Chapter 52 – The King Enters the Stage
Not to be outdone, Sasuke let crimson flames lick across his body.
In front of countless stunned eyes, his right half literally turned into living fire.
The temperature skyrocketed.
Air warped and shimmered like a mirage.
Scorching heat rolled outward in waves.
Between Naruto's golden Nine-Tails cloak and Sasuke's half-flame body, every jonin and clan head suddenly felt very small.
Retreat became an extremely attractive option.
Only Asuma and a handful of others still stood in their way.
Understandable—Naruto and Sasuke were marching to kill his father.
Shikamaru and the rest of the rookie twelve could only watch in silence.
The gap between them and their old classmates was now an unbridgeable chasm.
Out of lingering sentiment—and because Asuma was a decent guy—Naruto didn't go all-out.
A single lightning-fast strike put Asuma on the ground, unconscious but alive.
Against full Nine-Tails Mode, a normal jonin was irrelevant.
The Four Violet Flames barrier, however, was a real problem.
Even the two of them would need time to break it.
Orochimaru couldn't exactly open a door either.
They were stuck brainstorming when a familiar, almost-forgotten voice rang out.
"Need a ride inside?"
Every head snapped toward the source.
Five strangers stood casually a dozen meters away.
While Hiashi, Asuma's unconscious form, and the clan heads went instantly on guard,
Naruto and Sasuke lit up like kids on Christmas.
"Yo! You two got strong."
Aike strolled forward with Nami, Carina, Kaya, and Izumi in tow, completely ignoring the forest of weapons pointed at him.
"Big bro Aike!" / "Mr. Aike!"
The man who had shattered their cursed fates years ago.
Respect levels: maximum.
Naruto's was enthusiastic; Sasuke's was stiff and formal.
"So, want me to bring you in?" Aike asked again, grinning.
"Uh… this isn't another trade, right?"
Naruto suddenly looked poor.
He'd already traded everything except the fox itself.
"Haha, relax. Free of charge. Just something I want to see anyway."
The boys exhaled in relief, then grinned like wolves.
They never doubted Aike's power for a second.
Even now, they couldn't sense a single thing from him—like staring into a void.
Izumi was the same.
The other three women, though… they felt dangerous.
"Let's go."
Aike led the girls and the two avenging teens straight toward the purple wall.
"STOP!"
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Uzumaki Naruto! Uchiha Sasuke! You're colluding with outsiders?! You really are traitors!!"
Even now, the brain-dead shouting continued.
Traitors?
Naruto and Sasuke just smirked.
They were about to murder the Hokage.
Pretty sure that ship had sailed.
They didn't even bother replying.
Aike, meanwhile, released a pulse of Conqueror's Haki.
"Guuh—!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Dozens of chunin and jonin dropped like flies.
The clan heads—Hiashi, Shikaku, Inoichi, Choza—dropped to one knee, faces pale, sweating bullets.
A path opened like the Red Sea.
Naruto and Sasuke swallowed hard behind him.
What the hell kind of ability was that?!
Not chakra—pure pressure.
And it floored elite jonin with nothing more than presence?!
For the first time, they had a vague, terrifying idea of just how
strong Aike really was.
Inside the barrier,
Orochimaru, Hiruzen, Hashirama, and Tobirama all stared in open disbelief.
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