The appearance of the giant hand stunned Jiraiya and the others.
Satoru—who had been fighting them for hours—was suppressed so easily. Just how strong was the ninja who made that move?
Could it be someone from Iwagakure? But for a large-scale Earth Release like this, even in Iwagakure, only a handful of people could pull it off.
After thinking for a moment, Jiraiya's mind immediately went to Naruto. Only Naruto had chakra on this level… but when the hell did he master Earth Release?
At that moment, Jiraiya sensed the presence of natural energy flowing through the earth—and instantly understood.
He stepped beside Tsunade and said in a low voice,
"Tsunade… that was Naruto. Only he can use ninjutsu on this scale."
Tsunade's expression turned strange.
"Jiraiya… just how the hell did the Third Hokage train that kid?"
She had always believed Naruto was just given some leeway because of Minato. But now… his strength didn't just rival the Sannin—it had already surpassed the level of an ordinary Kage.
Jiraiya was momentarily speechless. After a pause, he scratched his head and said slowly,
"Maybe it's because Naruto is a perfect jinchūriki. The Eight-Tails' jinchūriki in Kumogakure is also insanely strong…"
Even as he said it, Jiraiya felt like he was talking bullshit.
…but unfortunately, it was the truth.
...
Near the scarlet altar.
After dragging Satoru close to the Box of Bliss, the undead monsters around them began moving again.
Naruto glanced at them casually. From his back, over a dozen Adamantine Sealing Chains shot out and instantly bound every single one.
These undead creatures weren't strong—but even brushing against them felt like your chakra was getting contaminated.
Fortunately, neither Naruto nor Kurama lacked dark chakra. Not only were they unaffected—the Sage chakra within Naruto actually burned these monsters like fuel.
Naruto tore off one of Satoru's arms and narrowed his eyes slightly, observing.
He was curious about the limit of Satoru's regeneration.
A few seconds passed.
No regrowth.
Naruto clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"So that's it… not as broken as I thought."
Then he turned his gaze toward Wūwei and controlled him with genjutsu.
"Fire Release: Fire Prison."
As the hand seals completed, a blazing sphere of flames instantly engulfed Satoru.
At the same time—
The Box of Bliss cracked open.
A massive suction force burst out, like a black hole, swallowing Satoru and all the undead monsters in one go.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked inside the opening.
He could vaguely see… something glowing.
A few breaths later, the Box of Bliss closed again. Everything fell silent, as if nothing had happened.
But Naruto's gaze darkened.
He couldn't forget what he saw.
A tongue.
That glowing object… was a tongue.
And the reason this damn box was so twisted… was probably because of it.
Whose tongue was that?
A sage? …Or an Ōtsutsuki?
But even someone like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki couldn't be this bizarre with just a single body part.
Could it be… something beyond the Ōtsutsuki?
Naruto frowned slightly. That thought alone was enough to be unsettling.
In the end, he suppressed those thoughts. No point wasting time on something he couldn't figure out yet.
Forming hand seals, Naruto summoned the giant snake Xinya.
"Eat it."
Xinya swallowed the Box of Bliss whole and returned to Ryūchi Cave.
Naruto glanced upward toward the courtyard—then leapt up.
In just a few movements, he appeared on the surface.
His gaze immediately locked onto Uchiha Itachi, Kisame Hoshigaki, and the others.
They had already received orders to retreat.
Without hesitation, they fled toward Amegakure.
After the Akatsuki members withdrew, only Konoha's forces, the Kusagakure ninja, and Naruto remained.
Naruto floated mid-air, expression calm.
The leader of Kusagakure stepped forward with a flattering smile—but the moment he saw Karin running over, his face stiffened.
His worst fear had come true.
Naruto had discovered Karin.
As the village leader, he knew exactly how Kusagakure had treated her.
Now, not only did they face pressure from Iwagakure and the Akatsuki…
…but also revenge from Uzushiogakure.
After hesitating for a moment, he stepped forward and said nervously,
"Lady Karin… what happened in the past was the village's fault. I will severely punish those responsible and send them to Hōzuki Castle—"
Karin didn't even look at him.
The leader forced a smile and turned to Naruto.
"Lord Uzushio, Kusagakure is willing to cooperate with your village and provide any resources you need. Please… forgive our past offenses."
Naruto glanced at him indifferently.
"No need. You'll need those resources to save your own village."
After saying that, Naruto turned and left, taking Karin into the forest without looking back.
The leader of Kusagakure stood there, completely ignored.
Clenching his teeth, he turned to Jiraiya and Tsunade.
"Master Jiraiya, Master Tsunade… the cooperation between Kusagakure and Konoha—"
Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively.
"That's something you should discuss with the Hokage. We don't make those decisions."
His tone was polite—but there was zero intention of helping.
Kusagakure had dug its own grave.
Now it could deal with the consequences.
After brushing him off with a few more words, Jiraiya quickly chased after Naruto.
...
Naruto didn't go far.
He sat casually on a large boulder, clearly waiting.
Before long, Jiraiya and Tsunade arrived.
Naruto spoke first, calm and direct:
"If you're here to tell me to return to Konoha, save your breath. So—are we fighting, or just talking?"
Tsunade's brows twitched, clearly irritated, but Jiraiya stopped her.
Taking a breath, Tsunade calmed herself and said,
"Naruto… why did you leave Konoha? With your talent, becoming Hokage would've been easy."
Naruto smirked slightly.
"I'm not interested in being Hokage. But if Konoha wants to merge into Uzushiogakure… I might consider it."
That did it.
Tsunade's temper snapped.
She stood up instantly and strode toward Naruto.
"You little brat—do you even hear yourself?!"
Naruto didn't move.
He simply raised a kunai… and stabbed it into his own palm.
Puff!
Bright red liquid splashed out.
Tsunade froze mid-step, her body trembling. She could barely keep herself standing, but her eyes were locked onto Naruto.
When the hell did he learn about her hemophobia?
Naruto casually licked his palm and said flatly,
"Relax. It's just ketchup."
He tilted his head slightly.
"But with your condition, Tsunade-sama, it's better not to jump into fights carelessly. Would be a shame if the ninja world lost its best medic over something stupid."
After a brief pause, his tone softened just a little.
"I don't like those self-sacrificing idiots who burn themselves to light the way for others… but I still respect people like you. So I'd rather not fight you."
Then he looked at Jiraiya.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So… are you still chasing this 'Child of Prophecy' nonsense, Jiraiya-sensei? Or are you planning to become it yourself… while searching for someone to sit in the Hokage seat?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
There are 150+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
📢 Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[One Piece: Pirate Chat Group]