Am I Too Late?

The Parasyte World, on the eastern coast of the Bay of Naples in Europe.

"Sage Art: Super Tailed Beast Bomb!"

Terrifying energy gathered in the mouth of the gigantic golden Nine-Tailed Fox, then blasted a massive, dozens-of-meters-tall Tyrant Dragon straight ahead. It flew like a small meteorite and crashed into Mount Vesuvius.

"Rumble!"

The enormous explosion shook the volcano until it teetered on the brink of collapse. Fortunately, the volcanic magma had already transformed into a Calamity Behemoth. Otherwise, that attack might have triggered an eruption.

Even the dinosaur-shaped Calamity Behemoth, clad in lava armor, couldn't withstand the massive explosion that combined Sage Art and a Tailed Beast Bomb.

[World Mission: "Hunt the Calamity Behemoth," Difficulty: Rank B — Completed,

Reward: 40,000 Contribution Points]

Minato Namikaze was thrilled when he heard the system prompt. He'd previously completed a few rescue missions along the way, earning only a few hundred to a few thousand Contribution Points each. Now, destroying the source of this Calamity Behemoth had earned him a whopping 40,000!

Although he didn't know how many Contribution Points or what other rewards he'd ultimately receive, surely he could earn enough to resurrect Kushina. The thought set his heart ablaze.

Just then, the Assistant System sent another notification:

[Current Calamity Behemoth elimination progress: 24/25,

Rescue mission progress: 90%

Available missions:

1. Rank C mission: "Light of Africa":

Help the people of Africa evacuate. Mission location: [Image]

2. Rank A mission: "Reinforcements":

The Calamity Behemoth Hanba has been temporarily held back by the Reincarnators, but its terrifying strength makes it extremely difficult to kill! Head to the African battlefield to provide support. Mission location: [Map]

Note: This is the final World Mission. Difficulty is high!]

Minato read the mission carefully and decided to accept the second one.

Now that the Main God Space had descended, how could he protect the people and things he cared about if he didn't grow stronger quickly?

Firm in his resolve, Minato teleported to the military camp where the troops were watching from a distance.

"I need to get to the following location. Have your commanding officer come speak with me!"

Facing a superhero who seemed like a savior, the European Union commander carried out Minato's request with the utmost urgency.

Just over ten minutes later, Minato boarded a plane provided by the European Union and hurried toward Africa.

By then, the African battlefield had been reduced to a barren wasteland, littered with corpses for miles.

A blue-faced, fanged zombie Hanba flew through the air, surrounded by attackers:

The tall figure who had become a being of light was Kizaru. As the most mobile person on the battlefield, he was the main force keeping Hanba occupied.

Another was Red-Haired Shanks, wielding a Black Blade and unleashing his Haki to the fullest as golden Haki wrapped around him and helped him fend off Hanba's claws.

Since the Six Paths of Pain's attacks risked injuring their allies, they only used Shinra Tensei and various ninjutsu to harass Hanba from the sidelines.

Orochimaru's team and the Raikage attacked Hanba with all kinds of ninjutsu, but in a direct confrontation, they were still slightly outmatched by the Star Sea powerhouse.

Standing by as reserves were Gin Ichimaru, Third Division Captain of the Gotei 13 in the Bleach World, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Captain of the Twelfth Division.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi had single-handedly killed the Desert Giant Python in the Middle East. Gin Ichimaru, meanwhile, had been lucky enough to have his Novice Mission turn directly into a World Mission.

They were the only two Reincarnators from the Bleach World so far. Both had arrived in the Parasyte World, and after eliminating the Calamity Behemoth in the Middle East and completing a few rescue missions, they had made their way to the African battlefield.

Nearly everyone able to take part in the fighting was at least Tier 3. Many Reincarnators who weren't strong enough couldn't even withstand the shock waves. They could only watch from afar or take on the "Light of Africa" rescue mission.

The United Nations' coalition forces were also being kept out of the battlefield. After the Calamity Behemoths around the world had been eliminated one by one, this last one seemed to be the strongest of them all, making it the target of every nation on Earth.

Fortunately, the monster had first appeared in sparsely populated Africa. If this terrifying Hanba had emerged in a densely populated city on the Eurasian continent, it would have been a catastrophe!

Though it had already caused a drought across hundreds of miles of the African continent, it had appeared in the Central African Highlands, where almost no one lived. The death toll wasn't as high as one might expect.

