The third generation Hokage sent Danzo to jail at the beginning

Gamabuntai tried to leap back to move, and the old monkey roared "Defense" at Naruto. One side of the golden cudgel half turned back into monkey form and tried to bite the Raikage.

"Don't underestimate the Kumogakure, you bastard!"

That's too late.

The Raikage, with the Lightning Chakra mode activated at full speed, struck down like a meteorite.

Click!

With a teeth-grinding sound of bone cracking, Uzumaki Naruto's back was broken by the Raikage, and his entire body was curved into a concave shape. It hit, and this didn't look like a clone.

Naruto, death. There was even a lingering trace of confidence in his eyes.

If the original goal of the Raikage was to abduct the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki back to the Kumogakure, then after seeing that such a young child was able to suppress Darui, he, as the Raikage, had no choice but to kill him in a despicable manner.

You can only blame yourself for living in this chaotic world.

Holding Naruto's body, the Raikage snorted coldly, dodged the attack of the Monkey King who had completely transformed into the Infernape form, dodged the blade of Gamabuntai, jumped back to avoid the slug's breath, and was about to issue the order to evacuate.

A shower of laser beams stopped the other party's pursuit. Darui came to the side of the Raikage, looked at Naruto's body with a complicated look, and asked: "Lord Raikage, did you succeed?"

Just as the Raikage Ai was about to nod—

Bang.

Uzumaki Naruto's 'corpse' turned into smoke.

Same old trick again!

Rasengan! Rasengan! Rasengan!

More clones fell from the sky, bombarding the Raikage and Darui with their ancestral blocking Rasengan.

The brand new Naruto crawled out of Wentai's mouth and ran to Wentai's head. He crossed his arms, gloating, obviously proud of his own incredible wisdom. He laughed and said, "I fooled you again, everyone. That clone used a lot of chakra."

The strength of the shadow clone and the severity of the injury it takes before it disappears are both closely related to the skill of the practitioner. Most ninjas' shadow clones are as fragile as glass, but the shadow clones of a skilled ninja like the Third Hokage may not disappear even after receiving a fatal injury. The Third Hokage's shadow clone can even use the Shiki Fuujin while spitting blood.

Naruto was already extremely talented in the art of shadow clones, and was taught by both Jiraiya and the Third Hokage. Now, his shadow clone skills have reached the pinnacle.

The monkey-like Saruman praised Naruto again: "Naruto, you are really talented."

It turned back into the Ruyi Stick and bounced into Naruto's hand, and Naruto danced with the stick.

At this moment, Naruto was like an infinitely refreshing NPC.

A burst of lightning exploded, instantly clearing out the attacking Naruto clones. The Raikage's face turned completely black. He actually made the same mistake as Darui. He hunted geese all day long, but today he was pecked in the eye by a goose.

It's outrageous that this young man in front of me can use such a dangerous technique as Multiple Shadow Clones as if it were free.

In this situation, the Raikage seemed to have returned to the day when he was facing off against Minato Namikaze many years ago, and he praised in his heart that he was indeed worthy of being that guy's child.

"Since we can't find the real one, let's destroy them all. Let's get rid of this toad first!"

The lightning suddenly surged like a raging flame, and in almost an instant, the Raikage adjusted his tactics.

The target of the attack is the big toad in front of you.

The Cloud Ninjas immediately changed their formation. Darui and the Cloud Ninjas cooperated with the Raikage to attack the giant toad with various long-range ninjutsu. The slug's help was also separated, and the acid barrier was evaporated by the lightning technique.

Under the leadership of the lion leader, the Raikage, the Cloud Ninjas, as a lion group, have a completely different aura.

Just like regular ninjas have no way to deal with the Three Fears, the Three Fears are also no match for truly powerful ones like the Raikage. They can mostly only play a supporting role in Kage-level battles.

If it was Jiraiya standing above him, Wen Tai would naturally be no match for the Raikage, but it was Naruto standing above him.

Although Naruto had relied on his abundant chakra, good transformation skills, and toughness to endure the aftereffects of countless shadow clones, he gave the Raikage a big slap in the face.

But in a head-on fight, Naruto still has no chance of winning against the Raikage.

The Raikage grabbed Naruto's golden cudgel with his bare hands, not knowing whether it was his real body or his clone that attacked him, and smashed the screaming Naruto from top to bottom on Gamabuntai's head like a hammer.

Gamabuntai was hit hard by the Raikage! His huge body was hit so hard that his steady steps staggered.

While inflicting heavy damage to the giant toad, the Raikage also began to feel anxious. Why hadn't the reinforcements arrived yet? What happened in the rear?

……

Yamato sheathed his sword, and the ground was littered with the corpses of Cloud Ninjas.

