"This...this is impossible..."
Uchiha Shisui kept his head tilted back, his mouth unconsciously agape, and the shooting star that almost lit up the entire night sky was reflected in his scarlet kaleidoscope.
The hollow, resonant sound made it difficult for him to even hear his own voice, and the thick clouds in the sky were torn apart in pieces by the turbulent air currents.
Almost subconsciously, he unleashed a power of vision he had never displayed before in his life.
The azure Susanoo rapidly formed around his body at an incredible speed, from his skeleton and muscles to his heavy armor.
Fine streams of blood flowed continuously down his eye sockets.
Even so, he had not the slightest confidence that he could rely on this level of Susanoo to stop such a terrifying technique that was almost as powerful as nature itself.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also gritted his teeth fiercely.
Cold sweat streamed down the wrinkles of the old man's forehead. He slammed his Vajra staff into the ground before him and roared:
"Ape Demon!"
"It all depends on you!"
Unfortunately, even the ape demon, who claimed to be indestructible, had no confidence whatsoever after witnessing such terrifying power. He just roared with all his might, constantly making his body bigger and longer.
The jet-black Vajra Ruyi Cudgel roared and stretched continuously toward the sky, starting from the section planted in the ground.
Seconds later, it had transformed into a black beam that pierced the sky like a pillar, pointing directly in the direction where the meteor fell.
Jiraiya got up from the ground, but his hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably.
Sage Mode? Rasengan?
Faced with a technique of this caliber, even if he used all his strength, he had absolutely no confidence that he could stop it.
At this moment, he couldn't help but think of his exceptionally talented disciple who had died young, and he murmured involuntarily:
"Watergate".
"If only you were still here."
Kakashi and Shinnosuke Sarutobi, who were struggling to get up from the ground, were even more powerless.
Whether it's the Lightning Blade or the Sarutobi clan's inherited Fire Release technique, they are as fragile as a mantis trying to stop a chariot when facing an attack of this magnitude.
At this moment, even these top ninjas, who could be considered among the best in the entire ninja world, felt an indescribable sense of powerlessness from the depths of their hearts when faced with such a natural disaster, just like ordinary people.
"Is this... the Hyuga clan's trump card?"
As for the Hyuga main family that Kakashi was talking about, they scattered with a bang the moment they saw this scene, fleeing all over the place.
Hiashi Hyuga sped off in the opposite direction of the shooting star without looking back, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
Although they knew long ago that the adults of the upper clans probably wouldn't care about their lives, they still couldn't help but feel a strong sense of resentment when they witnessed this scene firsthand.
'Fine, you can ignore Konoha Village then.'
'We, your allies, are still here!'
This scene was witnessed not only by the group of people present.
Throughout Konoha, whether they were watching from near the Hokage Building or were just waking up from their sleep and barely getting out of bed, everyone gathered at the windows to watch this scene that resembled a natural disaster.
The devastating impact left most people frozen in place, their minds blank.
A terrifying thought simultaneously arose in their minds.
Is Konoha going to be destroyed like this?
Just then.
Suddenly, Shimura Danzo, who had just gotten up from the ground, let out a roar:
"no way!"
Seemingly hearing the roar that broke through the tremors, Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously turned around and looked in the direction of his old friend.
After using his Wood Release ninjutsu with all his might, the layers of bandages that had been binding Danzo Shimura's right arm shattered, revealing an arm that was entirely pale.
Those crimson Sharingan eyes were all adorning that arm, making it look terrifying.
However, at this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no longer in the mood to criticize him, and only gave a bitter smile.
—Danzo, you bastard.
However, Danzo's next move was beyond his expectations.
One step, two steps.
Danzo Shimura's steps were firm, his single eye fixed on the rapidly expanding, blazing meteor overhead, which was growing faster and faster.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi had focused his attention more intently, he could have seen that in his single eye, the black pupil and the kaleidoscope pattern were switching back and forth at an extremely high frequency.
The violent mental fluctuations represent the conflict between his instinctive will to survive and a belief deeply ingrained in his mind.
Danzo Shimura's voice was almost a struggle, yet he still managed to speak slowly through gritted teeth, his voice growing increasingly hoarse and muffled:
"Behind me... lies Konoha."
"Protecting Konoha is the only thing I cannot disobey!"
His mind flashed back countless times, rapidly recalling the biggest turning point in his life.
The image of Tobirama Senju seemed to appear before him once again, looking directly into his eyes from his youth.
"Who will cover the retreat this time?"
Danzo Shimura's aged face was more resolute and ferocious than ever before. He stepped onto Hiruzen Sarutobi's Vajra staff, his whole body seemingly glued to the staff, and flew forward at lightning speed.
His actions answered the question.
"I'll do it!!!"
Amidst this thunderous roar that seemed to stop the clouds in their tracks, and amidst the astonished, bewildered, confused, and excited gazes of everyone around him, Shimura Danzo's speed increased rapidly.
Behind him lay the night view of Konoha.
Danzo Shimura tore his clothes in front of his chest with his hands, revealing the huge sealing technique that was completely attached to his skin and covered his entire chest.
It was a forbidden technique that covered the entire body like the patterns of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams).
He was like a moth drawn to a flame, advancing with unstoppable momentum, faster than the Vajra Ruyi Staff could spread upwards, leaping straight towards the blazing meteor that fell from the sky, seemingly small in size, but in reality enough to level the entire Leaf Village.
"Danzo—!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's hoarse call was almost shrill.
Under his fixed gaze, the figure of Shimura Danzo suddenly expanded the instant it came into contact with the meteor, transforming into a pitch-black sphere large enough to envelop a radius of tens of meters.
"The Inner Four Symbols Seal!!"
In an instant, the pitch-black sphere, with an almost rule-like power, distorted space and tore apart everything falling from the sky.
It suddenly swallowed the blazing meteor whole.
Completely wiped out.
In an instant, the vibrations that had been continuously transmitted from the sky ceased completely.
The night in Konoha returned to its original dim hue, turning into a void of dust.
Only the streaks of fire scattered from the sky continued to fall.
A few more moments passed.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the entire sky gradually calmed down.
It turned into a deathly silence.
"oh?"
The Otsutsuki clone standing atop the lava giant watched this scene quietly, its expression unchanged.
It was as if they had anticipated this scene.
Everyone around him focused their attention on him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Shisui Uchiha, and so on.
In everyone's eyes, regardless of whether that gaze was filled with hatred, fear, apprehension, or anything else, they all contained the same intense thought.
We absolutely cannot let him unleash that technique again!
But how exactly do we defeat him?
Just recalling the clash between taijutsu and ninjutsu from earlier, a strong sense of despair involuntarily rose in everyone's hearts.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the young man in front of him, his eyes bloodshot, his chest heaving as if he had made some kind of decision.
Just as he was about to take a step forward, a bewildered yet familiar child's voice suddenly rang out behind him:
"Three generations of grandfathers!"
Almost the instant that sound rang out.
All eyes turned to the direction from which the sound had come.
Naruto, still wearing his pajamas, stared blankly at the scene before him.
On the contrary to him.
Many people present felt a surge of hope, as if they had been given a chance to escape a desperate situation, the moment they saw him.
Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!