"Let me show you my true speed."
Bai's voice carried an undeniable resolve. The next moment, his figure darted and flickered like a ghost through all the Ice Mirrors! His speed was so fast that it was impossible to pinpoint his true location!
Satsuki immediately activated her Sharingan at full power, locking onto the rapidly moving figure… She saw it!
Although the visual effect was as bizarre as instant transmission, under the dynamic vision of the Sharingan, Satsuki clearly perceived that it was not true spatial teleportation. Instead, Bai was using the smooth surfaces of the Ice Mirrors and a special footwork to boost his movement speed to an astonishing degree!
However, even though her eyes could barely keep up, Satsuki grimly realized a fatal problem—her body… her reaction speed couldn't match his movements at all!
Her brain issued commands to block or dodge, but her body's muscles couldn't react in time! This feeling of helplessly watching an attack approach left her feeling powerless.
"Clang!"
Just as Bai's true form emerged from an Ice Mirror, his senbon thrusting towards Satsuki, a crisp clang of metal on metal exploded.
A kunai was precisely placed in front of the senbon, blocking it steadily! The one holding the kunai was Naruto, who had appeared in front of Satsuki at some unknown point.
The expression beneath Bai's mask finally showed a clear change for the first time; it was a mix of astonishment and disbelief.
"What?! You can actually keep up…"
Naruto's lips curved into a confident smile, "Sorry, but your speed is as slow as a turtle's, so I couldn't help but intercept you."
This was not an empty boast, but a statement of fact. For Naruto, who had once used the Flying Thunder God Technique to fight against the Fourth Raikage, known for his speed, and experienced that realm of extreme velocity, Bai's current speed was indeed… somewhat unimpressive.
Seeing this, Bai knew it was bad news. He immediately used the momentum to retreat rapidly, his figure merging back into the Ice Mirror behind him as silently as if dissolving into water, attempting to regroup.
The next moment, Bai decisively changed his attack method. He no longer sought close-range surprise attacks but began to move erratically at an even faster speed between all the Ice Mirrors, simultaneously throwing countless ice senbon from all directions and angles, like a sudden storm!
These ice senbon came from above, below, left, and right, from every possible direction, almost sealing off most of the dodging space!
Facing this overwhelming saturation attack, Naruto calmly formed hand signs—
"Wind Release: Cyclone!"
In an instant, a powerful and controllable whirlwind suddenly formed around Naruto, enveloping him and Satsuki like an invisible shield!
No matter how tricky the angle or how many ice senbon Bai threw simultaneously, once they entered the whirlwind's range, they were immediately deflected by the turbulent and powerful airflow, either colliding with each other or being directly swept away. None could penetrate this wind barrier.
"Alright, do you have any other tricks? I still need to help Kakashi-sensei, I can't waste any more time here."
Naruto looked at Bai, who was still moving at high speed within the Ice Mirrors, constantly probing, and decided not to delay any longer. He silently thought, 'Please, Kurama, lend me some Chakra.'
Communication with the giant beast inside him was exceptionally smooth. Almost the very next second after the thought crossed his mind, a colossal and warm orange-red Chakra surged out of his body like a boiling tide!
A scorching energy cloak instantly covered Naruto's entire body, emitting an ominous yet powerful aura, and gradually condensed behind him into a solid and restless red tail made of pure Chakra.
To deal with Bai, the power of just one tail was more than enough. After all, as Naruto, he couldn't use Ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God Technique or the Spiral Wheel Ring. The Tailed Beast Chakra Mode was the fastest way he could end the battle while maintaining the identity of Uzumaki Naruto.
"…This form really can't last too long…" Naruto deliberately frowned, speaking in a slightly strained tone, "I need to end this battle as quickly as possible… before my body gives out."
His seemingly weakening words immediately had an effect. Satsuki, who had been somewhat disheartened and slightly confused by Bai's absolute speed, was instantly jolted awake by these words, her head snapping up.
"Wait… Naruto! Is this form…!"
Satsuki immediately recalled Kakashi's earlier warning—that a powerful and dangerous force was sealed within Naruto, and overuse could cause irreversible damage to his body! A huge fear instantly gripped her heart.
Hearing Satsuki's worried cry, Naruto quickly turned his head and reassured her in as light a tone as possible. "It's alright, Satsuki. We just need to end the battle quickly." He even deliberately added, planting a small lie, "If I fail… then it's up to you."
If he said that… Satsuki shouldn't feel despair due to the power gap, or even have those extreme thoughts anymore, right…
Naruto thought to himself, still haunted by Sasuke's defection in the original story due to the power disparity.
Although he really didn't want to go that far… if Satsuki truly left again, Naruto would spare no expense, use all of [Jin]'s resources, even expose his identity, to search her out stronghold by stronghold, first eliminate Orochimaru, and then properly tie Satsuki back.
Naruto was also a bit troubled, hoping that his overly intense feelings wouldn't, in turn, make Satsuki feel pressured.
However, Naruto didn't know that he had greatly underestimated the true significance of the bond level on the system interface, which was already "beyond calculation."
The 5000 reward points he received seemed to be just the system's numerical upper limit, as if only corresponding to about level ten. But in reality, this was only because the system's capabilities were limited.
If every emotional fluctuation Satsuki experienced because of him, every deepening bond, could be fully converted into specific points, then Naruto would probably instantly gain enough energy to fly into space, twist off the heads of those arrogant Ōtsutsuki with his bare hands, and kick them around like balls.
For the current Satsuki, with both parents alive and a warm family, avenging Uchiha Itachi was no longer the core motivation or sole dream driving her to become stronger.
Now, the possibility that could lead her down the path of defection perhaps only consisted of two extreme scenarios.
First, if Naruto himself chose to become a rogue ninja, she would undoubtedly follow without hesitation.
Second… would be Naruto's death. And if the second scenario truly occurred, many people would likely be implicated.