Chapter 251 — Becoming a Matchmaker
Naruto transformed into his Nine-Tails Cloak form and lunged straight at Pain.
"Shinra Tensei."
A massive repulsive force burst outward. But unlike before, this time the surge of Shinra Tensei failed to blow Naruto away.
Naruto stopped the force head-on, then countered with a brutal punch that smashed into Pain.
"So this… is the power of the Nine-Tails?" Nagato murmured in shock.
After all, even with only four tails, Naruto had been able to withstand Shinra Tensei. The gap between Kurama and the other Tailed Beasts was simply too vast.
In Nagato's eyes, even Naruto's four-tailed form was stronger than several Tailed Beasts in their full forms.
A thunderous roar burst from Naruto as he rushed at the Deva Path once more.
Pain manipulated gravity, hurling massive stone fragments toward Naruto. But Naruto dodged all of them with feral agility.
The dense chakra surrounding Naruto stretched outward, forming a gigantic arm that grabbed an enormous piece of rock from the ground and hurled it at Pain.
Naruto immediately grabbed another huge boulder, then another, and threw them in rapid succession.
"How about this?" Pain muttered, slicing apart the flying boulders with sharp, steel-like motions of his hand.
But just as the debris shattered, a colossal chunk of rock shot toward him. Pain was struck hard and flung away.
Naruto leapt after him, grabbed the massive rock, and slammed Pain into the ground as if nailing him in place.
"You… resent me?" Pain asked as he jumped out of the crater.
"In your condition, do you still believe you're qualified to talk about mutual understanding between humans?" Pain said, eyes fixed coldly on the rampaging Naruto.
Hearing that, Naruto only grew more furious. The chakra around him swelled violently. A massive skeletal structure began forming over his body.
His four tails expanded into six. Naruto glared at the Deva Path, his expression wild and ferocious.
"Good… but—" Pain paused.
"My pain… will always rise above yours!"
For the first time, Pain's normally expressionless face twisted with anger. He clenched his fists and smashed the earth. The stone ground split apart instantly. Dust shot upward and rolled away like a tide following a river's current.
With that strike, Pain wanted Naruto to understand what pain truly meant.
Pain then charged forward with overwhelming speed, feet barely touching the ground, his movement resembling a spinning wheel of fire.
Naruto extended both of his chakra arms to grab him, but Pain slipped away with precise movements. Seeing Pain repeatedly evade, Naruto formed a miniature Tailed Beast Bomb in his mouth and fired it.
A barrage of condensed energy exploded in Pain's path, leaving no room to escape. Pain braced himself against a massive boulder, shaping a defensive barrier with his hands. The first wave of Naruto's attack was blocked.
"Hmph… is this all?" the Deva Path sneered.
But Naruto fired another volley instantly. Pain was blasted away without mercy.
"Quite persistent," Pain muttered as he tumbled across the water's surface, rolling several times before regaining balance.
Pain gathered Wind Release chakra into his hand and shattered a massive pillar hanging over Naruto, causing it to crash down on him.
Moments later, Naruto emerged from the rubble, but now the chakra around his body had grown thicker, more ominous. A force surged inside him, suppressing the growth of his out-of-control chakra.
"That's… a Sealing Technique?" Pain murmured.
Pain produced a Black Receiver and hurled it at Naruto.
But Naruto suddenly tore apart the seal attached to his body, destroying it completely.
"The seal… has been broken?" the Deva Path said in a grave tone.
Naruto now stood atop the water's surface.
"He's coming," Pain thought as he saw Naruto sprinting toward him.
"So fast…"
Pain's Rinnegan sharpened as he scanned the surroundings.
The water rippled violently as Naruto burst forward, creating waves like a raging storm. The rock Pain stood upon looked like a tiny boat threatening to flip at any moment.
Naruto's chakra arms shot out again, attacking from multiple directions. Pain blocked one strike, but another smashed into the rock beneath him, obliterating his foothold.
