At this moment, at the border of the Land of Lightning.
With the fall of nine Chibaku Tensei meteorites, the entire area had transformed into a hellscape.
As far as the eye could see, there was only boiling red lava formed from rocks melted by the devastating impact, with thick black smoke billowing like a dark curtain, even blotting out the warm morning sunlight.
Facing this apocalyptic heavenly assault, over ninety-nine percent of Iwagakure's ninjas perished.
After all, this time there was no spirited joint attack from Ōnoki and Gaara to hold back the meteors.
Even if they had worked together, they could barely stop one Tengai Shinsei meteor, let alone nine at once!
As a result, the army of over ten thousand was annihilated in an instant, not even bones remaining.
High above the sky.
Sasuke held Boruto, floating in the air, gazing at the cruel hell below, his eyes remaining cold.
"Sensei…"
"Quiet…"
Boruto wanted to say something but was immediately silenced by Sasuke.
He knew Boruto inherited Naruto's nature. Even though he had darkened, the deepest kindness in his heart remained unchanged.
But Boruto was ultimately too naive, or too young.
Yet to be baptized by the blood and tears of the Shippuden series, he couldn't fully grasp the consequences of showing mercy.
Kaguya had been unsealed, and no one knew what she and Isshiki were truly planning.
Every minute of delay now was a catastrophe for the entire ninja world.
Sasuke could only use a more ruthless and decisive method to crush Iwagakure's forces.
He could only sigh—bad luck for Iwagakure, caught at the turning point of this sudden situation. Otherwise, their sacrifices might have been fewer compared to Kumogakure and Kirigakure.
"Sensei, are they all dead?"
"No, some escaped underground using Doton."
A very few elite Iwagakure Jōnin, veterans of the Fourth Ninja World War who had witnessed the terrifying power of Tengai Shinsei, better understood the horror and despair of nine Chibaku Tensei meteors.
Thus, they immediately activated Doton, frantically burrowing underground to take shelter and avoid this death package.
Unfortunately, the internal reaction force and impact from the giant meteors crashing into the ground were also terrifying, capable of penetrating hundreds to thousands of meters below…
Layers of rock and soil were crushed and shattered by the immense force. Most Iwagakure ninjas who burrowed underground with Doton were compressed into thin sheets by the overwhelming power, their organs ruptured, dying instantly to become fertilizer or fossils within the rock layers.
Of course, a few exceptionally skilled Doton ninjas, if they burrowed deep and fast enough, barely managed to save their lives.
"Should we pursue them? I can—"
"No need. The few who escaped won't matter."
"Then, Sensei, where to next?"
"To Iwagakure's headquarters. We'll clean that place out too…"
Sasuke answered coldly, unwavering in his resolve to destroy Iwagakure.
If there had been enough time, he could have planned more carefully, reducing casualties. But now, he could no longer simmer on low heat—he had to use high flames!
As he spoke, Sasuke waved his hand again, opening another space portal directly to Iwagakure's headquarters.
But just as he was about to enter, Sasuke suddenly paused, looking doubtfully toward the southwest.
"Sensei, what's wrong?"
"This chakra aura?"
"?"
"It's Otsutsuki Kaguya! She's there?!!"
Sasuke was shocked, instantly recognizing the astonishing chakra aura hundreds of kilometers away in the southwest.
He wasn't a sensory-type ninja, but with his current power level and the enhancement of Six Paths chakra in all aspects, his sensory abilities were not to be underestimated.
More importantly, the distant chakra aura was incredibly strong and striking.
And it seemed to be in the midst of intense combat, which was why Sasuke could sense it so clearly.
"Kaguya? The Rabbit Goddess you and Dad sealed? Wasn't she with Otsutsuki Isshiki capturing Bijuu? Why is she there?"
Boruto was confused.
A distance of several hundred kilometers wasn't short for a ninja, requiring hours of travel. But for enemies like Kaguya and Isshiki, it was very close; even without space-time abilities, they could fly there in minutes.
Had they already learned Sasuke's location and separated from Daimon?
Were they preparing to team up and kill Sasuke while he was alone?
"No…"
"Her chakra isn't moving. If she wanted to kill me, she'd have opened a teleportation portal and appeared precisely. And Eida shouldn't betray her brother."
"As for that direction, that distance…"
"It should be the location of Sunagakure's forces."
Sasuke muttered as he analyzed. After all, Sunagakure's forces were heading toward Iwagakure's, so it was basically certain.
