The soft glow from the laptop screen was the only source of light in Yuto's room as night deepened.
Slouched on his bed, Kushina was a woman on a mission. Her fingers hammered the keyboard with a ferocity that threatened to shatter it.
The spaghetti straps of her nightgown had slipped down her shoulders, but she paid them no mind, her entire being absorbed in the digital battlefield before her.
[Nana (Tsunade)]: Hey, top lane! Do you even know what the 'W' key does? Use your Lightning Armour, you idiot!
[Nana (Tsunade)]: Did your brain forget to develop? Go back to school!
[Nana (Tsunade)]: Useless. Absolutely useless!
[Whitey (Fourth Raikage)]: @Nanako My bad!
[I'm Not a Hero (Second Mizukage)]: Don't apologize to that clown. She's 0-8.
[Nana (Tsunade)]: Excuse me? You two are the ones playing like you're using your feet! Smooth-brained losers!
[I'm Not a Hero (Second Mizukage)]: …But you're 0-8.
[Nana (Tsunade)]: TRASH!
[I'm Not a Hero (Second Mizukage)]: 0-8!
"Oh, I can't stand this guy!" Kushina growled, her voice tight with frustration. This jerk knew exactly how to get under her skin, and it was working perfectly.
From beside her, Mikoto let out a soft, melodic laugh.
"Kushina, you're the one who always tells me to stay calm. 'If you don't get angry, they will,' remember?"
She gave her friend's shoulder a gentle, chiding pat.
"I am calm!" Kushina shot back, her chest puffing out in a display that was anything but calm.
Mikoto grinned and reached out, poking Kushina's puffed-out cheek.
"Really? Because you look like an angry tomato right now."
"Hey! Quit it!" Kushina swatted her hand away, then immediately launched a counterattack, her fingers finding Mikoto's sensitive sides. "Two can play at that game! Hehehe, you're so ticklish!"
"Ah! You evil woman, stop!"
Mikoto shrieked, dissolving into helpless giggles as she tried to squirm away.
"Not a chance! Revenge is mine!"
Their playful wrestling sent their pyjama straps sliding and jostled the laptop precariously. Yuto barely glanced over from his desk, long since accustomed to their antics.
His focus was locked on the bank of monitors before him—a setup that would seem paranoid to anyone else, but for him, it was just another night.
On the main screen, a scene of pure chaos was unfolding.
Trapped inside a pulsating, blood-red barrier—the Four Red Yang Formation, a seal powerful enough to cage the Ten-Tails itself—was a figure that barely resembled a man anymore. Uchiha Madara, now sheathed in jagged, white bone, thrashed like a caged primordial beast.
"Whoa," Yuto muttered under his breath. "Look at him go. Is he semi-hollowfied already?"
Kushina, having finally pinned a breathless and giggling Mikoto, looked over Yuto's shoulder, resting her chin on him.
"Konoha's having a rough night, huh?" she whispered, her breath warm against his ear.
On the screen, the four Kage-level shinobi maintaining the barrier—the Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki, the Second Tsuchikage Mū, Orochimaru, and Danzō—were visibly strained, sweat beading on their foreheads.
Just holding the barrier steady was taking everything they had.
Inside, Uchiha Itachi was a blur of motion, doing everything in his power just to evade Madara's relentless assaults. Each swing of Madara's arm released a blast of dark, crackling energy that gouged massive craters from the earth.
"What in the world have you people created?" The Second Tsuchikage's voice, even filtered through the monitor, was taut with strain. "This is a world-ending threat!"
Orochimaru's grin was practically feral.
"Heh. You need the power to destroy the world if you ever hope to save it. And imagine… this isn't even his final form. A complete Arrancar transformation of Uchiha Madara… what a beautiful sight that would be."
"Can you guarantee he won't become another Hayashi Yuto?" Danzō snapped, his face ashen.
"No," Orochimaru said simply. "So, should we stop?"
The word hung heavily in the air.
Stop? It was far too late for that. Stopping now would unleash this monstrosity upon a defenseless Konoha. Danzō looked as if he had bitten into something sour, no doubt regretting every life choice that had led him to this moment.
BOOM.
Another massive shockwave erupted from within the barrier. A spiderweb of cracks instantly spread across the surface of the Four Red Yang Formation.
"Yikes," Kushina whistled, her eyes wide. "If that thing pops, it's gonna be a real party."
"Itachi is there. He'll manage," Mikoto said, her voice softer now that she was free from Kushina's tickle torture.
"Oh? Putting your faith in your baby boy now?" Kushina teased, poking her again.
"No," Mikoto said, her gaze shifting from the screen to Yuto. "I have faith in him. If he's letting this happen, he's not worried."
"She's got a point," Kushina nodded. "You've got your 'Classmates Association' and… other interests in the village. You wouldn't let anything happen to them."
"Correct," Yuto said, not taking his eyes off the screen. "But he's stuck. He's in too deep, fighting all by himself. He needs a little push."
Mikoto looked curious.
"What kind of push? How do you reach someone in that state?"
With a completely straight face, Yuto pulled out his mysterious communicator, pulled up his one and only contact, and typed out a message.
[Dumb Snack]: u got this old man!!! don't give up!!!
Mikoto and Kushina stared at him, their expressions flat.
"Are you for real right now?" they said in perfect unison.
"Trust me, this is a highly advanced psychological technique," Yuto replied, his tone utterly serious.
And impossibly, on the monitor, Madara's raging snarl faltered for a split second. His head twitched.
"No way."
"You have got to be kidding me."
Seeing his ridiculous plan actually work, Yuto doubled down, typing furiously.
[Dumb Snack]: think of the alternative!!! u wanna end up a magical girl?! FIGHT!!!
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