Naruto : Cruel Rebirth

Swish! Swish! Swish! The young Kumogakure ninja slashed with his short blade as he closed in, his figure splitting into three, attacking from the front, back, and left, surrounding Naruto!

The Cloud Style's Crescent Slash was similar to Konohagakure's Moon Dance, both using clones to aid in the strike!

The difference was that Konohagakure's clones were real, while Cloud Style's clones were illusions, with the real body hidden among them, making it much harder to discern!

But no matter the style, it meant nothing to Naruto now!

—Shinra Tensei! Naruto chose the simplest and most direct response! Whoosh! Two illusions shot past Naruto's front and back, and the real body on the left was forcefully blasted away, falling from the bomb-carrying bird, the short sword flying out of his hands!! 

"Chi!!"

The summoning bird from earlier circled in the sky and caught the boy! His whole body ached, and his face was filled with shock. "What was that just now...?"

Naruto turned around and said coldly, "Do you still want to come?"

"Don't look down on me!"

The boy, full of energy, raised his hand to form hand seals, but Naruto acted first and reached out his hand. 

——Bansho Tenin! Whoosh! The boy's feet left the summoning bird and flew toward Naruto! "What...!?" He was shocked, but his hands still completed the seals.

Crack! Lightning gathered in his hands, forming a ball that was hurled toward Naruto using the pull of the gravity ahead.

——Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!

"Oh? A condensed Lightning Release ball that can be thrown..." Naruto maintained his Bansho Tenin with his left hand and raised his right hand. 

——Hungry Ghost Path!

Since the time of Shinra Tensei, when Konan had turned into paper, she had gathered half of her body and was closely watching Naruto. While using the Deva Path's power, Naruto had also used the Hungry Ghost Path, showing his growing mastery over his left eye! Whoosh! His right hand absorbed the Lightning Ball, while his left hand grabbed the boy by the throat!

The boy struggled but refused to give up. He silently formed hand seals with his two fingers.

"Chi!"

The summoning bird let out a sharp cry and charged at Naruto. 

Naruto remained calm.

——Hungry Ghost Path!

Gurgle! The boy's chakra poured into Naruto's left hand, quickly being absorbed! 

Boom! Without chakra to maintain the summoning technique, the bird disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

Naruto said, "You're quick, adaptable, and more importantly, you're still young, yet already at the Jonin level, right? What's your name?" 

The boy replied, "Kumogakure, Furoi!!!"

Naruto thought to himself: Furoi, if given time to grow, he could be the next Hatake Kakashi of the ninja world...

"Heh..." Furoi's arms dropped, his face filled with despair.

"This scent..." Naruto sniffed and his gaze sharpened.

Whoosh! He pulled off Furoi's ninja outfit, along with hundreds of Explosive Tags underneath it, and threw them away!

Boom, boom, boom...!!! The explosions lit up the night sky. Furoi's face turned pale as his suicidal bomb was seen through! 

Naruto stared at him and asked, "Do you really want to die?"

Furoi closed his eyes, "Kill me!"

"Alright, I'll send you on your way..."

Naruto glanced below and forcefully threw Furoi down. 

"Dodai-sensei, I acted on my own again... I'm so useless. Sigh, I haven't confessed to Samui yet. But maybe this is better. To like a woman fifteen years older than me? That must be strange, right? If I get rejected, I'll be laughed at..."

While falling, Furoi bid farewell to this world! Bang!!! The heavy fall caused the ground to sink, but he didn't die...!!

"Ugh... it hurts?? But why didn't I die?" He then realized that the place where he landed was a soft, recently plowed dirt field!

"Could it be...!?" He stared in shock at the huge shadow flying across the sky. 

Naruto, with his Rinnegan behind the mask, watched below and muttered, "Don't rush to die, promising youth. Your time to truly show your strength hasn't come yet..."

...

Boom, boom, boom, boom...! The battle between offense and defense at Kumogakure Village had lasted for an hour! Raikage was still fighting the Hellhound, but he had learned to be smarter. He realized that using slicing Taijutsu only increased the number of Hellhounds!

——Heavy Flow Violent!! Boom!!! He used an elbow strike to knock a Hellhound flying!

Around him, the Kumogakure ninja skilled in Earth Release surrounded and joined in the jutsu! 

——Earth Release: Earth Wall!

Boom, boom, boom, boom...!!

