At the critical moment, Gamamaru took a deep breath.
Without any visible movement, his body trembled slightly as sweat trickled down his back.
Time seemed to slow down endlessly—or maybe it had stopped altogether.
The giant frogs, who had been in despair awaiting death, suddenly noticed that the colossal chakra blade before them hesitated for a split second.
In an instant, their emotions flipped from despair to ecstatic joy.
Thankfully, years of training had conditioned their bodies to react instinctively. They leapt as far as they could, narrowly escaping the chakra blade's range.
Hiroki frowned slightly. Why did it feel like there was a sudden delay just now?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The blade slashed downward, burying itself into the ground. A deafening sound followed—a thunderous crack of mountains splitting apart, nearly piercing everyone's eardrums.
The yellow glow had already vanished, yet the earth-shaking noise continued relentlessly.
With the light fading fast, no one could tell how severe the damage was, so they all scrambled away from that area.
The group of giant frogs was no different. Though they wanted to help, they still obeyed Gamamaru's command and returned to where they came from.
"If only Hamura were here," Hayato muttered in frustration.
Right now, he was practically blind.
Hiroki was already hovering midair, surrounded by green chakra. To Gamamaru, he was nothing more than a sitting duck.
Suddenly—
Psssst...
A hazy, indistinct object shot rapidly toward Hiroki's location.
He tilted his head slightly and dodged sideways.
Bang!
The object exploded midair, splattering moist liquid onto his face.
He reached out with his hand and touched it, immediately understanding.
[Water Bullet—Water Bullets].
Right on cue, more water bullets began launching.
From every direction imaginable, wave after wave.
Like a storm of bullets, they filled the sky, weaving into a vast net.
"Strange," Hiroki murmured. "Even though there were clearly no frogs around, how were these attacks so powerful?"
Hiroki glided through the openings with effortless grace, surrounded by a repulsive force field that kept any liquid at bay.
Below, however, Hayato wasn't so lucky. Though not directly targeted, he was already drenched like a drowned rat.
"Father, Gamamaru, please stop fighting!" Hayato called out in frustration.
But neither Hiroki nor Gamamaru took any notice of him.
The tug-of-war continued.
Red Night.
Kaguya, dressed in her white robe adorned with tomoe patterns, gazed upward into the night sky. Ever since she had shrouded the entire world in the Moon's Eye light, everything seen at night appeared as though veiled by a thin red gauze—faintly visible, giving off an eerie atmosphere.
Hamura silently approached beside her and looked up as well.
After a while, he spoke, "Mother, what color is the night truly?"
She glanced at him, the corners of her lips slightly lifting, warmth flickering in her eyes.
Too lazy to ask why he asked such a question, she casually waved her hand.
As if infused with life, the "red veil" across the sky began contracting inward, revealing one-third of the genuine night sky beyond it.
Only that small patch shimmered like a sky full of stars, glowing in vivid colors as if from a fantasy world.
"Woah... it's so beautiful." Hamura stared in awe for a while before letting out a heartfelt sigh, his voice filled with longing.
At this moment, warmth stirred within him, making him feel much closer to his mother.
"Those planets might also have their own lifeforms," Kaguya stated calmly.
Hamura hesitated momentarily about how to respond. After an awkward pause, he finally spoke again, "Honored Mother, won't you rest?"
Without turning her head, Kaguya shook her head.
Not knowing what else to talk about, Hamura frowned with disappointment and turned away.
Mount Myoboku.
Hayato had finally found a hiding place. Standing beneath the giant mushroom, he raised his head to stare at Hiroki flying through the air.
"Why not use fire? You do have plenty of Frog Oil here, don't you?" Hiroki called out toward a certain direction.
Although they were quite far apart, Gamamaru clearly heard his words: "Because this is our home. I don't want Mount Myoboku destroyed."
Hiroki lightly chuckled. His palm released numerous Truth-Seeking Balls, which became covered in green chakra.
Then, just like throwing shuriken, he hurled all the Truth-Seeking Balls outward.
[Truth-Seeking Ball Artillery!]
As the balls neared the ground, Hiroki suddenly furrowed his brows. He noticed the balls suddenly veering off course.
"Not again!"
Gamamaru escaped unscathed and remained perfectly fine.
"Could this guy manipulate repulsive force too? Looks like although he doesn't possess any Six Paths-level devastating techniques, dealing with him will still require some effort."
Meanwhile, as though dawn was breaking across the horizon, starting from somewhere unknown, Mount Myoboku gradually began illuminating.
Boom...
Boom...
The earth started trembling slightly once more. Hayato looked toward where the commotion came from.
"...Gamamaru?" He showed surprise on his face. "Why are you suddenly so huge?"
Right then, a giant orange frog jumped in their direction.
The markings on its body matched exactly what Hayato had previously seen on Gamamaru.
Roughly estimating, this frog stood at least five meters tall.
"I don't really care about size, but if having a larger body helps earn respect from others, I've got no objection," Gamamaru replied calmly, glancing at Hayato before lifting his gaze toward the airborne Hiroki.
"Is this also your Transformation Jutsu?" Muttering softly, Hayato waved his hand toward Hiroki's location. "Father, quickly come down."
Right now, with Mount Myoboku regaining light, more frogs emerged from their shelters.
They all made their way toward one direction without hesitation.
"Could this abyss really be caused by Hakutori?"
The frogs were shocked.
"It definitely was! This place used to be flat ground."
"This... how deep could it possibly be..."
Staring down into the bottomless abyss, they were left speechless.
That's just... terrifying.
After staring at each other for a long time, one of the Frogs with a serious expression said, "Seal off this area. No clan members are allowed to approach."
"But how are the others on the other side supposed to get over here..."
"Just let the giant Frogs handle the transport for now. They can probably jump across… I hope…" The Frog's voice trailed off uncertainly.
At Gamamaru's location.
Hiroki deactivated his Tenseigan Chakra Mode and landed gracefully on the ground.
The man and the Frog stood still, both silently holding their ground.
"You question my motives, honored guest," Gamamaru said, breaking the silence. "Perhaps you should reflect on your own?"
At this, Hiroki gave a slight laugh. "Me? Obviously, I came here because I don't want Hayato and Hamura to be used by someone."
"They've already made their choice. This is internal human business. You shouldn't interfere anymore. Stop playing your little games!"
Gamamaru seemed to chuckle slightly as well. "So, you want them to keep things just the way they are?"
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