This wasn't Naruto and Sasuke being sneaky. It was because they both knew just how strong Haku really was.
Among the new generation, he was the only one who could keep up with Shanks.
Plus, they had a history with Zabuza and Haku. They knew Haku well, and because of that, they went all out right away.
At times like this, forget honor—just team up and go!
Sure, it might seem like Naruto and Sasuke were playing dirty. But look at it another way—Guan Yu from *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* was seen as a big deal, right? And even then, when fighting Lu Bu, it still took three people.
Same thing here. Haku isn't someone a normal person can take on alone.
"Lightning Serpent: Great Raikiri!!"
"Double Rasengan!"
Blue lightning burst from Sasuke's right hand, crackling in the air. Snake-shaped lightning wrapped around his arm, and the piercing force was so sharp it didn't even make much noise tearing through the air.
Naruto's Rasengan looked normal, but it was anything but.
The Double Rasengan—two layers of Rasengan spinning in opposite directions.
Such a high-level chakra control, especially from someone with so much chakra, was kind of insane.
Both of them opened with their strongest attacks.
But Haku's face was still calm, and lightning was already reflecting in his eyes.
"Soru!"
Haku moved fast—so fast that Sasuke only caught a blur.
The next second—
Zzzzt!!
The jutsu in his hand vanished.
A huge force slammed into his chest, followed by intense pain, like his ribcage had been cracked open.
"Ninjutsu: Air Swallow Technique!!"
Sasuke reacted fast. The moment he got hit, he used a jutsu that made his upper body swell.
But right after that—
*Bang!!*
Sasuke, puffed up like a balloon, was kicked into the air and smashed into the frozen ground.
At the same time, Haku was also hit by Naruto's attack — though it only struck his palm.
He caught Naruto's attack directly, but the strong spinning force behind it still caught him off guard.
"How is it this powerful?!"
Under that huge force, Haku's balance started to break, and Naruto spotted the opening.
His move might not work perfectly on Haku, but this was still a chance. The moment Haku lost balance because of the Rasengan — that was his window.
"Rasengan Barrage!"
The Rasengan left Naruto's palm just then, and his body started spinning too. His hands became flat palms, almost like he was using Rotation.
Chakra appeared on both palms.
In the next moment, countless palm strikes flew toward Haku, who was off balance from the Rasengan.
But Haku wasn't helpless either — when it came to pure Taijutsu, he wasn't weak at all.
As soon as he was hit by the Rasengan, Haku pressed both palms down, and his spinning body slammed the Rasengan straight into the ice.
*Boom!!*
The Rasengan was smashed into the ice by Haku. At the same time, Naruto's follow-up attack was already closing in.
"You're too slow, Naruto!"
Haku said calmly. If the attacks had landed together, they might've hit him — but Naruto clearly couldn't pull that off.
"Blade-less Style: Shattered Lake!"
Haku's leg suddenly looked like a blade. The air around it shrank, and a huge force began to gather around his leg.
The next second, he struck.
*Boom!!*
A terrifying slash burst from Haku's leg. Unlike a normal slash, there was no flash of a blade — just the sound of the air being torn apart.
Within a hundred meters, the air was shredded like a net. The huge pressure instantly crushed Naruto's attack.
There was no such thing as defense here — whoever hit harder won.
The chakra on Naruto's hands scattered from the force, and his body took a direct hit. Haku stomped him down into the ice.
*Boom!!*
The ice within a hundred meters shattered. Cracks and flying chunks of ice covered the battlefield.
Not far away, Sasuke had just gotten back up. Seeing this, he rushed in again.
But before he could even make a move, Haku had already charged at him.
*Bang!*
A simple hit. Just a plain punch from Haku — but Sasuke had to use all his strength just to block it. His whole body shook, like he couldn't take it anymore. The bones in his chest even cracked again.
"H-How... How is this even possible...?"
Sasuke clenched his teeth, staring at Haku in disbelief. Was the gap in power really this big now?
"I've been in the New World for too long — this was bound to happen.
My Taijutsu has already reached its limit, but you and Naruto haven't."
Haku explained. His Taijutsu had already reached the highest level he could reach. Of course, he hadn't shown everything yet — but he was already at the peak.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!!"
"Numbers don't matter to a real fighter, Naruto!"
