Under the pincer attack of the Third Raikage and Senju Tobirama, Naruto had no room to dodge. He was forced to take their techniques head-on. His eyes sharpened as his aura erupted once more.
This time, the fiery current around his body became almost tangible, visible even to ordinary eyes. With one hand he stopped the Raikage's One-Finger Hell Stab, and with the other he caught Tobirama's Hard Whirlpool Water Blade.
The high-speed rotating drill of water churned against Naruto's palm, trying to pierce through the protective aura and stab into his flesh.
Yet no matter how desperately Tobirama pressed, that seemingly thin layer of ki refused to give way.
"Unfortunately, your drill can't pierce the heavens."
With a sigh, Naruto clenched his fist. An irresistible surge of monstrous strength exploded outward, shattering the watery drill—and Tobirama's arm along with it.
He followed through with a strike that blew apart Tobirama's Edo Tensei body.
Compared to Tobirama, the Raikage's attack had been far more dangerous.
The Raikage's index finger had landed dead center in Naruto's palm. Though Naruto quickly crushed his wrist, he could clearly feel it—he had been injured.
Opening his hand, Naruto saw a patch of skin no bigger than a bean lifted and torn back.
Blood seeped from the wound.
Naruto's expression grew serious.
Even though he hadn't activated his most powerful Yang Release chakra mode, he had gone all out with his ki—yet still, he had been hurt.
That alone proved the terrifying penetrating force of the One-Finger Hell Stab.
Since beginning his Kame-Sennin training, this was the very first time he'd been injured.
With a rough rub, he tore away the lifted skin. In an instant, new flesh grew back. Even without Yang Release, with Kurama sealed inside him, his regeneration bordered on monstrous.
If one hadn't been watching closely, they'd never even notice he'd been injured at all.
Naruto could have chosen to redirect the Raikage's attack, as in the original timeline—using the Raikage's spear to pierce his own shield. But that held little meaning. So instead, he chose to take it head-on.
If it could break through his defense, then it only meant he still had room to grow.
"…Continue training."
"Third Raikage, I want you to use the One-Finger Hell Stab every time."
"Second Hokage, I want you to unleash your strongest Flying Raijin Slash."
"Second Tsuchikage, use your full power with Added-Weight Rock Technique."
At the same time, Naruto deliberately lowered the output of his ki. Training without taking damage was pointless. With his recovery speed, he'd be back to normal in no time anyway.
"But just three of you isn't enough! I need more pressure!"
Pressing his hands together, he shouted:
"Impure World Reincarnation!"
Two more coffins rose from the earth.
"Well, let's see who dared to summon this great lord again."
Two figures stepped out—one gold-haired, the other silver-haired, whisker-like markings on their cheeks, and twin horns jutting from their foreheads.
The most infamous criminals in the history of Kumogakure—Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Though this time, they lacked the treasured tools of the Sage of Six Paths.
Mū's gravity sharpened Naruto's endurance. His battles with the Third Raikage honed his combat sense. Tobirama's Bringer-of-Darkness trained his ki perception. His forbidden jutsu added more variety. Kinkaku and Ginkaku provided unpredictable emergencies.
This was comprehensive training.
And because Edo Tensei bodies could not die, Naruto could go all-out without fear of breaking them. Perfect sparring partners.
With White Zetsu serving as endless sacrifices, each summon retained their full strength.
White Zetsu were everywhere—Naruto could grab a few anytime.
Once, Madara toyed with the Five Kage singlehandedly. Today, Naruto would pit himself against three Kage plus the Gold and Silver Brothers. True, his opponents weren't exactly the same as the Five Kage Madara faced, but still…
Back when Kakarot finished training on King Kai's planet, his power jumped from a few hundred to over eight thousand. Was it so unreasonable for Naruto's power to double too?
Day after day passed. Under this all-around training regimen, Naruto's strength skyrocketed.
Whenever he adapted to the pressure and it felt lacking, he simply summoned more Edo Tensei sparring partners. Over time, the numbers swelled. He even made a trip to the Land of Water, digging up Kirigakure's ancestral graves.
Eventually, the five great Kage were all gathered, along with notorious criminals and elites.
By rough count, Naruto's Edo Tensei sparring force had swelled to the size of a platoon.
He figured it wouldn't be long before he could summon Senju Hashirama himself. Only that caliber of opponent would push him further.
As Naruto tirelessly trained outside, inside the seal space Little Goku began clamoring to train as well.
That spelled misery for Kurama. After Shukaku had been tricked into sparring once—and beaten black and blue—he refused to ever visit Naruto's seal again. Which left Kurama as Little Goku's only training partner.
Eat, sleep, pummel Kurama—his new daily routine.
"You're abusing a tailed beast! I'll report you to the Sage of Six Paths himself!" Kurama finally snapped, roaring at Little Goku.
"Eh? This Sage Grandpa you're talking about—he's strong?" Little Goku asked, eyes wide with innocence.
Kurama fell silent.
The Sage of Six Paths was, of course, strong. But deep down, Kurama couldn't shake the feeling that even the Sage wouldn't last long before Little Goku beat him into a lump-covered mess.
To spare the Sage that humiliation, Kurama resigned himself to suffering.
Poor Kurama. His once comfortably round belly shrank before his own eyes, replaced by taut muscle. Now, even without Yang Release, his whole body was bulging with muscle.
A demonic muscle-fox, through and through.
"…This is bad, brat. Something huge just happened."
Naruto, in the middle of his usual training, heard Kurama's panicked cry.
"?"
"You'd better come to the seal and see for yourself!"
Naruto hastily ended his Edo Tensei and wrapped up training.
When he arrived in the seal space, he was struck by a familiar presence—immensely stronger than before, yet unmistakably familiar.
Kurama cowered in the corner, his head covered in enormous lumps. Clearly, he'd been beaten.
And in the center stood two orange-robed figures, one large and one small, staring at each other wide-eyed.
The larger one—who else could it be but Kakarot?
"Teacher!!!" Naruto sprinted toward the gate of the seal.
"Yo, squirt, long time no see." With the same halo above his head as before, Kakarot raised a hand in greeting—exactly the way he had the first time they'd met. "Didn't expect you to have grown so much."
Looking at his teacher's familiar face, Naruto felt a sigh rise from his heart.
"Just how many Son Gokus are going to end up living inside me?"