The Dust Settles

The moment that streak of pitch-black lightning, which tore through the night sky, collided head-on with that flash of life-burning crimson blade-light—

BOOM!

A deafening roar, as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth splitting, arrived belatedly, followed by a shockwave capable of overturning the very ground.

The earth, like dough kneaded by an invisible giant hand, rippled outward from the point of impact, rising and shattering in terrifying concentric circles.

Countless shards of rock and dust were swept high into the sky by the violent air currents, forming a massive gray-yellow pillar connecting heaven and earth.

In the distance, within Konoha.

The window glass of the Hokage Office shattered with a sharp "crack."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up abruptly, his pipe clattering to the floor.

He flickered onto the roof, gazing at the red and black radiance illuminating half the horizon, a look of shock appearing on his aged face for the first time.

"This Chakra fluctuation... is it A (Third Raikage)?!

And this other presence... one I have never felt before, filled with such tyranny and destruction!

Who is it?!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he formed hand seals: Summoning Jutsu.

Poof!

As the smoke cleared, Enma transformed into the Adamantine Staff, landing in his hand.

"Sarutobi!" Enma's grave voice rang out.

"Something has happened." The Third Hokage's face was ashen as his figure turned into a streak of light, darting toward the direction of the explosion.

"Notify all Jonin in the village: Level One alert!

Notify the Barrier Team to activate the village's highest-level defensive barrier! Quickly!"

The valley no longer existed.

In its place remained only a terrifying, bottomless crater over five hundred meters in diameter.

The crater walls were smooth as glass, fused and cooled instantly by the extreme heat and impact.

Deep at the bottom of the pit, groundwater bubbled up, sending billowing white steam into the air.

At the edge of the crater, Namikaze Minato knelt on one knee, desperately holding up a crumbling ninjutsu barrier.

His face was pale as paper, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Uzumaki Kushina remained unconscious in his arms, but she was well-protected.

Further away, the three Kumogakure Jonin and seven Chunin had all been reduced to charred remains.

Scattered among the shattered mountain ruins, they silently testified to the horrific aftermath of that collision.

In the center of the crater, two figures stood in a standoff.

A (Third Raikage) had his bare upper body covered in fine lacerations; the deepest wound ran diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, flesh turned outward and dripping with blood.

The tip of his right index finger was charred black, trembling slightly.

The "Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite," into which he had poured his life's Chakra, had failed to pierce his opponent's blade.

He stared fixedly at the man opposite him, his single eye filled with unprecedented gravity—and even... disbelief.

Opposite him, Zaraki Kenpachi.

His condition was even worse.

His left arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly fractured.

The wound on his chest, carved by a lightning axe, was deep enough to expose bone, the movement of his internal organs visible.

He was bathed in blood, as if pulled from a pool of gore.

Yet, he stood there, his spine still straight as a rod.

His eyepatch had long since vanished, revealing eyes burning with golden flames.

In those pupils, there was only the ultimate, exhilarating satisfaction and a lingering, frantic desire for battle.

The Zanpakuto in his hand had several notches in its blade.

Yet he gripped it tightly, the tip pointed toward the Raikage.

"Heh... hehehe..." Zaraki Kenpachi grinned, revealing teeth stained red with blood.

"Awesome... damn, that was awesome! It's been so long... since I've had this much fun!"

He took a deep breath, his chest wheezing, but his sword hand remained steady as a rock.

"Come again! It's not over yet!!"

A (Third Raikage) watched him in silence, then looked up toward the direction of Konoha—where several powerful Chakra signatures were rapidly approaching.

He was all too familiar with the aged yet vigorous presence leading them.

Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Konoha's reinforcements had arrived.

And this madman before him...

The Third Hokage's gaze fell upon Zaraki Kenpachi.

His injuries were severe, yet his fighting spirit had only intensified.

That trait of becoming more frenzied and powerful the more he was wounded reminded him of certain ancient summoning beasts from Shikkotsu Forest mentioned in the records of Kumogakure.

He could not be killed.

At least, not in the short term.

And once he was bogged down, with Sarutobi Hiruzen arriving alongside Namikaze Minato.

Not to mention that Uchiha brat standing to the side who hadn't made a move yet, but felt even more dangerous...

Forget about taking the Nine-Tails jinchuriki and that genius today; he might even end up trapped here himself.

In the blink of an eye, the Third Hokage made his decision.

He took one last deep look at Zaraki Kenpachi, then glanced at Uchiha Ryūha on the edge of the crater in the distance, his voice low like rumbling thunder:

"Uchiha Ryūha... and you, you madman.

I will remember you both."

"Kumogakure forces—" he roared, his voice shaking the wilderness, "Retreat!"

Before the words had even faded, the lightning around his body surged once more, but instead of attacking, it transformed into a brilliant blue bolt of electricity.

He fled instantly in the opposite direction of Konoha!

His speed was so great that he left a lingering trail of lightning across the night sky.

It was the secret technique passed down through generations in Kumogakure—Lightning Style: Lightning Body Flicker!

Almost the moment he vanished, Zaraki Kenpachi's body in the center of the crater swayed.

"Tch... ran away fast." He spat out a mouthful of blood, the flames of battle in his golden pupils slowly extinguishing.