Most casualties had occurred when the joint forces of various nations first tried to eliminate it, only to be burned to death when it casually raised its hand and unleashed a blaze. Fortunately, the Reincarnators had arrived in time and taken over the battlefield. With the military firepower available, there would otherwise have been only the slimmest hope of fighting the monster—and at a terrible cost.

At that moment, the supreme commander of the human coalition and a group of staff officers were gathered together, watching the battle from a distance via satellite. He had authorization from the United Nations Security Council to launch humanity's ultimate weapon—the nuclear bomb—if necessary!

After all, no national leader wanted to see a walking natural disaster like this reach their territory. No matter the cost, it had to be destroyed on the African battlefield! For now, though, they could only put their hopes in these mysterious visitors and pray they would eliminate the monster.

In the chaotic battlefield, Hanba was fighting two enemies at once, yet had the upper hand against Kizaru, now an Admiral, and Shanks, who was beginning to display the aura of a Four Emperor.

If Deva Path Pain hadn't repeatedly disrupted it with gravitational and repulsive forces, while everyone else attacked from the sidelines, Hanba would have burned Kizaru and Shanks to ashes long ago.

Though Hanba had the advantage, it was extremely frustrated. Every time it gained the upper hand and found an opportunity to seriously injure Kizaru or Red-Haired Shanks, some unexpected attack would arrive.

Sometimes it was gravity or repulsion, sometimes lightning or fire. They always managed to hold it back for a moment, giving Kizaru and Shanks a chance to catch their breath.

And if it tried to break through the encirclement and take out the others, Kizaru and Shanks would risk everything to stop it. Furious, it roared again and again, able only to attack the people blocking its way with reckless abandon.

Kizaru and Shanks had their own troubles. Hanba might have looked slender, but it seemed to possess a passive aura, its entire body radiating immense heat. Like a living Pyro, flames followed its every movement. Anyone who came within a hundred meters would immediately lose all the water in their body and die.

Even Orochimaru and the others from the Ninja World were affected. Their bodies weren't much different from those of ordinary people. Within a hundred meters, they had to expend enormous amounts of Chakra to stop the water in their bodies from evaporating, leaving them completely unable to fight!

As for the two captains from the Bleach World, their unusual bodies meant they didn't lose water, but they weren't as mobile as Red-Haired Shanks and Kizaru. Gin Ichimaru and Mayuri Kurotsuchi also seemed to be holding back.

As for Doflamingo and Pain, the flames controlled by Hanba would burn away Doflamingo's strings as soon as they drew near. Even with Haki coating them, they could only last a little longer. After all, his Haki was still far weaker than Kizaru's or Shanks's.

The puppet bodies of Pain's Paths contained no water, but they weren't suited to ganging up on an opponent. Only Deva Path Pain could hold Hanba back; the other Paths' various abilities were almost useless against it!

Orochimaru released ninjutsu to harass Hanba as he observed the other Reincarnators. He turned to Kisame and asked,

"Kisame, is that puppet-controlling man the leader of the Akatsuki?"

Kisame controlled a stream of water to extinguish a wave of flames, then explained, "That's right, at least publicly. His name is Pain. He calls himself 'God' and possesses the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths."

Orochimaru gave a scornful laugh.

"'God'? Hahaha! I bet he'll drop that ridiculous title now that he's a Reincarnator. Calling himself a god beneath the Main God? Absurd."

Thinking of the many abilities Pain had displayed in this battle, Orochimaru continued, "Even the Sage of Six Paths himself probably wouldn't dare call himself a sage after entering the Main God Space. Still, this Rinnegan certainly has some tricks."

Orochimaru turned over a few ideas in his mind, unconsciously sticking out his signature tongue to lick his lips.

While the two were talking, the battlefield suddenly changed.

After being attacked by Hanba for so long, it seemed to have finally lost its temper. A massive burst of flame suddenly erupted around it, engulfing its entire body.

Fortunately, Observation Haki gave Red-Haired Shanks and Kizaru enough warning to flee in time.

Hanba's body was bathed in crimson flames as it threw back its head and roared at the blazing sun.

The moment it roared, the sun in the sky suddenly blazed brighter, as though its light and heat had surged dramatically!

The whole world seemed to have become a Blazing Hell, making everyone feel as though they were about to be scorched. The scattered Reincarnators watching from a distance had no choice but to retreat even farther.

Heat shimmered above the earth. The ground was so parched that it cracked, while dead flowers, grass, and trees burst into flames. Everywhere one looked, the land was an ocean of fire, like a living hell!

Seeing this, everyone on the battlefield unleashed attacks to stop Hanba.

"Divine Departure: Wisdom King Slash!"

"Ultimate: Yasaka Magatama!"

