"Boom!"
As Naruto brought his hands together, Kurama's golden chakra erupted like a tidal wave.
The massive fox-shaped aura spread across the battlefield.
Madara narrowed his eyes, noticing something unusual.
"Hmm… that chakra."
"It's completely different from the weakened state earlier."
His gaze fixed on Naruto's right arm.
"So that's it."
"The arm made from Hashirama's cells has been fully activated by his emotional surge."
"The cells' power has merged into his own body."
"His current strength may still be far below the peak he reached when he received the Six Paths power…"
"But it's stronger than when he fought us alongside the Allied Shinobi Forces during the war."
Obito added,
"It's also because Yin Kurama and Yang Kurama have reunited, right?"
Naruto's sudden power-up surprised Akira for a moment.
But he quickly connected the reason in his mind.
In the original timeline, after defeating Momoshiki, Naruto replaced the arm made from Hashirama's cells with a scientific ninja tool arm built by Katasuke.
Because it was convenient.
But that choice was like throwing away a watermelon to pick up sesame seeds.
He had missed a chance to grow stronger.
Akira smirked inwardly.
Interesting.
When you're beaten down by Ōtsutsuki and scientific ninja tools, you look like a coward.
But the moment it's me you're fighting—
your power suddenly explodes.
Is it because I resurrected Madara?
Or because I touched your beloved Tailed Beasts?
Then I truly apologize.
Behind Naruto, Kawaki stared at his back with shining admiration.
"So strong…"
"That chakra…"
"This is the true power of the Seventh Hokage."
"If he had used this earlier…"
"He could have easily defeated Delta."
Shikamaru's expression softened slightly.
Under all this pressure…
Has Naruto finally entered a second prime in his fighting years?
This power was probably second only to his Six Paths Sage Mode from the war.
But against someone like Uchiha Akira, whose ocular abilities were absurdly overpowered—
without Sasuke's Rinnegan support, it would still be difficult.
Shikamaru made a quick decision.
"Naruto!"
"Your strength alone isn't enough!"
Naruto nodded calmly.
"Yeah. I know."
His fingers crossed in front of his chest.
— Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!
"Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!"
Six shadow clones appeared, each cloaked in Kurama's golden chakra.
Two clones sprinted through the ranks of shinobi.
As they passed each ninja, they slapped palms.
With every contact—
a golden fox cloak ignited around that ninja's body.
Veterans who had experienced it before were stunned.
"Amazing!"
"This is even stronger than when the Fourth and Seventh Hokage shared chakra with us during the war!"
"With this chakra, our techniques will be far stronger!"
"And not just stronger!"
"With this protection, most attacks won't even harm us!"
"This cloak once shielded the Allied Forces from the Ten-Tails' world-ending attack!"
Back during the war, Naruto had to distribute chakra to tens of thousands.
Now there were only a few thousand Konoha shinobi.
So both the efficiency and quality of the chakra transfer were vastly higher.
Within twenty seconds—
the distribution was complete.
The two clones disappeared.
Konoha's entire front line now looked like a sea of golden fox flames.
Only Kawaki stood behind Naruto without a cloak.
He lowered his head, looking uneasy and disappointed.
Naruto turned to him.
"Kawaki."
"You're not a Konoha shinobi yet."
"You don't have to participate in this battle."
"Go somewhere safe."
Kawaki raised his head.
"I won't!"
Naruto blinked in surprise.
Kawaki clenched his fists.
"You told me to treat this place as my home!"
"You said I could become a Konoha ninja too!"
"I want to stay!"
"I want to fight!"
"Let me fight, Seventh Hokage!"
Naruto smiled warmly.
"Come stand beside me."
Kawaki stepped forward.
Naruto took his hand.
"Kawaki… that's your name, right?"
"Do you have a family name?"
"…No."
Naruto nodded.
"Then from today onward…"
"You're Uzumaki Kawaki."
WHOOSH.
Kurama's golden cloak ignited around Kawaki's body.
Kawaki trembled.
"I… I…"
"Is that really okay?"
"The people from Kara won't give up!"
"If I use that name…"
"I'll bring endless trouble to you and Konoha!"
Naruto smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry."
"After we defeat Uchiha Akira…"
"it'll be Kara's turn."
"That leader of theirs—Jigen."
"Sasuke and I will find a way to deal with him."
Kawaki felt a lump in his throat.
His conscience screamed at him.
"Actually… actually Jigen… Jigen is Issh—"
Shikamaru stepped forward and interrupted.
"Kawaki."
"We'll talk about that later."
"Uchiha Akira is extremely dangerous."
"Naruto needs total concentration right now."
Kawaki hesitated, then nodded.
"…Okay."
Shikamaru turned to Naruto.
"Naruto."
"The civilians and non-combatants have been fully evacuated."
"You don't need to worry about the village."
"If Konoha is destroyed, we can rebuild it."
"But Uchiha Akira…"
"If we don't end him here today…"
"He will become far more dangerous than Madara ever was."
Naruto nodded.
"I understand."
WHOOSH!
Four remaining shadow clones shot toward the four corners of the battlefield.
BOOM!
After landing, their cloaks expanded into massive Kurama avatars.
Each fox head opened its jaws.
Dark spheres began forming.
Tailed Beast Bombs.
Behind Naruto, thousands of Konoha shinobi raised their weapons.
Ready for a full assault.
Akira stood with his arms crossed.
Watching the battlefield erupt into chaos reminiscent of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Out of respect for life itself, he spoke seriously.
"Naruto."
"This is your final warning."
"Stop this foolish game with fire."
"If you continue…"
"many people will die."
"Adults must take responsibility for their decisions."
Naruto answered coldly,
"If I hand Kurama over to you…"
"won't people die anyway?"
Akira replied firmly.
"No."
"Everything will remain as it always has."
"No one will become unfortunate."
Naruto clenched his fists.
"…Then what about Kurama?"
Akira fell silent.
Even if he rewound time and created another Nine-Tails—
one of them would still become the sacrifice for the Ten-Tails.
It was an undeniable truth.
And it was the irreconcilable conflict between him and Naruto.
Naruto spoke firmly.
"Uchiha Akira!"
"To you, Kurama is just the Nine-Tails."
"But to me…"
"He's a part of my life."
"A partner that can never be replaced."
"I will never allow anyone—no matter who it is—to lay a finger on him!"
Akira lowered his voice.
"That's unfortunate."
If my original plan had succeeded…
perhaps your Kurama wouldn't have suffered this fate.
But that plan…
was destroyed by you and your brilliant advisor.
"Remember this day, Uzumaki Naruto."
"Many people didn't have to die."
"But because of your stubbornness…"
"their names will only remain carved on memorial stones."
Akira lowered his arms.
He had made his decision.
It was time to slaughter.
Enjoyed these chapters? Access advanced chapters and exclusive content by visiting my Patreon. https://patreon.com/WillOFD129?