In Kumogakure, Naruto Uzumaki continued to train in the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode alongside Killer Bee.
Overall, progress wasn't easy. But in Killer Bee's words, Naruto had already made incredible strides.
It was like a freshly graduated college student stepping out into the workforce, starting at a low salary, and gradually progressing.
Although the pace of progress seemed slow, the fact that his skills were steadily improving meant that Naruto was already ahead of most people. Despite the appearance of slow progress, Killer Bee believed that being able to continue this kind of training, especially in attempting full Tailed Beast Transformation, was something many others couldn't even manage. Most people would fail completely, without any hope of continuing.
Naruto, on the other hand, kept progressing, and his improvement was something worth appreciating.
After spending around a week in Kumogakure, Naruto finally completed his training in the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
When they heard the news, Akira and the rest rushed over to see for themselves.
Naruto, having mastered a powerful new ability, was naturally delighted. He immediately activated the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode in front of Akira and the others. His body emanated a brilliant golden chakra, as though he were bathed in golden flames.
The Nine-Tails Chakra Mode was similar to Akira's Sage Mode. One was gold, the other azure, both wrapped in intense chakra that gave them an appearance of being engulfed in flames.
"Akira, I feel incredibly powerful right now! I don't think there's anything I can't handle!" Naruto said, excitement brimming as he spoke to Akira.
"Oh, really?" Akira looked over at Naruto and said, "How about we spar a bit?"
"Don't agree!" Within Naruto's mental space, Kurama immediately shouted in protest upon hearing Akira's challenge.
"Sure!" Naruto, however, ignored Kurama's warning entirely and nodded in agreement.
A few minutes later, Naruto, now in his gigantic Kurama state—akin to a human-shaped Nine-Tails resembling Susanoo—was pinned to the ground by Akira's True Thousand Hands technique.
Naruto, overwhelmed by the relentless attacks, was soon defeated and fell unconscious.
Even in Naruto's mental world, Kurama also fell into a slumber due to excessive chakra consumption.
Vaguely, Kurama seemed to hear a familiar yet distant voice in his mind.
"Kurama, your strength is indeed impressive!"
"Ah, that was refreshing!" Akira muttered, feeling invigorated after having pummeled Naruto in the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. He stretched his shoulders, feeling an overall sense of satisfaction and ease.
Nearby, Killer Bee could only twitch his lips, shaking his head in disbelief as he looked at the defeated Naruto.
Naruto must've gotten overconfident after mastering the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. How else would he dare challenge Akira?
After all, even Killer Bee, who could transform into his Tailed Beast at will, had been easily beaten by Naruto just days earlier.
"Alright, thank you, Killer Bee," Akira said, expressing his gratitude to Killer Bee for successfully training Naruto.
"No problem, fool! Ya fool!" Killer Bee replied in his usual eccentric rhyming style.
Akira smiled and didn't take offense. Now that his purpose in visiting Kumogakure had been fulfilled, Akira decided not to stay any longer. He said his goodbyes to the Raikage and reminded him not to forget what he had promised.
Naruto had successfully completed his training, fulfilling one condition. But there was another condition: the Fourth Raikage himself had to visit Hyuga Hizashi's grave in Konoha and pay his respects.
"Don't worry, I always keep my word," the Fourth Raikage responded, though his face turned a bit dark at the reminder.
"Alright, we're leaving!" Trusting that the tough Raikage would honor his promise, Akira waved his hand, and the group from Konoha departed Kumogakure.
"Finally, they've left," the Fourth Raikage sighed heavily as he watched them go.
"That Uchiha Akira is just too strong!" Killer Bee added.
Indeed, both Killer Bee and the Fourth Raikage had been powerless before Akira. His strength was akin to that of the legends—like the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara, who had once suppressed the entire shinobi world.
"I never expected Naruto Uzumaki from Konoha to actually master the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode," Raikage murmured in disbelief.
The Raikage had once dreamed of surpassing Konoha as the leader of the Five Great Nations, but after Akira's visit, he realized that was nothing but a distant fantasy. And now that Naruto had successfully mastered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Konoha had become even stronger, which was not good news for Kumogakure.
The Raikage had hoped that if the Konoha jinchūriki failed, he wouldn't need to hold up his end of the bargain. But things had not gone his way.
"Big bro, to be honest, Naruto's a pretty cool guy. I like him," Killer Bee said after some thought.
After spending a week with Naruto, Killer Bee had developed a positive impression of him. Naruto's charm and friendly personality were clearly effective even on someone like Killer Bee.
"That kid, huh? He certainly is full of energy," the Raikage said, smiling despite himself.
Leaving Kumogakure, Akira and his group headed back toward Konoha. As they traveled, Akira sighed inwardly.
He was broke again. The Life Simulator was once again unavailable due to a lack of funds.
Since reaching the Super-Kage level, his progress had noticeably slowed. It wasn't that his total strength was increasing slowly—it was that moving from a combat power of one hundred thousand to a million was a huge leap.
Currently, his power was around three hundred thousand. Although gaining two hundred thousand in power hadn't taken too long, he still felt like he had just scratched the surface of the Super-Kage level.
One day, while traveling through the wilderness, Akira and his group decided to make camp as night fell. Akira formed a few hand seals, and soon a luxurious wooden house emerged from the earth.
Naruto and the others were used to this, entering the cabin without a second thought. It had chairs, tables, and everything they needed for a comfortable rest.
Just as they were about to prepare dinner, suddenly, a spatial vortex appeared at the door of the cabin, twisting like a whirlpool.
Moments later, a masked Obito, wearing his iconic orange mask, appeared using Kamui.
"Him again!" Upon seeing Obito appear, Naruto immediately activated his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, his body radiating golden light.
"This is... full control over the Nine-Tails' power?" The radiant golden flames enveloping Naruto immediately caught Obito's attention, and he couldn't help but be impressed.
"It's alright, Naruto. Don't attack. He's not here to fight today," Akira said, noticing Naruto's quick reaction.
"Huh? Not here to fight? Then why..." Naruto replied, puzzled, as he deactivated his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Naruto didn't know what had transpired between Akira and Obito, since he had been training, but Hinata, Rōshi, and the others did. Seeing Obito, who had previously been captured and then released, actually return, they all wore expressions of disbelief.
He actually came back?
"You're efficient, I see. You managed to gather it so quickly," Akira said with a smile as he looked at Obito.
Obito didn't say much. His right eye activated Kamui, and soon, a large pile of money appeared before Akira—a mountain of cash.
"So much money!" Akira couldn't help but lick his lips as he stared at the massive stack of cash that looked like a small mountain.
One and a half billion in cash—it was all his now.
This was the first time he'd ever seen so much money in one place.