Boom!
Space tore where the two attacks met. Fine, deep-black cracks appeared, then burst apart with a roar.
Before the Sage of Six Paths' incredulous eyes.
A multicolored shock wave surged in every direction.
The earth trembled, dark clouds churned, masonry flew, and lightning raced...
For a time, sand, dirt, and air currents roiled. The Sage of Six Paths and the Nine Tailed Beasts in the sky, and Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi... and the others on the ground were all swallowed by the blast.
Their lives hung in the balance.
Space rippled.
Xuandou, who had just used the Flying Thunder God Technique, appeared at that very spot.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the sky and earth collapsing before him as a storm rose.
Xuandou glanced back at the Xuanyin farmland not far behind him. His expression chilled, and anger rose involuntarily within him.
But Xuandou had no time to dwell on it. He formed hand seals, and five gates over a thousand meters tall appeared there, green, red, blue, white, and black, each bearing a demon's image at its center.
They firmly contained the center of the explosion.
Only then was the attack prevented from spreading to other areas.
But precisely because of this, the force within the five gates became even more concentrated, violent, surging energy pouring out at the center.
While maintaining the Fivefold Rashomon, Xuandou...
Sensed the mark he had left on Mirai.
With a thought, Shadow Clones appeared around him.
These clones rushed into the center of the explosion. A few breaths later, they emerged from the confines of the Fivefold Rashomon one after another, shielding the gravely wounded Hatake Sakumo, the bedraggled Kakashi, and the unconscious Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Mirai, and the others.
"Your Majesty, First Emperor!"
"Father!"
"Lord Xuandou!"
They greeted Xuandou.