Obito Uchiha took the full force of his own Truth-Seeking Orb, but he could only suffer in silence. The shockwaves from the explosion in the sky had yet to fade.
Shinji tilted his head.
He studied the Ten-Tails sprawled before him with interest. In its eye socket, the scarlet Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan darted about.
When it met Shinji's smile,
its massive body visibly stiffened.
It whipped its eye back into its socket like a cornered mouse spotting a cat, terrified of being caught and eaten.
The reaction was remarkably human.
Then again...
That was only natural.
Shinji smiled.
Then, rustle—
A red flower resembling a fleshy growth suddenly unfolded from its back. Like a bulb opening, it bloomed, and a colossal Giant Tree grew upward from its center, reaching toward the heavens. No, strictly speaking, it was a giant trunk.
It barely resembled a tree at all.
Next, countless thick branches of the God Tree erupted beneath the Ten-Tails. They broke through the soil, then tore the ground apart with a rumble and swept toward everyone nearby!
"Is that... Wood Release?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were aghast. Pop! Pop! Two enormous Fūma Shuriken appeared in his hands, spinning furiously like windmills.
Hiruzen Sarutobi swung both arms wildly, shredding the branches reaching for him. But more branches of the God Tree kept coming, filling the sky. Alarmed, he shouted, "Shinji! Do something!"
Shinji had been watching the Ten-Tails' handiwork. After all, no one present was weak. These branches would not overwhelm them anytime soon.
At Hiruzen's cry, he paused and turned to look through the chaotic crowd, a smile curling his lips. "Oh? Third Hokage, you're as formidable as ever! I never thought you'd ask me for help, though."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth twitched. He hurled the huge Fūma Shuriken he had