Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

Because the energy was so immense, the terrifying aura released during the Tailed Beast Ball's formation could be sensed by every living creature for miles around.

First, the ants underground noticed it. Then, the beasts in hiding followed.

Sensing danger, their survival instincts kicked in. They scattered in every direction to escape the looming threat.

The highly perceptive ninja could also sense this overwhelming pressure—but unlike the animals, they couldn't run.

Naruto's shadow clones blocked every path of retreat.

The only hope left was the two Jinchūriki—Yugito and her comrade. Everyone looked to them for salvation.

What they didn't realize was...

Even the two Jinchūriki themselves were becoming anxious.

The Tailed Beast Ball was the tailed beasts' ultimate attack—and the only counter to one was another Tailed Beast Ball.

But if they used it now, the result would be devastating.

Everyone was too close. One mistake could lead to the deaths of their own comrades.

Regret flooded them.

They should've driven the others away earlier.

Or better yet, completed this mission alone. It would've been so much better than being tied down like this.

"Nine-Tails Jinchūriki! Don't fire the Tailed Beast Ball—I'll evacuate everyone immediately," Yugito demanded coldly.

She was trying to negotiate.

But Naruto ignored her. He continued feeding chakra into the black sphere, making it larger, darker, and exponentially more dangerous.

He had already given them a chance.

If these Cloud Ninjas chose not to retreat, that wasn't his problem anymore.

As the Tailed Beast Ball swelled with energy, Yugito's face turned grim inside her Two-Tails form. Her brows were furrowed tight.

"If you stop now, I'll go persuade Lord Raikage to halt the war! Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, are you listening?"

Yugito forced herself to remain calm, trying to reason with Naruto.

But only a fool would believe such empty promises.

Yes, Jinchūriki were battlefield nukes—but that alone wasn't enough to stop a war.

Besides, Naruto never intended to stop the war.

He needed it—to create more opportunities.

As the ball's energy continued to rise, the two Jinchūriki attacked Naruto with everything they had. But it was useless.

Every time one tried to approach in full beast form, Naruto would aim the Tailed Beast Ball directly at them to scare them back.

If they tried launching long-range fireballs, Naruto's shadow clones would counter with massive fireballs of their own.

Eventually, the Jinchūriki began using their tailed beast bodies to help their comrades fight Naruto's clones.

But every time they did, Naruto would redirect his focus back to them—ready to annihilate both them and the Cloud Ninjas.

This was the most frustrating battle the two had ever fought.

In her fury, Yugito even had a brief, dangerous thought:

Should I just let him kill them all so I won't have to hold back anymore? Then I can fight him full force.

But that thought passed quickly.

Despite everything, she couldn't bear to see her comrades die.

Yet there was no other way.

The pitch-black Tailed Beast Ball had grown massive, an abyss of energy so dense that no light could penetrate it. It now completely obscured Naruto's body in shadow.

Finally—after a long wait—the Tailed Beast Ball was twenty times larger than Naruto himself.

This was his first time pushing the technique to such an extreme. Even he wasn't sure how powerful it would be.

According to the system, a Tailed Beast Ball could exceed the size of the beast itself—but that required time, which Naruto didn't have.

This was enough.

There were three Cloud Ninjas in the south. This should be more than enough to wipe them out.

One of the Cloud Ninjas, fighting Naruto's clone, broke away and leapt into a tree—but was quickly intercepted and pinned down again.

Seeing the monstrous black sphere in the sky, fear overtook him.

"Lady Yugito! What do we do about the Tailed Beast Ball?!"

What do we do?

If you people weren't here, I'd have options!

You're in the way!

You can't even get past a shadow clone!

"Kyuubi Jinchūriki! Tell me what you want in exchange for sparing them!"

Yugito's voice was almost pleading.

She hoped Naruto would hesitate—maybe hold off releasing the Tailed Beast Ball.

Being a Jinchūriki herself, she could sense that Naruto had stopped adding chakra to it.

More than ten seconds had passed. Maybe he was waiting… giving them a chance to negotiate.

Lower yourself, Yugito thought. Agree to anything he asks.

It's just a promise. No need to keep it.

But she was wrong.

Naruto wasn't negotiating. He was calculating.

He wanted to find the optimal spot to strike.

Attacking front, back, left, or right would only kill one or two. That would be a waste.

No—he'd attack from above and bomb the entire area.

His clones had herded the six surviving Cloud Ninjas into a sixty-meter-wide area.

Sixty meters… Let's see if this Tailed Beast Ball can clear that.

Fwoosh!

Chakra arms burst with flames, launching Naruto and the black sphere high into the air.

"ROAR!!" Yugito, sensing what he was doing, let out a desperate, furious roar. Anger, regret, fear—all her emotions exploded.

A Tailed Beast Ball began to form in her own mouth—threatening to retaliate.

If Naruto dropped his, she'd fire hers.

Too bad for her—he didn't care.

