"Is... is it over?"
"We're saved! We're saved!"
After a brief silence, earth-shaking cheers erupted.
Many people slumped to the ground, either laughing uncontrollably or covering their faces and weeping.
The drastic shift from despair to a new lease on life was difficult even for these battle-hardened ninja to bear.
It could not be helped.
The sight of meteorites raining down from across the sky had been far too shocking, far too terrifying.
It was only natural for ninja who had never faced such a crisis to look as though they were on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Elsewhere, Naruto Uzumaki watched, dumbfounded, as Shihōin Naraku slowly withdrew his palms, and the devastating pillar of energy dissipated with them.
"Wh-what kind of technique was that?!"
"Whoosh-"
The enormous Susanoo descended from the sky. Sasuke Uchiha glanced at Naruto, then fixed his gaze on Naraku. "That technique wasn't any kind of ninjutsu I know!"
"It seemed a little like simply releasing concentrated chakra... but not quite..."
Sasuke's explanation was rather vague, mainly because he had not figured out how the Kamehameha worked either.
"It was just the ability to compress and release chakra." Naraku raised his eyes. "But now isn't the time to talk about that..."
His gaze turned toward the distant God Tree.
There, Madara Uchiha had already appeared before the God Tree and begun absorbing it.
Naraku narrowed his eyes. "Madara has already made his move. Whatever he intends to do with the God Tree, we can't let him have his way!"
"We have to stop him!"
Naruto immediately reacted. "Right, let's go deal with Madara!"
"Let's go!"
The three immediately set off. Just then, the God Tree began shrinking and twisting at a visible speed, and a moment later, Madara absorbed it into his body.
"Hahaha..."
"So