"Bijuu?"
"That's it. That fool Gaara must have brought Shukaku with him!"
"No wonder Kaguya appeared there—she's after Ichibi!"
Sasuke quickly deduced the truth. Only this could explain why Kaguya's chakra aura appeared there.
"Shukaku? Wasn't he sent back to Sunagakure?"
Boruto recalled Shukaku, who had once been sent to Konoha for protection. His cute, silly appearance when shrunk and sealed in a fūin chagama was loved by Himawari.
When the threat subsided and Shukaku was sent back to Sunagakure, Himawari even cried, reluctant to let him go!
"Correct. Gaara probably thought Shukaku would be safer with him, so he brought him along. Foolishly, he didn't expect to attract Otsutsuki Kaguya…"
Gaara's judgment wasn't entirely wrong.
Facing the Fifth Ninja World War triggered by the Kara organization, Sunagakure's elite forces mobilized fully. Rather than leaving Shukaku, a Kage-level power, in the village, it was better to bring him along.
He could be a helper and safer.
Unfortunately, due to limited information, they had no idea Kaguya had been unsealed and was capturing Bijuu.
Being near any Bijuu right now was undoubtedly the most dangerous place!
"Sensei, what now? Shukaku…"
"Let's check. Hopefully, Ichibi hasn't been taken yet."
If both Isshiki and Kaguya were there, he'd have to retreat. Though he was strong now, he was no match for Kaguya and Isshiki alone.
If only Kaguya was there and Shukaku hadn't been taken, he could try to save Shukaku.
At least seizing one Bijuu to disrupt the enemy's plan would be good.
Sasuke activated his Dōjutsu, opening another space portal directly to the center of the battlefield hundreds of kilometers away.
But his real body didn't rush in. Instead, he sent a Kage Bunshin through the portal first to scout and gather information, also to avoid Kaguya and Isshiki both lying in wait on the other side to ambush reinforcements.
A few seconds later.
After receiving confirmation from the clone that it was safe, Sasuke's real body took Boruto through the portal to the other side.
Half an hour after Sasuke and Boruto left, a hundred kilometers from the ruins of Iwagakure's devastated battlefield…
Two other figures emerged from underground, battered and disheveled.
Akatsuchi, covered in blood, carried the severely injured Kurotsuchi, collapsing there after surviving the disaster, panting heavily.
Clearly, they were the veteran Iwagakure ninjas fortunate enough to survive the meteor package.
When they saw the Chibaku Tensei meteors falling, Akatsuchi knew he couldn't fight back. He immediately pulled Kurotsuchi, activated Doton, and frantically burrowed underground to escape.
Everyone else could die, but their Tsuchikage must not!
Iwagakure was already short on successors. If the Tsuchikage died too, it would all be over.
Though they escaped quickly, they still couldn't fully avoid the meteors' blast radius. They were severely injured by the shockwave and nearly died underground.
"Senior, are you okay?"
"Cough—still not dead!" Kurotsuchi spat out a large amount of blood, her face deathly pale.
"It's over, all over. Was that Otsutsuki Sasuke? That power… it's not human at all…!"
Akatsuchi muttered in despair. Facing such power, he had no courage to fight back…
"Otsutsuki Sasuke! I'll kill you!"
"Cough cough—!"
Kurotsuchi coughed up blood while swearing fiercely.
She didn't understand why her Talk no Jutsu failed completely. Kirigakure and Kumogakure's forces clearly weren't entirely destroyed—why were they so miserable? Launching a massive attack without giving any chance to negotiate.
Was her negotiation skill really that bad?
How did Terumi Mei and Darui survive?
The former aside, was the latter's skill really better than hers?
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Sasuke and Boruto arrived at the location of Sunagakure's forces, hundreds of kilometers away.
But clearly, they were one step too late.
As far as the eye could see, an area spanning thousands of meters was covered in trees—not normal trees, but giant ones formed by Mokuton.
Each vine hung the bodies of Suna ninjas, bound by wooden tendrils, resembling mummies.
It was strikingly similar to the allied ninjas hung by Mokuton during the Infinite Tsukuyomi at the end of the Fourth Ninja World War.
"Sensei, this?!!"
"It seems to be Shin: Jukai Kōtan unleashed by Otsutsuki Kaguya!"
