Kakashi accepted it solemnly, then immediately sprinted toward the Raikage. Once he arrived, he handed the scroll to the Raikage and repeated Tenten's report word for word.
"Impossible…"
"Unbelievable…"
"That's way too incredible!"
The Three Kage were stunned, and then, in the next breath, overcome with ecstatic joy.
Right now, the five living Jinchūriki were being protected on the Allied Shinobi Forces' side. Add to that these four Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) Jinchūriki, and all nine tailed beasts were now in the alliance's hands—so how, exactly, was the enemy supposed to assemble the Ten-Tails, let alone cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi?
Guy, still lying there, raised his thumb again and laughed loudly. "Hahahaha! That's our Tenten! Nicely done!"
The Three Kage gave their approval as well. This was the kind of merit that simply couldn't be disputed.
If you counted it up carefully, Natsuki and Tenten, the young couple, were the brightest performers in this entire war.
From the very beginning, during the mobilization and preparations, the two of them had been flashing around with Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God), massively improving the efficiency of the whole mobilization. And now, in strategic operations, Natsuki was personally holding the line against the strongest enemy, Uchiha Madara, while Tenten had sealed the Edo Tensei army—and even sealed away four tailed beasts.
In other words, an overwhelming portion of the credit belonged to the two of them.
How fortunate the Allied Shinobi Forces were, to have these two as allies.
At this point, victory felt assured.
The Raikage chuckled as he put away the scroll containing the Kohaku no Jōhei (Amber Purifying Jar), choosing to personally keep it.
As for why Tenten didn't keep it herself, the Raikage could probably understand.
Tenten's Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) was fast, but her overall combat strength wasn't top-tier. If the enemy caught a single opening, the Kohaku no Jōhei could easily be snatched away. There was also another reason: Tenten didn't want herself to become a target, because that would make Natsuki worry.
And perhaps there was a third reason as well—Tenten's father was just an ordinary civilian. If the enemy played dirty and captured her father to force her to hand over the Kohaku no Jōhei, she would be trapped in an impossible dilemma.
So it was better to hand it to the Raikage for safekeeping. After all, the Kohaku no Jōhei wasn't truly hers to begin with.
That way, she could be unburdened—and her mood would be far lighter.
Tsunade sighed with emotion. "What a smart girl."
Ōnoki nodded. "She is smart. But really, it's also because we aren't strong enough. Otherwise, why would a child have so many concerns? Now that the four tailed beasts are entrusted to us for protection, that is only proper. Whether we can hold onto victory—this responsibility should be ours to bear. Isn't that right?"
The Raikage and Tsunade both nodded in agreement. This was not "someone else's" duty.
If danger was coming, then let it come to them.
Over there, Natsuki was still fighting. He had been in Sage Mode for half an hour already, and there was still no sign of the battle ending.
Uchiha Madara found it utterly unbelievable. "What kind of monster are you?! Instant Sage Mode is one thing, but you can sustain it for this long too?!"
Natsuki chuckled. "Simple. Practice more."
He wasn't lying. After learning Sage Mode, Natsuki truly trained it every day.
After years of repetition, he had mastered instant activation, and he could maintain it for a long time. That was one of his greatest foundations for confronting Uchiha Madara.
Unfortunately, Sage Mode could not be combined with the Eight Gates.
Sage Mode required the balance of three energies—kept in a precise ratio—while the Eight Gates forcibly opened the body's limits and threw that balance into chaos. Once the balance broke, Sage Mode could no longer be maintained.
Still, Natsuki had already reached the level beyond Kage. In Sage Mode, he was not weaker than Uchiha Madara.
So there was nothing to regret. He could simply keep fighting.
Natsuki continued, "Guess whose Sage Mode I learned."
Uchiha Madara, intrigued, followed along. "Whose?"
"Heh. The person you care about most."
"I see! Then no wonder—hahaha, heehee…"
"Then say it! You can't even bring yourself to say his name. Are you really his close friend? Are you really his lifelong rival?!"
"Heh-heh-heh. You little bastard."
Uchiha Madara was laughing in anger. It was Natsuki and his girlfriend who had cursed his catchphrase, and now Natsuki was turning around to blame him. Was he trying to provoke him into slipping?
Fine.
He really was angry now.
"Natsuki! If you're so capable, then take this!"
Uchiha Madara activated Susanoo, but his eyes were the Rinnegan. He and Susanoo formed seals together, as though some invisible force were reaching out into outer space to grasp something.
"Tengai Shinsei (Heaven Concealed Earth Star)!"
Boom!
An enormous meteor fell from the sky.
Everyone stared in shock. Even the Three Kage gaped like their jaws had dropped clean off, because it was simply beyond imagination.
Summoning a meteor… it was practically divine.
How could a foe like this possibly be defeated?
But Natsuki wasn't surprised at all. He had known Uchiha Madara possessed this technique, so he flew upward to meet it. Very quickly, he reached the underside of the meteor—and at the same time, flicked a formula kunai toward Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Madara froze, then his expression changed.
In the next moment, the meteor above Natsuki vanished—and reappeared directly above Uchiha Madara's head.
"Hahaha! Hiraishin, huh? What a freakishly broken technique!"
Even Uchiha Madara had to admit it. With Natsuki's chakra reserves, moving a tailed beast bomb ten times larger wouldn't be a problem, let alone a mere meteor.
He understood immediately: he had lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot.
And Natsuki was still watching the sky. Soon, he spotted the second meteor.
Uchiha Madara loved the second meteor. Enemies who fought desperately to withstand the first would often fall into despair when the second arrived.
Just like in the original history—Ōnoki's old bones had barely held off one meteor, and the second nearly crushed him.
But against Natsuki, this trick was useless.
Natsuki flew up again—and once more transferred the meteor to hover above Uchiha Madara's head, as if to see how Madara would answer his own summoned calamity.
And Uchiha Madara, worthy of the title "Asura of the Shinobi World," didn't dodge at all.
He had Susanoo raise its great sword, then swung it down in a single violent arc. A terrifying blade wave split the two massive meteors into four pieces—showing just how monstrous Susanoo's power truly was.
Four fragments crashed down with thunderous detonations. Uchiha Madara's Susanoo remained standing at the center, domineering and invincible.
He laughed loudly. "Hahahaha! Hiraishin… not bad."
Natsuki laughed as well. "Your Susanoo is pretty good too. I just wonder if it would 'break' if a meteor actually landed on it. Want to test it? If you can tank it, I'll give you a thumbs-up."
"Hmph! You think this is a child's game? I, Uchiha Madara, how could I possibly—"
Before he could finish, something half-black and half-white suddenly emerged from the ground at his feet. Who else could it be but Black Zetsu?
Black Zetsu spoke rapidly. "Madara-sama, bad news! I just received word—Obito brought four Jinchūriki to push through the coastal line, but they were taken by Natsuki's girlfriend using the Kohaku no Jōhei. All four Edo Tensei Jinchūriki are gone!"
(End of Chapter)
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