Judging by the sheer number of chakra arms, Pain knew he couldn't block them all. He immediately invoked the Rinnegan's power.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Another massive repulsion surged outward, pushing the waves around him aside.
But Naruto charged through it head-on, forcing his body forward against the gravitational pressure. He reached out, grabbed Pain's face, and pinned him in his grip.
"Impossible… he blocked Shinra Tensei!? I must have used too much chakra earlier…" Pain thought anxiously.
Naruto then threw Pain with tremendous force, sending him crashing into a distant cliff wall. Pain's head became embedded in the stone.
Naruto resurfaced over the water.
His chakra thickened further, condensing into an even more terrifying form. Yin and Yang chakra converged in his mouth.
At that moment, Pain burst up from underground, his hands pressed together.
"Universal Pull (Banshō Ten'in)."
A cone-shaped projectile shot toward Naruto.
But the energy orb in Naruto's mouth detonated—
The explosion was enormous, ripping apart the air. Pain's cloak was blown away entirely.
"T-That…" Sakura gasped, utterly stunned.
"Ahahahahaha! Pain is hilarious. Truly pathetic—getting beaten senseless by Naruto," Hatake Yusuke declared with unrestrained amusement.
Toneri, with his Tenseigan activated, could see everything happening around Naruto even without hearing the sound. He had to admit—Naruto's current power was terrifying. This was more than simply the Nine-Tails' strength.
"Yusuke-sensei, what's actually happening?" Sakura asked.
"Oh? Relax. Everything's fine. Naruto has the upper hand now. But before that…" Hatake Yusuke glanced toward the collapsed Hinata in the distance.
Even though Naruto was losing control, whether consciously or unconsciously, not a single piece of debris had struck Hinata.
Hatake Yusuke nodded slightly—Hinata's place in Naruto's heart was clearly exceptional.
"Universal Pull (Banshō Ten'in)."
Yusuke drew Hinata's unconscious body toward him. At the same time, he gathered flames in his hand and released them gently toward her.
"W-Wah!?" Hinata jerked awake instantly.
"Y-Yusuke-sensei…?" Hinata's face turned crimson with embarrassment as she realized she had collapsed earlier.
"That… Naruto-kun… is he okay?" Hinata asked. She trusted Hatake Yusuke's strength deeply. As long as he was here, Naruto would be safe.
"Oh? Why don't you use your Byakugan and take a look yourself? That boy is furious—for your sake," Yusuke said, leaning down slightly to inspect Hinata's face.
"I-I…" Hinata's face turned even redder.
Not because she liked Hatake Yusuke, but because having an extremely handsome man suddenly so close to her was overwhelming. For someone as timid as Hinata, this was far too embarrassing.
"T-Too close…" Sakura clenched her fist tightly, restraining herself from punching Yusuke outright.
"My apologies, my apologies. Still, Hinata-chan, you really moved me earlier. How about this? Sensei will help match you two together. Remember, I'm Naruto's uncle," Yusuke said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Sensei… this is not the time to talk about something like that," Sakura said, her voice full of exasperation. They were literally in the middle of a battlefield deciding Konoha's fate.
"I-I… I…" Hinata stammered helplessly, completely overwhelmed.
"You like Naruto, don't you?" Yusuke asked again. Sakura covered her face—her expression tight with second-hand embarrassment.
Does he not realize how introverted Hinata is? He's poisoning her at this point.
"I-I…"
(Hinata didn't dare say the final words: I like Naruto-kun.)
"Silence means yes, right? Naruto likes you too. Wonderful. In that case, as Naruto's uncle, I hereby approve of your relationship," Yusuke declared proudly.
Sakura immediately blocked her hearing with chakra. She refused to listen to another word from her irresponsible teacher.
"N-Naruto-kun… likes me too? R-Really? T-That's… wonderful…" Hinata whispered, covering her mouth as her face flushed in pure happiness.
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