Haku punched Sasuke back again. In the next moment, the power of the Devil Fruit appeared on his body—his whole body turned into clear, shining ice.
"Ice Spears!"
With a lift of his hand, the ice under his feet shifted. Dozens of huge ice spears shot out, blasting away all of Naruto's shadow clones—including the real one.
The difference in power was just too big. Haku hadn't even used much strength yet, but when everyone saw the frozen battlefield, they realized how terrifying Haku really was. They weren't even on the same level.
They were in completely different leagues now.
"A real fighter, huh? Haku, Big Bro Shanks never told me what that really means.
If numbers don't matter, then why are there so many pirates in this new era? Why are there so many Marines?"
Naruto's voice rang out, and with it came a stronger power.
A different kind of chakra.
At that moment, all the top fighters on the battlefield turned to look at Naruto. As strong fighters, they all had a kind of instinct.
Even Orochimaru couldn't ignore what was happening on Naruto's side…
"What's going on?"
His fight with Kakashi paused for a moment. Even Kakashi couldn't tell what was happening to Naruto.
Looking over, the battlefield where Haku, Naruto, and Sasuke were fighting was now full of thousands of Narutos. The countless shadow clones filled the whole area.
If it was just that, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But now, the chakra inside all these clones started merging together.
"Is this… a way to release all the chakra at once through the shadow clones?"
"No, it's not that simple."
If it were, Orochimaru wouldn't be reacting like this.
The others had no idea what was happening.
The only one who really knew was Naruto himself.
Every clone was an individual—each one its own version of himself. Once it was created, it could no longer be called "him."
So combining the chakra of all the clones wasn't as easy as it looked, even if the chakra was the same.
Naruto's current state was like pouring water from a big bottle into cups, and then turning the water in those cups back into one single bottle again.
It was a strange, almost impossible state...
But the final result was simple: a merging of power.
"As long as people share the same beliefs and will, then bonds can form between them.
A so-called strong person is really just someone who steps forward from among many others. If you gather the strength of enough people, then… the strong one is everyone."
"This move… I made it especially for Big Bro Shanks."
Because someone as strong as him—someone with natural talent, big dreams, and powerful will—was someone I could never catch up to in my whole life.
So… I had to bring everyone's strength together."
"Haku!! Try facing this power built on shared hearts and belief!"
All of Naruto's clones began forming hand signs. The merged chakra now carried the power of will. Even Haku could feel how that power was pressing down on his Devil Fruit abilities.
At this moment, Naruto had used the new era's system to walk a different path. It wasn't perfect yet, but he had truly started something new.
This was the kind of power Rikudou Sennin originally imagined for Ninshu.
The final form of Ninshu's power was the bond — the connection between people's hearts.
In Rikudou Sennin's vision, people's chakra could be shared and blended with one another. But this needed certain conditions. Not only that — it also needed a power that could bring people's hearts together as one.
Of course, with the appearance of chakra, forming these bonds became a bit easier.
But even during Rikudou Sennin's lifetime, no one managed to truly take that step.
In his eyes, it would only happen in the far future — when the world of ninjas was pushed hard enough by the pressure of the sages.
Only then, when that pressure reached a breaking point, would the ninja world come together with one shared belief.
But at this very moment, Naruto had already taken that step.
Thousands of versions of Naruto's chakra merged together, and the burning chakra power formed his own domain in the sky.
Orochimaru watched as a small part of his Conqueror's Haki was broken apart. He finally understood what this was.
"The true form of ultimate power."
"A new path… it's already been created?"
Only he understood what Naruto's words meant. This was already a level only the world's top fighters could reach.
"The Uzumaki clan... really is something else."
"But still..."
Orochimaru's eyes were still fixed on Haku.
"Is that so? Still…"
"Naruto, you probably can't keep this up for long, can you?"
Haku spoke. In this state, lasting even one minute would be impressive.
And while Naruto's power had changed in nature, it still came down to one thing — how much power he could put out.
"Elemental Style: Great Ice Spear!"
A massive ice spear, hundreds of meters long, formed in front of him. Haku stood on top of it as it shot straight toward Naruto.
Naruto didn't try to dodge at all. His gathered power exploded outward. His burning chakra turned solid in that moment and rushed toward the ice spear.
The moment the two forces collided, lightning tore through the sky.
Orange-red chakra and blinding white energy lit up the entire battlefield.
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