No one could have predicted that even such a devastating jutsu still failed to shatter the massive shadow looming over the sky.
Such was the nature of battle—unless you had absolute dominance over your enemy, there was no way to foresee what would happen next.
Minato's hand, resting on Jiraiya's shoulder, stiffened for a moment before relaxing again.
As he realized their jutsu had failed to achieve its goal, a slight sense of dread settled in his chest.
Even before launching the attack, he had already prepared a secondary plan—one to be used should this initial attempt fail.
Activating the Flying Thunder God Technique to displace the entire area!
That was his backup strategy.
But why only the alternative? Because this method proved far more difficult than direct ninjutsu attacks.
A solid rock sphere with a diameter exceeding one hundred meters—Minato had never tested whether the Flying Thunder God could move something of that scale.
Though uncertainty clouded his mind, he knew someone had to step forward now—and that someone could only be him. He had to resolve this catastrophe threatening Konoha.
But before he could act, he noticed another figure charging in faster than himself.
"It's Guy!?"
He felt bewildered.
Guy's earlier attack had matched the combined force of his and Master Jiraiya's jutsu.
That must've been his Full-Power Strike.
Yet here he was, rushing in again?
Though every ninja in Konoha was willing to give their life if needed, Minato never supported reckless sacrifices.
"Hmm?"
His eyes widened as he watched Guy leap into the air and unleash an aura even more powerful than before.
A violent burst of blue chakra exploded from his body, swirling furiously and surging outward uncontrollably.
Stunned, Minato stared—Guy now radiated power many times greater than just moments ago.
"Never thought Guy, despite his young age, had already opened the Seventh Wonder Gate!"
Jiraiya murmured wistfully at that moment.
He understood the Eight Gates technique well—the first three gates could be unlocked through sheer persistence alone.
But progressing beyond them was far more difficult than training in ninjutsu.
It wasn't just about effort or self-discipline anymore.
One had to push past physical limits relentlessly, almost to the point of self-torture.
And perhaps most importantly—something people always overlooked—was natural talent in Taijutsu.
"So this is the Seventh Wonder Gate?"
Minato gazed at the figure who had stopped resisting and soared higher into the sky.
"Not enough...?" Kushina kept her focus on the battlefield. She noticed sooner than Minato—the enemy's jutsu hadn't done any damage yet.
A flash of crimson flickered in her eyes as she unconsciously tightened her fists.
But the next instant, a hand gently covered hers.
It was Tsunade.
Tsunade remained focused on the battlefield, but also caught sight of Kushina's reaction.
So she moved closer and took Kushina's hand in her own.
"The enemy is after you. Now more than ever, you can't let yourself fall into their sights."
Tsunade spoke earnestly, looking directly into Kushina's eyes.
Pausing for half a second, she noticed Kushina had calmed down slightly before continuing.
"Just believe in them. We should just wait here, right?"
"I understand, Tsunade-sama. But if things really get that bad, I'll step in myself. Don't underestimate me, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"
Kushina pressed her lips together, nodding slightly at first, then continued speaking.
Naruto, standing on her other side, wasn't sure what had happened between them but still felt a terrifying aura coming from his mother just now.
It was scarier than when he misbehaved at the Academy and the teachers called his parents.
He looked up slightly, watching Kushina's profile, finding it still very familiar, then turned his gaze toward the village with renewed calm.
Did it mean even his father and the other powerful ninja couldn't win?
"The village is already mobilizing rescue efforts, but they don't seem to be going well."
Turning her attention elsewhere, Tsunade spotted a group of ninja within her field of vision.
They were rescuing survivors from beneath collapsing structures.
Maybe it was because people in the ninja world were generally stronger—most didn't die instantly.
But in the current situation, there was a shortage of medical ninja, so the injured couldn't receive timely and effective treatment immediately.
So death was slowly looming ever closer.
[Summoning Jutsu!]
Tsunade quickly figured out the cause and immediately performed her Summoning Technique.
With a puff of white smoke, a giant slug appeared atop the Hokage Monument, completely occupying a large clearing.
"Great Slug Sage!"
Tsunade turned and gave a respectful nod toward her.
This summoning used far more chakra than any previous one.
Shikkotsu Forest is one of the Three Sacred Lands. Here, there was only one slug—the Great Slug Sage.
Each time Tsunade summoned a slug, it was simply a split body of the Great Slug Sage.
And its size entirely depended on the amount of chakra invested.
"Hmm, Tsunade! Is this...Konoha? What happened?"
The great slug raised its head, quickly identifying their location, and thus sounding surprised.
Its tentacles kept retracting and extending, sensing everything around, almost as if it had eyes. It even turned sideways specifically to observe Kushina and Naruto.
"There's an enemy invasion, and many people are injured. I'm sorry to trouble you, but otherwise, Konoha will suffer heavy losses..."
Tsunade spoke directly. She wouldn't bother with unnecessary pleasantries when talking to the Great Slug Sage.
