Naruto: Just Want To Be A Death God

A fixed gaze—A stared cautiously at Naruto while keeping the battlefield in the corner of his eye.

The Two-Tails had already been suppressed.

The Eight-Tails was battling the Nine-Tails, clearly overwhelmed, with defeat imminent.

C had died right in front of him.

Dodai had been nailed to a tree.

As for the others, most had already perished, unable to withstand the sheer pressure or the residual shockwaves from the clash between the Eight and Nine-Tails.

Almost the entire force had been wiped out.

Only a few lucky ones—those Naruto didn't even deem worth noticing, "ants"—still clung to life beneath rubble and shattered timber.

And how long had it been? Barely an hour since this team left Kumogakure.

Naruto stood and looked down at A. "You're angry."

"But why are you angry? Is it because I killed them?"

"How ridiculous."

"To challenge a strong opponent—"

"And not be prepared to be crushed and killed."

A gritted his teeth. "Then you'd better be prepared… to be killed by me."

He slightly crouched and vanished in a flash.

The next instant, he appeared atop the Two-Tails' head.

Lightning Style flared even more brilliantly.

"Lightning Style: Liger Bomb!"

A swung his fist down, aiming for Naruto's golden-haired head.

Naruto raised his arm to block.

A's pupils widened.

Naruto reacted—even at his speed.

And with a mere shift in weight, Naruto absorbed the blow without being forced to move. Purely in terms of power, A couldn't overpower him.

So young…

And already his body had been honed to this extent?

"This is your real speed?" Naruto flipped his grip and caught A's wrist, sounding disappointed. "Quite impressive for a ninja."

"But it's still not as fast as before."

Naruto grabbed the hilt of his sword with his other hand.

He drew "Asura" and slashed toward A's arm.

A lifted his other arm.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Destruction Slash!"

Electricity surged from his palm, forming a sharp horn-like edge.

It was a hand-chop, slicing horizontally at Naruto's neck.

Even without Lightning Style, this chop could split the air with deadly force.

It was a fatal strike.

But Naruto didn't dodge.

He forwent chanting.

"Binding Spell #8: Repel."

A small sphere of chakra, no larger than a fist, floated and shielded his neck.

The hand-chop landed!

Crack! A fracture spidered across the chakra sphere, but it didn't shatter.

A's expression turned to shock.

What kind of technique was this?

Even a full-strength strike of his couldn't break it.

But soon, the shock on his face twisted into pain.

The golden blade came down.

With no resistance, it severed A's right arm.

In a way, it was a kind of release from Naruto's grasp.

A leapt to the other side of the Two-Tails' head, now extremely cautious.

Naruto picked up the severed arm and examined the wound.

The exposed flesh was red, with little blood flowing.

Lightning-style chakra still lingered, and Naruto could see the stimulated flesh twitching from the lightning—though his vitality wasn't enhanced, it was unusually active.

"You stimulate your cells with lightning chakra?" Naruto immediately saw through it. "So that's how you increase your speed."

Interesting.

A's face grew darker, and he took a deep breath.

Power, speed, reaction—

All inferior to this opponent.

This was one of the strongest enemies he'd ever faced.

The last time he felt this kind of pressure was from the Fourth Hokage.

"Not going to use that technique?" Naruto sealed the severed arm and looked up.

A countered, "Which one?"

"The one that let you arrive here so quickly," Naruto tilted his head toward Kumogakure. "It was nearly as fast as light."

"I'm very curious about that."

"If you have any ability that could threaten me—"

"It's only that one."

A's face darkened further.

He means the Teleportation Technique?

Is that the only thing this boy considers a threat?

"Don't get cocky, Nine-Tails brat!" A growled, "My abilities are far from over!"

"My speed is no less than your father's!"

"I am the Blue Lightning of Kumogakure!"

As he shouted, the lightning-chakra cloak surrounding him grew fiercer, like the difference between the Three-Tails and Four-Tails transformation.

The once-phantasmal cloak turned denser.

His hair stood on end as lightning crackled violently around him.

He vanished again—this time even faster!

Too fast for the naked eye.

With a roar of tearing wind, A appeared behind Naruto, leg whipping down, lightning roaring.

"Lightning Style: Furious Thunder Axe!"

His proudest taijutsu technique!

Naruto reacted the moment he appeared. "Yes, a bit faster."

"But you still haven't used that technique."

"Is it something you can't do alone?"

The kick came down.

Naruto caught it.

The impact made the Two-Tails' head sink a little deeper into the ground.

