Gaiya reacted instinctively, sword held high, blade flashing, chakra surging. But Naruto was already gone.
A blur of motion, too fast and too erratic. One moment he was in front, the next he was behind.
Gaiya spun and barely parried at the last second. Steel clashed against steel, sparks flying as his katana met Naruto's blade.
But Naruto didn't stop.
Another strike followed by another, wild and relentless. A swordsman who fought like a beast unchained.
Gaiya dodged left, but Naruto was already there.
A kick slammed into his ribs, sending him skidding backward, boots tearing through the dirt.
He barely had time to breathe before Naruto was on him again.
Kunai flashed forward. Gaiya blocked, but the moment their weapons locked, Naruto's free hand shot up.
A senbon gleamed.
Gaiya twisted away just in time.
A second later, a clone erupted from the ground beneath him.
Gaiya reacted fast, slicing straight through it. The clone vanished in a puff of smoke.
But Naruto was already mid-air above him.
Lightning crackled.
"Raiton: Raijū Tsuiga (Lightning Release: Thunder Beast Tracking Fang)!"
A snarling wolf made of pure electricity burst from Naruto's palm, howling as it lunged for him.
Gaiya's hands moved in a blur as scrolls snapped open around him.
"Fūinjutsu: Raikōheki!"
The Thunder Beast crashed into his seal barrier and dispersed instantly.
Naruto was nowhere in sight.
A flicker of movement caught Gaiya's attention to his left, then his right, then above.
His eyes snapped upward just in time to see a rain of kunai hurtling toward him, each one covered in seals.
Gaiya cursed. Detonating tags.
His body moved before his mind caught up, a burst of chakra propelling him into a twisting sidestep, blade flashing as he deflected the first two kunai.
The third scraped against his shoulder. Shit.
He pushed off the ground, flipping backward just as the first tag ignited.
BOOM.
The spot where he had stood a split second earlier erupted into fire and smoke.
Another explosion followed. Then another. A chain reaction of detonations sent shockwaves tearing through the clearing. The power and pressure didn't stop.
Gaiya hit the ground hard, boots digging into the dirt. No time to breathe.
A flicker of movement caught his eye. Naruto moved through the smoke like a phantom.
The bastard was already closing in.
Sword in hand, grinning like a maniac.
And yet, Gaiya stood.
His usual smirk had vanished, replaced by something colder. Darker. He tilted his head slightly, voice dripping with irritation.
"You're starting to piss me off, Konoha."
Kicking off the ground, he surged forward, his sword flashing as he cut through the smoke like a specter of war. The aftershock of the explosions still rumbled in the trees, but he didn't slow. His target was clear.
Naruto reacted instantly, a flick of his katana sending steel screeching against steel. He didn't resist the impact. He let Gaiya's momentum carry through, guiding the force away rather than fighting it head-on.
The counter was coming. He could feel it.
Gaiya twisted, shifting his stance in an instant. His sword cut low, aiming for Naruto's legs in a sweeping arc.
Naruto jumped, his feet barely grazing the dirt before he landed light, already moving. The second attack came fast. Gaiya's blade snapped upward in a vicious vertical slash meant to carve straight through his throat.
Naruto leaned back just enough to let the blade pass, the air between them razor-thin.
His body remained loose, fluid, perfectly in sync with the fight. He let instinct take over, reacting rather than anticipating.
Gaiya noticed.
His grin widened slightly, his voice curling with amusement. "Your little team is already dead, you know."
He rushed forward, quick-stepping into a feint, testing Naruto's reaction. But Naruto was already moving, adjusting his angle, slipping just outside the range of the attack.
Gaiya's blade sliced through empty space where Naruto's chest had been a second before. Close, but not close enough.
There was no hesitation. Gaiya twisted his weight, shifting into a deeper thrust aimed at Naruto's stomach.
Naruto spun in response, his feet kicking up a spray of dirt as he turned. His katana angled to parry, absorbing the force of the strike. The impact sent a jolt through his arms, but he used it, redirecting the momentum rather than taking it head-on. Gaiya's strike overextended just slightly. A small opening. Not enough to capitalize on. Not yet.
"Even that loud bastard, Chōji, right? He screamed like a pig when they gutted him."
Gaiya's smirk stretched further.
He feinted left, forcing Naruto into a counter. The moment Naruto adjusted, Gaiya shifted forward, stepping into his space, closing the gap with intent.
It wasn't an attack. It was a trap.
Naruto corrected his stance, adjusting just slightly. Just enough for Gaiya to confirm what he had been waiting for.
He leaned in. "And that blonde kunoichi you're hiding?"
Naruto's fingers twitched, barely noticeable, but Gaiya caught it.
The first reaction. Small. Subtle. But there.
His smirk sharpened. "We're going to tear her apart."
Naruto exhaled slowly.
Gaiya could feel the shift. The stillness in his body was too controlled.
"After we're done breaking her, we'll.."
Naruto moved. Faster than before. Faster than Gaiya could track.
A knee slammed into his gut.
The impact tore the air from his lungs, his body rocketing backward as his boots scraped against the dirt. Before Naruto could press forward and finish it, something was wrong.
His left arm locked up.
A crushing weight wrapped around his muscles like an iron grip, suffocating his chakra flow in an instant. The sensation was immediate, paralyzing.
The seal.
Gaiya wiped a smear of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, his other hand lifting, two fingers raised in a silent taunt.
"Took you long enough to notice."
Then the pain hit.
The marks seared across Naruto's skin, a burning agony sinking deep into his flesh. His chakra twisted under the strain, pulled from his body like a leech draining life from its host.
Gaiya watched him, eyes glinting with amusement. "You're fast, I'll give you that. But I've been tagging you this whole time. Every block, every deflection, every little second you've been darting around like a fool."
Lifting his free hand, he formed a seal, fingers curling into position.
"And now, I'm going to rip you apart."