"Oh, okay, no problem."
The slug's tentacles twitched with life as it readily accepted the request.
Though it had no eyes, it could already fully perceive everything happening in Konoha right now.
Boom!
Right before Naruto's shocked eyes, the reasonably-sized slug he could tolerate suddenly split into countless tiny slugs and directly jumped off the Hokage Monument.
Some even slid past his feet.
Panicking, he tightly gripped Kushina's arm and shrank back, yet unable to suppress his curiosity, peeked out several times at the now hand-sized slugs.
"With the help of Katsuyu, the situation should improve slightly. I hope this time Konoha can successfully survive this disaster."
Tsunade sighed softly, watching the slugs disappear into the distance.
For Kushina's safety, she couldn't leave this place right now, so she could only rely on Katsuyu to relieve some of the rescue burden on the village.
After all, each of Katsuyu's slimes was like a medical pack in video games.
As long as the injuries weren't fatal, even severe wounds could be stabilized temporarily before receiving further treatment.
"Yeah, I really hope so!"
Kushina sighed, glancing around the village before turning her gaze back toward Minato.
Compared to the village itself, she cared more about her family.
Of course, the village was still important.
But without family, it just wouldn't feel like home anymore—perhaps the place where her family existed was truly what she always considered as her "village"?
"Is that... Guy?"
Suddenly, Kushina spoke again, sounding somewhat surprised.
Hearing this, Tsunade looked over and indeed saw a figure shooting up into the sky from the ground.
This figure was wrapped in a layer of blue energy, just like a racecar firing its nitro boosters, shooting straight into the sky.
"Is that his ninja technique!?"
Tsunade focused on Guy and saw the air above him gradually compressing, then transforming into [Daytime Tiger].
Their hands both instinctively tightened.
...
[Daytime Tiger!!]
His eyes turned completely pale while Guy's skin flushed red like a boiled shrimp.
In this state, he was practically risking his life.
And Guy himself understood this perfectly.
Although he had great talent for cultivating the Eight Gates, he hadn't actually mastered the Seventh Wonder Gate yet.
Using it now was purely an on-the-spot breakthrough that came at the cost of his own life force.
The bones in his right hand cracked repeatedly under the pressure, as if they would shatter beneath his skin at any moment.
"Again, this guy!?"
Deva Path hovered at a position above Guy, perfectly blocking Guy's attack path.
Looking down at Guy launching upward from the ground, Deva Path couldn't help but frown.
Such an extremely powerful technique before made him realize that what Saitama said earlier was true.
Guy, this taijutsu specialist from Konoha, indeed deserved Akatsuki's attention.
However, this sudden surge of power now...
It was no longer simply about whether to take him seriously or not.
Eliminating such a formidable opponent early might be the best solution!
Roar!
[Daytime Tiger] roared as it surged skyward.
Deva Path extended both hands, aiming them directly at it.
"This is the place I've always protected; how could I let you keep destroying it!"
"The place I truly want to protect, no matter how painful or joyful the process may be, I will defend it! Only with such determination can one become a real man!"
Guy glared up at the shadow in the sky and the cold figure looking down at him, shouting out his beliefs.
With his words, his fist fully struck forward, his arm stretching straight across his chest.
At that moment, the tiger's roar reached its peak.
BOOM!!!
Deva Path stood at the front and was the first to feel Might Guy's impact.
The exaggerated, inhuman force sent him flying backward through the air straight into a rock sphere behind him.
And this was not even the direct collision of [Daytime Tiger] — merely the shockwave preceding it.
So as Deva Path stretched his arms forward and slammed into the "meteor," [Daytime Tiger] finally struck them directly.
Another thunderous boom echoed out.
For a moment, the world seemed to fall silent, then erupted into deafening noise.
Rumbling…
Huge boulders began falling from the sky, and the entire Konoha trembled.
Standing atop the Hokage Rock, several figures had the best vantage point of the battle.
First, massive cracks spread across the giant sphere from below. Then, as if exploding from within, it shattered into countless fragments.
And from that destruction, a figure continued soaring upward before beginning a free fall.
That was Deva Path, who had attempted to block Guy's technique head-on with Shinra Tensei.
As for Might Guy, after fully extending his arm and throwing a punch filled with all his strength, he completely lost control of his body.
Lifted upward briefly by inertia, he began falling once the meteor shattered.
All the energy around him faded away, and he looked like a candle that was about to burn out.
Thin wisps of white smoke drifted off his skin.
"Guy!"
Obito and Minato reacted simultaneously, suddenly leaping toward the sky.
Together they caught the scorching hot Might Guy midair and landed beside Jiraiya.
"It actually ended like this!"
Jiraiya stared at the falling rubble, still unable to believe what had just happened.
But soon, his eyes turned to where Deva Path was still plummeting from the sky.
Perhaps it was time to settle things.
A final reckoning between teacher and student!
Whoosh!
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