Apart from secret and forbidden jutsu developed by ninjas, all jutsu and kekkei genkai related to bloodlines in the ninja world originated from Kaguya, the ancestor of chakra.
Even Hashirama's famously brutal Mokuton was no exception. Kaguya could use it too—and even stronger!
"Why are they all entangled in Mokuton?"
"They've been turned into chakra blood bags by Kaguya, just to drain their chakra."
Hashirama's Mokuton instinctively absorbed and suppressed Bijuu chakra, but Kaguya's Mokuton went further, capable of absorbing ninja chakra too.
"What? A-are they all dead?"
"All dead."
Sasuke sensed and confirmed the answer.
This time, Kaguya wasn't creating White Zetsu, so her method of draining chakra from Sunagakure's ninjas was far more brutal than during the Fourth Ninja World War.
In just a few minutes, all their chakra was drained, and the life force of tens of thousands of Sunagakure ninjas vanished.
"This… it's too horrific." Boruto was deeply shocked.
Once again, Sasuke aimed to unify the ninja world, giving a way out for ninjas and humans.
But Kaguya and Isshiki were purely after the Chakra Fruit. Even if it meant killing all humans and draining the entire planet, they wouldn't hesitate.
The fundamental contradiction and conflict between the two sides were destined to be irreconcilable…
"Hmm? There's still someone alive?"
Sasuke sensed a faint chakra aura.
He flew down from the air, waving his hand to cut through a wooden mummy, revealing the figure inside.
The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara.
He was indeed still alive, likely because he had more chakra, and Kaguya, in a rush to leave, couldn't fully drain him, allowing him to survive.
"Boruto, wake him up."
"Huh?"
Boruto was startled but complied, pinching vital points on Gaara's face, which failed to rouse him.
So he unleashed a bigger move, landing several hard slaps on Gaara's face.
The chance to slap his father's friend, the current Kazekage, didn't come often!
The pain on his face slowly woke the unconscious Gaara.
Upon opening his eyes, he saw a kid slapping him hard, leaving Gaara bewildered.
(Am I in the Pure Land?)
(Why is the Pure Land so weird? Even kids are this brutal?)
(Or is this the Pure Land's special way of welcoming newcomers?)
"Sensei, he's awake!"
Boruto stopped slapping and immediately reported the good news.
Only then did Gaara realize this wasn't the Pure Land—he wasn't dead. Then he saw Sasuke beside him.
"You… Otsutsuki Sasuke? You and Kaguya…"
Gaara muttered accusingly, his heart instantly filled with boundless anger, mistakenly thinking Sasuke and Kaguya were allies.
Sasuke was too lazy for explanations. Activating his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu, he instantly dominated Gaara.
From his consciousness, Sasuke obtained the information he wanted.
Just as he had suspected.
Kaguya and the others came for Shukaku, the Ichibi.
Gaara brought Ichibi to the war, leading Sunagakure's forces to hasten their journey. But upon reaching here, a Yomotsu Hirasaka portal opened in the air.
Kaguya, Isshiki, and Eida descended.
Without much talk, Kaguya immediately activated Shin: Jukai Kōtan, annihilating Sunagakure's entire army and seizing Shukaku.
Gaara lasted only three seconds but still couldn't defeat Kaguya's Mokuton, ending up bound as a captive in wooden tendrils.
He wasn't clear on what happened next.
He also didn't know when Kaguya and the others left…
Of course, one piece of critical information stood out: when Kaguya and the others descended, Gaara overheard that this was the last Bijuu.
"Sensei, what now?"
"Very bad!"
"Ichibi has fallen into enemy hands; Eida was taken by Isshiki, so Kawaki might fail; worst of all, the enemy may have already collected all the Bijuu…"
Three pieces of news, each worse than the last, made Sasuke frown.
He had expected Isshiki and the others' Bijuu capture operation to be fast, but their actual speed was still shockingly rapid.
A plan that took Akatsuki over a decade to pursue, they completed in just half a day.
Indeed, having a map-hack-like Senrigan was too overpowered. This half-day delay was likely because Senrigan needed rest and couldn't be used continuously.
"Have the enemies collected all the Bijuu?"
"Then what about Dad? Kurama is still inside him!"
"Speaking of which, after collecting all the Bijuu, will they return to Konoha?"
"Kawaki and Sarada are still in the village—they're in danger!"
Boruto instantly thought of many things, his heart filled with anxiety, wanting to rush back to Konoha to save them.