Naruto: Let the glory of the giants spread throughout the ninja world!

A few kilometers away from the retreat position of the seventh squad, in a group of reefs, Ryukura Akira staggered ashore from the shallow water.

The purple dragon scales peeled off one by one, turning into fragments and dissipating into the air, revealing the human figures below.

Ryukura Akira knelt on the rocks, shirtless, panting heavily.

He shook his hair and then stood up.

"The dragon-human form is quite peculiar; it actually drains my stamina significantly." Ryukura Akira's voice carried a hint of surprise, something that had never happened before.

It's important to know that whether it's the Primal Titan or the Sand Chrysalis, Akira Nagakura doesn't consume his own physical strength when he transforms and fights, as if he and his Titan body are in different dimensions.

He looked down at the faint scorch mark on his right shoulder, left by Kakashi's Lightning Blade when it pierced through the gaps in the scales.

"Even my own injuries will be carried over?" Ryukura Akira frowned. This dragon-human mode was really strange.

Ryukura Akira then remembered the introduction to the Dragon People: "[Giants fought dragons, giants became dragons, dragons became giants, and the Dragon People were born.]"

It seems that the relationship between dragons and giants is not simply one of evolution.

Without thinking too much, Ryukura Akira shook his head.

"The Sharingan's genjutsu... I've always been curious whether people are affected by genjutsu after transforming, and now it seems that at least Dragonmen are."

Ryukura Akira shuddered as he recalled the effects he had seen in his illusion. He had somehow returned to the hour before his college entrance exam, only to discover to his despair that he had forgotten everything he knew.

He picked up a folded cloak from the reef, unfolded it, and draped it over himself. In the distance, the poisonous fog was slowly dissipating over the sea.

"Never mind, I wasn't going there to kill anyone anyway." Ryukura Akira pulled up his hood, turned and walked deeper into the reefs. "I was just testing the power of this body."

His figure quickly disappeared into the mist, leaving only a trail of wet footprints, which were gradually erased by the waves.

---

Meanwhile, Class 7 and Yukie Fujiyama finally found temporary safety on a barely intact piece of ship wreckage.

The wreckage drifted away from the toxic smog-filled sea, the air became fresh, and everyone breathed it in greedily.

Naruto lay sprawled on the wooden board, the red rashes on his arms from the poisonous mist still throbbing, but he no longer had the strength to scratch them.

"So... what exactly is that thing?" He stared at the gray sky, his voice full of confusion. "It's purple, it spews poison, and it can swim. I've never heard of such a monster before."

"It shouldn't be an ordinary beast." Sasuke sat in a slightly higher position, leaning against a raised wooden board. His two Sharingan eyes, which were not completely closed, were still scanning the surrounding sea vigilantly.

Kakashi chimed in, "That's right, doesn't this situation seem familiar to you?"

"That's right! I remember now, it's the giant that Ryukura Akira turned into when we met in the Land of Waves!" Naruto clapped his hands in sudden realization.

"That's right." Kakashi nodded. "This guy is exactly the same as when we first met that giant. Judging from that guy's appearance, he probably also has his own code of conduct."

"Maybe it's an expulsion? What is she protecting?" Sasuke made a completely unrelated guess.

"It's not tracking us," Sakura added, wiping the seawater off Yukie's face with a handkerchief.

"Logically, if it were a targeted attack, it should have given chase. But after the illusion was broken, it just went berserk in place and showed no intention of pursuing us." She paused.

"Does this mean it might only operate in that area, and we've strayed into its territory?"

As Fujiyama Yukie listened to the discussion, she was speechless, wondering why these people seemed so familiar with being attacked by monsters.

She just stared blankly at her hands, which were trembling uncontrollably.

"Why, why am I trembling? This damn body! I've already given up on dying, so why am I trembling?"