Beyond Konoha, deep in an endless forest, three armies of ninja from Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Otogakure were silently closing in on the village.
High among the clouds, a massive Sky Fortress drifted in and out of view, ready to launch an air raid on Konoha at any moment!
Meanwhile, inside Konoha, the Mist Ninja, Sunagakure Ninja, and Oto Ninja who had entered ahead of their teams were already at intersections throughout the village, as well as at landmarks such as the Ninja Academy and the hospital. Once the signal came, they would wreak havoc and sow chaos and panic!
Konoha Cemetery.
In front of Rin Nohara's gravestone.
Obito Uchiha stood in silence, his single eye unfocused as he stared ahead, as if recalling the turbulent years of the past. After a long while, he sighed and said softly, "Rin, wait for me. I'll soon create an ideal world without war, a world of eternal peace. A world... with you in it!"
Final Selection Battle arena.
Amid the spectators' thunderous cheers, the battle between Naruto and Gaara had reached its decisive moment.
On the cliff face, Naruto panted as he darted back and forth between two enormous, grotesque Sand Hands, looking utterly disheveled.
Gaara, meanwhile, was surrounded by Naruto's Three Hundred Shadow Clones, stacked around him like a human pyramid. The whistling of Rasengan rang out from within without pause.
Gaara stood with his arms crossed, while Sand Burial formed a sealed sphere around him, blocking the Rasengan coming from every direction.
It was pitch-black inside the sphere. Gaara could only faintly make out the spiral-shaped ripples appearing on its surface, vanishing, then appearing and vanishing again.
The darkness, the relentless attacks... A savage expression gradually spread across Gaara's face. He seemed afraid, terrified, on the verge of hysteria...