Searching the Hidden Mist Village was far from easy. More than a month had passed, yet there was still no trace of the Three-Tails.
Naruto refused to give up, but he couldn't help feeling increasingly anxious.
That didn't mean he was sitting around doing nothing.
Since the Three-Tails' whereabouts remained unknown, he threw himself back into training.
His Flow: Wind Oscillation – Extreme Refraction Needle was gradually approaching perfection.
The training was incredibly demanding.
It required compressing Wind Release Chakra to an absurd degree—like forcing an iron rod through the eye of a needle. Every attempt consumed an enormous amount of chakra and physical stamina.
Fortunately, Naruto possessed a body as tough as steel and an incredibly resilient will, allowing him to endure the harsh training.
Now, the completion rate of the Extreme Refraction Needle had surpassed ninety percent.
While it wasn't completely perfected, it was already more than powerful enough.
Naruto was confident that it could pierce even the Fourth Raikage's strongest Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Meanwhile, another idea proposed by Tsunade and Shizune was also gradually taking shape.
The concept involved using the violent recoil generated after extreme chakra compression.
Naruto named the technique:
Flow: Wind Release – Shattering Needle!
Unlike the Extreme Refraction Needle, which focused entirely on overwhelming piercing power, the Shattering Needle emphasized destructive force after impact.
Its armor-piercing ability was weaker.
However, the moment it penetrated its target, it would instantly expand and explode, tearing the wound apart from the inside.
Its lethality increased by more than tenfold.
Even a strike to the shoulder could instantly rupture muscles, blood vessels, and internal organs, inflicting devastating injuries—even if it didn't kill the opponent outright.
The sheer destructive potential of the technique was terrifying.
Unfortunately, Naruto hadn't fully mastered it yet.
His proficiency with the Shattering Needle was only around sixty to seventy percent.
---
Even more importantly...
Naruto's true objective during the past month had been to create the ultimate long-range Wind Release Ninjutsu.
His goal was to combine:
- Wind Release Chakra Mode
- Rasengan
- Wind Release: Pressure Damage
into a single technique.
However...
The project remained stuck in the testing phase.
More than a month had passed without meaningful progress.
Naruto was beginning to wonder whether such a technique was even possible.
---
The endless sea stretched toward the horizon as waves rocked their small boat.
Naruto spent the entire day training aboard it until he was drenched in sweat and completely exhausted.
The three of them took turns searching for the Three-Tails.
At the moment, it was Hinata's turn.
Activating her Byakugan, she continuously observed everything around them, searching the vast sea for any sign of the Tailed Beast.
Nearby, Sasuke continued his own training.
After watching Naruto struggle for a while, he finally spoke.
"Naruto."
"Have you ever wondered why you still haven't been able to develop that technique?"
Naruto frowned.
"Then tell me why!"
Sasuke answered calmly.
"Because you still haven't decided what kind of Ninjutsu you're actually trying to create."
Naruto blinked.
Then he scoffed.
"What nonsense!"
"If I don't know what I'm making, then what have I been training for all this time?"
Sasuke remained completely composed.
"You only have a vague idea."
"You don't have a complete image of it."
"If you can't clearly picture the technique in your own mind..."
"How can you perfect it?"
As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand.
Buzz... Buzz...
Brilliant lightning burst from his palm.
The crackling electricity rapidly extended outward before transforming into a long, razor-sharp spear.
The brilliant light illuminated Sasuke's face, making his cold eyes shine with an intense white glow.
"Take my Chidori Sharp Spear as an example."
"I first visualized exactly what I wanted it to become."
"I imagined its shape."
"Its abilities."
"And how I intended to use it."
"Only then was I able to create it."
Naruto muttered,
"The Perverted Sage said you're naturally gifted when it comes to shape transformation."
Sasuke nodded.
"That's true."
"A shinobi should always make use of their strengths."
"And avoid their weaknesses."
"Naruto..."
"What about you?"
"What are you good at?"
"And what aren't you good at?"
---
Naruto fell silent.
"What am I good at..."
"And what am I bad at?"
"My chakra reserves are enormous."
"That's why I learned straightforward techniques like the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and Wind Release: Great Breakthrough so quickly."
"But techniques requiring precise chakra control..."
"They always take me much longer."
"Like the Wind Cutter Technique..."
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade..."
"And the Rasengan..."
"Even my newly developed Extreme Refraction Needle and Shattering Needle have taken forever to master."
Suddenly...
Naruto's eyes widened.
"Sasuke..."
"Are you saying I should focus on quantity first..."
"And refine the quality afterward?"
Sasuke simply snorted.
"I didn't say anything."
"Figure it out yourself."
With that, he ignored Naruto and resumed his own training.
The scrolls Jiraiya had left behind merely pointed him toward possible paths.
The rest...
Was entirely up to him.
Naruto pouted.
"What a troublesome guy."
"He clearly wants to help."
"But he refuses to explain anything properly."
"If Hinata were here..."
"She'd definitely help me analyze it."
Still...
Naruto understood Sasuke's intentions.
"I'm better at overwhelming opponents with raw power."
