"It's so damn fast…"
Raizen's eyes tracked the crimson blur darting through the shattered ruins. The Jinchūriki's movements—Naruto's movements—were a blur almost equal to his own Flying Thunder God speed.
Raizen vanished in a flicker of light. The next instant, he reappeared behind the boy and swung a brutal kick.
Thud!
A wall of chakra erupted around Naruto, tails lashing like whips of molten light. The barrier absorbed the blow, sending shockwaves rippling through the dirt.
"Tch… automatic defense, huh? Jinchūriki mode really doesn't play fair."
Naruto's body dropped low, feral—then exploded forward with a roar that sounded more beast than boy. Red chakra flared, forming claws and fangs, and in a flash he was upon Raizen.
Boom!
A phantom arm of chakra slammed down. Raizen blocked, muscles straining against a force that rattled his bones.
"This'll get ugly fast…"
He skidded back, forming a quick seal sequence.
"Suiton—Water Dragon Bullet!"
A roaring column of water twisted into a dragon, crashing forward. Naruto didn't dodge. He charged through it, shattering the torrent with a single swipe.
Lightning sparked in Raizen's palm. "Fine then. Chidori!"
He lunged. The crackling spear of lightning tore through the red chakra cloak, raking across Naruto's chest. Sparks danced across the air as the beast-cloak sizzled and screamed.
Naruto howled, staggering, then swung a massive arm that pulverized the ground. Raizen vanished again, reappearing on a nearby cliff ledge.
"Still standing after a direct Chidori… kid's tougher than I thought."
Naruto's breath came out ragged, eyes wild—but for a heartbeat, they weren't focused on Raizen.
"Chidori… you—"
He flinched, memories flashing of another hand wreathed in lightning—Sasuke's.
"Want answers?" Raizen called down, voice low. "Beat me first."
The beast within Naruto snapped. A roar split the sky. Chakra detonated outward, molten red and black. Skin tore away, replaced by a monstrous, molten carapace.
Four tails lashed behind him like whips of fire.
"Ah, hell… Four-Tails already?"
Raizen grimaced. "I was hoping we could end this before he lost it completely."
The air itself trembled as Four-Tails Naruto slammed a claw into the earth, propelling himself like a cannonball. Stone exploded in his wake.
"Too strong… need to finish this now before Five-Tails breaks out too."
Raizen exhaled, closing his eyes for a heartbeat.
When they opened again, orange markings had spread across his face. Natural energy surged through him—Sage Mode.
Four-Tails Naruto descended like a meteor.
"Senpō—Super Big Ball Rasengan!"
Raizen sidestepped the claw and slammed a swirling blue sun into Naruto's chest. The blast ripped through the beast-cloak and cratered the ground, flattening the ruins for fifty meters.
Naruto convulsed, body sparking with residual lightning and chakra burns—then began to heal. Flesh knit back together, the cloak regenerating, stronger and darker.
Raizen watched, clicking his tongue.
"Regeneration that fast… yeah, no wonder Orochimaru called this thing a nightmare."
The beast crouched, head tilting up. Chakra began condensing at its mouth—black and purple spheres twisting together, humming with apocalyptic power.
"Shit. That's a Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Raizen yanked out a tri-pronged kunai and slammed it into the ground.
"Flying Thunder God—Barrier!"
The bomb fired—screaming across the landscape like a miniature sun.
Space distorted, swallowing the explosion just meters in front of him.
BOOOOM!
A distant mountain erupted, a mushroom cloud rising against the blood-red sky.
Even from kilometers away, Raizen could feel the heat.
"Note to self," he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "Never piss off a kid with a bijū."
In the distance, figures were already moving—shinobi drawn by the blast.
One man, palm glowing with sealing characters, sprinted faster than the rest.
Another—masked, with golden hair—closed in from the opposite ridge.
The battle wasn't over yet.