Naruto: Promotion is my Ninja Way

"Splash..." The waves surged rhythmically against the shoreline, carrying with them a salty, fishy aroma that filled the air.

The vast ocean stretched endlessly toward the horizon, its waves rushing forward in an eternal cycle, crashing against the rocky coast and scattering into countless droplets of spray.

The fierce battle raging on the island seemed to have no effect on this peaceful coastal area, which remained serene and undisturbed.

At that very moment—

A massive figure moved through the dark, deep waters of the seabed. Without warning, a gigantic creature suddenly erupted from beneath the ocean's surface.

"Boom!" The instant this enormous being appeared, towering waves rose up and a vast area of the sea's surface began to churn and boil violently.

This colossal creature was none other than the Three-Tails, Isobu!

Earlier, after Yagura had broken free from Uchiha Obito's restraints, he had vanished without leaving any trace behind.

Initially, everyone assumed he had seized the opportunity to escape. As the fierce battle intensified, no one had found the time to search for the missing jinchūriki.

Obito had desperately wanted to recapture Yagura, but since Naraku's arrival, escape had become nearly impossible. He had been forced to engage in direct combat instead.

However, everyone's assumptions proved completely wrong. Yagura had not fled at all. Instead, he had released the full extent of his power and transformed into the complete form of the Three-Tails, Isobu.

Three massive tails swayed behind the creature as waves surged around its enormous form. A turtle covered entirely in sharp spikes emerged from the sea—this was the true form of the Three-Tails!

This particular tailed beast possessed exceptional combat abilities when fighting in aquatic environments.

Although Yagura had completely transformed into the Three-Tails at this point, his consciousness remained intact. Even though his mental state had become unstable due to years of genjutsu manipulation, he experienced no difficulty whatsoever in identifying his enemies.

"Whoosh—" Massive amounts of Yin and Yang chakra began gathering in precise proportions, forming an enormous sphere of pure energy directly in front of the Three-Tails. The sphere then began compressing rapidly, growing denser and more dangerous with each passing second.

Tailed Beast Bomb! This was the signature technique of all tailed beasts, possessing absolutely devastating destructive power.

The Three-Tails completely disregarded the lives of the other Mist ninja still present on the island as it prepared to unleash its ultimate attack. Yagura's burning hatred for Uchiha Obito had overwhelmed every other consideration.

In order to destroy the mortal enemy who had controlled and manipulated him for so many years, Yagura was willing to sacrifice his own village's forces without hesitation.

The powerful shinobi still fighting on the island immediately detected the intense chakra reaction emanating from the ocean's surface. The Mist ninja received urgent warnings from Ao, whose Byakugan's long-range vision capabilities proved invaluable in this critical situation.

"Everyone retreat immediately!" Ao commanded with authority.

"Ao, take the others and withdraw to the opposite side of the island!" Terumi Mei ordered decisively.

After sweeping his gaze across the sea toward the Three-Tails as it continued gathering energy for its Tailed Beast Bomb, Ao made an immediate decision to follow Terumi Mei's evacuation orders and quickly led his subordinates to safety.

Terumi Mei chose not to flee entirely, but she did move considerably farther away to avoid being caught in the devastating explosion that would inevitably follow.

As for Mangetsu Hōzuki, his life had long been on a countdown toward death. Dying gloriously in battle represented the absolute best possible ending he could hope for.

Shihouin Naraku, as the first person to detect the Three-Tails' movements and intentions, showed no inclination whatsoever to dodge the incoming attack. He continued wielding Kurikara with fluid precision, maintaining his relentless assault against both Uchiha Obito and Mangetsu, forcing them to continue their desperate struggle.

Obito, still maintaining his intangibility technique, evaded yet another of Naraku's devastating attacks. His Mangekyō Sharingan swept across the Three-Tails' massive form rising from the sea, clearly observing the dangerous chakra fluctuations of the forming Tailed Beast Bomb.

However, Obito felt no concern about the incoming Tailed Beast Bomb whatsoever. As long as he remained in his intangible state, he could ignore all forms of physical attacks completely.

It would actually be ideal if he could somehow trap Shihouin Naraku in this location. Although the chances of actually killing him remained slim, the attack might still prove useful in some capacity.

Tailed beasts were undeniably powerful, after all.

Recognizing this opportunity, Obito began taking a more aggressive approach in combat. Rather than seeking to defeat Naraku outright, he focused entirely on preventing his escape.

"Oh—" Naraku's mouth curved upward in a slight smile, his eyes sweeping across Obito's mask with obvious disdain and contempt.

A Tailed Beast Bomb? He felt absolutely no fear regarding such an attack.

