The overwhelming anger and heartbreak that surged within Naruto felt like a tidal wave crashing over him. His body trembled with rage as he watched his companions suffer—Hinata, Ino, and Orochi—reduced to broken, bloodied figures by the hand of Ares, the Immortal of War. The worst part was the mocking cheers from the audience, who reveled in the destruction of those he cared about. His nightmares had become reality, and it was more than his mind could handle.
The intense pressure built up in his hands, causing them to bleed as his fingers curled into fists, fighting against the urge to strike out. The force of his own rage was almost enough to destroy him from the inside out, but Kurama, the mighty Nine-Tails Fox, held him back with steady words of reassurance.
"You can't act on your anger just yet, Naruto," Kurama growled in his mind, his voice calm yet firm. "We won't die here, and it's necessary for your growth. Trust me."
Naruto knew Kurama was right. Even after a month of intense training—spanning the equivalent of 100 years of learning for a normal person—he had yet to fully mature. His growth had been purely intellectual, focusing on learning techniques and power, rather than experiencing life itself. He wasn't yet a fully formed adult; his emotions still ran high, and he had not fully learned to control them in the face of the unimaginable. It was the same case for normal people who would still act like children in their thirties because of their lack of real life experiences.
It was during this moment of weakness that Kurama's support was invaluable. The immense pain and frustration Naruto felt were those of a person still finding their emotional balance. Kurama had always been the voice of reason, the one who understood Naruto better than anyone, and the one who could ground him in his darkest moments.
As the team's broken bodies reappeared beside him, their spirits crushed by the weight of Ares' overwhelming power, Naruto stepped forward. He could see it in their eyes—the trauma, the fear, and the raw, vulnerable pain they all felt. His heart twisted at the sight, but instead of breaking down like before, Naruto wrapped them in a tight embrace.
"It's okay," he whispered, his voice steady despite the storm raging inside him. "We'll get through this together. Stay strong. I won't let you fall."
But even as he spoke to comfort them, the weight of the situation pressed on his chest. Ino, her body still flickering between psychic energy and physical form, held onto him with a trembling grip. Hinata, her injuries visible, leaned into his embrace, seeking solace. Orochi stood beside them, his face hardened with silent determination, but his eyes betrayed the emotional toll of the battle.
Kurama's voice echoed once more in his mind, strong and certain: "You can now take out your frustration on him, Naruto. He humiliated you, humiliated your friends, and humiliated humanity. You cannot afford to lose. This battle is more than just personal revenge—it's a matter of pride for everyone you care about. Your loss here is humanity's loss."
Naruto's gaze hardened as he took in the gravity of Kurama's words. This was bigger than him now. The lives of his friends, the honor of his comrades, and the very survival of the human race depended on what he did next. If he lost, it would signal the end of everything.
He stood up, slowly releasing his friends from his embrace and giving them a reassuring smile. "I won't let it end like this," he said quietly, though his words were filled with an unshakeable conviction. "Stay back and heal. I'm going to finish this."
With a flash of chakra, Naruto launched himself into the arena, leaving behind a shadow clone to watch over his friends. The atmosphere crackled with energy as his presence alone altered the fabric of the arena. This was the first time in a month that Naruto was ready to unleash his full power.
During the war, Naruto had reached continental power and after taking in the power from Sasuke he had reached moon level. This had been further upgraded to planet level once he had received the other half of Kurama and some chakra from the Juubi, the Sage and the rest of the Bijuu.
Once he started training his base form to the extremes and even ate properly, Naruto's base form achieved the same level of power his Sage mode had during the Pain Invasion. His base form had become Kage level and after proper training of his Senjutsu, and Rinne-Sharingan he had become reached an extreme level of power.
Just with the complete fusion with full powered Kurama, he reached Half-Planet level, and combine that with the eyes he was Planet level. With Six Paths on top of that, Naruto had reached extremely powerful realm.
Six Paths provided Naruto with a boost that allowed him to go from less than City level to Continental; it was 1000 times boost in power. However, it only took place because he was very weak and the new mode allowed him perfect control of his power. So, it was technically just a 100 times boost in power and that was more than enough to make Naruto into an invincible juggernaut.
At full power, Naruto was large planet level. His strongest attack held the power to destroy a planet 100 times the size of Earth, and if he utilized his true understanding of Senjutsu he could soon destroy a Jupiter sized planet.
With so much power inside his body, Naruto had to actually limit the Six Path boost as the overflowing energy would cause his cellular structure to collapse since his body was not strong enough for it yet.
However, that problem was solved once he learnt from Gai and Lee about proper body enhancement with chakra. Just like most ninja he had been using chakra uniformly to enhance his body and with better control he could use more chakra to increase the effect without damaging his body.
But, that was just a simple chakra enhancement. Using such a simple method was inefficient and didn't give a large increase in power. It was especially worse for someone like Naruto who had a large reserve of chakra, as he was not getting the advantage granted by that large amount and was getting the same enhancement in stats as others.
Guy and Lee had been working on chakra enhancement for years because it was their specialty and their path towards greatness. Learning more about the human biology, they understood how it operated and decided that the ultimate body enhancement would be chakra enhancement of the individual atoms that make up the body.
