This Naruto is too easily persuaded.

Mizuki has completed the first stage of his transformation; his muscles are bulging and tiger stripes are appearing.

"Go to hell, you brat!"

Mizuki charged forward, wielding a massive Wind Demon Hand Sword.

However, Naruto remained relaxed and at ease when Mizuki charged at him like a cannonball.

He hovered back and forth along the edge of the Wind Demon's sword like a falling leaf, even having time to observe Mizuki's condition.

"Increased muscle density, beast-like pupils, and strange patterns... Is this your trump card?"

Naruto dodged a heavy punch to the side, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Compared to this, the potion you just drank doesn't seem like something you could make."

"Enough with the nonsense, you fox spirit!"

Shuimu roared, its offensive growing increasingly fierce.

Naruto became a little more serious, but still didn't feel any pressure.

In the grass, Akamaru whimpered uneasily.

Kiba Inuzuka stroked Akamaru's head, cold sweat dripping down his nose.

"Mizuki... is he really that strong? And Naruto even has time to chat while facing Mizuki's attacks?"

At this moment, Naruto was indeed in complete control.

Although Mizuki's strength has increased, it is still within a controllable range.

He wanted to stall a little longer to see if he could extract more information, such as the meaning of "fox spirit" or the source of the potion.

"Damn it...you little brat! Are you looking down on me with that look?"

Shuimu, who had been unable to break through for a long time, felt greatly insulted.

"Then I'll show you true power!"

The air around him began to distort slightly, releasing a powerful aura.

Its massive body swelled up again, and its bestial features became even more pronounced, its skin completely covered by yellow and black tiger fur.

Mizuki was completely transformed into a half-human, half-tiger monster, his speed and strength increasing several times in an instant.

"What?!"

Naruto's pupils contracted.

A second-stage transformation?

The intelligence deviated in an instant.

Naruto's body was still anticipating the movement according to the rhythm of his first stage, and his body was in a relaxed state where the old strength had just been exhausted and the new strength had not yet been generated.

"die!"

Mizuki's figure vanished into thin air, and when he reappeared, the enormous claw was less than three inches from Naruto's throat.

Too fast! There's no way to dodge it!

The aura of death was overwhelming, and Naruto's body froze for half a second in that fatal moment.

"Tooth filling!!"

A high-speed spinning whirlwind crashed into us from the side without regard for anything else.

The moment Ya noticed something was wrong, her body acted before her mind could process it.

He used a ninjutsu that he had never been able to master.

boom!

However, faced with the enormous difference in strength, Kiba Inuzuka only managed to stop Mizuki for a second before Mizuki casually swatted away Kiba's spin as if swatting a fly.

"puff!"

Kiba Inuzuka spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying out like a rag doll, crashing heavily into a tree trunk and losing consciousness.

"tooth!"

This horrific scene finally brought Naruto to his senses.

In the brief moment Naruto had desperately fought for, he unleashed all his survival instincts, instantly creating distance between himself and his opponent.

As Naruto looked at Kiba, whose fate was unknown, his heart pounded violently, and an unprecedented fear and lingering dread welled up in his heart.

I almost died...

If it weren't for the teeth coming at me, I would have been torn to shreds.

Was I actually testing them? Was I actually trying to extract information? Why did I use my full strength from the very beginning against this monster whose true nature I knew nothing about?

When fear reaches its peak, some people become despondent, while others unleash extreme aggression.

Naruto raised his head, his eyes showing no trace of composure, but rather an extreme aggression caused by shock.

"I shouldn't have given you the chance to transform in the first place..."

Naruto muttered to himself, his body trembling slightly with excitement.

Subsequently, he formed the cross-shaped Ren seal, which he was most familiar with.

"To prevent you from having a third stage, I'm going to beat you to a pulp!"

Bang bang bang bang bang! ! !

Countless figures instantly engulfed the forest.

Mizuki was about to give chase when he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

He looked around in horror—

The trees, the open ground, the rocks—Naruto was everywhere.

Not ten or a hundred, but hundreds or thousands of Narutos.

Naruto's faces were expressionless, only filled with a chilling killing intent born from the stress.

All the clones simultaneously formed hand seals, then took a deep breath, and the air seemed to thin out instantly.

Combination Ninjutsu: Wind Release: Infinite Breakthrough!

"Wait, wait... I surrender, I surrender!"

At this moment, Mizuki finally felt fear and let out a desperate scream.

But it was too late.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom!

The sky was instantly engulfed by countless air cannons.

The land seemed to have been plowed through, and the continuous, enormous sounds of tearing through the air and explosions pulverized swathes of trees.

The roar and explosion lasted for a full minute.

The location where Mizuki had originally stood turned into a huge, deep pit emitting black smoke, and all the clones disappeared due to exhaustion of chakra.

Naruto collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

The huge explosion alerted the village.

Moments later, the Third Hokage arrived at the scene with the Anbu, only to find a scene resembling the aftermath of a natural disaster.

"this……"

Even though it was expected, the third generation's pipe almost fell to the ground when he arrived at the scene.

Was this level of destruction caused by a ninja academy student?

"Naruto."

The Third Hokage looked at Naruto, who was covered in dust and dirt, and was bandaging the wounds of the unconscious Kiba, with a somewhat complicated expression.

"What about Shuimu?"

Naruto pointed to the large pit next to him.

"Maybe it's inside, or maybe it's everywhere."

Naruto's voice trembled slightly, not because of the killing, but because of the lingering fear.

He almost died.

"Grandpa, if your enemy suddenly became several times stronger, how would you deal with it?"

The third generation was stunned for a moment, then understood.

He had actually been watching the entire battle using his telescope technique and knew that Naruto was somewhat shocked to encounter such an unexpected situation in his first life-or-death battle.

So he comforted her:

"These kinds of unexpected situations are unavoidable; we can only prepare in advance as much as possible. You've done a great job."

"Not only did they protect their comrades, but they also completed their mission and defeated a powerful enemy."

Naruto lowered his head, looking at the blood stained his hands from bandaging Kiba's wounds, and muttered to himself:

"So, you're going to prepare more?"

…………

The room was dimly lit.

He huddled in the corner, his gaze occasionally sweeping out the window.

Although the Third Hokage assured him that Mizuki was dead, the sudden sense of fear caused by that intelligence discrepancy still haunted him.

The moment Mizuki's claws were about to slit his throat, the image of Kiba Inuzuka coughing up blood and flying backward replayed in his mind like a nightmare.

"What if it was just a clone?"

"What if he has accomplices?"

"What if there's a backup plan?"

This anxiety kept Naruto awake at night.

So, after taking a shower, he first sent a message to Lan Ranfa.

Then I opened the forum and posted a question:

[How can I ensure my safety after nearly being killed by a powerful enemy who has undergone a second transformation?]