Beneath a sky gathering with dark clouds, space suddenly shattered, and a massive figure fell from above. The instant it landed, the earth shook.
Dust billowed in every direction as winding cracks spread endlessly outward. The entire academy, along with half of Konoha, trembled. The children who had been evacuating stumbled about amid this man-made disaster that resembled an earthquake. This time, their faces went deathly pale as they finally realized this was nothing like their earlier childish games.
Many of the children had already collapsed to the ground, crying loudly.
"Cough, cough... What the hell is happening?" Nara Shikamaru shouted. His young face looked grim, but he was one of the few children present who could remain calm.
Three Anbu ninja leaped out at once, shielding everyone behind them as they stared gravely toward the rear of the academy. The area was now shrouded in dust, but they had clearly seen something fall from the sky.
"Iruka, keep leading the children out. No matter what that thing is, we'll buy some time first. The Third Hokage will be here soon."
The leading Anbu ninja shouted, yet his gaze never left the dust cloud for even a second.
Only then did Iruka snap out of his daze. He hurriedly got to his feet and continued organizing the students' evacuation.
Unfortunately, it seemed there was not enough time.
A tremor came from within the dust. Under everyone's horrified gazes, a towering giant dressed in white emerged. Expressionless, he swept his eyes across the area, utterly ignoring the three Anbu ninja who faced him as if confronting a great enemy. "Found you!" His gaze abruptly stopped on Naruto Uzumaki, and he spoke in a muffled voice.
He was Otsutsuki Kinshiki, sent by Momoshiki to the Main World to gather chakra. His foremost