AI Model: gemini-3.0-flashChapter 50: Battle Against KakuzuActually, the moment Naruto activated his Sharingan, he had already used Kotoamatsukami. Kakuzu fell for the move without even realizing it. Despite this, Naruto still decided to fight him.This was his only chance so far to face a Kage-level opponent alone. Although he had fought Danzobefore and ultimately won, they had ambushed him first, and he had the help of Tsunade and Robin.However, a year had passed since then. He now wanted to test himself to see exactly what level of strength he possessed.Thus, while Kakuzu was unsure how to answer his question, Naruto continued, "Come on! Put everything else aside and let me see the gap between the current me and a top-tier expert!"Kakuzu felt a bit strange. He didn't know why he no longer felt any killing intent toward the kid in front of him, and a desire to submit to him was welling up from the bottom of his heart.Just then, Naruto happened to request a fight. Naturally, Kakuzu agreed without a second thought, and the two began their confrontation.Facing Kakuzu, Naruto didn't dare to be overconfident and immediately entered his strongest state. While activating Gear Second, he also directly opened the Gate of View. This was the limit he could currently reach.Moreover, he hadn't fully mastered all the power of this stage yet, so opening the Gate of View was still a bit taxing. Otherwise, he could have maintained a semi-activated buffer state—keeping the Gate of View open with green energy radiating around him but without other physical changes—to reduce consumption and damage, allowing him to go all out instantly when needed.But the current Naruto couldn't do that yet. Therefore, the load on his body in this state was very heavy, and he couldn't maintain it for long. He had to finish the battle quickly. He said to Kakuzu, "Come on, I can't maintain this state for too long."Hearing Naruto's words, Kakuzu made the first move. His two fists detached from his arms, connected by black threads, and he controlled them to attack Naruto.Although his speed was fast, it was clearly not enough in Naruto's eyes. The floor of the casino was smashed to pieces, but he didn't manage to touch Naruto even once.Seeing this, Naruto said, "Stop these useless probes. In terms of speed, it's impossible for you to be faster than me."Hearing this, Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. Instantly, a large amount of black threads spewed from his mouth, filling almost the entire room. Restricted by the space, Naruto had nowhere left to dodge, and the black threads wrapped around his body, robbing him of his mobility.Kakuzu muttered to himself, "In that case, it's over!"Then, a creature composed of black tentacles with a white mask appeared on his left shoulder. Kakuzuformed hand seals and shouted, "Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"As he finished the seals, the creature opened its massive mouth, and a high-pressure wind ball gradually formed within, growing larger and larger.Feeling the terrifying amount of Chakra contained in the wind ball, Naruto knew that if he were hit, he would likely be killed or seriously injured. He couldn't help but wonder if his Kotoamatsukamihad actually failed, given how ruthlessly the old man was attacking.But in reality, he knew this was likely the result of the opponent holding back. Otherwise, once the enemy was bound, Kakuzu would have immediately moved to take his heart instead of using a Ninjutsu with such a long startup time.Thinking of this, Naruto also began to condense Chakra, using all his strength to try to break free from the restraints and deal with Kakuzu's next attack.When the wind ball had condensed to the size of a sports ball, Kakuzu's Ninjutsu was finally ready. With a shout of "Ha!", the creature fired the wind ball from its mouth at Naruto.At the same time, Naruto's entire body erupted with a dazzling green light. With a loud shout, he finally broke free from the restraints, shattering all the black tentacles that had trapped him.
