Sasuke's breath caught. He looked at Naruto's clear, determined blue eyes, then glanced out the window at the hellish scene beyond.
"What a pain..." He turned away and muttered under his breath.
"Then it's settled!" Shikamaru declared. "Ino, use your Mind Body Transmission Technique immediately to connect all the sensory ninja and build a detection network covering the entire country. Report the coordinates and trajectories of the largest fragments in real time! Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, you're responsible for clearing the debris above Konoha and buying Naruto and Sasuke time to act! Lord Hokage, please contact the other four great nations immediately and ask them to use every resource at their disposal to protect their lands! This isn't a war for Konoha alone—it's a war for the whole world!"
One order after another flowed steadily from Shikamaru's lips. In that moment, he was no longer the boy who dreaded a hassle, but a commander truly shouldering responsibility.
Tsunade looked at the young man before her, as if she were seeing the Second Hokage, who had once masterminded strategies on the battlefield. Slowly, she rose and straightened her back.
"Good!" Her fighting spirit flared anew. "We'll do as you say! Everyone, move out!"
High above, the first enormous meteor, large enough to rival a mountain range, had already broken through the clouds. It hurtled toward the heart of the Land of Fire—Konoha—with enough force to destroy everything in its path.
"We're out of time!" Ino's voice rang in everyone's minds. "First target directly overhead! Estimated impact in thirty seconds!"
"Sasuke!" Naruto roared.
Golden Chakra burst forth, and the massive Nine-Tails form appeared behind him. Sasuke gritted his teeth as blood seeped from his left eye, strained by the excessive exertion.
"Hold on tight, dead-last!"
A flash of purple light, and the two vanished.