Before atoms were the cells and each human had at least 30 trillion cells. So for these crazy fighters decided that the cellular level was the 3rd stage of chakra enhancement while the second stage was purely focusing enhancement in single region. This was different from normal enhancement in the fact that it also focused on the blood, bones, nerves and everything in that section of the body. This second stage allowed the user to create a massive difference in power.
Naruto learned about these four stages and could easily utilize the second stage, this allowed Naruto in base form to reach the power level of his Bijuu Mode during war. Regardless, it was not the end as Naruto could actually utilize the cellular level with his perfect control of chakra and his huge reserves.
Naruto couldn't power up all his cells with large amount of chakra, but he could definitely put building level rasengan chakra into each of his cells. This would allow his chakra to last for a few seconds and allow him a level of power that was extremely intense, solving the issue of the overflowing energy.
Theoretically Naruto could also use the second stage method's concept and only focus on the cellular structure of one region, giving it more chakra to achieve a power beyond the whole body enhancement.
With all that power, Naruto should have been able to walk over all foes but the Great Immortals held power to destroy stars. It also meant that Ishiki was at that level when he regained his full power and Kaguya was definitely not weak as she had been during the war.
It meant that they were lucky that Kaguya was throwing around energy without using any skill; otherwise she could have used that large reserve to erase all of them with utter ease.
Naruto stood tall, his body radiating the raw power he had accumulated over the years. Despite his overwhelming strength, his eyes were focused, calculating the movements of his opponent. He didn't look down on Ares, even though Hinata, his wife, had been pushed beyond planetary limits, and yet Ares had treated her like fodder. That fact alone was enough to keep Naruto on guard. The man before him may have been playful in his tactics, but Naruto could sense the danger in every fiber of his being.
Ares, for his part, wasn't taken off guard either. His body was fully awakened, his aura pulsing with an almost divine energy. The two combatants stood opposite each other, each feeling the weight of the other's power. Ares wasn't careless, not when facing Naruto. He understood that this fight would not be the same as those he had toyed with in the past. Naruto was different. He was a being whose strength was almost unparalleled in the human world, and the fact that he stood so calmly in the face of such a challenge was a testament to his own immense power.
"I hope we can have a fun battle," Ares said, his voice dripping with a mix of amusement and expectation. His aura, which had been held in check until this moment, surged out in all its glory, the air around him vibrating with pure energy.
Naruto's response was calm, measured, almost detached from the emotions swirling within. "I hope so as well." He took a deep breath, clearing his mind. The battle ahead required focus—emotions would only cloud his judgment, and he needed to fight with precision.
This wasn't a fight with clones, nor was it one where he could rely on others' fighting styles. This was the real deal, and he knew that against Ares, he would have to push himself further than he had ever done before.
Naruto's mind was sharp, calculating, as he tapped into the raw power he had cultivated. His heart, though it had been driven by emotions before, now beat with pure resolve.
With a flick of his wrist, Naruto formed a seal and summoned a technique so basic yet so deadly: the Fireball Jutsu. It was something that Naruto had seen Sasuke use in many battles. Simple, yet effective, it was a jutsu that anyone with an affinity for fire could master. However, for Naruto, this was not just a typical fireball.
The flames swirled with a violent heat, fed by Naruto's perfect control over the elements. What was once a simple fire technique had evolved into something much more. His understanding of fire, its properties, and his new stats had transformed the Fireball into something capable of planetary destruction. The intense heat caused the very atoms of the air to move and collide, amplifying the explosion to unfathomable levels.
The fireball erupted, turning the entire arena into a sea of blue flames. The ground cracked beneath the sheer force of the explosion, but Ares stood there without moving a muscle, casually letting the flames wash over him. He wasn't fazed in the slightest. The fire that could have wiped out entire continents barely made a dent in him.
Through the smoldering heat, Naruto saw a blur of movement. A spear, forged from pure energy and moving faster than the speed of light, shot toward him. With barely a thought, he drew Nunoboko, the legendary sword once sealed away by the Sage. The blade had changed in Naruto's hands, now stronger than ever before. He had unlocked its hidden power, breaking through the twelve seals that the Sage had placed upon it. While he had only unlocked three levels of the sword's true potential, it was more than enough for this battle.
At full power, the sword held power of 100 stars and now Naruto could use the power of 5 stars. Regardless, Naruto wasn't intending to cheat during the battle and just sealed its power for a fair battle.
The spear came crashing toward him with the force of a comet, but Naruto's swift movements allowed him to deflect it with ease. He channeled his strength into the sword, sending a surge of power through the blade. The spear was knocked off course, shattering upon impact with the sword's edge.
The force of the strike reverberated through Naruto's body, but he wasn't done yet. He teleported across the arena in an instant, his speed barely allowing Ares to follow. But as soon as he landed, a sharp presence was felt behind him.
Ares appeared in the blink of an eye, his own blade—a black, jagged sword—raised high. The similarities between their weapons were striking, but Naruto could feel the immense energy emanating from Ares. The battle was only just beginning, and Naruto knew that every ounce of his power would be tested.