Chapter- 38

Without hesitation, all the archers released their arrows, and the sky above the blonde was swiftly darkened by hundreds of projectiles. Naruto halted his sprint, firmly planting himself on the ground, calmly observing the oncoming barrage.

"It works..." He closed his eyes momentarily, his right hand moving to his wrist.

On the wall, everyone watched in astonishment as the arrows either shattered or were deflected by a large, circular metal shield held by Naruto. With a deft motion, he lowered the shield, causing it to vanish in a puff of smoke.

"..." An eerie silence blanketed the onlookers; words failed them all.

"It's my turn," Naruto announced with a grin. He swiftly performed a hand seal, unleashing a barrage of smoke explosions around him. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred clones materialized, forming a long line in front of the towering wall. "It took me a while to get this right... but it's worth it." Another burst of smoke revealed that each clone now wielded a bow and arrows.

"..." Beads of sweat formed on the foreheads of Hanzuke's men as the shock began to wear off. "Don't just stand there, you idiots! It's a trick! Attack! Attack!" The commander's orders prompted his soldiers to form a formidable line of defense on the walls. "Fire!" They unleashed a volley of arrows and fireballs.

"Ugh!" Several soldiers fell to the deadly accuracy of the arrows, and any errant shots struck the wall. "...?" A firebender managed to avoid the raining arrows but stared in disbelief as some of them, in explosions of smoke, transformed into identical copies of the same boy. "Stop!" Without hesitation, she attempted to unleash her firebending prowess, only to receive a powerful kick to the face that rendered her unconscious.

"Come on!" Approximately 15 clones swiftly ascended the walls, engaging with any soldier in their path. One after another, the soldiers succumbed to the overwhelming strength of these duplicates. "Surprise, son of a bitch!" A clone raced along the walls, reaching Hanzuke and delivering a powerful kick to his chest, sending him sprawling.

However, the clone couldn't take another step as it dissolved into a cloud of smoke, an arrow lodged in its back.

"Regroup and shoot to kill!" The apparent captain of the archers fired several arrows in rapid succession, causing the clones to gradually vanish in a series of smoke explosions.

"Everyone..." The commander managed to recover from the blow and stood up, peering over the wall as the original boy continued to rain arrows upon the fortress. "...go get that child!" He bellowed with fury, sending forth a torrent of fire from his hands that eradicated not only the clones on the wall but also several of his own soldiers, who were caught off guard by their commander's attack.

Naruto observed as the massive doors of the fortress swung open, and hundreds of soldiers poured out, all on the hunt for his head.

"Alpha Formation!" A total of 80 soldiers lined up and, in perfect synchronization, expelled flames of fire from their fists, creating a colossal wave of fire that swept across much of the verdant plain.

Silence gripped the soldiers as they witnessed all the clones disappearing. Yet, amidst the scorched aftermath, there remained a solitary figure, a blackened silhouette that began to move.

"Here I go!" Brandishing a large shield, Naruto charged at full speed toward the army, undeterred by their shock or their renewed barrage of fire.

And the inevitable occurred as soldiers were sent hurtling through the air, crushed or flung aside like mere ragdolls by the relentless advance of the great shield.

"High!" A young soldier leaped, narrowly avoiding being flattened by the shield. In mid-air, he executed a swift turn, launching a fireball aimed at the exposed part of his adversary.

However, Naruto abruptly halted and hurled his shield at the soldier who had attempted a surprise attack from behind. The shield found its mark, striking the soldier and rendering him unconscious. Yet, now he found himself encircled by the remainder of the enemy army.

"Crossfire! Switch to hand-to-hand combat!" Leading a portion of the army was a woman donned in black armor adorned with red accents, wielding twin daggers. Observing her adversary cornered, she issued the order to transition to close-quarters combat, preventing her troops from inadvertently igniting one another.

"Ahhhhhh!" Dozens charged at the youth, brandishing their weapons with the intent to overwhelm him.

Anticipating the impending assault, Naruto took a deep breath. His arms and legs adjusted slightly, his stance widening as he crouched lower. His hands clenched into fists directed forward, with his right arm held aloft.

The firebenders paid little heed to his altered stance as they launched their attack, hundreds converging upon the lone defender. "What are the chances that the brat-"

The captain's words were abruptly stifled as she witnessed one of her soldiers' helmets crumple under the force of the boy's fist, rendering him incapacitated in an instant.

"..." Time seemed to freeze as everyone gaped at the fallen soldier who now lay dozens of meters away from the intruder. Yet, they had no time to contemplate this surreal sight as the blonde took his first step toward the attack.

Naruto thrust his fist into a soldier, toppling him along with several others behind him. He deftly sidestepped a spear that whizzed by his head and countered with a quick uppercut that incapacitated his assailant.

Breaking a spear in two, he launched himself into the midst of the enemy ranks.

Punches.

Kicks.

Parries.

Counterattacks.

With his bare fists, Naruto left a wake of incapacitated soldiers.

"Ugh!" A firebender delivered a punch to the boy's forehead, but the only result was broken fingers.

Reacting to the blow with a grunt, Naruto leaped into a mule kick, sending the soldier soaring. In his momentary distraction, he took a blow to the face, yet he did not fall. Instead, he seized the arm of his assailant and deftly twisted it.

More soldiers went down when one of their comrades was wielded as an impromptu weapon.

Releasing the soldier, Naruto vaulted to evade a flurry of blades. Landing amidst the other firebenders, he extracted a red sphere from his pocket and hurled it to the ground.

A massive red cloud erupted in the heart of the battlefield.

"Burn!" All the soldiers within the cloud's radius found themselves blinded by the fiery smoke that seared their eyes and throats. "Ahhhh!" A firebender, unable to see, could do nothing but crumple as a fist hammered into the chest plate of his armor, leaving him with broken ribs.

"Team Beta, regroup! Team Theta, prepare to launch firebending attacks!" The captain, witnessing her forces falter, issued new orders. However, her alarm grew when she beheld a colossal star-shaped projectile emerge from the smoke, hurtling directly toward her.

The smoke-shuriken bore down on the captain, its sharp blades poised to sever her head.

*Pufff*

But just inches from contact, the weapon transformed back into the boy. For the firebender, darkness swiftly descended as a powerful right hook connected, sending her tumbling to the ground.