The sheer force twisted the muscles in Naruto's arm.

Yet…

A's expression grew increasingly grave.

Still no damage.

"Then there's no point in playing with you anymore." Naruto tightened his grip on A's ankle.

A's face twisted in agony.

He felt bones cracking.

Naruto gathered chakra.

Not even half his power. No chant.

"Destruction Spell #32: Yellow Fire Flash."

A cherry-colored shockwave exploded from Naruto's hand, engulfing A entirely.

Even with his Lightning Cloak forming a defensive armor—

The leg that took the full brunt was obliterated.

All the way up to his hip, there was only exposed bone, with a few scraps of flesh hanging.

A didn't die.

He maintained a hand seal.

Lightning protected his upper body, though it was still bloodied and wounded—it fared better than his leg.

"To hold back enough to punish ants but not kill them—takes effort," Naruto said, tossing A to the ground. "Now, let's talk."

"What kind of compensation must Kumogakure offer—"

"To earn my forgiveness?"

A clenched his teeth. His physical pain, the destruction of his spirit, all piled up, leaving him speechless.

"The location of the Truth Waterfall," Naruto said softly, "The data you stole from Uzushiogakure, and the corresponding research results."

"Also, your Lightning Chakra Technique."

"The one that makes you move nearly at the speed of light."

"That's what I can think of for now."

"Anything to add?"

A raised his head, glaring at Naruto. "You're quite greedy."

"As expected of a Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."

Naruto smiled. "Compared to what your village has done, these are barely a price at all."

A fell silent.

Naruto turned around. "Someone's coming."

"Not weak chakra, either."

A followed his gaze.

From behind the mountain, two figures appeared.

The vanguard sent to support them, arriving as fast as possible.

One was a dark-skinned man with white hair.

The other was a pale-skinned kunoichi with yellow hair and an absurdly muscular build—even more exaggerated than Mei Terumī.

"Let go of the Raikage-sama!" the white-haired man shouted, forming hand signs.

The chakra he released was unlike the common five elements.

"Storm Style: Laser Circus!"

Blue light flickered as steam rose.

In a flash, several laser-like lightning bolts shot at Naruto.

Naruto looked down at A, raised his hand. "Lightning and water combined."

"A Kekkei Genkai."

"His chakra's strong too—nearly on par with Mei Terumī of the Mist."

As he spoke, he used a Kido.

"Binding Spell #39: Circular Arc Shield."

Chakra surged forth.

A rapidly spinning shield blocked all incoming lasers.

The dark-skinned man clenched his teeth.

What was that technique?

No hand signs, yet such a powerful defense.

Another Kekkei Genkai?

Naruto calmly said to A, "If you die, he'll be one of the top candidates to be the next Raikage, right?"

A's eyes widened. "What are you going to do to Darui?!"

An ominous premonition surged in his heart.

Naruto just smiled, without answering.

Golden chains whipped out, lashing toward the dark-skinned man—Darui.

He dodged.

But dozens of chains followed him relentlessly.

The blonde kunoichi tried to intercept, swinging her blade—but it only produced sparks, unable to cut the chains.

After several exchanges, Darui's leg was caught.

One opening, and the chains wound upward in an instant, binding him completely.

One chain pierced through his throat.

Another pierced the kunoichi's heart. Like the others, their life force faded slowly.

The chains retracted.

Two lifeless bodies dropped to the ground.

"No matter how many Raikage there are, I can kill them all," Naruto said to A, his face expressionless. "I spared your life because you are the current Raikage."

"You've held the position for years and have some authority."

"If you cooperate, many things will be easier."

"If not, I have no problem replacing Raikage after Raikage—until I find one willing to cooperate."

A clenched his lone fist. "You might as well destroy Kumogakure."

"What a selfish answer," Naruto whispered, gaze turning cold. "A ninja's death means nothing."

"But what about the innocent civilians?"

"You die easily, and other nations might be unable to resist going to war."

"Even I, someone from the Land of Fire, am considering the welfare of your Land of Lightning's people."

"You, however, are not."

A froze, staring at Naruto in disbelief.

More shocked than when he realized Naruto completely outmatched him in strength.

Civilians?

He's thinking about them?

"So," Naruto raised his blade to A's throat, "what's your answer—cooperate, or not?"

He looked toward Kumogakure again. "More people coming—slightly slower than the last two."

"But there are twelve of them—all Jōnin."

"Kumogakure really is powerful. Counting the ones I've killed, it must be close to fifty now."

"Think I'll find a Raikage among them who'll cooperate?"

(End of Chapter)