Yamato wanted to use Wood Release to force Kirito back, but before the wood could get close, it was crushed to pieces by the enormous Rasenshuriken.
Everyone fell into deep despair.
Kakuzu's fate was still vivid in their minds.
"No, stop it, Kirito." Naruto stood up with difficulty with the help of Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Choji.
Just like Sasuke, Kirito was someone who had once shown him kindness, the first person to recognize him, and the first person to care about him. He couldn't bear to break that bond.
Even if Kirito had only invited him to eat ramen on a whim.
Kirito ignored Naruto and hurled the massive Rasenshuriken toward Kakashi.
"No!" Ino-Shika-Cho, Naruto, and Yamato shouted in unison. Kakashi also closed his eyes in despair, recalling the failures of his life.
His father had died, his best friend had died, his teacher and even Rin were gone.
Now, at last, he was going to join Obito, Rin, and his sensei.
But the deadly attack never landed. To everyone's shock, the gigantic Rasenshuriken veered off at the last second, slicing only a shallow line across Kakashi's neck before shooting toward a distant mountain.
Boom.
A deafening explosion erupted.
Blinding light and searing heat engulfed the area as the explosion reached the Konoha shinobi's field of vision.
The air was blasted away by the overwhelming force, forming a milky white shockwave that spread rapidly from the epicenter of the blast.
The wave swept on relentlessly.
Trees several arms thick were torn apart like paper, shredded into flying fragments, then reduced to ash under the continuing pressure.
Even from afar, the intense wind and dust swept away everyone from Konoha.
Only Karin and Chinatsu avoided being knocked down thanks to Chinatsu's Earth Style technique.
When the storm finally subsided, Kakashi and the others stared toward the explosion's origin, their jaws dropping.
In the distance, the towering mountain had completely vanished.
A pit roughly two to three hundred meters wide had formed in its place.
A pillar of water, thick enough that three or four people could wrap their arms around it, gushed from the pit's center and shot into the sky, then came crashing down to flood the crater and spill outward.
"Is this the real Rasenshuriken?" Everyone stood frozen, staring in terror at the obliterated mountain, finally managing to utter just that one sentence.
"Ahem..." Kirito cleared his throat theatrically. "Looks like I threw it in the wrong direction. Guess I really am getting old."
At that, Kirito turned to Kakashi.
"What do you want?" Kakashi asked, still touching the bleeding scratch on his neck, trying to make sense of why Kirito had spared him.
Could it be... because of Naruto?
He looked at Naruto, who still hadn't recovered from the shock.
"I just feel like killing you now would be too boring. I'll be taking Kakuzu's body. So how about we pretend you didn't see me today?" Kirito offered casually.
The Konoha shinobi looked at each other, frowning in confusion.
Seeing that, Kirito added, "Let me rephrase. If any of you says a word about seeing me today, or if word spreads that I was here, I'll throw a Rasenshuriken at Konoha."
"Don't think I need some bloodline limit or unique physique to do damage. I've got plenty of chakra."
"If I split off a thousand shadow clones and each of them launched that same Rasenshuriken... I could fire it three thousand times."
"What do you think would happen to Konoha after just the first thousand?"
"Konoha would be wiped off the map," Kakashi sighed, closing his eyes. He knew Kirito wasn't bluffing. The man who annihilated the Sarutobi clan would absolutely destroy Konoha if he wanted.
It was just a question of whether he felt like it.
"Then it's settled. Farewell, everyone. I look forward to our next fight. Maybe it'll be our last."
With that, Kirito gave Chinatsu a wink and disappeared in a puff of smoke. At the same time, Kakuzu's "corpse" vanished from the pit.
"We're saved." Choji, who had been knocked flat by the blast, flopped onto his back, limbs spread, gasping for breath.
"Chinatsu, Karin," Kakashi called out. His cautious nature had them immediately sense Kirito's chakra.
Once they confirmed that he was truly gone, the tension in their bodies melted away. With his chakra depleted, Kakashi collapsed face-first into the dirt.
"Kakashi-senpai, are you alright?" Yamato rushed over to support him.
"I'm fine. Barely. I owe my life to Naruto," Kakashi replied with a tired smile, still believing Naruto had called off Kirito.
"Just now..." Yamato began but was stopped by a look from Kakashi.
"I know. Everyone, don't mention anything about Fujiwara Kirito today. We'll report directly to the Hokage. Where's Chinatsu?"
Yamato looked around, confused.
"Uh, Chinatsu reverse-summoned herself just now," Karin lied, though she was grumbling inwardly: I want to go find Lord Kirito too...
Elsewhere, Chinatsu hadn't gone far when a hand gently landed on her shoulder.
Without hesitation, she turned and dove into the man's arms.
"You're so confident—aren't you afraid you recognized the wrong person?" Kirito asked, stroking her head softly.
"Hehe, only you can evade my perception and make your mind unreadable. I'd never mistake you," Chinatsu whispered, rubbing her face against his chest and hugging him tightly as if she never wanted to let go.
"Nothing in this world is absolute. Don't depend too much on your abilities, or you'll suffer a terrible loss one day," Kirito warned.
"I know, Kirito," Chinatsu said and kissed his cheek.
"You little brat. How many times have I told you to call me Dad?" Kirito sighed, helpless. Then he asked, "So, how are things at home?"
"Everything's good. To take care of my baby brother, Mom brought Aunt Kurenai to live with us. Kirito, when are you coming home to see me?" Chinatsu looked up and flashed a devilish smile.
Kirito's mouth twitched. In that instant, any desire to return home vanished. Good grief... Tsunade, that tiger woman, really set a trap for him.
(End of Chapter)