinchūriki had already repositioned, forming a loose circle once again, watching him carefully.
Naruto glanced at each of them, his expression calm but colder now.
Then he tilted his head slightly and cracked his neck.
A sharp pop echoed in the quiet space between them.
'…Yeah,' he thought, his eyes narrowing just a fraction. 'I didn't like that.'
His figure vanished.
Not a blur. Not a dash. One moment Naruto was there and the next, he wasn't. Fū's eyes widened, her wings twitching as her senses scrambled to catch up.
Too late.
Naruto reappeared at her flank, already mid-motion. His arm drove forward with brutal precision.
CRASH—
The hit slammed into her side, sending her spiraling out of the air. Her body smashed into the ground below, tearing through branches before hitting hard enough to crater the earth.
Naruto didn't follow through.
His feet touched down lightly on a nearby tree branch, knees bending slightly to absorb the landing as his eyes swept across the battlefield in one smooth motion. Every Jinchūriki. Every movement. Every shift in chakra.
Then he moved again.
Goku, the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, roared as magma surged across his entire body. Thick, molten chakra coated him completely, dripping and bubbling as the heat intensified.
The air around him warped, the bark beneath his feet charring instantly as he scanned the area, trying to lock onto Naruto's position.
Naruto was already above him.
He dropped from the canopy, body aligned vertically as his leg came down in a crushing axe kick aimed straight at Goku's head.
For a split second.
'…Fuck—!' Naruto thought as the searing heat licked against his leg, the magma burning hot even through his chakra-enhanced durability.
But he didn't stop. His leg drove through the resistance.
BAM—
The kick connected fully, forcing Goku downward. The ground gave way beneath him as his body was driven through layers of branches, snapping them like twigs on the way down.
CRASH—
A plume of debris erupted as he hit the forest floor.
Naruto flipped mid-air and landed a short distance away, boots skidding slightly against the dirt as he stabilized.
He barely had time to reset. Yagura, the Three-Tails Jinchūriki, and Utakata were already on him.
They attacked simultaneously.
Yagura came in low, staff sweeping toward Naruto's legs in a tight arc meant to break his balance, while Utakata closed from the side, more bubbles forming rapidly around Naruto—smaller this time, faster, meant to detonate on contact.
Naruto shifted his footing, twisting his body just enough to hop over the sweep.
SWISH—
But the moment he landed, the bubbles were already closing in.
He moved again, slipping between them with precise footwork as one detonated just behind him.
BOOM—
The blast pushed against his back, but he used the force, leaning into it to propel himself forward. His hand shot out, deflecting Yagura's follow-up strike while his body turned sideways to avoid another cluster of bubbles forming near his shoulder.
Behind them, the other Jinchūriki were already recovering.
Fū rose from the crater, wings beating hard as she lifted back into the air. Goku pushed himself up from the wreckage below, magma still flowing across his body. The remaining paths closed in again, tightening their formation.
This time. They moved together.
Perfectly synchronized. Naruto slid back half a step, eyes narrowing slightly as he tracked all of them at once. His breathing remained steady, but his focus sharpened even further as the pressure increased.
He spared a quick glance toward Obito in the distance, standing calmly behind them, watching everything unfold.
Naruto exhaled through his nose.
'…Fuck,' he thought, shoulders loosening slightly as he adjusted his stance. 'I hated fighting the Pains.'
His gaze hardened again as the four Jinchūriki closed in.
'…Good thing I've got that.'
Naruto held his stance as they closed in, his body relaxed but rooted. Then they attacked.
Magma surged forward in a blazing wave, heat distorting the air. Utakata's bubbles expanded rapidly around him, unstable and ready to detonate. A blinding flash burst from Fū, flooding the battlefield with searing light, while a massive sphere of water roared toward him from the side.
All at once. Perfect coordination. Naruto didn't move.
The attacks collided with something unseen just inches from his body.
BOOOOM—
An invisible layer of wind chakra rippled outward, absorbing and deflecting the combined force. The impact shook the forest, splitting the ground and sending debris flying in every direction.
The light swallowed his vision completely. But Naruto didn't need his eyes. He could feel them. Every presence mapped clearly in his mind.
He moved. His body surged forward, his leg snapping toward Fū's position with precise timing. She reacted instantly, wings flaring as she twisted mid-air to evade the kick.
She avoided the physical strike. But not the range of it.
The invisible extension of Naruto's attack Frog Kata expanded beyond his limb, the natural energy surrounding him striking where his body didn't.
BAM—
The hit landed anyway.
Fū's body jerked violently as the unseen force slammed into her, sending her crashing backward through the trees. Trunks shattered on impact as she was launched deep into the forest, unable to fully comprehend what had hit her.
Naruto didn't stop.
The moment his foot met empty air, he pushed off it, chakra reinforcing the movement as he accelerated again, closing distance before the others could fully react.
Yagura moved to intercept.
A mirror formed instantly, its surface rippling before producing a perfect reflection of Naruto. The copy lunged forward in sync, matching speed and intent as it moved to clash.
Naruto's expression didn't change.
He formed a seal.
POOF—
A shadow clone appeared beside him, both of them splitting apart smoothly as they moved around the mirrored version. Their movements were clean and coordinated.
They closed in from opposite sides, legs snapping out in a simultaneous double kick aimed at Yagura.
Yagura saw it.
Through the Rinnegan link, he reacted perfectly, shifting his body to evade both strikes at once.
The kicks missed.
But again. That wasn't the real attack. As the clone passed by, its hand brushed lightly against Yagura's shoulder.
Just contact. That was enough. The clone dispersed instantly.
POOF
And Naruto vanished.
He reappeared directly behind Yagura, already mid-action. The natural energy around him surged, his strike extending beyond his arm as he brought it down.
Yagura didn't even have time to turn.
BAM—
The blow landed cleanly against the back of his head, the force amplified by Frog Kata. His body was driven forward violently, flying into a nearby tree as the trunk splintered on impact.
Naruto lowered his arm, already shifting his focus back to the battlefield, tracking every remaining opponent without breaking rhythm.
'…An IQ too high?' he thought, calm and calculating as the fight continued.
TO BE CONTINUED