On the ocean's surface, the Tailed Beast Bomb that had been condensing in front of the Three-Tails had already grown to an enormous size, pulsing with barely contained destructive energy.

"Whoosh—" The Three-Tails suddenly swallowed the compressed Tailed Beast Bomb into its massive mouth...

"Boom!" The tremendous energy of the Tailed Beast Bomb transformed into a concentrated beam of pure destruction, shooting directly toward the three combatants fighting at the island's center.

"Boom..." When the energy beam struck the earth, a horrific explosion erupted with unimaginable force.

The brilliant light that burst forth instantaneously resembled the sun crashing down upon the earth itself. The radiance was so intensely dazzling that no one dared look directly at it, illuminating the previously dim environment as brightly as midday.

The earth-shaking explosion resonated through the heavens, making everyone feel as though the entire world was convulsing violently beneath their feet.

Flames from the massive detonation rose skyward, forming a deadly mushroom cloud that spanned from earth to sky. Even people positioned far away could witness such a spectacular and terrifying display.

Thick smoke and roaring flames blocked out the sun's rays entirely, spreading rapidly in all directions across the landscape.

Pale white, ring-shaped shock waves swept across everything like a violent hurricane, releasing terrifying energy without restraint and overturning everything in their path.

The blazing inferno turned the entire sky blood red. The explosion's power resembled countless volcanic eruptions occurring simultaneously. Everything in the immediate vicinity seemed to disappear into nothingness at that moment.

The tall mountain located at the island's center disintegrated completely in the insane explosion, easily reduced to nothing more than scattered rubble and debris.

Hurricane-force winds stirred up the clouds and swept across the entire island with devastating effect.

"Why was the explosion so incredibly powerful?!" Terumi Mei had sensed something was terribly wrong beforehand and had quickly moved away the instant the explosion began.

Even with her precautionary measures, she had barely escaped being caught in the blast radius.

She had nearly been completely engulfed by the advancing wall of flames. Fortunately, at the critical moment, she spotted a fissure in the ground caused by the violent seismic activity. She leaped into the crack just in time, avoiding the most dangerous portion of the explosion.

Terumi Mei was no stranger to Tailed Beast Bombs. Kirigakure possessed two jinchūriki, and she had witnessed this type of devastating power when tailed beasts had gone berserk in the past.

However, no matter how she analyzed it, this particular explosion's destructive force seemed far too excessive compared to what she had previously observed.

Nevertheless, Terumi Mei didn't dare emerge from her hiding place yet. The explosion had not completely finished, and she had no desire to meet an unnecessary end due to carelessness.

Outside her shelter, fires continued spreading while flames flowed across the landscape like liquid magma.

"Crack!" Shihouin Naraku emerged from the inferno step by step, his entire body wreathed in flames while gripping Kurikara firmly in his hand.

The violent shaking of the island gradually subsided, but thick smoke continued spreading while flames still emitted scorching heat that made the air shimmer.

The surrounding atmosphere burned intensely hot. Every breath drew in air so heated that it caused noticeable discomfort in his throat.

"The island has sustained such severe damage that without several decades of natural recovery, the ecological environment will remain completely unsuitable for human habitation," Naraku observed with detached analysis.

"That level of destruction was somewhat excessive," he admitted with mild amusement.

"Although I certainly contributed to the explosion's intensity, the Three-Tails was primarily responsible for the initial devastation."

Indeed, after the Three-Tails had released its Tailed Beast Bomb, Naraku had added his own powerful Fire Style techniques to the mix. The combination of both attacks had created the apocalyptic scene now spread before them.

"Mangetsu was closest to the blast's center, so he must have been incinerated completely. However..." Naraku's gaze swept across the still-spreading sea of fire, and suddenly his eyes brightened with interest.

He could clearly see something metallic gleaming through the flames—it was Hiramekarei, the twin-bladed sword!

"Mangetsu must have known his death was inevitable, so he threw Hiramekarei far from the blast zone beforehand. That's why it wasn't completely destroyed by the extremely high temperatures."

"Swish!" Naraku appeared instantly beside the legendary weapon and picked up the sharp blade crafted by Kirigakure's finest smiths, ignoring the heated metal that burned against his palms.

"Excellent—only a few sections sustained serious damage, while the rest remains completely intact," he noted with satisfaction.

Naraku withdrew a storage scroll and, with one fluid motion, sealed Hiramekarei within it before putting the scroll away safely.

When this battle finally concluded, he would allow Kurikara to absorb and devour the twin-bladed sword to enhance its own capabilities.

As for Kirigakure's potential objections to his appropriation of their legendary weapon, Naraku couldn't be bothered to care about such trivial concerns.

----------------

You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion