Chapter 624: Madara Vs Team Izuna Part-1
"YOSHAA!"
Naruto pumps his fist.
"We are finally getting a chance to fight along Nii-san!" The prospect of a battle alongside Izuna excites even Sasuke.
"You two..." Izuna chuckles and shakes his head.
"Isn't this the reason these two were training so hard? To fight alongside their elder brother and show off their power." Kushina also chuckles.
"Then, let's go!"
Whoosh...
Naruto turns into an orange streak and rushes in Madara's direction.
"Let's see who will reach there faster?"
"I won't lose to a loser like you?"
Sasuke also turns into a blue lightning streak and disappears.
"Haha... this reminds me of their childhood days!" Izuna laughs and turns into a cyan streak.
"You two are still too young to beat me!"
Izuna easily surpasses both streaks.
"It has been a while since I saw them smile like that!" Kushina reminisces some memories.
"Naruto! Sasuke!" Lee watches their interaction and clenches his fists.
"I am so useless!"
Minato notices the doubt and guilt in Rock Lee's eyes.
"Lee!" He pats Lee's shoulder.
"Not every person follows the same path. Naruto and Sasuke reached their current level because of luck. Not everyone has the privilege to learn under the tutelage of the most powerful shinobi of their era. However, Lee.... With enough hard work and resolve, you too can reach their level and even surpass it. I am very sure of it! Because you have what Naruto and Sasuke lack..."
Lee wipes his tears and stares into Minato's eyes.
"Lord Fourth! What do I have that Naruto and Sasuke lack?"
"It's your indomitable will, Lee! You are one of the best shinobis in the younger generation, despite the lack of chakra. Despite such a setback, you didn't give up on your dream. Your immense hard work and resolve are what differentiates you from them. A talented person will go as far as his talent allows. A hard-working, talented person will go even further. But a person with indomitable will overcome his limits and surpass any genius or talent. And you, Lee, are that kind of person!" Minato encourages Lee to help him overcome his doubts, fear, and grief.
Minato reminisces about the duo of Kakashi and Gai.
'These words hold true since I have seen such examples with my own eyes. Not once, but twice!'
The image of Jiraiya and Orochimaru also appear in his mind.
'However, there is an exception to everything! What if a genius, talented shinobi is not only hard-working but also possesses an indomitable will?'
He still recalls one of Izuna's training regimens where the latter was training his chakra control and proficiency with hundreds of shadow clones while bearing the immense stress and distress caused by every single shadow clone. Every night, he would almost exhaust himself to death, only to repeat it the next day. Even Tsunade was concerned by this method, but Izuna managed to pull this method for an entirety of five years; thus training himself to the peak of proficiency in all elements, including the elusive elemental combination.
Minato glances at Izuna's back in the distance.
'I am sure an exception like that won't appear again!'
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Whoosh...
Izuna is the first to arrive in front of Madara.
"Dimensional Slash!"
He waves his hand and sends an invisible blade to slice through space.
Shiing...
"Ah, Nii-san, I will die if you drop me like that!" Naruto panics at the sight.
AH...
Naruto rapidly descends towards the lava.
"I don't want to fall into lava! I don't want to fall into lava!" Naruto desperately chants these magic words.
WHAM...
As if right on cue, he pauses in mid-air.
"So, I can fly too!" Naruto flies back and forth and returns beside Izuna.
"As for you Sasuke..."
Izuna taps the back of Sasuke's palm with his finger.
A strange seal appears for a few seconds before disappearing.
"Now, you can fly too!"
Hmm...
Sasuke also controls his aerial movements and quickly gets used to it since he fought quite a few aerial battles with Susanoo.
While the group was escaping the disaster, Madara also wasn't idle.
He finishes making the hand seals and directs his palm towards the group.
HAAH...
A massive amount of lava gathers from the surroundings and surges in front of Madara.
"There is something wrong with this lava!" Naruto remarks.
"I can't sense any nature energy from it!"
Shiing...
Sasuke also activates the 'Eye of Truth' and glances at the lava.
"Strange! This lava is alive, but not alive at the same time." Sasuke notices a strange source of living energy in the lava.
"This is the natal form of a concept and also the source of this dimension!" Izuna explains.
"Umm... what?!" Naruto tilts his head in confusion.
"In short, this thing is dangerous, and your usual attacks won't work on it. Even Sage chakra is useless against it since it can even absorb that and even strengthen itself."
"So, how do we deal with it?"
Sasuke avoids a massive arm made of lava.
"To stop this creature, you have to kill or overpower the concept behind it."
"Ah, I understand! Just like how we use water to extinguish fire." Naruto bumps his palm.
"Correct! But we can't use any ordinary water but water on the same level as this fire."
"Umm... where do we get that?" Naruto tilts his head.
"Naruto, you idiot!" Sasuke shakes his head.
"Look at those floating things behind you!"
"UH!" Naruto freezes and quickly extends his palm.
A Truth-seeking orb floats in his palm. Naruto infuses a large amount of Six Paths chakra in the orb while visualizing his most powerful water jutsu.