"It's those people in those clothes again!"
Naruto 'saw' the image reflected in his mind and immediately frowned, muttering, "Why do I keep running into these guys everywhere? So annoying!"
"Hm? Who are you talking about?" the Nine-Tails asked curiously when he heard Naruto's words.
"Just those guys wearing black cloaks with red clouds!"
Naruto replied. Then his tone grew slightly cold as he said, "Those guys are so mysterious, and they all seem to be rogue ninja. They don't look like good people at all, and they seem quite strong. I want to teach them a lesson. What do you think?"
Currently, although Naruto still didn't understand what the Akatsuki Organization was, he already had a very poor impression of its members.
Whether it was Biwa Jūzō at first or Zabuza Momochi later, they had both approached him with malicious intentions. Now, sensing these two—even though they didn't seem to be coming for him—Naruto felt that since he had already clashed with two members of this organization, he definitely couldn't be friends with them.
Since they couldn't be friends, they were enemies. And when encountering enemies, instead of waiting for them to come knocking, it was better to go directly and teach them a lesson.
"Oh, those people!"
The Nine-Tails immediately understood who Naruto was referring to from the description and casually replied, "Those guys certainly don't look like good people, and they seem to have a lot of hostility toward you. If you want to teach them a lesson, then go ahead.
However, I suggest you change your identity. It's a good opportunity to test whether you'll be recognized, and you might even extract some useful information from them."
The Nine-Tails also had no good feelings toward those people wearing black cloaks with red clouds, because it always felt that those people were coming for it.
"Good point!"
Naruto's eyes lit up when he heard the Nine-Tails' suggestion.
He immediately took out Infinity from his system space and directly activated Lion King and Demon Armor – Incursio.
Lion King increased his physique and height, and wearing armor that further accentuated his build made Naruto's appearance look no different from that of an adult.
"Done!"
Naruto checked his current appearance and felt very satisfied.
Immediately afterward, with a thought, lightning flashed around him. Dazzling electricity flowed across the armor, seemingly tempering the Demon Armor – Incursio , making the armor appear almost alive.
Finally, a pair of huge wings even grew from the back of the armor.
"This is—Demon Armor – has evolved!"
Naruto felt the changes in the armor and became even more excited.
He then increased the release of lightning and controlled it to gather on the wings on his back, turning them into a pair of lightning wings filled with crackling power.
Boom!
The wings flapped, lightning shimmering across them.
Naruto transformed into a bolt of lightning and instantly vanished from his original position, reappearing hundreds of meters away.
"Haha!"
Naruto laughed happily.
Although the winged Demon Armor, powered by lightning, wasn't as fast as his direct transformation into lightning, it had already surpassed conventional movement speed.
Because the armor couldn't be elementalized, Naruto couldn't fight in an elemental state while wearing it, which previously made the armor somewhat useless to him—mostly good for showing off.
But now, the evolution of Demon Armor allowed the armor to adapt to his lightning.
Although the armor still couldn't elementalize with him, it at least allowed Naruto to fully utilize lightning power while wearing it.
Boom!
With another thought, the lightning wings behind the armor flapped again.
The next moment, Naruto's figure transformed into a bolt of lightning and instantly vanished.
Ten kilometers away.
Two figures wearing black cloaks with red clouds walked leisurely across the surface of the sea.
One wore an orange spiral-patterned single-eye mask, while the other had a shark-like face and carried a huge bandaged weapon on his back.
"Madara, why are we in the Hidden Mist Village this time?" the shark-faced man suddenly asked the masked man beside him.
"Nothing."
The masked man shook his head and said indifferently, "It's just that the Fourth Mizukage, whom I had been controlling, suddenly broke free. I happened to pass by and decided to check the situation."
"Oh? He actually broke free from your control?"
The shark-faced man looked slightly surprised.
Then he smiled and said, "It seems the village discovered that the Fourth Mizukage was under your control and dispelled the genjutsu you placed on him.
If that's the case, wouldn't us going there now be walking straight into a trap?"
"It doesn't matter."
The masked man casually raised his hand.
"My pawn in the Hidden Mist Village was only a minor move to begin with. It's best if it works, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't."
"Just a minor move?"
The shark-faced man's eyes flickered slightly as he listened.
Then he smiled and said, "Even controlling one of the Five Kage is only a minor move to you. You truly are the great figure who once made the ninja world tremble in fear."
"Hmph!"
The masked man scoffed.
"Whether it's the Five Great Ninja Villages or the Five Great Nations, in our plan they are all insignificant existences. As long as we—"
Boom!
Before the masked man could finish speaking, a thunderclap sounded.
A figure clad in cool armor bathed in lightning suddenly approached.
"Who's there!"
The masked man and the shark-faced man immediately became alert.
Their three eyes focused sharply on the lightning-covered figure.
"Ah, my apologies. I haven't gotten used to the armor's speed yet."
Naruto spoke. His voice sounded mechanical from behind the mask.
With a thought, he pulled out Longsword · Infinity.
Then he directly told them, "I'm here to teach you a lesson!"
"Teach… us… a lesson?"
The masked man and the shark-faced man exchanged glances.
Then the masked man spoke again with a puzzled tone.
