Chapter-39

"..." Commander Hanzuke, like his men, watched in horror as one child single-handedly defeated hundreds of soldiers. Fueled by rage and fear, the elderly man turned his attention to his troops. "Close the main door! He must not get in and call for reinforcements!"

"How many, sir?"

"Summon them all!"

Beyond the fortress walls, Naruto raced from side to side, his lithe form weaving between the fire attacks launched by the soldiers. He closed the gap swiftly, delivering crushing blows that damaged armor and broke bones.

"I don't have time for this!" Knocking down the last of the soldiers, the blonde saw the massive metal gates of the fortress begin to close. Leaving the remaining soldiers behind, he sprinted toward the closing gate.

In a puff of smoke, a clone appeared at his side, extending its right hand. Gradually, a chakra sphere grew in its palm. "Let's do this!" Naruto concentrated even harder, rapidly enlarging the somewhat unstable Rasengan until it matched his own size. With a savage grin, he slammed his attack against the formidable gate.

…..

"Wow!" Suni's excitement surged when a loud noise pierced the air. A large portion of the prisoners had been waiting for the commander's appearance to commence their day's labor, but he remained conspicuously absent. Instead, they witnessed guards and soldiers mobilizing in a flurry of activity. "What was that?" Suni asked the girl who was carefully carrying a bowl of water for her older brother.

"..." Miho, in the midst of being bandaged by another prisoner who was doing her best to suture and clean the wounds, could only offer a thoughtful silence, making the most of the limited resources available.

"What do you reckon it is?" An elderly man inquired of the earthbender leader. His brow furrowed as he observed a plume of black smoke billowing from the direction of the main door, situated adjacent to one of the fortress's primary armories.

"Something big…." the esteemed earthbender responded, continuing to watch the unfolding events alongside the others.

…..

With a tremble in his right hand and heavy breathing, Naruto managed to dismantle a massive steel door, measuring 15 square meters and two meters in thickness. However, it came at a great cost. "I still need to handle it better," he muttered aloud, examining his right hand, which bore slight burns and injuries as a result of his own technique. The Odama-Rasengan was a power he had yet to fully master.

*Clank*

The metallic sounds and clattering drew Naruto's gaze upwards. Gradually, the settling smoke unveiled the scene, and the blonde swallowed hard.

Standing on a concrete platform, Commander Hanzuke had his arms crossed, sporting an arrogant smile on his face. Surrounding him were hundreds of soldiers under his command, but what stood out the most were the dozens of cannons, and one considerably larger cannon resting at the commander's feet. They were all aimed at a single target.

"A life lesson, boy," the commander declared, raising his hand to trigger the cannons with a click. He wore a superior smile as he taunted the determined look on the young man's face. "In battle, what truly matters isn't the soldiers, but who possesses the superior weapon. Fire!"

Explosions from all directions marked the beginning of a relentless minute of continuous firing and explosions, all directed at a lone target. When the explosions subsided, only a thick cloud of slowly dissipating smoke remained.

The ground bore a growing stain of dripping blood.

Kneeling on the ground, Naruto had relinquished two shattered shields. The metal shields had barely withstood the cannonballs. He breathed heavily, his left shoulder dislocated and turning purple within seconds.

"Well..." a satisfied Hanzuke expressed relief. He might not have known who this child was, but one thing was certain: the Fire Lord would be pleased to learn that such a significant threat had been eliminated. "Reload!" All the soldiers immediately began reloading and preparing the cannons for the final blow.

They had not anticipated the boy charging toward them, nor did they believe he could even move.

"Kage bushin no jutsu!" Disregarding the pain in his shoulder, he crossed his fingers, and in several bursts of smoke, multiple clones materialized. The nearest clone led the charge just as the cannons fired once more.

Darting between the cannonballs, both the clones and the original swiftly reached the fortress's walls, where they engaged the soldiers manning the cannons. "One, two, three!" Coordinating with the other clones, they wrested control of the cannons and, with strenuous effort, aimed them to deflect the incoming shots toward the very artillerymen who had fired them.

"No! Stay at your posts!" Hanzuke seethed with fury as the boy's copies gradually breached their defenses. The original was locked in hand-to-hand combat with numerous soldiers trying to halt his advance. "Someone stop him!" Panic began to creep over the commander as he felt the boy's piercing gaze drawing nearer. "Fire at once!"

"But s-sir! Our own troops!" One of the soldiers hesitated upon hearing the order to fire upon their comrades.

"I said fire! Immediately!" The desperate commander was determined to eliminate the Shinobi, and his patience wore thin when he saw the soldiers wavering. Without second thoughts, he raised his hand and sent forth a blazing stream of fire, igniting the fuse of the massive cannon.

The skirmish between the troops and the clones came to an abrupt halt when they realized the colossal weapon was pointed directly at them. "No!" Acting on instinct, Naruto grabbed two soldiers and hurled them out of the line of fire, an action swiftly mimicked by his clone counterparts, who pushed or pulled anyone within the blast radius to safety.

A young soldier dropped his spear when he saw the large cannon aimed at him and could only wait for his end, "...?" but he was surprised when he saw in slow motion the silhouette of his blond enemy push him out of the way.