Three minutes... were up.

He turned his head to look at Uchiha Ryūha in the distance, grinning to reveal blood-stained teeth:

"Kid, this place of yours... not bad.

It was enough to satisfy me."

"Next time there's a good thing like this, remember to call me again."

As his voice fell, his body began to dissolve from his feet, turning into specks of golden spirit particles that drifted away with the wind.

His Zanpakuto clattered to the ground and dissipated as well.

Three seconds later, Zaraki Kenpachi had completely vanished from this world, as if he had never appeared at all.

Only the wreckage and the bottomless crater remained, proving that the battle which had transcended the Kage level was no hallucination.

Dead silence.

Only the wailing of the night wind through the ruins and the gurgling sound of groundwater welling up could be heard.

A long time passed.

"Cough... cough cough..." Namikaze Minato dispelled the barrier and knelt on one knee, coughing violently.

He had expended a massive amount of Chakra to withstand the shockwaves, and his internal organs had been rattled.

But he couldn't worry about himself; he immediately checked on Uzumaki Kushina in his arms.

Thankfully, she was only unconscious, her Chakra fluctuations were stable, and the Nine-Tails seal remained secure.

He let out a sigh of relief and looked up not far away.

Uchiha Ryūha was still standing there, adjusting his glasses. The lenses reflected the white light of the steam rising from the crater, making his expression impossible to read.

Namikaze Minato braced his knees and struggled to stand, supporting Uzumaki Kushina as he walked step by step toward Uchiha Ryūha.

"Ryūha-kun..." His voice was somewhat hoarse. Looking at the youth nearly ten years his junior, his eyes were filled with extreme complexity.

Gratitude, shock, and confusion all mingled together.

The earth-shattering battle just now, the terrifying powerhouse who had appeared and vanished so abruptly—all of it was connected to this seemingly quiet youth.

"Thank you." Namikaze Minato bowed deeply. "If not for you and your master today, I fear Uzumaki Kushina and I would have met a grim fate.

I, Namikaze Minato, will never forget this debt of gratitude.

In the future, should you have any need, I will give my all to assist you."

Uzumaki Kushina, still in her unconscious state, seemed to sense something; her eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

She was dazed for a moment, then memories flooded back like a tide—the Kumogakure ambush, the Raikage's strike, and Namikaze Minato's desperate struggle.

That terrifying Third Raikage had grabbed her... and then, a black-haired youth wearing glasses appeared, and after that...

She bolted upright, looking around.

Devastation everywhere.

A bottomless crater.

The charred corpses of Kumogakure ninja in the distance.

And, standing before her, Uchiha Ryūha, calmly adjusting his glasses.

"Ryūha-kun!" Uzumaki Kushina suddenly jumped up, grabbing Uchiha Ryūha's hand, tears welling up in her emerald eyes.

Her eyes were filled with agitation and lingering fear.

"It was you! You saved us, didn't you? You were the one who called that su--per powerful uncle, right? Thank you! Thank you so, so much!"

She gripped Uchiha Ryūha's hand and shook it vigorously, tears and snot streaming down her face, completely disregarding her image.

"From now on, you are my, Uzumaki Kushina's, best friend!

Whoever dares to bully you, I'll be the first to beat them up! Minato will help you too! Right, Minato?"

Namikaze Minato looked at his fiancée, who was crying and laughing at the same time, and nodded helplessly but dotingly.

He added solemnly once more, "Yes. Ryūha-kun, from now on, your business is my, Namikaze Minato's, business."

Uchiha Ryūha looked at the two sincere people before him, remained silent for a moment, gently pulled his hand back, and pushed up his glasses.

"Minato-senpai, Kushina-senpai, you are too kind.

As fellow Konoha ninja, looking out for one another is our duty."

He paused, looking at the crater, "It is only a pity that the Third Raikage got away."

"Being able to repel him is already a great fortune." Namikaze Minato felt a lingering fear.

If that terrifying powerhouse who called himself Zaraki Kenpachi hadn't suddenly appeared, the outcome today would have been unthinkable.

Just then, the sound of wind being broken echoed.

Several figures landed on the edge of the crater.

The person in the lead, white-haired and aged, holding the Adamantine Staff, was none other than the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Behind him followed several Anbu, as well as Uchiha Fugaku, Shimura Danzō, and others who had rushed over in a hurry.

The Third Hokage took one look at the tragic state of the crater, his pupils constricting slightly.

When he saw that Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were unharmed, he clearly breathed a sigh of relief, but his gaze immediately fell upon Uchiha Ryūha, becoming incredibly profound.

"Minato, Kushina, are you alright?" the Third Hokage asked in a deep voice.

"Hokage-sama, we are fine.

It is all thanks to Ryūha-kun... and his master." Namikaze Minato briefly recounted the events.

Including the Third Raikage's ambush, the arrival of Zaraki Kenpachi, the fierce battle, and the Raikage's retreat.

With every sentence spoken, the expressions of those behind the Third Hokage changed.

Shimura Danzō's single eye stared fixedly at Uchiha Ryūha, his gaze sinister.

As for Uchiha Fugaku, beyond his shock, a trace of irrepressible excitement flashed in the depths of his eyes.