The Divine Tree's bud split open along its first petal.
The nauseating dead silence in the air instantly became a tangible storm.
It was not wind, but a deadly vortex forcibly ripping away chakra.
On the northeastern high ground, the Mind Body Switch Net Ino had just formed shattered outright. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell stiffly backward. Choji hurriedly used his massive body to shield her, only for the flesh on his body to visibly shrivel.
"This damn thing is eating people!" Choji gritted his back teeth, sweat pouring down his face.
Along the northwestern defensive line, Sakura had just smashed a Ten-Tails clone's head apart with one punch when her knees suddenly buckled, crashing heavily onto the rubble. The Strength of a Hundred Seal on her arm twisted violently, and chakra flowed out like an uncontrollable spring, turning into pale green ribbons of light that drifted toward the Divine Tree high above.
Across the battlefield, tens of thousands of Allied Shinobi Forces ninja, no matter how fiercely they had fought moments earlier, now fell in swaths like harvested wheat.
Obito stood at the Divine Tree's roots, watching chakra ribbons dance through the sky. His voice was feverish. "Naruto Uzumaki, do you see now? This is your fate. All chakra is nothing more than nourishment for the Divine Tree."
Madara stood atop a floating boulder on the other side. The black Cursed Seal on his chest had temporarily suppressed the rampaging Hashirama Cells. He sneered as he stared at the bud in midair. "It has finally come to this."
Naruto stood amid the central ruins, his Perfect Nine-Tails golden form flickering wildly, its light brightening and dimming.
Within the mental space, Kurama angrily slapped the pooled water. "Brat, that thing is the Ten-Tails' true form! It can drain