Chapter 57 (Patreon)

Naruto had managed to evade Kabuto’s attack from beneath the ground because of the [Sage Body of the Senju Clan] he had just obtained—and the [Ground-Based Sensory Perception] that came with it.

He had not expected the ability to be so useful. From now on, he would no longer need to fear enemies launching surprise attacks from underground. He could even use their own ambushes against them.

Naruto had no intention of wasting time exchanging words with Kabuto. Nor would he give his wounded opponent a chance to catch his breath. Only foolish villains stopped to boast in the middle of a fight to the death.

He clasped his hands together.

Violent winds erupted from every direction, forming numerous hurricanes that converged upon Kabuto. If they caught him, the chaotic currents would tear his body apart.

Unfortunately, Kabuto was exceptionally cunning. He had learned the art of survival from Orochimaru himself.

Kabuto immediately dove beneath the earth and vanished.

However, within Naruto’s [Ground-Based Sensory Perception], his movements remained perfectly clear. Kabuto had circled around and stopped ten meters behind him.

In the next instant, Kabuto burst from the ground. His hand seals were already complete, and the moment he opened his mouth, a blazing sphere of fire hurtled toward Naruto.

The Naruto standing on the ground seemed to notice the attack a moment too late. He lurched aside only after the flames had reached his back, but the inferno swallowed him before he could escape.

Against an ordinary ninja without sensory abilities, Kabuto’s surprise attack might have succeeded.

Naruto, however, had already prepared his counterattack.

The figure engulfed by the flames was merely a Shadow Clone. Naruto’s true body was concealed high above the battlefield.

At the same time, another Shadow Clone appeared behind Kabuto. Wind blades formed around both of its palms and slashed viciously across his waist.

Splat!

Kabuto’s body collapsed into a heap of mud.

It had been nothing more than an Earth Clone.

Another Kabuto appeared behind Naruto’s Shadow Clone. A Chakra Scalpel surrounded his right hand as he drove it through the clone’s heart.

Poof!

The Shadow Clone vanished.

Kabuto’s expression changed slightly, but it was already too late. Another Naruto had appeared behind him, and a wind blade swept cleanly across his neck.

Splat!

Kabuto’s severed body dissolved into mud and collapsed upon the ground.

That one had also been an Earth Clone.

The battlefield abruptly fell silent.

The exchange revealed just how cautious and calculating both Naruto and Kabuto were. Neither was willing to expose his true body until he had forced the other into a decisive mistake.

Naruto could still sense Kabuto hiding beneath the ground, but he had no reliable way to kill him down there. He had only mastered a few C-rank Earth Release techniques, none of which could strike an enemy concealed that deeply.

If I ever accumulate enough system points, I’ll have to exchange them for an [Earth God Body] or something similar.

Naruto sighed inwardly.

Unfortunately, I have zero points right now. I can’t redeem anything.

Then another thought entered his mind.

But if I kill Kabuto, I’ll earn one hundred points. Then I can start exchanging for abilities again!

Meanwhile, Kabuto was equally astonished by Naruto’s strength.

This is far beyond anything a Chūnin should possess. The intelligence I gathered on him was completely wrong!

However, Kabuto had another problem.

I can’t remain underground forever. If I stay here, I’ll eventually suffocate.

Both of them silently formed their next plans.

The battle was about to begin again.

Rumble!

The ground suddenly heaved and rolled. The Shadow Clone Naruto had left standing upon the surface immediately leaped into the air.

But countless earthen spears erupted from below, taking advantage of the moment when the clone could no longer change direction in midair.

Poof!

The Shadow Clone vanished.

That attack was also a signal.

Naruto’s true body, still concealed in the air, suddenly flickered behind a massive boulder. A Rasengan spun within his right hand as he drove it toward what appeared to be empty space before the rock.

Boom!

Kabuto’s figure abruptly appeared against the boulder, his eyes wide with shock.

He had used the upheaval as cover to emerge from underground, then concealed himself beside the boulder with a camouflage technique.

This was Kabuto’s real body.

Naruto’s Rasengan slammed directly into his abdomen. The impact hurled Kabuto backward and shattered the massive boulder behind him.