"I'm not naturally talented at delicate shape transformation."
"If that's the case..."
"I should first create a rough framework."
"Then gradually refine it from the outside in."
"Is that what Sasuke meant?"
He clenched his fists.
"Alright."
"Let's give it a try."
---
"The strongest..."
"The ultimate Ninjutsu I've always imagined."
Naruto slowly closed his eyes.
Within his mind, he began constructing the perfect technique.
It had to be overwhelmingly destructive.
It would begin with the flowing chakra of Wind Release Chakra Mode.
Then...
Like the Rasengan, it would spin violently.
Next...
Like Wind Release: Pressure Damage, it would undergo extreme compression.
Finally...
It would be fired over a long distance before detonating with unimaginable force.
Naruto carefully compared every technique.
Wind Release Chakra Mode...
Rasengan...
Wind Release: Pressure Damage...
Tailed Beast Ball...
What would happen...
If all four were combined?
The essence of the Tailed Beast Ball lay in simultaneously changing both chakra nature and shape.
Its chakra consisted of Yin and Yang Release.
A perfect Tailed Beast Ball required blue Yang chakra and dark Yin chakra to be mixed in an incredibly precise ratio of two to eight before being compressed into a perfect sphere.
Naruto had never actually witnessed one.
Everything he knew came from his own speculation.
The Rasengan, although originally inspired by the Tailed Beast Ball, relied primarily on violent rotation rather than pure compression.
Its destructive force came from spinning chakra.
Meanwhile...
Wind Release: Pressure Damage was much closer to the Tailed Beast Ball in principle.
It focused on compressing chakra before releasing it explosively.
Naruto slowly organized his thoughts.
"So..."
"The Tailed Beast Ball represents compression."
"Rasengan represents rotation."
"Wind Release Chakra Mode represents flow."
"And Pressure Damage represents release."
"What if..."
"I combined all four?"
"Flow..."
"Rotation..."
"Compression..."
"And release..."
"It would have the smooth chakra control of Wind Release Chakra Mode..."
"The overwhelming destructive force of the Tailed Beast Ball..."
"The terrifying rotational power of the Rasengan..."
"And the long-range precision of Wind Release: Pressure Damage."
"Hehehe..."
"That sounds incredible!"
---
Gradually...
A complete image formed in Naruto's mind.
A pitch-black sphere.
Its dense chakra core resembled a tiny black hole.
Around it...
Violent streams of Wind Release chakra rotated endlessly like a massive circular blade.
It could be launched from afar...
Then detonated upon impact.
A single strike...
Powerful enough to destroy a mountain.
Or perhaps...
An entire village.
Naturally...
Naruto had no way of knowing that the technique he had just imagined already existed in another world.
Not within the original history...
But in the alternate world of the Road to Ninja movie.
It was the signature technique of Menma Uzumaki—
The Super Rasengan.
Although officially described as being comparable to the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, its actual destructive power far exceeded it.
Its might rivaled even Pain's devastating Super Shinra Tensei.
Its power could be summarized in a single sentence.
A single attack...
Capable of destroying an entire village.
Naruto had unknowingly envisioned almost the exact same technique.
Perhaps it was merely coincidence.
Or perhaps...
It was fate.
---
The moment the image became complete...
Naruto could no longer resist the urge to test it.
"Take this!"
Drawing upon everything he had learned throughout his life...
Naruto instantly entered Wind Release Chakra Mode once more.
Wind chakra flowed around his body while retaining its fluid nature.
He then imitated the rotational force of the Rasengan.
Next came the extreme compression inspired by Wind Release: Pressure Damage and the Tailed Beast Ball.
Finally...
Everything merged together.
A brand-new technique was born.
Under the astonished gazes of Sasuke, Hinata, and the shinobi steering the boat...
An enormous sphere of chakra appeared in Naruto's palm.
Its dense core resembled a miniature black hole.
Around it spun countless razor-sharp rings of Wind Release chakra, producing an ear-piercing howl that seemed capable of slicing through anything.
Naruto roared.
Then hurled it forward with all his strength.
The instant it left his hand...
The endless sea mist began spinning violently before being blown apart.
The sky itself seemed to brighten.
The colossal sphere flew several hundred meters across the ocean.
Then...
It exploded on the distant horizon where sea and sky met.
---
What happened next left everyone speechless.
BOOM!!
The ocean itself seemed to split apart.
An incomparably violent shockwave slammed downward, forcing back the surrounding seawater and creating a gigantic hemispherical void across the sea.
The explosion erupted with unimaginable force.
Towering waves shot into the heavens.
It looked as though the Milky Way itself had descended upon the world.
Or as if the sea and sky had become one, pouring over the entire Shinobi World.
The blast spread across several kilometers...
Perhaps even dozens of kilometers.
The heavens trembled.
The sea boiled.
The earth shook.
Only then...
Did the deafening roar finally reach everyone's ears.
The sound was so overwhelming that it seemed capable of shattering the heavens themselves.
Naruto stared blankly at the distant explosion.
"So..."
"This is it..."
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