Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 57 57 : B Kage-Level Strength

Countless trees burst forth from the ground, intertwining as they surged toward C.

But C's speed was extraordinary. Just as the wooden branches approached him, he shifted to the side in a blur—an afterimage trailing behind—as he reappeared directly in front of Yamato.

With a single punch, Yamato was sent flying.

His body smashed through more than a dozen houses before crashing heavily into the ground.

Beside the fallen Yamato, a deep crater had ford—large enough to resemble a small mining pit.

Blood spilled from Yamato's lips. That single punch had done serious damage—he was severely injured.

Kakashi and Guy both frowned deeply as they looked toward C.

"He's igniting his chakra," Kakashi said grimly. "His chakra has surged to Kage-level. And because it exploded all at once, the destructive force is even more terrifying than most actual Kage-level shinobi."

"Guy, be careful."

"I'm not sure how Yamato's holding up," he added.

Guy's expression was tense. "Yamato should survive. With Wood Style, even if he's badly injured, it's hard for him to die that easily. But…"

He looked back at C, who radiated killing intent.

"This guy will be a real problem for us in the future."

Guy could feel it—C's strength now was on par with the power he unleashed when opening the Sixth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates. Maybe even greater.

Although C hadn't reached the Seventh Gate level, he was dangerously close.

As for Guy, his mastery of the Seventh Gate was still unstable. He could reliably control the Sixth Gate, but beyond that was uncertain.

Even if he activated the Eight Inner Gates now, it wasn't guaranteed that he could take down C.

Kakashi glanced toward C, his heart growing heavy.

anwhile, A and B—who had broken off from their fight with Kakashi and Guy—stood together at a distance.

Exchanging glances, they saw an opening and turned to flee.

But just as they moved, Riku appeared silently before them.

"Where do you think you're going?"

A and B froze, their expressions tightening the mont they saw him.

"Damn brat, you dare to block us?" A growled. "You're asking for death."

They had no idea how Riku had managed to kill East, West, North, and South, but they were confident they could eliminate him.

Kunai in hand, both rushed at Riku at high speed.

Riku unsheathed his chakra-forged short sword. "You're not escaping today."

Clang—

Their weapons collided.

A and B engaged Riku in close-quarters combat, but to their disbelief, Riku held his own with ease. His taijutsu was clean, efficient—and powerful.

Kakashi and Guy attempted to move in to assist Riku, but C stepped in and blocked them.

With the two Jonin locked in battle, Riku was left to face A and B alone.

After two to three minutes of intense combat, Riku began suppressing them both.

A and B grew increasingly alard.

"How the hell is this kid so strong? He's handling both of us at once!"

"We're not letting you ruin our chance to escape! Go to hell!"

The runes engraved on their bodies flared to life. Their chakra and physical power surged instantly.

A wave of pressure slamd into Riku—but he didn't falter.

Despite the heightened danger, Riku continued fighting with calm precision, managing the two of them without losing control.

Elsewhere, Kakashi was blasted backward. He was no match for C once the latter ignited his chakra.

Guy had activated the Sixth Gate and was engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand battle with C—unable to spare even a mont to help.

Uzuki Yugao, watching from a distance, clenched her fists—but her strength wasn't enough to intervene. She couldn't affect the outco of either battle.

Riku's short sword was reinforced with chakra, or it would've shattered by now. Even so, he maintained overwhelming pressure on A and B.

After they unleashed a Water Style jutsu toward him, Riku's hands blurred into seals.

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

Boom!

A massive wall of earth rose from the ground just in ti to intercept the oncoming water dragon. Water splashed in every direction, creating a shallow pool around the battlefield.

Riku leapt to the top of the five-ter-high wall. His hands flew into another set of seals.

"Lightning Style: Ground Walk!"

Standing ankle-deep in water, A and B both realized the danger.

"Shit!"

Their reaction ca a mont too late.

A surge of lightning exploded from the water beneath them. The shock stunned their limbs and left them trembling, unable to move fluidly.

They scrambled out of the water, barely managing to regain so distance—but their bodies still twitched from the residual current.

Both looked at Riku with renewed dread.

"This guy… he's not a Genin. There's no way. How can a Genin have this kind of power?"

"If we want to break through, we'll have to go all out."

Still, they were reluctant to burn their own chakra reserves. As long as they could escape, there was no need to die here with him.

Standing atop the earth wall, Riku ford seals again.

Chidori.

Blue lightning cackled in his hand.

"Again?"

He lded the technique with Ground Walk, and in the next instant, Riku beca a bolt of living lightning. He shot across the battlefield toward them like a thunderbolt.

A and B pushed their reaction speed to the limit.

"He knows Kakashi's Chidori?! What the hell—he's just a Genin!"

They cursed Konoha silently, believing the village had intentionally hidden Riku's true power. At this mont, Riku even felt more dangerous than Kakashi.

Splurt—

B couldn't keep up. Riku's lightning-charged strike pierced straight through his chest before he could dodge.

Riku stood directly in front of A, his hand buried in B's torso—still glowing with electric arcs.

"Your speed isn't enough to escape ," Riku said flatly. "I wonder… will you ignite your chakra before you die?"

With that, he pulled his arm free.

B collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. His body twitched as arcs of lightning danced across his skin.

Riku didn't say another word to the fallen man. He turned his gaze toward A, who stood several ters away, face grim.

A stared at Riku. "Your speed… it's faster than Kakashi's. And you can control a technique like Chidori even at that velocity…"

"You've already surpassed him."

He clenched his fists. "What's your na?"

"Riku," he answered coolly.

A muttered under his breath, "Riku… one of us is dying here today."

Just as Riku narrowed his eyes, unsure what A intended to do, the man's hands ford seals in a blur.

"B… rise again!"

Riku's danger sense exploded. His eyes narrowed, and for a brief instant, they flashed red with intricate patterns.

In a burst of movent, Riku disappeared from his position—teleporting nearly thirty ters away.

He turned and stared in disbelief.

B was standing again.

But… Riku had clearly confird that B's vital signs had vanished.

"What kind of technique is this?" he muttered. "He was dead. Dead."

And yet B's chakra flared again—higher than before. Violent waves of chakra cracked the ground beneath him.

A appeared beside him, grinning. "Hahaha! You've never seen this before, have you? As long as B's body is intact, I can force him to ignite his chakra post-mortem. For a few minutes… he becos unstoppable."

Riku's expression darkened.

"So that's it. I thought you actually knew a resurrection technique. That was a waste of hope."

It was a pre-set jutsu—so kind of delayed ignition technique embedded into B's body. Not true resurrection.

Still, it was dangerous.

There weren't many such techniques in the shinobi world, but they did exist.

Now, B's chakra had skyrocketed. His physical power, reflexes, speed—everything had reached true Kage-level.

Even Riku had to admit—this wasn't going to be easy.

"This just got annoying…"

And since B had already tasted death once, his resurrected form radiated resentnt—pure hatred focused entirely on Riku.

The real fight was only just beginning.