Naruto and Yoruichi avoid being struck by lightning as they fight outside Naruto's barrier. The blonde was limiting himself to Taijutsu to get a feel for how much he improved his physique by using three different body tempering manuals. The dark-skinned Kuniochi closed the distance with the Body Flicker Jutsu and used a high kick against him.
Naruto blocked the by raising his arm and noted in his mind.
" Either she was weaker than expected, or my body tempering was far more effective than I expected. I'll need to use some Shadow Clones to help test my limits later."
Yoruichi quickly flickered away and threw some Shuriken, then weaved some hand signs for a Ninjutsu.
" Lightning Style, Shuriken Net Jutsu!"
Electricity spread from her hand and connected with the thrown Shuriken, forming a web of electricity between them. The blonde clenched his fist and imitated Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Strength Technique through precise Chakra Control as he punched the ground, causing a crater to form along with a blast of air and dust that knocked the Shuriken out midair.
Immediately after, large rocks were thrown from the dust cloud at Yoruichi, causing her to dodge. Naruto immediately appeared in front of her at a speed that surprised the dark-skinned Kuniochi. As his punch grazed her cheek, she grabbed his arm and flipped him as she, disrupted his balance. The blonde got slammed into the hard ground but quickly returned the favor by grappling the Kuniochi, only to find himself grabbing her torn sleeve instead while she slipped away.
Naruto would admit that Yoruichi was faster than him, whether in overall speed or reflexes, but that was all she had over him. The blonde knew all he needed was one good hit, and the dark-skinned Kuniochi would be in trouble. Chakra Enhanced Strength was no joke as it scaled with Chakra Control and Reserves, Tsunade being the prime example, with Time Skip Sakura further proving its effectiveness. All it takes is Chakra Control and familiarity with human anatomy.
Naruto decided to add his Breathing Style to the mix as while his body became significantly more powerful, the increase in speed was negligible in comparison. The blonde was in control of his breathing, and his body felt invigorated, his mind sharper and clearer. Yoruichi wasn't idle as she weaved hand signs for a C-Rank Ninjutsu.
" Lightning Style, Thunder Orbs Jutsu!"
Two orbs of electricity with a diameter of three feet formed in the dark-skinned Kuniochi's hands, and she threw them at the blonde. As they speed toward him, Naruto raises his arms as he intends to block and endure them; as how can an unimpressive Ninjutsu compare to natural lightning? The Ninjutsu struck him, and all he felt was an unpleasant jolt of electricity running through his body.
The pain was minor, and Yoruichi seeing her Jutsu being shrugged off didn't surprise her as she had seen the same with her father and was hoping to get him to dodge and then nail him with her Taijutsu. Naruto then charged at the dark-skinned Kuniochi with a burst of speed that surprised her.
" He's faster than before!?"
Yoruichi exclaimed in her head as she dodged a punch to the face but barely as her cheek got grazed. The blonde was surprised as well since he had only focused on getting familiar with his Breathing Style and not doing anything too strenuous. Now, the fight has changed. Before, the dark-skinned Kuniochi could outmaneuver and speed him, but now things leaned in the blonde's favor.
Yoruichi was on the defensive as it took all her focus to dodge and not be on the receiving end of Naruto's attacks. Another crater formed as the blonde's axe kick missed the dark-skinned barely. She then thought to herself.
" I'm going to need to spring my trap; otherwise, I am going to get some broken bones."
Yoruichi turned and ran, but not at her top speed, as she wanted to bait Naruto. The blonde wondered to himself.
" Is she really running away, or is she luring me somewhere for a trap?"
He decided it didn't matter as the dark-skinned Kuniochi was likely alone, considering how inhospitable this mountain range was. In the worst-case scenario, he could just Reverse Summon himself to the Fox Clan. Naruto chased after Yoruichi and felt more certain she was leading him to a trap as she never strayed too far from him to lose track of her.
The two soon reached a deep basin filled with gravel and Naruto notes.
" Definitely a good spot for a trap or an ambush if she isn't alone."
As he sets foot on the gravel while chasing Yoruichi, chains erupt from the rocks, and the blonde soon finds himself bound by chains that were being held by five Clones of the dark-skinned Kuniochi. Naruto struggled against the chains but quickly gave up, trying to brute force his way out, and started infusing his Chakra into the chains in preparation to break out. He wanted to know what his opponent wanted by trapping him like this, so he waited for the right moment to escape.
Yoruichi sighed lightly in relief at her trap working, as while she had her trump card, she wanted to avoid using it. She approached Naruto and started questioning him.
" I think some introductions are in order. Who are you?"
" Sasuke Uchiha."
The blonde lied through his teeth without a lick of shame. The dark-skinned Kuniochi arched her eyebrow in amusement before retorting.