A thick layer of earth surrounds the Hellhound, blocking its movements for now...

"Ow...!"

Around Raikage, there are still thirty-six Hellhounds!!! 

"Ugh, damn it...!" Raikage roars angrily, his chakra beginning to run low...

"Raikage-sama, please hang in there, the sealing squad is on their way!!!"

Raikage shouts, "Where is Dodai? Where's Dodai? If he were here, his jutsu would make this a lot easier to deal with!!!"

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...!!

Elsewhere, a rhino charges forward, smashing through buildings as if they were tofu, tearing them apart effortlessly. Dozens of Kumogakure ninjas wrap large iron chains around the rhino's body and legs, pulling with all their strength...

"Ugh...!!" 

But the result is chaos as people are thrown around...!!

A calm and composed man appears in the front.

—Lava Release: Demosu Pool!! Gurgle, gurgle!!

The ground collapses, and a rubber-like liquid begins to flow up. The rhino's legs sink, losing their footing and unable to move! The nearby Kumogakure ninjas breathe a sigh of relief.

"Dodai-sama!! Thanks to you, we can finish this off now!!"

Dodai says, "No need. Leave this to me. You go help with other battle zones..."

"Understood. Please be careful!" 

After the ninjas leave, Dodai looks up at the rhino's eyes.

"All these summoning creatures have those troublesome eyes. But how could there be so many of them? It must come from the summoner, projected in some way..."

He pauses and says, "You're watching, aren't you?"

"..."

The summoned rhino does not respond.

Dodai continues, "Summoned beasts only attack those who are a threat, avoiding low-ranking ninjas and civilians. I don't believe they have the intelligence to make such distinctions. So, you must be controlling them. And I believe this control relies on visual contact. Therefore, I conclude that you and the summoned beasts are sharing vision..." 

"I've dealt with you before. I know you have a clear purpose, and you wouldn't want to escalate the conflict needlessly. So, let's talk. Maybe I can give you what you want!"

On top of the bomb bird...

"Truly impressive. Your sharp analysis skills are just as good as Shikaku's..." 

Naruto sighs and slowly gets up, saying to Konan, "I'll be right back."

Clang! The Flying Thunder God kunai lands in front of Dodai, and swish! Naruto follows right after.

"Dodai-sama, you were right. If Raikage had half of your wisdom, things wouldn't have escalated like this..." 

Dodai says, "Though I deeply hate your actions, I opposed this conflict from the start. I am a Kumogakure ninja, and I must follow Raikage-sama's orders..."

Naruto asks, "What about now?"

"Your combat abilities far exceed my expectations. To avoid further sacrifices, take this..." 

Dodai takes a scroll from his chest.

"..." Naruto narrows his eyes under his mask but doesn't move immediately. 

Dodai says, "Don't worry, this is the secret scroll of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. I haven't tampered with it. I'm not stupid enough to invite trouble and cause more harm to the village..."

"..." Naruto raises his hand and pulls the scroll toward him with gravity.

"Sigh..." Dodai sighs, "Honestly, I don't know if this is the right thing to do. Once this thing is in your hands, who knows what will happen in the future."

After confirming its contents, Naruto tucks the scroll into his chest and looks at Dodai.

"Dodai, time will prove everything. Your judgment was right."

Dodai says, "Can we end it here?" 

Naruto asked, "Dodai, how about working under me?"

Dodai was taken aback, then quickly laughed, "Don't joke around. I'm a Kumogakure ninja. I could never betray my own position!"

"I see. What a shame," Naruto said, sounding a bit regretful but not pushing the matter. "But it's okay. As long as you're still alive, your wisdom will eventually be used for this 'ninja world.' That's enough for me..."

Whoosh! Leaving these thought-provoking words behind, Naruto vanished.

Dodai looked on, puzzled. Used for the 'ninja world'? What exactly is his goal? He's really someone hard to figure out... 

Whoosh! Naruto returned to the back of the bomb bird.

Konan asked, "Did you get it?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, it's time to head back."

He placed his hand on Konan's shoulder and used Flying Thunder God to return to Amegakure! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...! All the summoned beasts across Kumogakure vanished in a cloud of white smoke...

"Hahaha... I've finally beaten these damn dogs!!!" 

Raikage let out a triumphant shout. The lightning faded, and he lay back on the broken ground, sweat pouring from his bronze skin, sinking into the earth...

That night, Kumogakure had no sleep.

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