"This..."The eyes of the Third Hokage and the others widened in shock and disbelief.
Inside the crystal ball, Naraku stood unharmed within the pale blue chakra barrier.
"How... is this possible..." Mitokado muttered, his eyes losing focus as hallucinations began to creep in.
Over 100,000 explosive tags—even a fully reinforced Earth-Style defense would have crumbled under such force. How could Naraku emerge without a scratch?
Danzo's face turned grim as he stared at the image.
He had known since yesterday that Naraku's defense was formidable. That's why he devised a careful plan:Use a scroll to block the Byakugan's vision, stockpile explosive tags in secret, send Root shinobi to approach Naraku, trigger the seals, and obliterate him in a single strike.
With some luck, maybe they could kill Naraku before he had time to activate his defense.At worst, the sheer shockwave should have caused internal damage—even if not fatal.
But now?
"He should've at least vomited blood... or collapsed from organ failure," Danzo muttered. "Why is he still standing?"
"Could he really have withstood all that?" Koharu asked, eyes narrowed in disbelief.
The battlefield was a wasteland. Could the remaining shinobi possibly defeat Naraku now?
They were all thinking the same dreadful thought.
"Something's wrong!" Danzo suddenly snapped."He's not fine! If the explosion didn't harm him, he wouldn't just be standing still!"
"If he were really unscathed, he would've already used the confusion to strike us by now!"
The Hokage and the other advisors paused, then nodded. Danzo's logic made too much sense.
"He must be internally injured!"The Nara clan shinobi commanding the forces nodded firmly.
"If I were in his position, I'd use this moment to retaliate... unless I was too injured to move."
"So this bastard is bluffing!"
Another ninja sighed in relief.If Naraku had survived that, he would be unstoppable. But if he was wounded, they still had a chance.
Other shinobi nodded in agreement. Their logic seemed sound.
"You monster! You've killed too many of us! You think you'll walk away from this?!"
"He must die!"
A Sarutobi clan ninja charged, shouting in rage. He drew his short sword and slashed at Naraku.
There was a wet, meaty sound as a blade pierced flesh.
Naraku had gently lifted his sword—piercing the man's throat in one clean strike.
He shook the blood from his blade, expression unreadable.
The Sarutobi ninja's eyes froze, his final thought echoing in his mind:
"Wasn't he supposed to be injured?"
"He's just faking it! He didn't even dodge!" another shinobi yelled.
A wave of enraged shinobi surged forward, blades ready.
Naraku almost laughed.
"These fools are living in a fantasy."
His chakra armor—formed from Yin Release—was on par with Susanoo itself. The essence of Susanoo was to create solidified protection from chakra. Naraku had achieved something similar through raw Yin chakra control.
His "Blood Mold" armor required vast amounts of chakra and precise control to manifest a materialized form from nothing.
Ordinary Uchiha needed the Mangekyō Sharingan to achieve this. But Naraku had done it through force alone.
His chakra barrier was even stronger than a standard Susanoo.
"Alright then... Let me shatter your illusions."
Naraku vanished.
"POW!"
A shinobi flew back, stunned.
"He... got faster?!" someone gasped.
"Did he use some kind of stimulant pill?"
The Akimichi clan had such methods—but they were dangerous.
"It must be a last resort! He's desperate!"
Others tried to rationalize it.If he wasn't wounded, why else would he suddenly grow stronger?
Was he just playing with them before...? No... impossible...
"Let's wait it out! His boost will wear off, and then we'll kill him!"
But that moment never came.
Naraku was still cutting them down effortlessly.
"Damn it! The pill should be wearing off by now!"
"What kind of forbidden technique is this?!"
"Monster! He's a monster!!"
Some shinobi turned to run.
"Wait! He's stepping back!" someone shouted.
"He can't hold on much longer!"
"We can't just kill him—let's torture him first!"
The remaining fighters surged with cruel hope.
Naraku stood silently, raising his gaze to the sky.
The lingering heat and water vapor from the battlefield rose, forming thick clouds overhead.
He lifted his hand.
"What... what's he doing?" someone muttered.
No one dared approach.
Something felt off.
High above, thunder began to rumble.
"It's... not a jutsu... right?"
"He's just a man! There's no way he can do that!"
But the energy above was unmistakable.
The power of nature itself.
A divine force.
"Kirin."
Naraku called the name softly, but it resonated like a judgment.
He summoned the natural lightning from the clouds, channeling it through his chakra.
A monstrous thunderbolt ripped down from the heavens, tearing through the dark sky with a deafening roar.
"He's not hurt at all!!" someone screamed.
Panic surged through the survivors.
"The devil... he's the devil!"
The remaining shinobi tried to run, but there was no escape.
The lightning dragon crashed into the earth, obliterating everything in its path.
A thunderclap echoed across Konoha, drowning out the final cries of those below.