"Kakashi-senpai, this is the last batch."

The Konoha Anbu were cleaning up the final battlefield and collecting the bodies of their companions.

Kakashi stuffed the pill into his mouth and replied tiredly, "Then let's proceed to the final step of the plan. Kill the Raikage!"

Chapter 31 Naruto’s choice

This kid actually has some tricks up his sleeve, but the outcome has already been decided.

Thinking this, the Raikage kicked Naruto away, and Naruto turned into a ball of smoke again.

The Raikage delivered the final blow to the fallen giant toad. At the last moment, Gamabuntai, who was beaten to the point of vomiting blood by the Raikage, shouted, "Naruto, hold on until Jiraiya comes back!" and was forced to cancel the summoning.

Meanwhile, the slug, under the siege led by Darui, could no longer protect Shizune. The slug was forced to release the spiritual connection, and Shizune was captured alive.

The Cloud Ninjas surrounded Shizune. Darui stepped on Shizune, holding a knife across her neck, and shouted to the others: "Little brat, if you don't show your true form, I will have no choice but to kill you."

Shizune tried to yell at Naruto to leave her alone, but before she could say anything, Darui, as if foreknowing what was going on, stomped his foot down hard, burying Shizune's head in the dirt so that she couldn't make a sound.

Darui might be a very good man in his normal state, but now that things have progressed to this point, as a ninja from Kumogakure, he will naturally do anything.

"Damn it... Uncles from Kumogakure, you are too despicable."

Uzumaki Naruto gnashed his teeth and cursed, and was forced to stand up from behind a large tree. At such a young age, he probably didn't understand that he couldn't negotiate with the kidnappers.

Darui sighed inwardly, his face expressionless and cold as he spoke: "Since you care so much about your companions, then surrender! This you in front of me may not be your true self."

Uzumaki Naruto placed the Ruyi Stick on the ground, crossed his arms, and said calmly, "Even if I surrender, you won't let Sister Shizune go, right?"

Naruto, though usually clueless, is incredibly insightful in crucial moments. During the Chunin Exams, a period before the Third Hokage's cheating, Sasuke attempted to surrender to Orochimaru, a disguised candidate. However, Naruto saw immediately that Team 7 would not be spared, and decided to stop Sasuke's surrender and instead engage in direct battle with Orochimaru.

"That's hard to say. You can only confirm this if you surrender." Darui raised his eyelids and said calmly. "You have to decide quickly."

The Raikage said coldly: "Let me break your arms and legs. Come back to the Kumogakure with me, and I'll heal you then!"

Naruto shouted angrily: "Who would let you break your limbs?"

Naruto's brain raced in this situation, trying to find a solution. But even with a cold sweat breaking out, he couldn't figure out how to save Shizune.

"Naruto, they're lying to you." The Ruyi Jingu Bang popped out an eye, and the Monkey King shouted. "The Cloud Ninja has never had credibility!"

Having fought alongside the Third Hokage for many years, Enma was naturally familiar with the reputation of the Cloud Ninja.

Uzumaki Naruto held his head and scratched it in pain, and finally shouted in despair: "Let's fight one-on-one!"

Everyone looked over.

Naruto desperately pointed at the Raikage and said, "One on one! I'll challenge you one on one! If you win, take me away. If you lose, let me go! You are the mighty Raikage, you are not afraid of me, are you?

"As the Raikage, you wouldn't be afraid of me, would you? My father's defeated opponent!!"

The Raikage became furious when he heard the brat's nonsense.

But although he was a reckless man, as the shadow of a village, he would not be easily provoked. He immediately ordered: "Darui, kill her."

Darui received the order, raised his sword, and was about to stab Shizue in the back.

Shizune closed her eyes in despair, thinking, 'Am I going to die here?'

Seeing that the other party had not fallen into the trap, Naruto in front of him panicked and turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared.

"Stop! This time it's really his true form!" A little further away, behind another big tree, Uzumaki Naruto stood up with his face flushed with anxiety.

"If you kill Shizune-nee! I'll run away now! Your target is me, right? Jiraiya-sensei and the others might be back soon."

The Raikage and Darui exchanged glances, and Darui stopped moving.

"Alive...alive." The tip of the knife cut through Jingyin's clothes and stopped at the skin on her back. She could even feel the temperature of the tip of the knife.

The Raikage stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the emerald eyes of Uzumaki Naruto: "Kid, keep your word."

The purpose of this battle is to kill the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Raikage understands this very clearly.

Their eyes met, and Naruto said with all his might: "I, Uzumaki Naruto, always keep my word! But I am different from you despicable adults!"

