Kurama's chakra wrapped around Naruto's ninjutsu, intercepting it midair.
That kind of courage was truly admirable.
Willing to sacrifice himself to protect his comrades—
Even Naruto was momentarily moved.
But Kurama and Killer Bee still paid the price.
The Great Spiraling Ring was a terrifying ultimate technique, comparable to an enhanced Shinra Tensei.
To Naruto, it was nothing more than a minor move.
The chakra it consumed was almost negligible.
But to ordinary people—
Many of the fleeing Kumogakure ninja couldn't help but look back.
They saw beams of blinding light suddenly pierce through the Eight-Tails' eight massive tentacles.
The entire world was illuminated in an instant.
A deep, muffled explosion—like the roar of an earthquake—reached everyone's ears.
The Eight-Tails' enormous body began to swell uncontrollably, and Killer Bee's voice vanished.
Kurama's shrill screams echoed throughout the Hidden Cloud Village.
A few seconds later, the Eight-Tails' entire body was torn apart in the chakra explosion, shredded like paper beneath a raging tsunami.
Even more violent energy surged outward.
An apocalyptic scene slowly took shape over Kumogakure.
Buildings collapsed one after another, and iconic structures were reduced to rubble in an instant.
Shockwaves like a natural disaster swept across the entire village.
It took a full five minutes before this catastrophic ninjutsu finally subsided.
The sky was shrouded in dark, blood-tinged mist.
Charred fragments of unknown origin—burned to powder—rained down endlessly.
Raikage A stared at the devastated scene with bloodshot, tiger-like eyes.
His body could no longer endure the shock.
He collapsed instantly, kneeling on the ground as his mind fell into complete emptiness.
Although Killer Bee had attempted to stop it, very few Kumogakure ninja managed to escape the explosion.
Only those with secret techniques to drastically increase speed—or those possessing exceptionally powerful taijutsu—survived.
Even elite ninja with rich combat experience and strong Lightning Release, but lacking extreme speed, all perished.
As for chūnin and genin—
They stood no chance at all.
The Hidden Cloud Village's losses were immeasurable.
Not only was the village itself destroyed, but countless lives were lost.
From this day onward, the Hidden Cloud Village was effectively erased from the ranks of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Naruto hovered high in the sky, gazing down at the ruins below.
Through his Byakugan, Kumogakure was nothing more than a wasteland.
The Eight-Tails' chakra had also been annihilated, leaving Kurama no opportunity to absorb it.
"What a shame…"
Naruto muttered softly, then flew toward the Raikage's position.
He landed on ground softened by layers of shattered debris.
Raikage A was kneeling there.
As if sensing Naruto's presence, the Raikage raised his head blankly and asked,
"Why…?"
"Huh?" Naruto stepped closer, as though he hadn't heard clearly.
Raikage A repeated the question buried deep in his heart.
"Why?"
"Oh…" Naruto scratched his head lightly, appearing to think for a moment.
Then he answered tentatively,
"Probably… because I don't want anyone else to target me."
So the Hidden Cloud Village became the chicken slaughtered to warn the monkeys.
Raikage A's heart completely collapsed.
Unable to suppress his emotions any longer, he launched himself at Naruto almost madly.
"You brat!!!"
"Did those people—did those people ever provoke you?!"
"They were innocent!!!"
Bang!
Naruto kicked him away without hesitation and said coldly,
"I was innocent back then too—at least to you."
That's right.
You provoked me for no reason.
So why can't I provoke you for no reason?
And besides—calling this 'without reason' is a bit of a stretch, isn't it?
Naruto didn't hold back at all.
Raikage A's chest caved in visibly as he slammed into the ground, coughing up blood.
Yet he still glared at Naruto fiercely and shouted,
"Just because you're strong, you think you can bully others at will?!"
Naruto shook his head lightly.
"Sigh… I really don't want to debate philosophy with you."
"Let me ask something more practical."
"Where is the Two-Tails—more precisely, the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki?"
Being strong didn't mean one could bully others indiscriminately.
That was the most basic moral boundary.
Otherwise, with Naruto's power, what couldn't he take?
If he were truly a villain, he wouldn't have paid Tsunade for the rights to use medical ninjutsu—nor gone out of his way to keep Sakura Haruno from being interrogated.
The ninja world was not lacking in powerful people with moral principles.
Senju Hashirama was one such example.
But not every strong person had a gentle, herbivorous temperament.
When their reverse scale was touched, not everyone would seek peace like Hashirama.
My strength surpasses yours.
You should be grateful that I don't attack you.
Yet you still provoke me—
And even try to morally blackmail me.
Naruto believed that even if he thought about it for ten days and ten nights, he still wouldn't understand why the Raikage dared to provoke him.
And another thing—
Hadn't the Hidden Cloud Village always relied on military strength to bully the weak?
Throwing tantrums in Konoha, attempting to extort Bloodline Limit ninja.
Its attitude toward the world was domineering, like a classroom tyrant no one dared to challenge.
Now that retribution had arrived, it suddenly claimed that the strong shouldn't bully the weak.
Tsk tsk…
What a perfect double standard.
Naruto was too lazy to say any more.
Because Raikage A, as a politician, understood all of this deep down.
Saying it aloud would only waste time.
Seeing that Naruto was still concerned about the Two-Tails, Raikage A flew into a rage.
But his shattered body could no longer support further action.
Naruto glanced at the stubborn Raikage and said calmly,
"Then I'll just find it myself."
He turned and left, adding casually,
"Oh, right… remember to spread my 'evil deeds' throughout the ninja world."
"So no one will dare provoke me again."
"Thank you, Raikage-sama."
"See you later."
…Finding the Two-Tails near the ruins of Kumogakure was simple for Naruto.
Activating Kagura Shingan, he quickly locked onto its chakra.
At that moment, the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki—Yugito Nii—had already received word somehow.
She seemed to know Naruto was coming for her and was fleeing the village at full speed.
As the Hidden Cloud Village's final Jinchūriki, Yugito understood her value.
Kumogakure had already suffered catastrophic losses under Naruto's ninjutsu.
Killer Bee was gone.
The Eight-Tails destroyed.
Countless experts dead.
The Raikage gravely injured.
Yugito herself—
A living battlefield weapon—
Was the Hidden Cloud Village's last shred of dignity.
If Yugito fell, Kumogakure would become a target anyone could trample.
It would also lose its status as a Great Shinobi Village entirely.
The title of Raikage would be nothing more than a hollow name.
Yet even with Yugito pushing herself to the limit—
That man's strength was still despair incarnate.
Before long, Naruto descended from the sky and landed calmly in front of her.
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[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]
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