He flexed his arm, muscles tightening as chakra surged through his network. His fingers spread wide, palms open, before he brought them together in a sharp, crossing motion.
An X.
The air around his hands split. Two compressed wind blades formed instantly, thin, almost invisible, yet humming with cutting force as they shot forward.
SHHHH—
They tore through the forest, slicing cleanly through trunks and branches alike, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake as they raced toward Goku and Utakata.
Both reacted in time.
Goku shifted his weight, magma flaring as he sidestepped, the blade grazing past him and carving through everything behind. Utakata slipped away just as smoothly, his body gliding out of range as the wind blades continued forward, shredding the landscape behind them.
But for that brief moment. Their focus shifted. That was all Naruto needed.
POOF—
Naruto and his shadow clone appeared directly in front of them, already mid-motion. In their palms, twin spheres of violently rotating chakra spun at blinding speeds, high-pitched and unstable , the air around them distorting from the sheer force.
Rasengan. Both drove forward simultaneously, aiming straight for their chests.
But just before impact.
Obito moved.
He dropped from his branch, descending between them with perfect timing. In his hand, Madara's Gunbai swung in a wide arc, the weapon cutting through the air with overwhelming force.
WHOOOOSH—
A massive gust erupted from the swing, colliding with Naruto and his clone mid-attack. The pressure hit like a wall, violently pushing them back before their Rasengan could connect.
The clone destabilized first.
POOF
It dispersed instantly.
Naruto was forced back through the air, twisting mid-flight before landing against a tree trunk, his feet planting vertically as chakra anchored him in place.
The wind from the Gunbai still howled past him, rustling his tattered clothes and shaking the surrounding branches.
He steadied himself, eyes locking onto Obito.
'…I almost forgot about him,' Naruto thought, rolling his wrist slightly as he adjusted his stance. His gaze flicked briefly to the war fan.
'…I need that Gunbai. It's kinda cool.'
Obito stood calmly between the Jinchūriki, cloak swaying slightly as his eyes glowed, one Sharingan, one Rinnegan, both fixed on Naruto with quiet intensity.
"You've grown cocky, Naruto," he said evenly. "But this is only the beginning."
In the next instant. Everything shifted. The Jinchūriki froze. Completely still. Then, as if responding to a single command, they moved again.
Tails began to emerge.
One after another, chakra constructs burst from their backs, forming the distinct tails of their respective Tailed Beasts. The air grew heavier, thicker, as their chakra spiked dramatically, pressure pressing down on the entire battlefield.
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as he took it in.
'…Round two.'
Not far from him, Kakashi and Guy both leaped back, creating distance as they reassessed the situation.
Kakashi landed in a crouch, breathing slightly heavier now, his Sharingan tracking the transformations carefully.
"Looks like things are getting serious," he muttered.
Guy straightened beside him, his expression firm as he nodded. "Yeah, Kakashi… we need to get serious too."
Without hesitation, he focused inward. Chakra surged through his body. Then burst outward.
The First Gate opened. Followed immediately by the Second.
A vibrant green aura flared around him, energy rippling off his form as the ground beneath his feet cracked slightly from the sudden increase in power.
Guy lifted his gaze, locking directly onto Han, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki. His stance shifted.
Kakashi reached up and pulled his headband aside, revealing the Sharingan beneath. The moment it was fully exposed, his perception sharpened but then, for just an instant, something shifted.
His vision overlapped. Not his own. A different angle. A different line of sight.
From ahead.
Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly as he processed it.
'…It's as I suspected,' he thought, confirming the connection without letting it show on his face.
The link. The shared vision but he didn't dwell on it. There wasn't time.
His focus snapped back to the Two-Tails Jinchūriki in front of him, body lowering into stance as he prepared for the next exchange.
Naruto stood on the branch for a brief second longer before dropping down to the forest floor, landing lightly as his eyes scanned the dense surroundings. Trees packed tightly together, roots uneven, visibility limited.
It was an annoying terrain.
'…I hate fighting in this kind of forest,' he thought, exhaling slightly. 'Too many blind spots.'
His gaze shifted toward Kakashi and Guy.
A decision.
'…Let's make an opening.'
He didn't say it out loud. The moment his posture changed, the intent was clear.
Kakashi and Guy reacted instantly, both of them disengaging and leaping away, pushing off the ground and into the air without hesitation.
Naruto followed.
In a blink, all three of them cleared the treetops, rising above the dense canopy.
The wind rushed past as Naruto's hand spun.
WHIIIRRRRR—
A Rasenshuriken formed in his palm, its sharp, rotating edges screaming as condensed wind chakra stabilized into shape. The surrounding air distorted from the sheer energy, the technique humming with destructive force.
Without pausing.
He threw it. The spinning mass of chakra tore downward toward the forest below.
Obito saw it immediately.
His body shifted, space warping around him as he slipped away at the last possible moment, avoiding the direct impact.
BOOOOOM—
The Rasenshuriken detonated.
The explosion wasn't just force it was dissection. Countless microscopic wind blades erupted outward, shredding everything in range. Trees were sliced apart instantly, trunks collapsing as the attack expanded across the battlefield.
The forest waas erased.
In seconds, the dense terrain was reduced to splintered remains, the ground torn open and flattened as the destructive wave carved through everything.
Naruto hovered above the devastation, supported by chakra as he looked down at what remained.
Smoke and dust rose in thick clouds, drifting upward from the ruined landscape.
'…Then again,' he thought, glancing at the destruction below, 'with this kind of power… I don't really need that Ōnoki flight trick.'
His attention shifted. Kakashi and Guy were dropping.
The sudden loss of footing from the destroyed terrain left them falling through open air.
Naruto moved instantly.
He dashed through the air, closing the distance in a flash before grabbing them both by their clothing, stabilizing their descent with precise chakra control.
Their fall slowed. Then stopped.
"Thanks, Naruto," Kakashi said, steadying himself as he adjusted his footing mid-air.
"No problem," Naruto replied with a small smirk, keeping his grip firm for a moment before easing.
Below them, the smoke began to thin.
The battlefield revealed itself. Flattened. Cleared completely. There was no more forest or cover. Just open ground. And whatever was still standing inside it.
They dropped down.
Their feet touched the ground almost at the same time, dust shifting beneath them as the last traces of smoke drifted across the now leveled battlefield. The open space stretched wide, broken earth and scattered debris replacing what had once been dense forest.
There was no cover anymore. Just a clear field and the enemy?They arrived instantly.
The Jinchūriki closed the distance in a blur, landing in formation ahead of them as if they had been waiting for this exact moment. Their movements were sharp, synchronized, each step measured. Behind them, Obito stood calmly, untouched, his cloak swaying slightly in the lingering wind.
His gaze was fixed on Naruto.
"You made things easier for me," Obito said, his voice low but clear, his eyes narrowing slightly as he focused solely on him.
Naruto didn't look away.
"It's the other way around," he replied, his tone steady as he shifted into stance. His feet spread slightly, shoulders relaxed.
Guy and Kakashi moved immediately, splitting off without needing instruction. Kakashi blurred toward the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, lightning already crackling faintly in his hand as he re-engaged. Guy dashed toward Han, green aura flaring as he closed the gap with explosive speed.
Their battles resumed.
Leaving Naruto, alone. Facing the remaining four Jinchūriki. They spread out slightly, tightening their formation as they began to circle him, their chakra flaring more intensely than before, tails swaying behind them with heavy, oppressive presence.
Naruto stood still at the center. Focused. His breathing slowed. His eyes sharpened.
'…Time to stop holding back.'
TO BE CONTINUED