" How strange, I hear all Uchiha are dark-haired and eyed, plus the images and sketches of you paint a different picture, Sasuke Uchiha."
" The incompetence of others is hardly an issue to me."
Naruto retorted back in mock arrogance while trying to look as snooty as possible. Yoruichi rolled her eyes and formed some hand signs for a D-Rank Jutsu.
" Lightning Style, Stun Shock Jutsu."
This was an interrogation Ninjutsu that inflicted more pain than damage; she learned from her ANBU Sensei that her father assigned to her. A small and weak-looking bolt of electricity shot out of her finger while pointing at the blonde. He grunted in pain as the bolt of electricity licked across his body, inflicting a white-hot electrocuting and burning pain despite the like of damage.
" Let's try this again. Who are you?"
Yoruichi demanded as she wanted information out of Naruto. He answered after sighing.
" I understand that we haven't seen each other in a while, but I can't believe you forgot your own father, you silly girl."
At the blonde's shamelessness, the dark-skinned Kuniochi didn't know whether to laugh or feel exasperated. After a moment or two, she decided just to zap him again. He winced at being hit again by the strange Jutsu that hurt more than being struck by lightning for some reason.
" Once more from the top. Who are you?"
Naruto considered making another joke but decided to move on and see what Yoruichi wanted.
" Naruto."
" Now, was that so hard?"
The dark-skinned Kuniochi said as she already noted his tales for lying from how he answered the first two times but still held a healthy amount of skepticism toward the answer she received.
" Next question, why are you here?"
Yoruichi demanded as she eyed Naruto to see how he would answer. The blonde decided to lie as he didn't want to make it easy for the dark-skinned Kuniochi.
" I got lost."
She rolled her eyes at the answer as she knew it was completely untrue and used her interrogation Jutsu to get information out of him.
" If you're going to lie, at least make it believable. Now answer the question."
Yoruichi demanded, and Naruto pulled out some other bullshit again.
" I climb mountains as a hobby, and the lightning storms offer a unique challenge."
Rather than zap him again, the dark-skinned Kuniochi just punched the blonde in the face, breaking his nose.
" Let's try this once more; why are you here?"
" Training."
Naruto answered curtly as he felt blood drip from his now broken nose onto his lips and resisted the urge to lick them. Yoruichi moved on to her next question.
" What is your affiliation?"
" Rorikstead, I'm from Rorikstead."
The blonde answered referencing a game he spent over a thousand hours on from his past life. The dark-skinned Kuniochi eye twitched at the blatant lie and started to weave some hand signs for another Jutsu to get information out of him.
" Hypnotic Illusion, Denial of Lies."
It was a Genjutsu that suppressed the ability to lie by controlling the parts of the brain that relate to memory and imagination, strengthening one and suppressing the other. A haze filled Naruto's mind, but he quickly figured out what was happening and bit his lip to break out of the Genjutsu and Yoruichi commented.
" I figured it wouldn't work, but I had to at least try. I guess I will have to use more extreme methods."
The dark-skinned Kuniochi took out a kunai and pointed at the blonde's nether region before threatening.
" Either answer my questions honestly or become a eunuch. Who do you work for?"
" No one but myself."
Naruto answered honestly as he truly believed his answer not, because of the threat but to gauge her reaction. He was ready to escape at any time.
" Despite you seemingly telling the truth, I doubt it."
Yoruichi said with an unconvinced look, and the blonde retorted while shrugging his shoulders.
" It's not my problem if you don't believe me."
" I beg to differ."
The dark-skinned Kuniochi said back as she brought her kunai closer to her prisoner's privates. The threat was apparent and clear as Naruto decided enough was enough. He may not feel malice or hate from Yoruichi, but that didn't mean his patience was unlimited. He used Wind Nature Transformation to cut a single link in each chain and broke free.
The dark-skinned Kuniochi leaped back to gain some distance, and the blonde then summoned his Chakra Steel Spear, a recent weapon he forged after he started to mine the Lightning Rod Mountains out of curiosity and found a vein of Chakra Iron. Yoruichi noted his choice of weapon in her mind.
" A spear? Odd, it's not a weapon you see a Shinobi use. Even samurai prefer katanas, but a few do use spears. He doesn't fight like a samurai, but Shinobi generally don't use such a bulky weapon."
As she pondered the blonde's unusual choice of weapon, he used Wind Nature Chakra Flow to extend his attack.
" Wind Style, Giant Hunting!"
Naruto cut through all the Clones that surround him, and they turned out to be Water Clones as they turned to water after getting hit. Yoruichi dodged the attack as she frowned and wondered if she was going to have to use her trump card.
" Am I going to have to use that? It isn't complete yet."
Thinking this she took out another kunai to help guard against the blonde's spear. With a kunai, she braced herself. Looking at the dark-skinned Kuniochi, the former Jinchūriki immediately used his Breathing Style to boost his speed. The next instant, lightning flashed near them, and the two clashed.
