"Hey! Why did you attack me?!" Raizen's eyes narrowed, cold amusement hidden beneath his sharp gaze.
The golden-haired boy froze, then scowled. "You helped that guy! And you dare ask why I attacked?!"
Before Raizen could react, the boy lunged, throwing his arms around him in a bear hug. "Gotcha!" he shouted. Raizen's instincts screamed danger—there was movement behind him. Two more golden-haired boys appeared, spinning spheres of glowing chakra in their hands.
Rasengan.
The realization hit Raizen. The boy who had hugged him let go and leapt back. "Rasengan!"
The two spinning chakra spheres slammed into the ground in front of Raizen, blasting a crater sixteen feet wide. Dust and debris clouded the air, and the boys regrouped, eyes scanning for Raizen's position.
"Hey, Huang Mao, care to explain yourself?!" one shouted, but Raizen had already vanished.
"You're stubborn as hell," Raizen muttered to himself, ducking and weaving through the clouded battlefield. Shadow clones exploded around the golden-haired youth, yet Raizen's speed and perception allowed him to dismantle each attack effortlessly.
A spinning Rasengan lunged toward him from behind a clone's smoke. "Too slow!" Raizen caught both wrists in a single motion, flipping the clones into smoke with his foot.
He studied the real boy now, clad in bright orange, spiky hair like a hedgehog, a stubborn glint in his eyes, and the telltale six whisker-like marks across his face. Uzumaki Naruto… huh.
Raizen's lips twitched. So this is the future hero of the ninja world? Interesting. He allowed himself a low chuckle, anticipating a sparring match across time. "Got any more tricks? Use them, I dare you."
Naruto gritted his teeth, anger and confusion mixing in his eyes. A low growl echoed in his mind—Nine-Tails. Suddenly, the scene shifted. Naruto found himself in a dim sewer, a massive iron gate looming before him. Behind it, the scarlet beast emerged, crimson eyes glowing with intent.
"What do you want, fox?" Naruto demanded, tension coiling in his muscles.
"Hehe… I'll lend you my power. Take it and defeat your target," Nine-Tails snarled, chakra spilling like molten fire, aiming to envelop Naruto.
"The purpose? Kill him?!" Naruto whispered, cautious yet refusing blind obedience.
With a roar, the Nine-Tails slammed the gate, shaking the structure violently. Naruto's eyes glinted with determination as he allowed the fox's crimson chakra to merge with his own. Moments later, he vanished from sight, reappearing behind Raizen with the feral energy of the tailed beast surrounding him.
"Amamiya Raizen!" Nine-Tails' voice reverberated in Naruto's mind. Red chakra swirled, covering Naruto in a living, pulsating armor. His tail swished violently, each movement rippling with raw power.
Raizen blinked. So that's a Jinchūriki… huh. Breathing in that much chakra just makes him a moving disaster.
Naruto lunged, red chakra forming a massive arm to grab Raizen. Raizen's grin widened, toes curling into the dirt. "Not bad… but you're still slow." In a flash, Raizen vanished, weaving through Naruto's relentless attacks. Each swing, each grab, missed, leaving Naruto increasingly frustrated.
The crimson chakra intensified. The second tail emerged, snapping behind Naruto like a whip of living fire. With it came a surge in power, speed, and aggression. Yet Raizen's calm, strategic movements kept him untouchable, a shadow dancing through the chaos.
The battle had escalated beyond a mere sparring match—it was a clash of raw chakra and tactical genius, with Raizen's wit and Naruto's feral power colliding in explosive bursts.
...
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