"Who are you? Are you someone we know? An acquaintance—or an enemy?"
Neither of them had any impression of Naruto in this appearance, nor did they remember anyone like him. Naturally, they were curious about his identity.
"Good question!"
Naruto praised him instead of answering.
"But before I answer your question, you must answer one of mine first."
Normally, Naruto would have just attacked directly.
But the Nine-Tails had suggested trying to gather some information first, so Naruto decided to give it a shot.
The masked man stared at him suspiciously for a moment.
"What do you want to know?"
Naruto thought for a moment and then asked directly,
"Who are you people? And what is the purpose of your secret activities everywhere?"
"Those are two questions."
The masked man first corrected him.
"But that's fine. I can answer both."
"Our organization is called Akatsuki. Although our activities are mostly secretive, they aren't exactly clandestine."
"As for our goal…"
"Our goal is to change the world."
"Change the world?"
Naruto's expression beneath the mask showed a hint of surprise.
"So how do you plan to change the world?"
"That's a new question."
This time, the masked man didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Naruto arrogantly and said,
"I've already answered your two questions. Now it's your turn."
"Who exactly are you? And why are you looking for us?"
"I—"
Naruto thought for a moment.
He glanced at the sword in his hand and then answered solemnly,
"I am the Emperor of the Infinite Empire. I came looking for you because members of your organization provoked my subjects!"
Remembering the Nine-Tails' advice to hide his identity, Naruto didn't know what to say at first—so he simply made up an identity on the spot.
"Infinite Empire? Emperor?"
The masked man and the shark-faced man exchanged glances again.
Both saw confusion in each other's eyes.
Clearly, neither had ever heard of such a country.
"Stop joking."
The masked man spoke sharply.
"There is no such nation in the ninja world.
Who exactly are you?!"
"Doesn't exist? Heh!"
Naruto scoffed.
"Your ignorance only proves how narrow-minded and uneducated you are. It doesn't mean my empire doesn't exist."
"And I have no obligation to educate ignorant people like you."
Having said that, Naruto stopped wasting words.
He raised Longsword · Infinity and said coldly,
"Alright. The conversation ends here."
"Now let me show you the power wielded by the Emperor of the Infinite Empire!"
Since Naruto didn't know how to continue the act anyway, he simply started fighting.
Rumble!
A dazzling bolt of lightning erupted from Naruto's body.
Dark clouds rapidly gathered in the sky, forming a massive vortex filled with flashing thunder and lightning.
"This is Lightning Release?"
The masked man and the shark-faced man looked up in shock at the terrifying phenomenon in the sky.
They had never seen Lightning Release of such magnitude.
"Ignorant ones!"
Naruto raised the sword high.
Lightning surged across the blade, connecting with the lightning vortex above.
"This is the power of nature that I command!"
"It is completely different from the ninjutsu you ninja use!"
"I will now let you witness the might of nature!"
"Lightning Punishment!"
Naruto swung the sword down.
A lightning bolt several meters thick descended from the clouds, striking directly toward the two men.
Boom!
The lightning engulfed them instantly.
The strike lasted for dozens of seconds before finally dissipating.
When the lightning faded, electricity still crackled across the ocean surface.
Countless dead marine creatures slowly floated to the surface.
But the masked man and the shark-faced man were gone.
"Did you kill them?"
The Nine-Tails asked curiously inside Naruto's mind.
"Also… Naruto, where did you learn those words you said earlier?"
When Naruto called himself "I" earlier, his tone carried a majestic authority—like that of a real emperor.
"Hehe!"
Naruto grinned smugly.
"What's strange about that? I naturally possess a king's disposition!"
Because of system limitations, Naruto couldn't explain his virtual experience to the Nine-Tails.
So he could only attribute it to the kingly aura of Conqueror's Haki.
"Also, that attack didn't kill those two."
Naruto stared at the sea ahead and said seriously,
"No… it didn't even hit them."
"They must have used some method to dodge at the exact moment the lightning struck."
"What an incredible ability."
The masked man's voice suddenly sounded.
A vortex of spatial distortion appeared nearby.
Then the masked man emerged from the distorted space.
The shark-faced man, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"Is that a space-time ninjutsu?"
The Nine-Tails spoke seriously.
"Naruto, that masked man must have used space-time ninjutsu to dodge your attack."
Then it suddenly noticed something.
"No… that eye!"
Through Naruto's vision, the Nine-Tails saw the crimson eye revealed through the mask.
Its emotions instantly surged.
"Damn it! That's a Sharingan!"
"That man is from the Uchiha clan!"
"And that pattern isn't an ordinary Sharingan—it's the far more powerful Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"That space-time ability must come from that eye."
"Naruto, be careful!"
"Uchiha clan? Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Naruto stared at the masked man's eye.
Suddenly, it felt like something shook his spirit.
The next moment—
An invisible and powerful aura burst out from his body.
"What is this—!"
The masked man's expression changed drastically beneath his mask.
He instantly retreated, instinctively creating distance from Naruto.
Then he stared at him in shock.
The imposing aura that had just erupted made him feel as though he were facing a true king.
For a brief moment, an urge to kneel and bow had even arisen within him.
It was completely unbelievable.
---
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