Naruto didn't find a Spear Jutsu Style in the Fox Clan's Archives, so he doubled down on mastering the basics and working on his dexterity with his spear. The results spoke for themselves; the blonde comfortably held the end of his spear to maximize his reach, and Yoruichi blocked with both kunai in her hands. He retracted his spear and entered a low stance with his polearm holding his spear with both hands.
In a burst of speed, Naruto closed the distance between him and Yoruichi, then thrust his spear repeatedly with precision and speed. The dark-skinned Kuniochi was on the defensive as she was starting to realize how much the extra reach the blonde gave him an annoying advantage. She frowned as her options were limited and thought.
" I don't have time to use hand signs, and it's taking everything to block his spear."
Naruto pressed his advantage and pulled off a feint, where he aimed for Yoruichi's arm, but his real target was her thigh to hamper her movements. The dark-skinned Kuniochi barely managed to dodge with a hasty Body Flicker Jutsu to give her some distance and thought.
" Looks, I have no choice. I will have to use that."
As Naruto charged with a burst of speed, Yoruichi said to him with a grim smile.
"You're the first to see this. Feel honored."
The dark-skinned Kuniochi's body was suddenly clad in lightning that destroyed part of her clothes and exposed her shoulders,back, and arms.
" Shunkō!"
She vanished from the blonde's sight, and before he could look for her, he got a punch to the face from the right and was sent flying. Naruto crashed into the gravel and muttered to himself.
" I am going to feel that tomorrow."
He pulled himself up and saw the sparks of electricity dancing around Yoruichi and rubbed his cheek while analyzing what was happening.
" Lightning Armor Chakra Mode? No, it would clad her like a cloak, this different. Hmm, her clothes got destroyed around her shoulders and arms. Why? Maybe rather than a constant cloak of Chakra, it's short, intense bursts of Lightning Nature Chakra?"
As Naruto took his stand, the dark-skinned Kuniochi punched him in the guts and lifted him in the air before getting sent flying again with a swift and powerful kick. He crashed against the ground and decided.
" I need to use the Eight Inner Gates."
Unlike pre-time skip Rock Lee, the blonde didn't need the Primary Lotus to unlock his Gates, as when he first learned that he used them during the Trial of the Mind, he worked on opening them on demand.
" Gate of Opening, open!"
As Naruto got to his feet with surge of new strength, Yoruichi closed the distance almost instantly and sent him flying again unlike before, the blonde could at least catch part of her movements even if they were a blur. He opened another Gate.
" Gate of Rest, open!"
The dark-skinned Kuniochi didn't wait for him to get up again as she used an axe kick as he was down and just barely dodged with his boost of strength.
" Gate of Life, open!"
An unusual transformation took over Naruto. Not only did his skin turn red, and his iris and pupil vanish from his eyes, his blonde hair gained red highlights, and a red mist formed around him. Yoruichi was stunned by the sudden transformation and on guard. The blonde moved at a higher speed now, much to the dark-skinned Kuniochi's surprise, as it was back to being equal to her, if not a bit superior. She frowned as she realized.
" I need to end this soon; otherwise I am going to be on the losing end."
As the two fought, the eternal lightning storm over the Lightning Rod Mountains entered a period of heightened intensity. Lightning flashed continuously, and the brief clashes between Naruto and Yoruichi were revealed during the flashes of lightning. The dark-skinned Kuniochi was losing as her variation of Lightning Armor Chakra Mode was still incomplete, and the blonde was simply a bit faster than her with high durability and strength.
However, the fact of this only made Yoruichi eager to overcome the obstacle before her as a Shinobi is forged in conflict, and she was no greenhouse flower despite her Mother's efforts to have her retain her status as a Lady of the Daimyo's court. The dark-skinned Kuniochi takes inspiration from her grandfather, the Third Raikage, and focuses her Shunkō into her first for a desperate attack to at least knock out the Naruto or critically injure him enough for her to retreat.
Naruto saw what Yoruichi was up to as she, concentrated her Lightning Nature Chakra into her fist, and decided to meet her attack head-on with his own fist. He felt like he did owe her a little since she helped him push his limits unintentionally, so he had zero aim to kill her. Their fists lit up with densely packed lightning, and they threw their respective punches with everything they had.
Yoruichi panted as she exhausted her Chakra, and her fist dropped first as she lost consciousness from exhaustion on every level. Naruto was still standing and caught her so she wouldn't hit the hard ground. His transformation wore off, and the recoil of the Inner Gates hit him hard. His body ached all over, but his attention was on the girl in his arms and then on his hand, which was bleeding profusely from the dark-skinned Kuniochi's last attack.
The blonde sighed and asked out loud although not expecting an answer.
" What now?"