Madara Uchiha

"Huh? A shinobi who can fly? That must be that kid Ōnoki from Iwagakure!"

A man with wild, disheveled hair stood on a rocky ledge.

Most of his body was made of dust, and his eyes were black and hollow. He was clearly one of the undead brought back by Impure World Reincarnation.

He watched Ōnoki use the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique in an attempt to stop the falling meteorite by himself, but made no move. He simply observed in silence.

"Ahhh..."

Ōnoki pressed both hands against the meteorite and roared, straining with every ounce of strength he had.

Even so, all he managed to do was slow its descent.

Seeing this, the Kazekage below stretched out both hands. A vast quantity of sand gold rose from beneath the yellow sands and formed a giant hand that reached skyward to brace against the falling meteorite.

First, Ōnoki's Earth Release: Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique reduced the meteorite's weight. Then, with the aid of the Kazekage's Gold Dust Imperial Funeral, it finally slowed to a stop.

Mei Terumi, who had been waiting for an opening, let out a long breath of relief. Her heart finally settled.

"They stopped it!"

"The meteorite's been stopped!"

The shinobi of the Allied Shinobi Forces, who had been fleeing in every direction, cheered at the top of their lungs.

Some had been so terrified that, once the danger seemed to pass, they collapsed straight to the ground.

On the distant rocky ledge, the man watched them foolishly begin to celebrate. A smile tugged at his lips.

"You stopped one. But how will you stop the second?"

The moment he finished speaking, another meteorite of the same size fell from above the clouds.

But the first meteorite blocked everyone's view, so none of them noticed it at once. The first