"You bastard! You think you can distract ?!" Raikage's voice was a low growl, the vein on his forehead pulsing with fury.
He lunged forward again, only to find his fist caught in an unbreakable grip. He strained, pouring all his strength into pulling back, but the hand holding him was like a mountain. The realization hit him with the force of a physical blow: this man was stronger than he was.
After a few deep, ragged breaths, Raikage reined in his temper. "What do you want? Why are you in my village?"
It was a rare, grudging concession. Even a man as impulsive as him knew when to rein in his anger, and it seed that overwhelming power gave one the freedom to do as they pleased.
"Just collecting so interest before the debt is due," Naruto said calmly.
'Kumo owed him a debt,' Naruto thought. A significant one, second only to what he held against Konoha and Kiri. They'd tried to kidnapped his mother, Kushina. They'd tried to kidnap his future wife, Hinata, an act that had cost his brother-in-law's father his life. If Konoha was too weak to settle that score, then he would. He'd collect every last piece of what they owed him. And today, he was starting with the interest.
Naruto was a vengeful man, with a mind as sharp and narrow as a needle's eye when it ca to his own. How could he let the insult against his mother and his wife go unanswered? As far as he was concerned, among the Five Great Shinobi Countries, only Iwa and Suna had no score to settle with him. No, that wasn't right either. His own father's fa was built on the backs of Iwa shinobi.
"Interest? Debt?" Raikage's forced composure finally shattered. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"
A faint blue chakra flared to life around him, wrapping him in a thick suit of lightning armor. Arcs of electricity danced across his skin as his slicked-back hair stood on end. It was the signature power of Raikage lineage: the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, a technique that used lightning-natured chakra to supercharge the body, pushing speed and strength to their absolute limits.
'Holy shit, that technique is cool. I want it,' Naruto thought, a flicker of genuine admiration crossing his mind. 'My hair's already blond. With that aura, I could cosplay as a Super Saiyan 2. Finally my childhood dream of my past life would co true!'
Wreathed in lightning, Raikage roared and tore his fist free from Naruto's grasp.
"Die!" Raikage's shout throbbed in Naruto's ears as he charged, channeling chakra into his elbow for a devastating strike. "Lariat!"
'A pure taijutsu battle,' he mused. 'I live for this. Especially against Raikage, who was said to be the strongest taijutsu user alive, second only to Guy and his Eight Gates. A true clash of fists, of flesh and bone, this is what a man's fight is all about!'
"Then let's clash!" he declared.
He wrapped his body in ki, concentrating a portion of it into his right hand. Just as Raikage's elbow was about to connect, Naruto shot his palm forward.
"Rock-Paper-Scissors Fist: Paper!"
Raikage's elbow crashed into Naruto's open palm. A shockwave erupted from the impact, kicking up rubble and sending overturned tombstones skittering across the ground.
Raikage staggered back five steps, nearly losing his footing.
Naruto hadn't moved an inch.
"Next punch, I'll send you flying," he said with a light chuckle, pointing a finger at his opponent.
'Such imnse strength,' Raikage thought, his arm still vibrating from the impact. 'He's far stronger even than Tsunade.' He'd arm-wrestled Tsunade once. Her strength was monstrous, but this... this was on another level.
"Again!" he roared, refusing to accept it. He poured every last drop of his power into his fist. "Liger Bomb!"
The attack was a blur of speed and overwhelming force, even more powerful than his Lariat.
Naruto t him head-on. "Rock-Paper-Scissors Fist: Rock!"
Raikage's punch connected with Naruto's, and it felt like striking a solid steel wall. A sharp pain shot up his arm, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to yield and pouring more and more power into the strike. They were locked in place, a pure contest of strength.
A scornful laugh echoed in his ear. "Fourth Raikage, you're not all that strong. All that rumors of your strength is just fake propaganda it seems."
Before Raikage could even process the insult, an overwhelming force surged from Naruto's fist. He was thrown backward, tumbling through the air like a ragdoll. He was used to sending others flying, he couldn't rember the last ti he'd been on the receiving end.
"I wasn't even trying and you're already down," Naruto called out.
He hauled himself up from the rubble, his breath coming in ragged pants. His eyes were bloodshot, fixed on Naruto with the fury of a cornered bull. It was the first ti since becoming a shinobi that he had been so completely overpowered in his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
"Strength isn't everything," he snarled, more to himself than to Naruto. "You're just a brute."
'A brute? ?' The irony was so thick Naruto almost laughed out loud.
"Power is aningless if you can't land a hit," Raikage declared.
And then he vanished.
"What's important is speed and power!" his voice bood from across the clearing. "Lightning Release: Lariat!"
He reappeared as a bolt of blue lightning, hurtling toward Naruto. His raised arm cut through the air like a massive axe.
Raikage's speed was absolute, the peak of what a normal shinobi could achieve. But Naruto was faster. With a slight sidestep, he easily avoided the attack.
"You were saying sothing about landing a hit?" Naruto's taunt echoed in Raikage's ear.
Ignoring the jibe, Raikage seamlessly transitioned his montum. "Lightning Bomb!"
He slamd his fist into the ground where Naruto had been, unleashing an explosion of lightning and physical force. But the attack was too wide, its path telegraphed by the shift in the air. Naruto had already moved.
Seeing his second attack miss, Raikage didn't show any frustration. Instead, a savage grin spread across his face. All his calculations had been for this one mont.
Blue electric light burst from his body, so bright it illuminated the entire sky.
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"
===============
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