"What are you so smug about?! All of this is thanks to me!"
Kurama growled in frustration.
"Hehe, don't be so stingy,"
Naruto laughed without a care, teasingly.
"After all, I did my part too!"
As soon as he said that, Naruto leapt back to dodge a few Blood Pool monsters, each over ten meters tall.
He immediately tapped into Kurama's power, formed a Rasengan, and blasted the monsters away.
"You're just using MY power!"
Kurama yelled, even as he spun around and swatted aside several towering kaiju—each over a hundred meters tall—with his massive tails.
"I'm telling you, I'm not even sure we can handle all these monsters. There's just too many of them. And some of them... I wouldn't underestimate their power!"
Kurama charged up a Tailed Beast Bomb and fired it at the ones he'd just knocked down.
This wasn't just empty posturing. The proud Kurama had always looked down on others, fearing no one—except two people.
One was the Sage of Six Paths who created him.
The other was Hashirama Senju, who once toyed with him like a pet.
Now, facing some of the monsters larger than 500 meters, Kurama felt a threat that forced him to take them seriously.
"Don't worry. I believe in you!"
Naruto, unaware of Kurama's concerns, was focused on using Shadow Clones to rescue the injured and push back the Blood Pool horde.
"Naruto? Is that really you?! How are you fighting side by side with the Nine-Tails?"
Kakashi stood atop a building, shouting down in disbelief.
"Hehe, Kakashi! Cool, huh? That's my secret—I'm not telling!"
Naruto grinned before turning to clash with another incoming monster.
"This kid really is the most unpredictable ninja…"
Kakashi sighed.
"Haha! And that's a good thing, Kakashi! Youth is all about surprises!"
Might Guy shouted as he kicked away a few monsters and leapt to Kakashi's side.
"I can already picture Naruto's youth—overflowing with passion!"
Guy clenched his fist, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Sure, sure…"
Kakashi could only sigh again.
"But if we survive this crisis, I think everyone in Konoha will see Naruto in a new light."
He looked down at the countless Naruto clones working tirelessly to rescue the wounded.
ROAAARR!!!
Suddenly, a monster over 100 meters tall—completely hairless, covered in festering boils—began stomping toward Kakashi and Guy.
"Forget it. Right now, the priority is defeating what's in front of us!"
Kakashi activated Chidori.
Guy opened the Sixth Gate.
In a flash, the two launched themselves at the monster's neck—
SPLURT!
Blood sprayed from both sides of its throat.
THUD! THUD!
Suddenly, not far away, a massive mound of sludge came rolling toward them.
But it wasn't natural mud—it was a grotesque creature, shaped like sludge with only a pair of eyes and no other features, bloated to over 700 meters. It was slowly crushing everything in its path, moving toward Konoha.
From above, one would see that everything it touched—land, trees, plants—was dissolved into lifeless, pitted ground. Even dense forests vanished beneath its corruption.
"What the hell is that thing?! Ugh—it stinks!!"
Kurama gagged, covering his nose as the smell hit him.
"It really stinks!!"
Naruto also covered his face—the closer the sludge creature got, the more unbearable the stench became.
"Disgusting monster! Die!!"
Unable to stand it anymore, Kurama fired a Tailed Beast Bomb at the sludge beast.
BOOOOM!!
The explosion was enormous, and the sludge monster was obliterated on the spot—nothing left behind.
"HAHA! Serves it right! These monsters are all size, no substance!"
Kurama laughed triumphantly.
But as he laughed, the smoke from the explosion drifted toward Konoha.
Nobody paid it any attention—they all assumed it was just harmless smoke from the blast.
But as the smoke spread into the village, it became clear something was wrong.
"Ughhh!!"
Asuma and several other shinobi collapsed, faces turning purple, vomiting uncontrollably in agony.
More and more people followed—ninjas who had been fighting now lay on the ground, helpless and retching.
They couldn't even sit up, let alone fight.
"What's happening?! Are we poisoned?! But when did it happen?!"
Kakashi leaned against a wall, writhing in pain. His eyes widened as he put it all together.
"It's the smoke! The sludge monster's explosion released poisonous gas!"
But it was too late.
Anyone who came in contact with the smoke collapsed in pain—Kurama included.
"Ughhh—dammit!"
Kurama was sprawled out, his fiery orange fur turning a sickly purple. He was coughing up blood.
"Kurama, are you okay?!"
Naruto, also overwhelmed, had fallen off Kurama's back—yet even now, his first concern was for his partner.
"I'm not okay!! I feel like I'm dying!!"
Kurama snapped, groaning, before realizing even speaking made his jaw cramp.
Naruto looked around, straining to stay conscious.
Some monsters had collapsed in the smoke—but others were unaffected, still rampaging through the village, slaughtering defenseless ninja.
Either those monsters were poisonous themselves and immune, or they were machines.
Watching them destroy his home and kill innocent people, Naruto burned with rage.
He wanted to get up—he wanted to fight!
But no matter how hard he tried, his body just wouldn't move.
THUD... THUD...
Suddenly, a hulking creature, over two meters tall with a pig's head and a humanoid body, stepped in front of Kurama.
The pig-headed monster gave a cruel grin, slowly raising its arm to strike.
"Damn it... should've never come out. You're gonna get me killed..."
Kurama muttered weakly, glancing at Naruto with barely moving eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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