After being struck by Raiga's Lightning Ninjutsu, Tenten, in the last second before losing consciousness, saw a straight line cutting through the thick white mist as her eyes began to close.
In his Biju Cloak, with full 73% of the Kyubi's Chakra released, the red Chakra bubbled up like boiling lava, instantly driving away the dense fog with its intense heat.
It was as if the world had become a distorted funhouse mirror, the white mist cascaded away like an avalanche. In that moment, the heavens and earth turned into a hell of blood and fire, with sharp, clear explosions ringing out repeatedly.
Almost in the blink of an eye, Naruto appeared in front of Raiga, like a cannonball that tore through the mist in an instant, holding nothing back.
The immense impact force completely flattened the small rocky slope. Even so, Naruto still did not forget the traditional art of finishing off the opponent.
With the mist now dispersed, Naruto, wearing a layer of the Biju Cloak but without undergoing any monstrous transformation, raised his fist and pressed it against the barely conscious Raiga and the terrified Ranmaru behind him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fist wrapped in the Kyubi's Chakra was like a giant hammer, causing the ground to cave in. Kurosuki Raiga and the red-eyed Ranmaru behind him were instantly obliterated, their bodies reduced to nothing by sheer force.
All their sins and slaughter were cleansed in that instant, no need for any persuasive talk. They joined the villagers they had buried alive, returning to the Pure Land.
"Phew!"
He let out a long breath, and the Biju Cloak completely dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind a silence that enveloped the area.
[Kurosuki Raiga's Funeral is successfully dispatched.]
"Naruto, how did you figure out the enemy's position?"
On the way back after completing the mission, Tenten, walking alongside Naruto and the others from Team 3, asked curiously.
"I release my Chakra to sense outwards, hide your position, and then..." Naruto scratched his face, looking a bit embarrassed, "Honestly, it was a bit of a gamble."
"Things were pretty urgent at that time, so I didn't have time to explain much to you."
"As long as the mission is completed, that's what matters." Neji, walking ahead of them, didn't turn around as he spoke, his face showing no particular expression, "Anyway, thank you, Naruto."
'Tsk, still a tsundere.'
Naruto doesn't care too much, but he felt like he didn't earn much from this trip.
'Although I collected a Ninja Sword, Raiga is indeed a weakling in combat, an old veteran who can't even hold a sword steadily. Even the reward given to me by the system is the Kurosuki Family carrying a coffin?'
'This is truly outrageous.'
However, with the death of the last survivor of the three unlucky people who always lived under Might Duy's feet, the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen were now officially wiped out.
Lee's eyes shone with a foolish clarity as he gazed at Naruto, his eyes practically sparkling.
"How did you do that?"
"How did I do what?"
"That huge crater! It must have been some amazing Taijutsu, right? I checked it out and it definitely doesn't look like a mark caused by Ninjutsu at all." Lee said excitedly.
"It's just Ninjutsu. What kind of Taijutsu do I know? I haven't even started with the Eight Gates yet. I gave up after just one day of training last time."
"Oh, okay."
"Um… Have we forgotten something?" Tenten suddenly stopped and asked.
"No." Naruto turned back, casting a sidelong glance at Tenten.
His gaze at that moment was strange, his blue pupils were an intense shade of blue, and the way he looked at her was casual yet carried an overwhelming sense of pressure.
It was as if his words were undeniable, and combined with his somewhat humble expression, it made the whole situation feel oddly out of place.
Tenten felt all the hairs on her body stand on end as she swallowed nervously.
Even though she had remembered the three clients they had tied up in the curry shop, she could only manage an awkward smile under Naruto's intense gaze before quickly lowering her head.
The moment she looked down, her smile vanished, and she couldn't help but think to herself, 'This guy is a little scary.'
It took them another five days to return to Konoha from the Land of Rivers.
Counting the time spent traveling back and forth, as well as executing the mission, it was already mid-October by the time the four of them reported back at the Hokage Tower.
The hot weather was gradually fading, and there is an obvious temperature difference between morning and evening. If one were to walk around the living room completely naked, it would feel quite chilly, as the autumn air was in full swing.
After first cooperating with Team 8 to complete the mission of acquiring Bikochu, and then cooperating with Team 3 to complete the mission of driving out enemies from the Katabami Gold Mine in the Land of Rivers, Naruto finally earned some precious vacation time.
Finally, with a break in hand, Naruto found that the rest of the Konoha 11 were busy with missions, including Team 3, which had received an urgent mission. He originally planned to go to Tanzaku Town, but Tsunade outright refused.
With a pile of missions stacked up in the village, she lectured him, saying that just because he was allowed a few days off didn't mean he could go gallivanting around, blah blah blah.
As Tsunade spoke, her chest bounced so vigorously that Naruto had to look up at the ceiling just to hear her properly.
"Why aren't you looking at me?" Tsunade frowned.
"My neck is sore. It's like this since I woke up this morning."
"Tsk."
That single sound was filled with insult, and Naruto left the Hokage's Office with a dark expression, spending an entire day at home.
That night, Kurama got drunk and started howling in the middle of the night. Naruto woke up in a daze and went to the kitchen to get some water, only for Kurama to force himself to open his eyes and insisted on performing a show of tearing Madara apart with his bare hands.
Naruto ignored him, snapped his fingers, and forced Kurama to shut down.
Kurama, who was completely dominated, fell into a deep sleep, and when he woke up the next day, he had no memory of the previous night. Naruto raised an eyebrow, ready to mess with him.
"You did a backflip last night."
"Damn it! You scumbag! How dare you trick me into doing something like that?!"
"You did it yourself, don't blame it on me!"
"What? You want those two women to know that you spend all day trying to attract them with backflips?"
"So you want them to know that you can really do a backflip?"
"No way! I would never do something so stupid, something only a foolish dog would do! I definitely won't help you get close to any human women!"
"You're a dog now."
"You bastard! I'm going to kill you!" Kurama pounced on Naruto.
A man and a dog tangled together, each landing punches and claws on the other. Naruto did not use the control ability from Jashin's Dog, and based on the principle of not destroying the house, they fought back and forth with punches and claws.
Just as the fight was getting intense, the doorbell rang.
The movements of the man and the dog stopped instantly. Naruto immediately rolled up from the floor, rolled to the inside of the door with body full of scratches, and with a swift movement, he directly pulled out the Kusanagi Sword.
Kurama's eyes were swollen and he was baring his teeth at the door.
The other party rang the doorbell for a long time but no one answered. Naruto's sword was almost against the door handle when suddenly a sound of keys jingling came from outside the door.
Naruto immediately realized something and instantly retracted the Kusanagi Sword back into the seal space.
A key was inserted into the lock, and as the door opened, Ino stood in the doorway, staring in shock at Naruto, who was covered in scratches.