My Sign-in System in Naruto

The Lariat was one of A's ultimate techniques.

By covering his entire body with Lightning Release chakra, he could charge at his opponent at incredible speed, delivering a fatal blow with his immense arm strength.

Even Sasuke Uchiha, with his Mangekyō Sharingan, would have been killed by this move if not for Jugo's intervention.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted in the room, and even Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, couldn't follow A's movements.

By the time Hiruzen realized what was happening, A's arm had already struck Haru squarely in the chest.

Crash!

Haru was sent flying like a broken kite, crashing through the wall and collapsing it.

The samurai of the Land of Iron immediately formed a defensive formation, ready to restrain A if necessary.

"Stand down!"

Mifune shouted without hesitation, ordering the samurai to back off.

He knew very well that the Land of Iron's neutrality wasn't maintained by the unique strength of its samurai.

It was upheld by agreements with the shinobi villages.

In other words, no matter what conflict erupted between the Raikage and the Hokage here, he wouldn't intervene.

"Take him back."

A's voice was low. To better study Haru's kekkei genkai, he had deliberately held back, not aiming to kill Haru outright.

Otherwise, he would have aimed for Haru's neck instead of his chest.

Even so, the Lariat's power was immense.

Haru lay on the ground, barely breathing, blood seeping from his chest as if a chunk of flesh had been torn away.

"Yes."

Upon hearing A's direct order, Shi and Yugito quickly moved forward to seize Haru.

As for Hiruzen, A would naturally handle him.

But just as Yugito was about to grab Haru, his body underwent a sudden transformation.

Breathing, heartbeat, chakra everything vanished in an instant. Even Haru's skin turned dull.

By the time Yugito and Shi realized what was happening, Haru's body had transformed into a wooden figure.

"A Wood Clone?!"

Hiruzen was stunned.

When he saw Haru being instantly defeated by A, his mind had gone blank.

But now, seeing this, Hiruzen was even more shocked.

Although he wasn't an exceptional sensory-type shinobi, he was far stronger than an elite Jonin.

Yet, not only had he failed to notice that the Haru before him was a Wood Clone, but he hadn't even detected when Haru had used this technique.

Just how fast was Haru's growth?

Five years ago, he had been a failure who couldn't even gather chakra, rejected by the ninja academy.

In just five short years, what had Haru experienced?

As a flood of questions filled Hiruzen's mind, Haru's performance was just beginning.

Yugito, momentarily stunned by the transformation, froze with her right hand suspended in mid-air.

But Haru's Wood Clone began to swell and harden at a visible rate, swiftly wrapping around Yugito.

By the time she reacted, her wrist was firmly grasped by a vine.

In a matter of moments, Haru's Wood Clone grew into a massive tree, trapping Yugito tightly.

"What's going on?!"

Shi sucked in a sharp breath, immediately pushing his sensory abilities to the limit to locate Haru's real body.

Yugito also tried to unleash her tailed beast chakra to break free.

But it was only then that she realized the tree restraining her had the ability to suppress tailed beast chakra.

"Wood Release inherently has sealing capabilities. Not just you, but even the Nine-Tails, the strongest of the tailed beasts, can be captured."

Haru's voice echoed through the room once more.

A, Mifune, Hiruzen, Shi, Darui, Fu, and the samurai of the Land of Iron all looked up to see Haru casually sitting on a branch of the tree he had created earlier, one leg swinging lazily.

"When did he…"

Shi frowned. Aside from genjutsu and medical ninjutsu, his sensory abilities were his greatest strength.

Moreover, from the moment Fu had taken action, Shi hadn't let his guard down.

Yet Haru had not only hidden his real body, but Shi hadn't even noticed when he had used the Wood Clone.

"Shi, your sensory abilities are indeed impressive."

Haru looked down at the group, his tone light.

If this were the Five Kage Summit era, Shi's sensory abilities might have been somewhat useful.

But now, more than a decade before that time, Shi's level of caution, sensory abilities, and ninjutsu were far from what they would become.

In other words, he still needed to grow.

"Wood Clones are different from ordinary shadow clones. Even the Byakugan and Sharingan can't distinguish them, let alone sensory abilities."

Haru spoke casually, but he noticed A preparing to attack.

"I don't care if you're the real body or a clone. If I can't tell the difference, I'll just destroy them all in one go!"

A took a deep breath, once again covering his body with Lightning Release chakra.

Lightning Release Chakra Mode!

"Wrapping lightning around the body to enhance durability and speed, creating a living armor."

Haru observed A from above.

In shinobi battles, information was often crucial.

If this were the first time someone had seen A's Lightning Release Chakra Mode, they might have been completely overwhelmed.

Even if they could see him, the difference in speed would be insurmountable.

It was like when Sasuke had faced Rock Lee. Even with the Sharingan, his body couldn't keep up.

"In that case, I'll play with you, Raikage."

With that, Haru stood up on the branch and drew his Zanpakutō.

"Heh." A let out a cold laugh. "You think I'm playing with you?"

"Wait, that sword…"

Shi, standing beside A, suddenly grew tense. Before this meeting, he had encountered Haru on the street and seen his Asauchi.

Among all the weapons Shi had seen, Haru's Asauchi was undoubtedly the most exceptional.

But now, the sword at Haru's waist was even more impressive than the Asauchi.

What was going on…

"No, I'm the one playing with you." Haru responded to A's question, his tone implying that he didn't need to go all out to deal with A.

"Explode, Raijin."

Haru's voice was low as he released his Zanpakutō.

A flash of purple lightning erupted, forming particles that swirled around Haru.

The Zanpakutō in his hand had vanished, replaced by a pair of silver-white gauntlets.

"The sword… is gone?" Mifune and the others widened their eyes in shock. Just when they thought Haru would unleash some high-level technique, the sword, which could be called a divine weapon, had simply disappeared.

Heavy Lightning Fist!