The hair on Sasuke's arms stood on end, and alarm bells screamed in his mind. He whipped his head around just in time to see a brilliant flash of fire to his right.
A scorching fireball shot from Naruto's palm, hurtling toward him.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke countered, spewing a fireball from his own mouth to meet the incoming attack.
BOOM. A violent explosion erupted. The flames from the Shakkaho completely engulfed the Great Fireball, leaving the ground below charred black.
Sasuke kicked off the ground, leaping into the air to evade the Shakkaho's blast, and calmly continued weaving hand seals.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" A shower of phoenix-flower-shaped flames rained down from the sky like scattered blossoms, cutting off Naruto's escape routes.
The searing flames burned the very air, their power immense.
"Sasuke, your Uchiha fire style can't kill anyone," Naruto's mocking voice echoed through the air. His figure blurred into an afterimage, deftly weaving around every flame before landing a solid punch on Sasuke's face.
Smack. The immense force sent Sasuke flying backward uncontrollably, crashing through several trees before he finally came to a stop.
"Hiss… Isn't Uzumaki Naruto a Kekkei Genkai user? How is his taijutsu so strong? And what was that unique movement technique?" Tsunade sucked in a sharp breath.
"That's a footwork technique he developed from his Kekkei Genkai, Shunpo," Jiraiya explained.
"Shunpo is similar to the Body Flicker Technique, but it consumes less chakra and is more versatile in actual combat. It's very easy to confuse an opponent with it."
"But Sasuke is no pushover, either. This is just their warm-up," Jiraiya said with a proud expression.
"Impressive power and speed." Sasuke, who had landed in the forest, was suddenly enveloped in a surge of lightning, and he shot toward Naruto at an even greater speed.
"Warm-up's over. I'm getting serious now." As soon as he finished speaking, the lightning surrounding Sasuke crackled violently. The grass beneath his feet was scorched black, emitting a foul smell.
It was a testament to the high temperature of the lightning.
"Serious? So this is what you call serious. How disappointing," Naruto said with a playful smile. His own body was coated in a layer of white Reiatsu, leaving a trail of white afterimages across the clearing.
Thwack, thwack, thwack. The sounds of fists and feet colliding echoed everywhere. After dozens of clashes, Sasuke's figure came to a halt a short distance away. He casually shook his hand, and the lightning around him surged once more.
A wild laugh escaped him. "Is this all you've got? Is this the progress you've made since joining Root?"
A deafening sonic boom was generated by Sasuke's extreme speed. His figure appeared on one side of the clearing, then vanished, only to reappear on the other.
His speed was so extreme that it looked as if he were using the Body Flicker Technique continuously.
Looking closely, one could see the lightning coiling around his body.
The lightning shrieked, violently destroying the ground around him.
"So fast! Sasuke has improved this much?" Rock Lee watched in shock, a sense of crisis rising within him.
He had always been proud of his physical prowess.
If he didn't work harder, he might be surpassed!
But what shocked everyone even more was that, in the face of such speed, Naruto's response was far too casual.
Naruto still wore his gentle smile, his figure flashing about with an effortless grace, perfectly countering every one of Sasuke's attacks.
He even had the leisure to enjoy the weather.
"It's a bit gloomy today, but your lightning has brought me a little warmth. Thanks for that."
When it came to taunting, Naruto had maxed out his skill.
Sasuke's young face flushed red with anger.
He let out a grief-stricken roar. "Don't you underestimate me, Naruto!"
He stopped his attack and retreated abruptly, his expression extremely grave.
"Be careful. This next one might actually kill you."
He took a deep breath, settled into a horse stance, clenched his fists, and roared with all his might.
The chakra in his body began to boil and burn. His black hair stood on end, and the lightning around his body surged violently.
The once clear sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds.
Sasuke's features twisted in a pained snarl, as if he were enduring immense suffering.
"Is he insane? Stimulating his body like that with lightning chakra… isn't he afraid his body will collapse?" Tsunade blurted out, her eyes glued to the crystal ball.
With her professional eye, she could tell that this jutsu was extremely risky. One wrong move, and he could be crippled for life.
The Uchiha clan really are all madmen, to dare to practice such a terrifying jutsu!
"I didn't think Sasuke had this up his sleeve. It looks like the fight is about to end," Tsunade sighed, shaking her head. "But this jutsu is too likely to leave latent injuries. I'll have Sasuke come see me afterward."
"The fight is indeed about to end, but I don't think Sasuke can win," Jiraiya's words left Tsunade a little confused.
She suppressed her doubts and watched intently.
"Naruto!!!" Sasuke let out an enraged roar.
His skin was glowing with a strange golden light.
The dark clouds in the sky churned, seemingly calm but hiding a turbulent undercurrent.
Drip. A few raindrops fell, landing on Sasuke's exposed skin, but they were instantly consumed by the golden light and evaporated into steam.
Whoosh. Sasuke's figure vanished again, and in the next instant, he was in front of Naruto.
Their eyes met.
Sasuke could see the mockery in Naruto's eyes.
The anger in his heart instantly ignited.
You bastard!!!
You still dare to look down on me at a time like this!!
This is my Super Lightning Form!
Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm, twisted his waist, and threw him with incredible speed.
Feeling the weightlessness, Naruto remained unperturbed.
"Take this!!" Sasuke appeared in front of Naruto again, put all his strength into his core, and threw a punch.
Smack. Dust flew everywhere. The expected impact never came. Sasuke was stunned. The two of them were suspended in mid-air, their eyes locked.
Naruto's right hand had caught Sasuke's full-power punch.
The shock lasted for half a second before Sasuke realized he was falling.
"Nice speed. Very interesting," Naruto chuckled, and planted a fist on Sasuke's face.
"Guh." Sasuke's head snapped to the side, and he plummeted to the ground at an even faster speed, smashing a crater more than ten meters wide.
Naruto shook his fist, which felt slightly numb, and remarked, "Super Lightning Form… how tacky."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." In the Hokage's Office, Jiraiya clicked his tongue. "See that? Naruto is my student. Sasuke is completely powerless against him."
"Naruto is truly outstanding," the Third Hokage said with a smile, taking a puff from his pipe, unable to hold back his praise.
"This Uzumaki Naruto is very interesting. If I get the chance, I'd like to fight him myself," Tsunade said from the side.
On the field, the battle was not over.
Sasuke shot out of the crater.
He charged at Naruto once again.
"Dammit!! I can't lose like this!! I worked so hard just to beat you!!! I absolutely will not go down until I've made you fight me with everything you've got!"
The enraged Sasuke roared, using every part of his body he could.
His head, elbows, legs, even his teeth.
But what he didn't realize was that his speed was already declining.
If this were the Naruto from before the Land of Demons mission, he might have been forced to use his Zanpakuto.
But after entering the Pure Land, Naruto had absorbed a massive amount of Reishi, and his body had undergone an unprecedented transformation.
Facing Sasuke now, he felt an unparalleled sense of ease.
He effortlessly dodged the attack, grabbed Sasuke by the collar, and drove a fist into his stomach.
Sasuke was instantly bent into an arch, his eyes wide, and he coughed up stomach acid.
But at the same time, a triumphant smile appeared on his face. He formed a strange hand sign.
The bases of his palms touched, his hands opened outward, like a blooming flower.
"Take this, Naruto!!!"
"Uchiha Divine Art!!"
With his roar, lightning converged between his palms and burst forth.
Alarm bells screamed in Naruto's mind. He immediately threw Sasuke away.