The impact of the Phantom Daytime Tiger finally shattered the limits of the Immovable Wisdom King's defense. As the golden light faded, cracks splintered across the wooden Kannon's sacred body—then, with a thunderous crash, it exploded into fragments.
In the split second before collapse, Hashirama leapt clear from the shelter of the Ranking Board!
But as he fell, he was still within the tiger's devastating range.
"Am I… still too late?"
Whoosh! Just then, a cloud swept in, cushioning Hashirama's fall.
It was one of the Nimbus Clouds to which Naruto had granted a soul!
Hashirama's eyes lit up. "Ah Yun! What are you doing here?"
The Nimbus Cloud chuckled, "Hehe~ I just love a good show! Wherever there's action, you'll find me~"
Even after breaking through the Immovable Wisdom King, the Phantom Daytime Tiger's shockwave kept roaring forward—straight at the gates of Hidden Rain!
"This is no joke anymore…" Tobirama lowered his hands from his chest, voice grim. "All those revived by Impure World Reincarnation, follow me. Whatever it takes—even if we have to be meat shields—we must hold this wave. If we don't, the Hidden Rain Village is finished!"
As he moved forward, hands about to weave signs, a figure landed before him.
A lean body cloaked in crimson chakra, forming the mighty Crow Tengu. The legendary Yata Mirror hovered, shielding the front.
It was Uchiha Itachi, calm and unflinching.
"The Yata Mirror has only ever been broken by Guy-sensei himself—using the strongest taijutsu under the Gate of Death. That kind of pinpoint destructive force can't be matched by sheer numbers alone…"
BOOM!!
The leading tiger of the Phantom Daytime Tiger slammed into the Yata Mirror, rebounded, and collided with the tigers behind!
But a chain reaction didn't occur. The density of attacks was so high that the colliding shockwaves built up in front of the Yata Mirror, forming a swelling white pressure sphere. As more tigers crashed in, the sphere grew ever larger…
The Yata Mirror's invincible defense could only reflect what touched its surface. As the pressure sphere ballooned past the mirror's edge—its fluid mass began to seep around the sides, pushing toward the defenders behind!
Just as Itachi expected.
"Lord Second, this isn't something I can handle alone. Please, help deal with the attacks leaking through!"
Tobirama smirked. "The Uchiha do produce a few geniuses, now and then…"
He formed hand signs.
—Water Release: Diving Dragon!
Whoosh! Spiraling water dragons erupted from swirling vortexes, their supple power neutralizing the lingering force of the Daytime Tiger.
But it still wasn't enough!
Hiruzen tossed his Ruyi Staff high—
—Ruyi Shadow Clone Technique!
POOF POOF POOF…!
The staff multiplied into hundreds, interlocking to form a towering fence!
Behind the barricade, Shisui activated his Susanoo, bracing the fence with colossal strength.
Another layer of defense!
The revived ninja, each wielding their signature jutsu, unleashed attacks through the fence's gaps, further whittling down the Daytime Tiger's remaining force!
At last… that seemingly unstoppable assault was halted—just outside the gates of Hidden Rain—by the united front of the entire force!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
And then, as the Gate of Wonder's time ran out, all six thousand clone Guys suffered irreversible chakra pathway collapse. Helpless, unable to use chakra, they fell to the ground—awaiting only death.
By now, nearly half of the twenty thousand clone army had been lost.
Kabuto Yakushi's face was grim.
Whoosh!
Naruto and Hinata returned to the battlefield, hand in hand. The devastation before them weighed heavily on Naruto's heart.
He looked at Kabuto Yakushi, surrounded by a sea of troops, and called out, voice ringing clear: "Kabuto… isn't this enough? We stopped the first half of your forces without even going all out. The rest won't be any harder."
"…," Kabuto hung his head in silence. He knew—at this point, even if the remaining ten thousand all opened the Gate of Wonder at once, it wouldn't change the outcome.
Naruto pressed on: "If you really wanted to kill us, you should've had all twenty thousand open the Gate of Wonder simultaneously, going for a desperate all-or-nothing blitz. But you never had that kind of resolve. That's why you're losing now…"
Kabuto sneered, "What I've done today is enough to earn my place in history!"
Naruto shook his head. "History is written by the victors. If you fail, no one will remember your deeds."
"But let me tell you… if you take the remaining ten thousand and switch sides, that would be a feat worthy of legend—something truly immortalized in history!"
"Heh heh heh heh heh…"
Kabuto let out a low, twisted laugh and raised his head, glasses flashing white. "What are you talking about, Naruto? Actually, this situation is exactly what I wanted!"
Sizzle sizzle sizzle…!
Kabuto Yakushi activated Sage Mode!
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Even now, he hasn't given up… Could he still have a trump card? The real Bushy Brow-sensei has already been returned to Konoha."
Kabuto's voice grew darker. "The corpses of ten thousand dead Guys—whole or mangled—are all still here on the battlefield. Do you know what that means, Naruto…"
Naruto's pupils shrank. "Don't tell me—"
"That's right! This is a natural life-mass extraction field. I don't even need to gather them myself!!"
A mad smile curled across Kabuto's lips.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
At the front lines, the six thousand clone Guys who'd opened the Gate of Wonder and barely clung to life all bit through the poison hidden in their teeth—ending themselves in an instant!
Then, Kabuto Yakushi wove a rapid series of hand signs.
Whoosh! A Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation formation, vast enough to blanket the entire battlefield, erupted!
"Ten thousand in a pit, ten thousand buried, ten thousand dead, ten thousand reborn. Naruto, you inspired me. When I heard how you created 'Namikaze Naruto' at the River of the Dead, I was truly awed by your genius…"
"This Impure World Reincarnation will burn up all my chakra in one go. I never planned to walk away from today's battle. This—this is the act that will truly go down in history!"
—Sage Art: Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation!
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…!
A storm of dust and screams rose as the ten thousand living clone Guys were sacrificed as living offerings!
And then… the ten thousand clone Guys who had already died on the battlefield were resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation!
Every ninja present was struck speechless by the horror.
Thud!!
Kabuto Yakushi collapsed to his knees, utterly drained—but a crazed smile still twisted his lips.
—"Undying bodies, infinite chakra, ten thousand clone Guys who can open the Gate of Wonder endlessly… This is true immortality!!!"
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Congratulations to our dear reader 'Killer Bee' for topping the August 28th reward charts. I really jinxed myself and got slapped in the face, huh…
Thanks to MiKu, Min Meng Youlan, Can I Raise a Cat, Guan Hao of Dragon Spring Valley, .., Tanjiro of the Dawn Gate, Name Already Taken, Battlefield Dancer—Uchiha Madara, I Only Drink Milk Tea, Dou Dou Zhuan Zhuan's Dou, Obito Never Hated This World, Waiting for Roll to Let Her Guard Down, and all the other readers for your support~!
Whenever I see those familiar names on the list… my affection grows deeper. It's strange, Roll, what's happening to me?
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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