"Quick—quick, look!"
"What is that—?"
"Black smoke? A mountain?"
"No, those are Kabane! A monster made of countless Kabane!"
"Oh my god, why is there such a monster? How—how can we fight it?"
"It's over, it's over, everything is over!"
"I thought the Kabane in the outside world had mysteriously disappeared. Turns out they all gathered here."
Despair, like cold vines, instantly tightened around the hearts of everyone inside the carriage.
"Bang bang bang bang—"
The samurai's steam guns fired futilely, unable to even slow it down a fraction.
The "black smoke" stretched out a massive hand, entirely composed of Kabane, and fiercely grabbed downwards towards the Kōtetsujō, which was braked on the tracks.
Just as the sky-darkening shadow was about to engulf the entire Kōtetsujō, a dazzling golden light tore through the oppressive gloom!
It was Naruto!
No, to be precise, it was a Shadow Clone who had just finished clearing the circular track.
He stood on the roof, his orange cloak flapping in the strong wind.
Golden Chakra, like a tangible aura, erupted from his body, instantly covering him completely.
Sage Mode Cloak!
"Swish"
A giant golden Sage Art Chakra hand immediately rose from the Shadow Clone and fiercely collided with the "demonic hand" reaching down from the "black smoke."
The result of the collision, naturally, goes without saying.
This terrifyingly large black smoke, which looked so formidable, was like a stack of blocks that couldn't withstand a single blow; its demonic hand instantly disintegrated, and dozens, even hundreds, of Kabane scattered like countless cheap parts.
The Shadow Clone pressed on, its Sage Mode Cloak's golden Chakra giant hand slapping, hitting, and pounding.
That terrifying collective entity, forcibly aggregated from countless fragile Kabane, didn't even have time to struggle or wail before it disintegrated in the face of absolute power!
The world seemed to have been put on pause.
Inside and outside the Kōtetsujō, a deathly silence fell.
The samurai, who had been screaming in despair and firing frantically just a second ago, were now like statues, frozen in place.
Wisps of smoke still curled from the barrels of their steam guns, but their muzzles hung limply, fingers still on the triggers, but their actions forgotten.
The civilians slumped to the ground, their minds blank.
What just happened?
Was that... a miracle?
Ayame, who had been filled with despair and unwillingness at the sight of the "black smoke," her knuckles white and trembling from gripping so hard, now had her red lips parted, utterly dumbfounded.
Similarly, Mumei was also stunned.
"Naruto-nii, did you just perform another magic trick?"
Finally, the deathly silence was broken.
"Are—are we saved?" a trembling voice, tinged with a sob, rang out.
"We're alive!" another voice exclaimed, as if waking from a dream, filled with the ecstasy of surviving a disaster.
Suppressed sobs, sighs of relief, and prayers of thanks to the heavens began to sound, sparsely at first, then quickly coalescing into a wave of sound filled with relief and gratitude.
"What—what kind of power is this?"
"A god! He must be a god!!"
"He solved the Kabane monster in just a few moves?"
"Don't you think that person looks a bit familiar?"
"That's right, he looks a bit like Mr. Naruto!"
"He looks so much like Naruto, almost identical. Could they be twins?"
"Incredible, does Mr. Naruto also possess such power?!"
However, the matter was not yet over.
After the "black smoke" was dispersed, thousands of Kabane fell onto the tracks and into the deep pit.
Naruto had no intention of wasting them.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Bang bang bang bang!"
Dozens of golden-glowing Shadow Clones instantly appeared, pouncing on the Kabane like hungry tigers, eliminating them, and incidentally devouring their life force, storing it in the Yin Seal.
It took no more than a few breaths.
This once-bustling relay station, now almost derelict after its fall, was thoroughly purged, with Kabane corpses strewn everywhere.
Naruto's Shadow Clones once again dispersed, becoming individual units.
Naruto said to the dumbfounded Ayame, "Miss Ayame, let the Kōtetsujō depart again."
"Ah?"
"Oh—I—I understand—"
Ayame, startled from her daze, quickly agreed.
The Kōtetsujō roared to life once more, its steam engines churning.
The "black smoke" was just an insignificant interlude.
It had no impact on Naruto's absorption of life force.
Night fell.
The wilderness, devoid of Kabane and human settlements, was exceptionally quiet, with only the roar of the Kōtetsujō speeding along the tracks.
Naruto stood under the bright Gekko, positioned on the roof of the Kōtetsujō.
Around him, Shadow Clones continuously teleported back from the shadows.
These Shadow Clones ignited their golden Sage Mode Cloaks, extended Chakra tentacles, connected to Naruto, then released their Yin Seal, transmitting the stored, immense life force to his main body.
One thousand lifespan!
Ten thousand lifespan!
One hundred thousand lifespan!
One million lifespan!
Naruto's body surged with vitality, his lifespan limit growing madly, even forcing him to activate the Yin Seal to first store the excessive life force, then slowly absorb and digest it.
"In just a few days of harvesting, numerous Shadow Clones have collected a million years' worth of life force."
"The Kabane in this Far East Island Country must be nearly wiped out, right? They're almost an endangered species."
Naruto, using his Kagura Mind's Eye and Transparent World, sensed around, and couldn't even find a single Kabane within a hundred-kilometer radius.
"At this rate, the Far East Island Country might not have a single Kabane left."
"I'll have to cross the ocean to other places to harvest Kabane."
Naruto watched as the Shadow Clones "teleported" away one by one again, his eyes flickering, seemingly deep in thought.
"When I awakened as a Perfect Demon King, I gained two Blood Demon Arts."
"The first Blood Demon Art is to absorb natural energy, laying the foundation for a Perfect Sage."
"But the first Blood Demon Art is nothing; the key is the second Blood Demon Art, which is truly powerful, terrifyingly powerful."
Naruto had never used the second Blood Demon Art since he acquired it.
Because he knew that using the second Blood Demon Art consumed life force! It depleted lifespan!
And not just a little bit of lifespan!
Because of this, even when Naruto possessed a thirty-thousand-year lifespan far exceeding Kibutsuji Muzan, he never attempted the second Blood Demon Art.
But now—
Naruto possessed a million years of lifespan!
"Then—let's begin—"
"Blood Demon Art: Time Etching Seal!"
Naruto's eyes widened slightly, he lifted his foot and stomped, and immediately a giant blood-red ancient clock pattern appeared behind him.
The hour hand of the clock pattern remained still, but the minute and second hands moved.
But the moment Naruto completed the Blood Demon Art,
The hour hand, minute hand, and second hand.
All three hands overlapped and stopped moving.
"Buzz—!!"
This giant blood-red clock suddenly erupted with a blood-red light that devoured everything, sweeping across the entire world!
Time was forcibly paused.