The Raikage Ai's hair stood on end, a buzzing sound emanated from the surroundings, and the blue lightning chakra was already activated: "It only takes me a moment to defeat a brat like you. But if this is also a clone, then she will die."

The Raikage did not transform into a high-speed lightning as usual in battle, but instead walked slowly towards the yellow-haired kid in front of him with the aura of a powerful man - whether the person in front of him was a clone or not still needed final confirmation.

The tall and burly figure weighed down on Naruto like a mountain, and he was now sweating profusely.

The monkey demon beside him, who had transformed into the Ruyi Jingu Bang, shouted urgently: "Naruto, don't believe them! Retreat!"

But how could Naruto really abandon his teammates? He withstood the pressure, mobilized all his chakra to prepare for battle, and stared at the Raikage.

"Jiraiya-sensei, please hurry up. I can't take it anymore."

When Naruto thought about this, Jiraiya never disappointed him.

At the moment the Raikage approached—

"Your plot has failed, Raikage."

Jiraiya's shout suddenly rang out from a distance!

The Raikage suddenly turned around, his pupils shrinking suddenly——

Raikage Ai, who felt that he was almost successful, was a little bit unbelievable. He looked at Jiraiya and Tsunade who were walking towards him, followed by a Konoha ninja with thick eyebrows, and a team of Konoha Anbu wearing animal masks nearby.

The person with thick eyebrows was carrying on his shoulders the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, who had lost his combat ability.

Killer Bee, who had fully transformed into a tailed beast, was defeated so quickly... Also, Konoha's reinforcements arrived so quickly. Where are our Kumo Ninja reinforcements...

Was the information leaked? Was it him? Sensing something was wrong, the Raikage thought of the mysterious masked man.

"The life of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki must be more important than a little girl," Jiraiya said, staring at the Raikage.

The Raikage's face was gloomy at this time: "Hmph. Hand Killer Bee over to me, and I'll return this little girl to you!"

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, and slumped against the tree trunk, then turned into a cloud of smoke with a bang.

A leaf fell from the tree and transformed back into Naruto's original form in mid-air.

This is the real body. Naruto immediately ran to the Konoha army and greeted his acquaintance, Teacher Kai.

Seeing this, Jiraiya smiled with relief, while the Raikage's expression grew even darker.

"Naruto, well done."

'This kid is really insidious.'

As mentioned at the beginning, Uzumaki Naruto, who is usually confused but very sharp at critical moments, has never believed anything the Raikage said.

Darui was truly impressed by the young man before him. His transformation and clone techniques were truly masterful. He thought to himself, what a shame he wasn't from the Kumogakure Village.

Chapter 32: The Fuse of the Ninja World War

A few minutes ago, the battlefield reached a turning point.

Shichimon Kai's Day Tiger smashed the Eight-Tails' octopus tentacles, and Tsunade's powerful punch smashed the tailed beast Killer Bee into the mountain wall. Jiraiya took the opportunity to throw out the fairy seal.

Jiraiya in Sage Mode, along with Gai who had opened the Seven Gates and Tsunade's extraordinary strength, finally beat Killer Bee back to human form after it had completely transformed into a tailed beast. The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was covered in wounds and was carried on Gai's shoulders, completely losing his combat power.

"Eight Gates Ninjutsu...it's truly amazing." Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the blue steam rising from Kai's body.

Kai wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned: "Kakashi and the others are clearing out the Kumo Ninja in the rear, preparing to encircle and suppress the Raikage!"

Kai explained in detail to Jiraiya and Tsunade that Kakashi was leading the team to clean up the Cloud Ninjas in the rear, as well as the subsequent plan to strangle the Raikage.

Tsunade snorted coldly: "The ninja world hasn't changed at all in all these years."

War?

Jiraiya suddenly remembered the war-torn streets of the Rain Country, the orphans he had met, and the disciples of his own Frog Squad.

Jiraiya was silent for a moment, then finally shook his head: "Let's stop here."

With the Eight-Tails in hand, this conflict can be contained to a "border friction." The Kumo Ninja have suffered heavy losses, and the Raikage will be unable to take action in the short term. If the pursuit continues, it could truly trigger the Fourth Shinobi World War.

If Kakashi and Yamato were leading the team at this time, they might be able to clarify the pros and cons and convince Jiraiya, but Gai doesn't have that eloquence.

Jiraiya can be said to be the one who hates war the most among the three ninjas.

There's no need to elaborate on Orochimaru, the inherently evil Frankenstein. Tsunade only hates war because she felt the personal pain of losing her lover and brother. In other words, if Kato Dan hadn't died, if Nawaki had become a hero of Konoha, Tsunade's attitude might not have been the same... Jiraiya, on the other hand, deeply abhors pointless fighting.