“You… You’re a sensory-type ninja!”

Disbelief filled Kabuto’s eyes.

He could not comprehend how much vital information he had failed to uncover. For someone who prided himself on being an elite spy, that failure was almost impossible to accept.

Yet even while the Rasengan tore into his abdomen, Kabuto launched a counterattack. His right hand, coated in a Chakra Scalpel, pierced directly into Naruto’s heart.

Boom!

Kabuto flew backward amid the shattered fragments of stone and did not strike the ground until he had traveled more than ten meters.

However, the wound in his abdomen was already healing at an astonishing rate.

This was Kabuto’s unique medical ninjutsu, [Yin Healing Wound Destruction]. By gathering chakra at the location where he expected to be struck—either before the attack landed or at the instant of impact—he could begin repairing the damage the moment it occurred.

The technique’s greatest weakness was its enormous chakra consumption.

“Ha… Ha…”

Even in that condition, Kabuto managed to laugh.

His own wound was rapidly closing. Naruto, on the other hand, had taken a Chakra Scalpel directly through the heart and collapsed to the ground.

Kabuto was still an elite jōnin. Even while being struck by the Rasengan, he had retained enough composure to counterattack.

“Your strength exceeded every expectation I had,” Kabuto said as he slowly rose. “But this is the end.”

His abdomen had already recovered. Apart from his torn clothing, no visible trace of the Rasengan remained.

Kabuto looked triumphantly at Naruto’s motionless body.

“This rapid recovery is one of the reasons Lord Orochimaru values me so highly.”

Naruto showed no panic as he lay upon the ground.

He could feel his ruptured heart rapidly repairing itself.

When Naruto had exchanged for the divine-level [Sage Body of the Uzumaki Clan], he had wondered whether the resulting [Physical Regeneration] could compare to Wolverine’s healing ability.

Now he finally had his answer.

Even if his regeneration had not yet reached that level, it was not far behind.

A ruptured heart should have killed him almost instantly, yet the damage was already healing.

“Do you know why I attacked you with my real body?” Naruto asked from the ground, staring up at the white clouds. A teasing note entered his voice.

“I already knew your true strength. If I had attacked with a Shadow Clone, it would have vanished the instant your counterattack pierced its heart. The Rasengan would have disappeared with it, and I would have lost my chance to injure you.”

Kabuto listened as he approached. He adjusted his glasses, drew a kunai with his right hand, and looked down at Naruto.

“Exchanging one injury for another was still a foolish decision,” Kabuto replied. “You understand nothing about the true extent of my abilities.”

He drove the kunai toward Naruto’s throat.

“Is that so?”

Naruto’s voice suddenly came from behind him.

Kabuto’s kunai stabbed into the earth. Naruto’s body had vanished from where it had been lying.

Before Kabuto could turn, a wind blade surrounding Naruto’s right hand pierced through his back and tore directly through his heart.

“You… How is this possible?”

Agonizing pain erupted through Kabuto’s chest. He lowered his gaze toward the place where Naruto had been lying, but only the kunai embedded in the ground remained.

“Go ahead,” Naruto said mockingly. “Try regenerating from that.”

His eyes turned cold.

“You’re the one who understands nothing about true power.”

Thud!

Kabuto’s body collapsed to the ground.

The consummate spy, master deceiver, gifted young ninja, and one of the shinobi world’s future great threats had died at Naruto’s hands.

Ding!

[Congratulations, Host. You have killed one jōnin.]

[Reward obtained: 100 system points.]

In the distance, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade all turned toward them. The same look of disbelief appeared in their eyes.

“Kabuto?!”

Orochimaru was more shocked than anyone.

He understood Kabuto’s abilities better than most. Kabuto was a gifted ninja whose strength rivaled Kakashi’s.

Yet Naruto had killed him.

“That Nine-Tails brat…”

Orochimaru’s initial shock gradually faded, replaced by intense curiosity as he stared at Naruto.

“He’s hiding quite a few secrets.”

In the next instant, Orochimaru sank into the earth and disappeared.

He understood that he no longer had any chance of forcing Tsunade to heal his arms.