The Golem of the Northern Wasteland
Dawn. Northern Wasteland.
Before dawn, when the morning mist should have been thick, a nauseating dark purple miasma permeated the entire wasteland. There was no earthy smell in the air, only the stench of dry, rotting wood.
"Boom--"
A large crater, more than ten meters wide, suddenly appeared in the flat Gobi Desert. Brown roots, as thick as water vats, burst forth from the ground like raging pythons.
"Scatter! Don't let that thing touch you... Ah!"
Before the three scouts from Kumogakure could even Hand Seals for their Body Flicker Technique, they were tightly entangled by a tree root covered in barbs. In the blink of an eye, the burly samurai's skin shrank rapidly, and his eye sockets sunken, like a wild fruit drained of its moisture.
"Help... help me..." The last Hidden Leaf Chunin grabbed his companion's ankle, but could only watch helplessly as the Chakra within his body flowed wildly into the ground along the veins of the tree roots.
A flash of blue-white lightning suddenly tore through the thick, murky purple mist.
"Chidori!"
A piercing chorus of Chidori exploded right next to his scalp. Kakashi leaped into the air, his figure transforming into a silver lightning bolt, his left hand enveloped in a high density of Lightning Release Chakra, forcefully slicing into the core of the brown root.
The stench of burning filled the air instantly. The thick tree root was cleanly cut in two, and the three ninjas who had been lifted into the air slammed helplessly onto the gravel ground.
Kakashi didn't hesitate. He pushed off the ground with both feet and drew his Ninja Blade from his waist, ready to finish off the enemy.
But the next second, he stopped moving.
Instead of oozing sap from the broken wood, hundreds and thousands of tiny fleshy sprouts emerged in the blink of an eye, as if wriggling with life. In less than three seconds, the tree root severed by the Chidori had returned to its original shape, even larger than before, and swept directly towards Kakashi in mid-air.
With nowhere to brace against in mid-air, if you were hit by that, your bones would be shattered to pieces.
"Sizzle--"
A blinding golden light ripped across the sky without warning.
Without Hand Seals or afterimages, Naruto appeared out of thin air beside Kakashi, casually grabbing the back of Kakashi's collar with his right hand and tossing him backward.
At the same time, he raised his left leg high, golden flames like the blazing sun igniting on the instep, and slashed down fiercely at the thick tree root that was being pulled at him.
"Bang!"
A dull thud. The strange tree root, which could instantly heal even with the Chidori, was like withered grass thrown into a steel furnace the moment it came into contact with the Pure Yang Chakra.
Without even a chance to struggle, its roots, which were over ten meters long, crumbled inch by inch from head to tail, turning into a shower of grayish-white powder that fell to the ground.
Naruto landed, kicked at the ashes with his toe, and scoffed, "Planting trees without watering them, relying entirely on sucking human blood, what kind of hellish farm is this?"
"Something's not right." Kakashi steadied himself, pulled down his mask with one hand to reveal his crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan, his expression grim. "Physical attacks are useless; it can instantly replenish the damage caused by Ninjutsu by absorbing the surrounding Natural Energy."
"Of course it's complete." Naruto squatted down, picked up a clump of dirt and rubbed it between his fingers. "This thing isn't the Ten-Tails' true form at all."
Kakashi was taken aback.
"This is Obito 'Chakra Siphon' that Obito bastard came up with." Naruto straightened up, dusted off his hands, and said, "The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's main body is too big, so he didn't dare to put it out in the open as a target. So he buried this broken tree underground and sent out tens of thousands of these roots to push upwards."
He pointed to the cracking ground around him. "As long as this underground root system remains intact, the White Zetsu behind the Allied Shinobi Forces can operate indefinitely. He's planning to use the entire Leyline of Land of Fire's ley lines as a power bank for his 100,000-strong army."
The ground trembled more and more violently. Large areas of rock began to collapse in all directions, and more and more brown roots broke through the soil, like a twisted wooden storm sweeping across the wasteland.
Kakashi didn't look at the roots. He covered his left eye tightly with his left hand, and blood seeped out between his fingers. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly in his eye socket, and the intense spatial tearing sensation made his head spin.
"No need to look for the array's core." Kakashi's voice was unusually calm, so calm that it carried a chilling undertone. "He's right here."
That eye, that Chakra frequency. Even through hundreds of meters of rock, Kakashi could smell the stench of blood and despair in that space. The Nine-Tails' rampage, Minato-sensei's death; just hours before, the arrogant declaration of war at the Five Kage Summit.
Obito is located at the foot of this wasteland.
Naruto turned his head and saw Kakashi covering his eyes, but didn't ask any questions. He knew all too well what Kakashi was suppressing.
"Are you sure it's in this area?" Naruto asked.
"The spatial fluctuations are about two thousand meters underground, a very wide area, which I can't pinpoint precisely." Kakashi took a deep breath. "His Kamui can shift nodes at any time. If we had dug along the tree roots, he would have escaped long ago."
"Run?" Naruto grinned, his two rows of White Fang looking particularly cold against the purple miasma. "I hate these sewer rats the most. Since they're hiding in their shells and won't come out, let's smash their turtle shells."