"Nine Heavens Dragon-Tiger Break!"

"Water Style: Super Giant Shark Bomb!" In his Zanpakuto's Shikai state, Kisame's ninjutsu was enhanced. A giant water shark combined with the thunderous Dragon-Tiger attack, forming a powerful combined assault that hurtled toward Hanba.

Everyone else's attacks and control abilities landed on Hanba as well.

"Asura Path: Lascannon!"

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

"Sixteen Holy Bullets: God Thread!"

"Shoot Him: God Spear!"

"Bakudō #79: Nine Sunlight Bind!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi chose to restrain Hanba. His Zanpakuto's Bankai, Golden Ashisogi Jizo, had already been damaged in the battle against the Desert Giant Python, so he decided to use a Bakudō to lock the monster down.

Terrifying attacks covered Hanba from every direction. On top of that, various control abilities struck it directly, leaving it no chance to dodge.

Yet as a Calamity Behemoth born from drought, Hanba had somehow inherited a trace of the ancient mythological monster's essence. It had already stepped halfway into the fourth tier.

An ancient saying went: "Hanba's drought brings devastation, like searing heat and blazing flames!" Both the words for searing heat and blazing flames referred to fire!

The very nature of the Calamity Behemoth Hanba represented drought, a natural disaster!

As the saying went, "Dryness means drought. Nothing dries all things more than fire."

Nothing made all things hotter and drier than fire. And this Calamity Behemoth Hanba could already exert a measure of control over the rules of fire!

All those terrifying attacks—whether lasers too fast to follow, Haki-laden slashes, or mutated ninjutsu that combined different energies—were swallowed by the flames surrounding Hanba as soon as they neared its body!

"Did the attacks have no effect? Damn it!"

"They were all swallowed!"

"What is that fire?"

"What? We couldn't even get through its defenses!"

Everyone watching inside and outside the battlefield felt as if they'd fallen into an icy abyss. An overwhelming sense of despair unlike anything they'd ever felt welled up inside them. Could they really fight a monster this powerful?

But Hanba gave them no time to react.

Once its surrounding flames had swallowed the attacks, the fire on its body began to flow rapidly. In an instant, a gigantic Flame Divine Dragon, dozens of meters long, formed from the flames around Hanba. It soared around the monster, then circled above everyone, radiating an immense and terrifying pressure.

The fire dragon opened its jaws wide. Countless energies seemed to gather within: waves of ninjutsu, Haki, and Reishi. The myriad clashing energies were enveloped in clusters of flame.

The dragon opened its jaws and exhaled. Countless flames poured out, forming a gigantic Flame Golden Lotus. Its scorching heat seemed to consume the whole world, engulfing everyone present and leaving them with nowhere to run!

"Not good! It absorbed our attacks—that fire is terrifying!"

"Damn it, there's no time!"

"We're doomed! We can't escape!"

Despair seemed to overtake everyone on the battlefield. Faced with the terrifying Flame Golden Lotus, they were all about to be burned to nothing!

The enormous Flame Golden Lotus seemed to set time and all creation ablaze. Like the sun falling from the sky, it was already setting the edges of everyone's clothes on fire.

Just as this world-consuming attack seemed to move slowly yet swiftly descended upon them, a kunai wrapped in golden energy shot through the air from afar. It overtook the flames and struck the lotus directly, as though it had crossed through time and space.

In that moment, time reversed and space shifted.

The space surrounding the Flame Golden Lotus twisted into a vortex. Before anyone could react, the lethal lotus had vanished without a trace!

A figure wearing a golden Chakra cloak stood with their back to everyone. Black patterns of energy flowed across the golden cloak, and the figure stood proudly before them like a dancing golden flame!

At the same time, hundreds of kilometers away, deep in the desert, space twisted. The enormous Flame Golden Lotus crashed to the ground.

"Rumble!"

The earth shook. A tremendous explosion, like the end of the world, erupted in the distant desert. Its fierce light and heat destroyed countless forests and buildings along the way. Even hundreds of kilometers away, the people could feel its terrifying power.

With that single strike, the entire Sahara Desert became a wasteland where no life could survive! The scorching flames seemed impossible to extinguish, transforming the whole Sahara Desert into an Endless Fire Domain!

It was hard to imagine what would have happened if that attack had landed here. No one present would have survived!

Watching this, Orochimaru licked his lips excitedly and murmured, "That kid really lives up to his reputation!"

The golden figure had their back to everyone. Then they turned around and gave them a warm smile, like a spring breeze soothing their despair.

"Am I too late?"