He hurled the Tailed Beast Ball from the sky.

In that instant, the spring breeze shifted.

All floating objects in the air froze the moment they encountered the sphere.

"RUN!!" screamed Yugito and her comrades.

But it was too late.

The sphere fell too quickly.

They couldn't escape.

Only a teleportation jutsu could save them—but not everyone was Namikaze Minato.

"AAAHHH!!!"

Six Cloud Ninjas let out their final screams.

Two of them, desperate and furious, forced Yugito to fire a Tailed Beast Ball at Naruto in retaliation.

They wanted to bury him with them.

The north wind howled. Black clouds cloaked the sky, letting through only a few rays of sunlight.

More than ten kilometers away, Konoha's supply unit continued marching—waiting silently for Naruto's return.

Bored, some of them began joking.

"Why's Naruto taking so long? Wasn't he just buying oranges?"

"Maybe he got sick on the way."

"Haha! Maybe he stopped to 'relieve' some needs."

"You idiot," a Chunin snorted lewdly. "Come on, Naruto's not a kid anymore."

"You're gossiping about your commanding officer. I'm reporting you," Inuzuka Hana said coldly.

The jokester turned pale and immediately begged her not to tell Naruto.

But Hana didn't back down. She scowled and turned away.

Suddenly—

BOOOOM!

A thunderous explosion rocked the entire area.

The ground shook violently, like an earthquake.

Hana, as reconnaissance team leader, immediately jumped into a tree to scout.

What she saw left her speechless.

Two blinding spheres of light expanded in the distance—like twin suns unleashing devastation in every direction.

Only one word could describe it: Armageddon.

"ABANDON THE SUPPLIES! RETREAT!!"

Hana screamed louder than she ever had before.

The destructive power was so overwhelming, she couldn't tell if they were far enough to be safe.

Nothing else mattered now—just survival.

Ten seconds after the team dropped everything and ran, the explosion finally stopped.

The sky turned blue. The dark clouds faded. The golden sun peeked through gently.

It was like the Tailed Beast Ball had never happened.

But Hana was drenched in cold sweat.

She suddenly remembered—Naruto had gone in that direction.

"Oh no… Naruto! Is he alright?!"

Back at ground zero, Naruto stood stunned.

He hadn't expected this.

The Tailed Beast Ball didn't just destroy the area—it had transformed the land into a massive crater.

He had been caught in the edge of the blast, unable to dodge. On top of that, he had been hit by two other Tailed Beast Balls.

Luckily, he wasn't at the explosion's center. Also lucky—Yugito's attacks had been hastily formed and weak.

And most importantly, Naruto still had 10% of the One-Tail's chakra left.

At the last second, he used it to survive.

What does it feel like to almost kill yourself?

Exactly like this.

Yugito and her beast also survived—blocking the attack with their tailed beast body.

They were injured, but nothing fatal.

But Yugito was devastated.

She'd watched every one of her comrades die.

"Yugito! Don't act recklessly! There's something strange about the Nine-Tails… I sense the One-Tail's chakra in him!"

The voice of Nibi, the Two-Tails, echoed in her mind.

The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had eight tails now, and his size matched that of a full Tailed Beast.

But what shocked Nibi was the pattern of curse marks on Naruto's tailed beast body—something only the One-Tail, Shukaku, had.

This… was unnatural.

Was Naruto really a dual Jinchūriki?

Even Nibi couldn't believe it.

But Yugito wasn't listening.

Her eyes were filled with rage.

She had lost nine comrades.

Her guilt and fury consumed her.

"Shut up! I'm going to kill him!"

"Tailed Beast Ball!"

She formed another sphere instantly.

It was as easy now as throwing a shuriken.

"You think you're the only one who can do this?"

Naruto was unfazed. If she wanted to fight, so be it.

They were the same size now—who was afraid of who?

Opening his mouth, he quickly formed and fired several Tailed Beast Balls.

They lacked the overwhelming power of his earlier one, but they were still deadly.

If that first one was a nuke, these were mortars—smaller but still destructive.

Like a tailed beast machine gun, the battlefield lit up with chaos.

They blasted each other while dodging, tearing the landscape apart.

What had once been a beautiful stretch of land was now a wasteland of craters.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A barrage of blasts echoed nonstop.

To outsiders, it was a scene of horror.

Inuzuka Hana, riding her dog toward the battlefield, stopped several kilometers away—terrified by what she saw.

This wasn't a battle. It was a clash of gods.

She was just a Chunin. What could she even do?

Forget it, she thought. Just trust Naruto.

He had eight tails. The enemy had two. That meant Naruto was winning—without even using his ninth tail.

The smart choice was to stay far away and not slow him down.

That's exactly what Hana did.

And it was the right call.

If she had rushed in to help, she would've only been a burden.

"Master Naruto, please tell me if you need my help…"

Just then, the voice of the Nine-Tails echoed in Naruto's mind.

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