Chapter 77:
A figure suddenly appeared beside Sarada—an imposing red Susanoo stood in front of Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki, blocking his assault.
Uchiha Itachi had searched many places before finally finding a secluded spot where he could safely revert to his adult form.
As for why Shunhi had allowed him to assist, Itachi had already filled in the blanks himself.
It was likely to keep S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hidden base in Konoha under wraps. No one would ever suspect that a S.H.I.E.L.D. base could exist right under the nose of the mighty Hidden Leaf Village.
Truly worthy of S.H.I.E.L.D.
After widening the distance between Sarada and Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki, Itachi handed Sarada over to his sister-in-law.
"Mom!"
Sarada threw herself into Sakura's arms. She had been terrified the entire time while being chased by Kinshiki.
After several clashes, the opposing forces finally drew apart, allowing the groups to regroup.
"Oh, they've all gathered together, have they…"
"Well then, I'll just wipe them all out in one go!"
Hovering in the sky, Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki raised his left hand. A massive Tailed Beast Bomb from the Eight-Tails appeared in his palm—power he'd obtained after absorbing the Eight-Tails' chakra.
Amplified by the power of the Rinnegan in his left eye, the Tailed Beast Bomb was large enough to engulf the entire Konoha Stadium.
"All the villagers of the Hidden Leaf are my family—I won't let you harm a single one of them!"
"Kurama, stop holding back. Use your full power!"
"Sage Fox Mode!"
The giant golden chakra-fox caught the enormous Tailed Beast Bomb launched by Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki in its hands. The clash of the two overwhelming chakra forces brought further destruction to the already-ruined stadium.
"Sasuke, I'm counting on you next."
Whether it was Momoshiki's remaining two teammates or the currently allied S.H.I.E.L.D., Naruto knew they were all individuals Sasuke needed to stay vigilant around. That's why Naruto had to be the one to face the front lines—besides, Sasuke's strengths had never been in defense but in offense.
"Yeah, I understand, Naruto," Sasuke nodded in reply.
Those who had already fled far from the stadium watched from a distance as the massive golden fox's mouth, which had been preparing a Tailed Beast Bomb, suddenly stopped.
Naruto hadn't launched the attack. Instead, he increased the amount of chakra he was projecting, wrapping the Tailed Beast Bomb within the golden outline of the fox.
"Dad has that kind of power… But why isn't he counterattacking?" Boruto asked in confusion.
"If Naruto attacks, this entire generation could be wiped off the map."
Seeing the scale of the attack, Kushina started to question whether Naruto and Minato could really defeat these enemies unscathed. But glancing at Boruto beside her, she held back her doubts.
Naruto might not be the most politically adept Hokage, but he was undeniably the one everyone trusted. Upon witnessing this attack, even the villagers who had fled began to hesitate. Some even voiced the hope that Naruto would be the first to retreat.
"Sakura, take care of Himawari."
After entrusting Himawari to Sakura, Hinata turned back and ran toward the stadium.
The massive Tailed Beast Bomb exploded inside Naruto's golden chakra shell. Though the devastating impact was absorbed entirely by Naruto alone, it caused him to lose consciousness.
"Naruto!"
The real battle was only just beginning. Minato was the first to charge forward. Using Flying Thunder God, he instantly arrived beside the unconscious Naruto. But the moment he picked Naruto up, he was struck by a flying kick from Momoshiki.
The situation was grim for the Leaf.
Among the three Ōtsutsuki, only Sasuke could go toe-to-toe with Momoshiki. As for Uchiha Itachi and Minato, neither could defeat Urashiki alone. Together, they could hold him off, but then no one would be left to deal with Kinshiki.
"Lord Momoshiki, we've got Naruto," Kinshiki said, lifting Naruto into his arms.
"Excellent. Let's retreat."
They vanished using the Rinnegan's ability. Other than Sasuke, who also possessed a Rinnegan, none of the others could pursue—even Minato's Flying Thunder God wouldn't be fast enough.
"Dad!"
"Naruto!"
Boruto and Hinata rushed over, with Patrick Star trailing behind.
Watching Naruto being taken away, Hinata picked up a torn fragment of the Hokage cloak—emblazoned with the kanji for "Seventh." Her body trembled. But she was a mother now, with two children to protect. She couldn't allow herself to faint.
"I really am... pathetic..." Boruto clenched his fists instinctively.
Some things are only truly understood once they're lost.
"You're not wrong," came an unexpected voice.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s... Deputy Director!"
Sasuke stepped in front of Boruto and Hinata. With Naruto gone, this was exactly the kind of opening S.H.I.E.L.D. might exploit.
"Caught cheating, scorned by others, forehead protector stripped away—no longer even a ninja. And now you've lost your own father. Maybe now you can understand how Naruto once felt."
"No... At the very least, you still have a sister who looks up to you and a mother who worries for you. You're still better off than he was..."
With Naruto taken by the enemy, how could Shunhi not be worried?
Before and after his reincarnation, Naruto had been someone Shunhi had watched grow up. That was his youth. If anything happened to Naruto, there was no way he'd stand by.
If it hadn't been for the Third Hokage's close watch back then, Shunhi had even considered tricking Naruto into calling him godfather—just a few bowls of ramen would've done the trick.
"As Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., are you just here to give Boruto a lecture?"
Having to deal with the enigmatic S.H.I.E.L.D. while also protecting Naruto's family was an overwhelming burden for Sasuke.
"Of course not. Sasuke, you should be able to track Naruto's location. Take us there." Seeing Sasuke hesitate, Shunhi continued, "Don't tell me you actually think you can take on all three Ōtsutsuki by yourself?"
To save Naruto, Shunhi was ready to use his last resort.
"Why do you want to help Konoha?" Sasuke still couldn't trust S.H.I.E.L.D. He needed a reason that would convince him. But after a moment, he changed his mind. "...Fine. I'll take you there."
If S.H.I.E.L.D. really intended to cause trouble, Konoha couldn't stop them now anyway. So Sasuke decided to take them to the other dimension to rescue Naruto.
Maybe, together with Naruto, they could defeat both the Ōtsutsuki and S.H.I.E.L.D. If not, then after killing all three Ōtsutsuki with everything they had, they could sever the link between the real world and the other dimension. Without a Rinnegan, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s members would be trapped there forever.
If it really came to that, then this would be the final contribution Sasuke and Naruto could make to the ninja world.
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