Chapter 22: magnificent beauty
In a matter of seconds, he was a kilometer away.
Naruto moved so fast that his body became a blur. Each stride projected him hundreds of meters ahead.
Soon, Naruto found himself before the Fire Tree.
A lion of magnificent beauty and dominant presence rested under the Fire Tree, seeming to enjoy a massage from the flames.
Naruto's gaze turned icy. Hunting mode activated.
He was about to transform into a cold and ruthless hunter.
A red glow enveloped Naruto's arms, and then, a vibrant green wind aura formed around him.
Finally, a formidable power was contained in Naruto's body, ready to be released.
Naruto clenched his hand into a fist, feeling the energy overflowing in him. At that moment, he was really using a good portion of his power.
This formidable power woke up the lion.
His entire body tensed, and his incandescent eyes locked onto Naruto.
"Roar!"
The lion crouched down, and his blood-jade horn emitted a red glow.
He displayed his fearsome fangs, in a clear threat to Naruto.
Without any hesitation, a hot, red beam of light, dozens of centimeters thick, was shot toward Naruto.
Wherever it passed, the air twisted, and the grass instantly turned into ashes.
A suffocating heat!
Naruto cracked a smile as a green, shiny light glowed in his eyes.
Naruto used the art of the wind god to counter the lion's flames, causing them to collapse.
"Roar!!"
Feeling this, the lion roared and strived to stabilize the fire pillar. However, more than half of its power had already been dissipated.
Naruto reached out his hand and delivered a slap.
*Boom!!*
A shimmering green light burst forth and waves of green wind spread across the plain, transforming hundreds of meters of earth into a vast desolate expanse.
When the green light dissipated, Naruto remained in the spot, unmoving. The beam of light had now been disintegrated by him.
"Hahaha, not bad. " Naruto let out a hearty laugh.
He didn't expect his wind god's art to have reached such a level of power.
However, it was understandable, as he had already reached a quite advanced stage of this divine wind art.
"Roar!!"
The red lion was no fool. Feeling Naruto's taunting, it roared furiously.
Its entire body suddenly burst into flames.
Then, it launched itself toward Naruto like a blazing red light.
Naruto cracked a smile and also charged into the attack.
*Boom!!*
The force of the green-red fist shook the air and collided with the lion.
The lion, in turn, generated an immense force fault in its front claw and slapped it against the force of Naruto's fist.
*Boom!!*
Fist and claw clashed. A radius of thousands of kilometers was flooded by searing heat, sharp wind blades, and a terrifying spiritual force.
The location was marked by deep trenches.
*Boom!!*
Once again, terrifying waves exploded. Only the sounds of the clash between the two could be heard.
Everything else seemed to fade away.
Red lions cowered on the ground, trembling with fear. The green wolves had long since fled.
The adorable rabbits exuded an appetizing aroma after being hit by sparks of fire.
In a span of ten minutes, countless exchanges of blows reverberated through the air. The stage of their battle extended from the fire tree.
Wherever they went, the earth became a trail of scorched land and the surrounding animals shrank in fear.
*Boom!!*
There was another clash, and Naruto intercepted the lion's sharp claw with his right hand. With the same hand, he delivered a powerful blow to the lion's ribs.
The sound of breaking bones echoed through the air.
Naruto clenched his fists, and his eyes shone with an intense green light, as the wind started to whirl around him.
Then, his body lifted off the ground, and he flew towards the lion.
Naruto appeared above the roaring lion.
Sensing Naruto's approach, the lion roared and prepared to counterattack.
Naruto raised his left hand, striking with a blade made of greenish wind. The light emanating from the lion was abruptly cut off.
Its massive head was severed, and blood spurted out.
Soon after, the gigantic head fell to the ground.
Naruto watched as the lion's body disintegrated into ashes, and a smile formed on his face.
The ashes were carried away by the wind. In the wake of the destruction, resplendent lights marked the location.
There were twelve ruby spheres, whose glow surpassed that of the red lions. Next to them, twelve spheres of purple hue shone with equally dazzling intensity.
In addition, a pulsating fiery red crystal orb throbbed with vibrant vitality, as if alive. Finally, a hazy white sphere, something Naruto had never seen before, lay there.
Perhaps it couldn't even be considered a sphere. It was just a strand of energy.
Its shape was mutable; at times it metamorphosed into luminous spheres, and at other times, into thin threads.
Naruto's eyes remained fixed on the strange energy. Without wasting any time on reflection, he promptly collected all the spheres of light.
"I didn't even need to use the Rasenshuriken. .
. " Naruto murmured.
Initially, the idea was just to probe the opponent's strength and then unleash his full attack to exterminate the lion. However, it turned out to be unnecessary, which was somewhat of a relief for him.
Next, he turned to the Fire Tree. Upon touching the flame, the tree transmuted into an intense red light that was absorbed into his mental dimension.
After completing all these procedures, Naruto's eyes closed. When he opened them again, he was back in his parents' room.
Naruto took deep breaths, trying to control the excitement that shimmered in his eyes.
His current harvest was more generous than any previous one. In fact, there was an energy previously unknown to Naruto!
With that thought in mind, Naruto's eyes shone brighter. He delved into his mental dimension and contemplated the scene.
There, a small flame and a peculiar strand of energy stood out from the common orbs. The flame danced and burned in space, making Naruto feel as if he were constantly absorbing knowledge about the art of the Fire God.
The strand of energy, on the other hand, seemed only distorted, with nothing particularly noteworthy.