Akira had already humiliated Delta thoroughly.
He had lost all interest in her.
Her only remaining value now was…
— Toyoke Kebi no Mikoto.
CLANG.
A Myojin Gate manifested directly from his eye and slammed down, pinning her naked body beneath it.
The second beam of the gate pressed squarely onto her back—
directly over the escape route of the Mirror Drone embedded there.
WHOOSH.
Akira cut the causal link of gravity using Danmetsu Shanti and floated upward.
In his raised palm, a mithril-colored Rasengan began expanding.
In an instant it surpassed the size Naruto had created earlier—
and then doubled again.
It looked like Akira was holding up a silver sun.
Konohamaru stared in horror.
"You're kidding me…"
"That's a Rasengan?!"
"It's bigger than Naruto's Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Meanwhile—
after rescuing Himawari earlier, Wind had already left.
Without the concealment of Hiraishin Night Cloak, staying in Konoha would make him too conspicuous.
So he returned to the rendezvous point they had agreed upon, waiting for his uncles to pick him up.
Kawaki remained beside Naruto.
But something about Naruto was strange.
Since moments ago, his eyes had remained tightly shut.
His face was shrouded in shadow.
He seemed completely unaware of everything happening around him.
Yet his clenched fists and trembling eyelids revealed the turmoil raging inside.
Because of the abnormal battle, Konoha's shinobi watching from the perimeter suddenly saw the massive object rising above the rooftops.
"Rasengan!"
"That's the Seventh Hokage's Rasengan!"
"Incredible!"
"With a Rasengan that massive, the invader will be blown to pieces!"
"…Wait."
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes.
"That chakra color is wrong."
"The texture too."
"That's not Naruto's Rasengan."
He clenched the cigarette filter between his teeth.
Mithril silver.
That rare chakra color had already become a signature.
A symbol belonging to one person.
"Uchiha Akira…"
"He came here again."
"Damn it—Naruto's in danger!"
Shikamaru crushed the cigarette and threw it aside.
"All units! Move to the battlefield immediately!"
Akira held the silver sun overhead.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced toward Koji Kashin's position.
Then he pressed the Rasengan downward.
Under the Myojin Gate, Delta stared at the enormous silver sphere filling her vision.
"It's… over…"
"I'm dead…"
The overwhelming psychological trauma Akira had inflicted—
combined with the primal terror of something massive bearing down—
triggered a panic response.
"Bleh…"
Foam bubbled from her mouth.
Her eyes rolled back.
Before the Rasengan even reached her—
she passed out beneath the gate.
WHOOSH!
At the critical moment—
Koji Kashin suddenly appeared on top of the Myojin Gate.
Behind his mask, sharp eyes revealed the horizontal markings of Toad Sage Mode.
Facing the descending Rasengan—
he had no choice.
He pushed forward a desperate counterattack.
— Sage Art: Massive Rasengan!
BOOM!
The two Rasengans collided.
Though they were both chakra constructs—
the sound resembled porcelain shattering.
Their sizes weren't remotely comparable.
Like the difference between Earth and the Moon.
But Koji's Rasengan—
infused with sage chakra—
was extraordinarily dense.
For a moment—
it actually held.
Akira smiled faintly.
So you finally couldn't stay still anymore, Koji Kashin.
After all—
Delta was a clone of Akebi Sanzu, Amado's beloved daughter.
As Amado's loyal subordinate, Koji could never allow her to die.
That Mirror Drone stored all of Delta's personality data.
If it were lost—
twelve years of Amado's work would vanish.
Earlier, Koji hadn't moved even when Delta was humiliated, tortured, or driven to self-destruction.
Because her core drone hadn't been threatened.
As long as it survived, she could simply be rebuilt.
But now—
if he did nothing—
Delta would truly die.
Akira had anticipated this.
The entire situation had been arranged as a trap.
Come into the net.
Delta herself had never been the target.
Koji Kashin was.
Akira had always planned to spare Delta.
But whether she escaped by luck—
or because someone intervened—
carried very different implications.
The mercy wasn't for Delta.
She had never had a choice.
Koji Kashin…
Whether you can save her from my Rasengan—
depends on your ability.
Akira gently pushed the Rasengan downward.
Koji gritted his teeth, struggling.
Even with sage chakra—
his Rasengan was starting to distort under the pressure.
"…Even with Sage Mode…"
"…I can't match this level of chakra with a standard Rasengan…"
— Wild Lion's Mane Technique!
His long white hair shot downward like cascading waterfalls.
It wrapped around Delta's body beneath the Myojin Gate.
But when he tried pulling her free—
she didn't move at all.
"This Myojin Gate…"
"Even with senjutsu… I can't break it."
"My other techniques would harm Delta."
"…And I can't fight Akira's two techniques simultaneously."
Do I abandon her… and apologize to Amado later?
As Koji hesitated—
a strange sense of inconsistency finally crystallized.
With Akira's power…
He had dozens of chances to kill Delta earlier.
Why drag things out this far?
And he's tolerated my presence the entire time.
Is that normal?
Then a possibility struck him.
"…No way."
"That's absurd."
"Under normal circumstances, I'd never consider such a ridiculous assumption."
"But right now…"
"It's the only explanation."
"I just hope I'm not imagining things."
"Otherwise…"
"Delta and I will both die here."
Koji made his decision.
— Summoning: Message Toad!
POOF!
A toad with a trumpet-shaped mouth appeared on his shoulder.
"Gero!"
It extended a tongue covered with a sealing tag.
Koji formed hand signs and inscribed a message onto it.
The toad's cheeks puffed.
A special sound wave transmitted through the clashing Rasengans—
carrying Koji's voice directly to Akira's ear.
As if whispering beside him.
"Uchiha Akira."
"Let Delta go this time."
"I'll owe you a favor."
"When the time comes, I'll repay it."
"And I swear…"
"I won't reveal anything about your abilities to Kara."
"Not even to Amado."
After a pause, Koji added another line.
"And you don't need to worry about Delta."
"She's extremely prideful."
"What happened today—"
"she'll take it to her grave."
Akira chuckled.
"Good."
"You pass."
— Toyoke Kebi no Mikoto
WHOOSH.
The Rasengan and the Myojin Gate vanished into his eye simultaneously.
"…Did I win the gamble?"
Koji exhaled deeply.
His clothes were drenched in sweat.
He didn't linger.
His white hair wrapped around Delta.
A summoned toad swallowed her.
Then—
in a reverse summoning cloud—
Koji Kashin disappeared.
When Akira landed on the ground—
Naruto stood up.
His head hung low.
His fists clenched.
His face showed no joy, no anger, no fear.
Only stillness.
The calm after a decision had been made.
Like the silence before a storm.
In less than five minutes—
he seemed like a completely different person.
Such a drastic change meant only two possibilities.
Either his mind had been taken over by someone…
or he had just learned something devastating.
As Naruto slowly raised his head—
for a brief instant—
a hook-shaped black eye marking flashed around his eyes.
Akira noticed it.
"…Hmm?"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
That pattern…
An omen.
Could it be…?
Then Naruto stared straight at him and spoke heavily.
"Uchiha Akira."
"You and Madara."
"Where did you take the Tailed Beasts?"
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