"So that's how it is. I've been ignoring your feelings all these years. I'm sorry, Bee."
A smiled, but there was a trace of bitterness in his expression.
"Ani, you're being way too sentimental. That doesn't sound like something you'd normally say."
"You're asking for a beating. I was just holding back earlier—do you really think you could beat me with that level of strength?!"
A raised his fist and knocked Killer Bee directly on the top of the head.
"Ow, ow!" (>_<)
Just like that, the two of them returned to how they used to be, smiling at each other again.
Killer Bee then shifted his gaze toward Naruto and Tsunade, who were fighting nearby.
"So that's the First Hokage's bloodline… the legendary Wood Release?"
A and Bee stood side by side.
"That's right. Wood Release has an innate ability to suppress tailed beasts. It can directly restrain their chakra."
"This kid, Uzumaki Naruto, is pretty sharp. He reduced his size to avoid being struck by the Wooden Man and having the Nine-Tails' chakra suppressed."
"As expected of his son—his combat instincts far exceed those of ordinary shinobi."
Unfortunately, Naruto had no idea how highly others were evaluating him.
At that moment, he was completely on edge, constantly shifting sideways, narrowly dodging the Wooden Man's hammer strikes and grasping hands again and again.
In truth, his current mini Nine-Tails form wasn't intentional—it was simply because he wasn't yet proficient at full tailed-beast transformation.
"Granny Tsunade, you can't hit me with that wooden monster!"
"Take this—Tailed Beast Flash Bomb!"
The miniature Nine-Tails burst forward instantly, turning into an orange-yellow blur. Its form flickered rapidly across the Wooden Man's limbs and torso. Using its claws, it tore deep gouges into the wooden body again and again, sending splinters flying.
Tsunade frowned. To be honest, she'd only intended to test Naruto's strength. As long as he passed, she would approve his participation in the battlefield.
But so far, she hadn't even managed to touch him.
Her blood pressure spiked, her face flushing red.
It felt exactly like being endlessly kited in an arena—dodges, substitutions, techniques, secret scrolls, one after another.
"You little bastard, you're dead today!"
"If I don't beat the crap out of you, my name isn't Tsunade!"
She slammed her palms together. Instantly, the Wooden Man's back and neck surged with chakra and expanded violently.
"Wood Release: Wooden Man Technique — Three Heads and Six Arms!"
With four additional arms, the Wooden Man's attack frequency skyrocketed. At the same time, Naruto's movement speed pushed even further, slipping through the barrage like a slick loach—untouchable.
But appearances were deceiving.
Naruto was already starting to struggle. His reactions could still keep up, but dodging every single attack required extreme concentration.
Suddenly, his eyes locked onto the Wooden Man's ankles.
No matter how many arms it had, it still only had two legs!
He formed a hand sign.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!
More than a dozen miniature Nine-Tails popped into existence around the Wooden Man's feet, surrounding it completely.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"Shadow clones?"
"So you're finally done running. You're going on the offensive now?"
"Let me see what kind of trick you're planning."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw more than a dozen Narutos—each cloaked in mini Nine-Tails forms—using their tails for leverage as massive Rasengan spun in their hands. Together, they dove straight toward her.
"Hmph. You think numbers alone can bypass the Wooden Man and hit me directly?"
"How naïve. You're still too young."
Tsunade brought her hands together again. Under her control, the Wooden Man rearranged its arms—two raised, two lowered, two held horizontally.
The entire construct began spinning at high speed.
In an instant, all of Naruto's shadow clones were shredded, bursting into clouds of smoke.
But then—
A thunderous impact erupted from below.
Naruto's real body appeared, gripping a massive orange Rasengan with both hands. Using the Nine-Tails' jaws to brace himself, he slammed it directly into the Wooden Man's right ankle.
The high-speed rotating chakra severed the ankle cleanly.
Even if Tsunade wanted to repair it with chakra, it was already too late.
Naruto compressed the Rasengan further, using the recoil to propel himself backward. At the same time, the Nine-Tails' tails gathered together, sweeping in a wide arc and slicing through the final connection.
With its right leg gone, the Wooden Man—still spinning—lost its balance and crashed to the ground.
Seeing this, Tsunade finally smiled in relief. She leapt away from the Wooden Man's head, letting the massive construct collapse behind her.
Naruto saw that expression and instantly understood—he'd passed.
He dispelled his tailed-beast transformation, returning to Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. Hands clasped behind his head, he grinned happily.
"Finally…"
"You want to go to the battlefield, brat? Fine. I approve."
"But you dared to play tricks on me. I'm pissed."
"So take this first!"
The seal markings on Tsunade's face didn't fade—instead, they grew even more pronounced. Her right fist blazed with dazzling blue chakra as it descended from above, smashing straight toward Naruto's head.
Naruto stared at the rapidly enlarging fist, his heart nearly stopping. His reflexes were pushed to their absolute limit.
Even the Nine-Tails inside him roared in warning.
"Idiot! Move! You'll die if that hits you!!!"
Naruto vanished in a flash, reappearing more than ten meters away before collapsing to the ground.
He watched as Tsunade's punch pierced straight through the afterimage of his own head and slammed into the earth.
BOOM——!!!!!
The ground split apart. Everyone present turned to look.
"Was that… an earthquake?"
Dust and debris billowed skyward. Tsunade's figure was completely obscured.
All they could see was Naruto, blasted away by the shockwave, tumbling across the ground.
A few seconds later, Tsunade leapt out of the dust cloud and landed in front of him. She dusted off her hands and nodded.
"Not bad, brat. You're fast."
"You actually dodged that punch. I'd say you're almost as fast as your father's Flying Thunder God."
Naruto scratched the back of his head, staring at the enormous crater behind her—dozens of meters wide and over ten meters deep.
"Granny Tsunade… if I hadn't dodged that just now…"
"You'd be dead."
She answered calmly, her expression serious enough to make Naruto's heart skip a beat.
Then Tsunade burst out laughing, clearly satisfied with herself, and slapped Naruto on the shoulder repeatedly.
"Relax~ If you really couldn't dodge, I could've adjusted the punch."
"At worst, I'd have been seriously injured by the backlash."
"But that would also mean you're not ready for the battlefield yet."
"In that case, I'd drag you straight back to Turtle Island to recover."