A massive water sphere hurtled towards the airborne Golden Sword Lion Beast, leaving it no room to evade.
"Golden Flying Arrows!"
Unable to dodge, it would counterattack with its own move! The mane on the Golden Sword Lion Beast's neck hardened instantly, then shot out like arrows! In an instant, a deluge of golden mane hairs rained down on the Iron Cannonball.
*Thud thud thud!* The Golden Flying Arrows pierced the Iron Cannonball, causing countless water splashes. The water sphere, punctured, scattered into rain! The toad landed, its expression grave.
The Golden Sword Lion Beast didn't cease its attack, its neck mane continuing to fire.
"This guy won't stop." Gamabunta grumbled, forced to dodge awkwardly.
"Boss, this won't do. We're too passive, we can't win like this," Naruto said.
"Easy for you to say, do you know how tired I am? This guy's strength is on par with mine. If it were Jiraiya with me, we'd have a chance. But with you, a little brat, I'm at a huge disadvantage," the toad boss complained while dodging.
"Well..." Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.
"This guy's mane is infused with chakra, allowing it to be fired like senbon. If this continues, I'll get hit sooner or later. So, we have to burn its mane. Naruto, I'll spew toad oil, you use fire style to ignite it."
"Huh? I don't know fire style!"
"Any fire will do! Hurry!" Gamabunta said, opening his mouth and spitting out brown toad oil.
"Ah! Fire? Where's the fire?" Naruto wasn't Sasuke, naturally he didn't know fire style.
But he reacted quickly, pulling out an explosive tag and a kunai.
"You'll do, go!" He threw the explosive tag wrapped around the kunai!
The burning explosive tag landed on the toad oil, and the next moment, *boom*, it exploded!
Flames ignited! The brown toad oil instantly turned into a sea of red fire! Toad Oil Flame Bomb!
The Golden Flying Swords were quickly incinerated in the flames, leaving no trace.
Not only that, the scorching flames also surged towards the Golden Sword Lion Beast and Kimimaro.
"Oh no!" The Golden Sword Lion Beast cried out, too late to dodge.
If hit by these flames, it would become a hairless lion.
At this critical moment, Kimimaro's voice rang out.
"Pride of Heaven, Iron Wall, Dragon's March, Lion's Roar, Tiger's Cry, Wolf's Run, Severing Heaven and Earth before Collapse, Binding Technique Eighty-One, Void Severance!"
His voice was soft but clear, spoken at an incredibly fast pace.
As he finished, a transparent wall appeared before the Golden Sword Lion Beast, blocking all the flames.
The flames were only ten centimeters away from the Golden Sword Lion Beast, yet they couldn't cross, as if separated by an insurmountable chasm.
"Let's end this," Kimimaro said to the Golden Sword Lion Beast beneath him.
"Alright!" Man and beast were in sync.
Gamabunta's face grew even uglier seeing the fierce flames blocked.
It had used all its tricks, but none could harm the opponent.
The lion's strength wasn't much greater than his, the main difference lay in the summoner.
The coordination between Gamabunta and Naruto was still lacking.
And the gap between Naruto and Jiraiya was too vast.
This made many powerful techniques unusable.
"This is trouble," Gamabunta thought to himself, then witnessed a shocking scene.
The flames hadn't fully dissipated, yet the Golden Sword Lion Beast charged straight through them! Gamabunta could clearly see the transparent defensive wall that blocked the flames moving along with it.
"Boss! It's coming!" Naruto exclaimed.
The next moment, the Golden Sword Lion Beast's right front paw emitted a white light again.
"Ultimate Crushing Fang!"
The flames dispersed, Void Severance retracted.
This claw aimed for Gamabunta's abdomen.
*Rip!*
At the critical moment, relying on years of battle instincts, Gamabunta narrowly avoided a fatal blow.
But its waist was still grazed by the Ultimate Crushing Fang, leaving a wound.
Blood splattered! Gamabunta was severely injured!
"Boss!" Naruto was alarmed.
Gamabunta retreated a few steps, steadying itself.
"Such a strong opponent."
"Boss, are you okay?" Naruto asked with concern.
"I'm fine, I won't die. But my chakra is completely depleted, I can't stay any longer. Naruto, this guy is beyond your capabilities. Retreat!"
With that, Gamabunta turned into smoke and vanished.
Severely injured, it had consumed a lot of chakra and couldn't remain, having to return immediately for healing.
Losing his powerful aid, Naruto landed on the ground.
"Damn it, even Boss Gamabunta is no match for Kimimaro?" Naruto clenched his fists, looking at the white-haired boy above, feeling powerless.
Gamabunta was his strongest trump card, yet still couldn't defeat the opponent. Now, what should he do?
"I'm not interested in bullying children, I'll leave it to you," the Golden Sword Lion Beast said, then released the summoning jutsu and departed on its own.
Kimimaro landed lightly in front of Naruto.
"It seems you have no more tricks, Naruto."
"Kimimaro, why are you doing this? Why take Sasuke away?" Naruto questioned.
"No, I'm not taking him, he's coming with us willingly. The Sound Village has what he needs. Things he desires but Konoha can't provide."
"What things?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Naruto, you say Sasuke is your friend, but do you truly understand him? Do you know the burden he carries? Do you know what he wants?
You know nothing. Your so-called friendship is just a slogan. You're using your values to kidnap Sasuke, forcing him to make choices you deem right."
Naruto was stunned, momentarily feeling Kimimaro's words seemed reasonable.
He knew too little about Sasuke.
This cold boy's past held too many secrets.
"Until you fully understand Sasuke, it's impossible for you to bring him back. So, give up," Kimimaro continued.
"No, I won't give up!" Though Kimimaro's words made sense, Naruto didn't want to give up.
"Not giving up? Look at your friends. If you don't give up on Sasuke, they'll be the ones who die." Kimimaro pointed at the Konoha rookies who were fighting fiercely.
Choji was completely suppressed by Jirobo with his Cursed Seal Level 2 activated and was already severely injured.
Kiba and Akamaru, transformed into a three-headed wolf, launched impressive attacks but were blocked by Sakon and Ukon's summoned Rashomon, exhausting their last bit of stamina.
Lee, having opened the Third Gate, was still no match for Neji, the battle at a stalemate.
Shikamaru was caught in Tayuya's genjutsu and seemed to be in grave danger.
Shino's situation was the best among them, surprisingly suppressing Kidomaru with his Cursed Seal Level 1.
But if this continued, at least three of these five would die.
"This..." Seeing his struggling comrades, Naruto was conflicted.
(End of Chapter)