The moment the words were spoken, the sky suddenly darkened.
Instead of dark clouds obscuring the sun, countless pale pieces of paper surged in from all directions. Millions of Explosive Tags, linked end to end, formed a giant net that completely sealed off the sky for a radius of over ten kilometers.
Dressed in Akatsuki cloak, Konan descended slowly from the sky atop a paper crane. Her tone was cold and devoid of warmth. "Three hundred meters above the ground, all air movement has been cut off. My paper can seal off any vents. If he dares to peek out for air, he will be blown to smithereens."
Naruto gave Konan a thumbs-up, then raised his hand and pressed the communication earpiece in his right ear.
"Command center, can you hear me?"
Static came through the earpiece, followed by Shikamaru Nara's calm voice. "Communications are normal. How's the situation at the front?"
"We've found the rat hole, now we need a drill to cut it open." Naruto immediately ordered, "Hinata, get the connection."
A few seconds later, the static in the headphones turned into a soft yet incredibly powerful female voice. "Naruto-kun, I'm here."
Inside the Allied Shinobi Forces command post, fifty kilometers away, Hinata's hands Hand Seals, veins bulging at the corners of her eyes. Floating before her was a giant Chakra sphere constructed by the Sensory Unit.
"Hinata, share the view and help me sweep this area." Naruto didn't waste any more words.
"Clear."
Hinata's eyes suddenly widened. At this moment, she pushed the power of Byakugan to its limit. Her gaze pierced through the tents of the Allied Shinobi Forces camp, crossed fifty kilometers of mountains and rivers, and plunged directly into the depths of the Northern Wasteland.
For one hundred meters... it's all ordinary rock.
Five hundred meters... Dense, brown roots intertwined together, like a giant ball of yarn.
One kilometer...
"Found it!" Hinata's voice came through the radio waves, carrying a rare sharpness. "Naruto-kun, it's 1300 meters directly below! All the Root systems aren't connecting to deeper areas, but converging at one point. The Chakra density there is terrifyingly high; the space itself is completely distorted!"
"Give me the Coordinates!"
"East longitude..." Hinata quickly recited a series of precise Chakra node Coordinates, "But that node is constantly moving, and its movement speed is extremely fast, like it's alive!"
"Even if they're alive, they'd better kneel down!"
Naruto completely released his suppressed aura. His previously calm golden Chakra Cloak instantly surged, transforming into a tangible flame that shot into the sky. He lowered his body, and the Gobi Desert beneath his feet instantly crumbled into dust.
"Bang!"
Without any fancy Ninjutsu, Naruto relied solely on the extreme explosive power of his physical body, his entire body shooting straight into the sky like a golden cannonball.
At the very moment he reached his highest point, he whirled around, head down and feet up. The muscles in his right arm bulged, and nine golden Chakra Chains shot out from his back, wrapping directly around his right fist.
Immortal Technique: Vajra Monster Strength Heavy Fist!
With terrifying kinetic energy capable of destroying mountains, Naruto transformed into a golden meteorite, striking the Coordinates given by Hinata with unparalleled precision.
"Boom--!!!"
The sky collapsed and the earth cracked.
The entire Northern Wasteland trembled violently at that moment. A violent shockwave swept across the ground, tearing away the surrounding gnarled tree roots along with the bark of the earth.
Kakashi and Konan were forced to retreat over a hundred meters before they could barely regain their footing.
Amidst the billowing dust, the earth's crust was blasted into a gigantic crater, hundreds of meters in diameter and seemingly bottomless. The crater walls were covered with glass-like crystals left by the intense friction.
Naruto stood at the bottom of the pit, panting heavily, wisps of white smoke rising from his fists.
At his feet, the hard rock layer had completely disappeared, replaced by a huge metal structure with a diameter of more than ten meters.
It was an Iron Anchor, completely black and strangely shaped.
The Iron Anchor's surface was covered with dense, blood-red runes, and in the very center of the anchor was a distorted Uzumaki spatial symbol. Countless tiny brown roots sprouted from the cracks in the Iron Anchor.
This is not the true form of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path at all.
This is the "Spatial Anchor" that Obito forcibly drove into the Leyline of the Land of Fire in order to expand the Kamui Space!
Inside the Iron Anchor, a muffled sound, like a heartbeat, emanated faintly. Then, the Uzumaki runes on the anchor's surface began to spin wildly, and a violent Chakra, ten times stronger than before, was attempting to forcibly tear open a rift in space along the anchor point.
Kakashi leaped from the edge of the giant crater, landing beside Naruto. He stared intently at the black Iron Anchor, the excruciating pain in his left eye making him almost grind his teeth to dust.
"Obito..." Kakashi's voice was terribly hoarse.
Naruto shook his numb right hand, his eyes as cold as ice. He looked at the expanding spatial vortex on the Iron Anchor, a wild smile curving his lips.
"I've had enough of your hiding and cowardly tricks." Naruto lifted his foot and stomped heavily on the black Iron Anchor. His domineering voice echoed deep within the spatial rift, "Either you come out yourself, or I'll climb down this broken chain and twist your head off with my own hands!"