Excruciating pain.
It wasn't the pain of skin being torn open or bones being shattered, but rather an indescribable, chaotic pain originating from the deepest part of the body, as if every cell was being torn apart, roasted, and forcibly glued back together.
Shira lay in the makeshift medical tent, on a soft sand mat, covered with a thin blanket, with Ameno staying by his side the whole time.
But at this moment, his perception of the outside world became blurred, and all his consciousness was swallowed up by the sudden "riot" within his body.
The pure and vast "qi" transformed from Zero-Tails was originally gently repairing his damaged body under the guidance of Shinnō's forbidden technique, and coexisting harmoniously with the Natural Energy introduced by the Wind Xun Breathing Method.
But for some unknown reason, perhaps it was the extreme pressure exerted by the Fifth Activation, perhaps it was the stimulation from Madara's domineering Chakra, or perhaps it was the encounter with some deeper power when he clashed with the meteorite—the Chakra attributes within him that had always existed but had been neglected and were almost dormant because he "didn't know Ninjutsu "—fire and lightning, suddenly and violently awakened during this chaotic recovery period!
It was not a gentle awakening, but rather like a ferocious beast that had been imprisoned for thousands of years suddenly breaking free of its shackles, rampaging through his meridians, acupoints, and even every cell!
The intense heat of fire and the violent piercing of lightning—two completely different yet equally destructive Chakra— clashed, intertwined, annihilated, and were reborn from each other with the original "ki," Natural Energy, and Zero-Tails power within his body!
"Ugh--!" Shira suddenly curled up, her forehead instantly covered in cold sweat, her teeth clenched, and she let out a painful groan.
Beneath his skin, an abnormal crimson glow would sometimes appear, and fine, azure lightning would flash across his face. The cyan-gold wind patterns and the dim black aura representing the power of the Zero-Tails would also appear alternately, making him seem like an extremely unstable energy furnace.
" Shira! What's wrong?!"
Ameno was terrified, her face paling. She gripped his icy hand tightly, feeling the erratic fluctuations of his palm, sometimes hot and sometimes cold, and the uncontrollable trembling.
The tent was suddenly flung open, and Maki and Shūji rushed in, followed by Gaara and Rasa over upon hearing the news.
Everyone gasped when they saw Shira's appearance.
"It's an energy backlash! Multiple forces have gone out of control within his body!"
Maki's face turned deathly pale. She was skilled in sealing and extremely sensitive to energy flow. At this moment, she could clearly perceive the destructive chaos within Shira's body.
"How could this happen? Everything was fine just now!" Shūji asked anxiously, his eyes reddening.
"It's likely that forcibly pushing his limits and then directly confronting the meteorite caused cracks in his body, which he considered the vessel for power. Combined with the immense and complex power within him, he's lost his balance..."
Gaara frowned. He could feel the chaotic fluctuations in Chakra and aura within Shira's body, which even caused Shukaku within his own body to become somewhat restless.
Rasa stepped forward, placing his hand on Shira's forehead. Golden sand-like Chakra cautiously probed inside, his expression immediately growing grave. "Chaos, utter chaos. Fire, lightning, and Natural Energy like the wind Shira controls, along with several other forces of unknown nature but equally powerful. They are fighting each other, destroying his body. Forcibly suppressing or channeling them could trigger an even more violent explosion."
"What should we do?! Are we just going to watch him...?" Tears welled up in Ameno's eyes.
Seemingly hearing Ameno's cries, Shira, in her extreme pain, managed to forcefully gather a sliver of her scattered consciousness.
He opened his eyes, his gaze somewhat unfocused, but he still tried to look at the people around him, his voice hoarse as if sandpaper were being rubbed together:
"Don't panic, listen to me..."
" Shira!" Everyone quickly gathered around.
"The power within me is surging..." Each word was Shira with difficulty, sweat mixed with blood trickling down her forehead. "It needs time to balance. I will sleep. Let my body... adjust itself..."
He looked at Ameno, his eyes filled with apology and reluctance. "Wait for me..."
He then looked at Gaara, Rasa, Shūji, Maki, his speech quickening, carrying an undeniable decisiveness. "Battlefield command is now in your hands. Trust Naruto and the Five Kage. Madara is in danger; there's a deeper force behind him. Be careful of the Ten-Tails..."
" Ten-Tails?" Everyone was taken aback; they seemed to have never heard of this term before.
Shira no longer had the strength to explain in detail. His last gaze fell outside the tent, as if piercing through the canvas, revealing the still-roaring battlefield, the blue Susanoo, and the golden figure...
" Obito, Black Zetsu, Eye of the Moon Plan..." He used his last strength to utter a few key names, his eyes beginning to glaze over. "I must wake up, in the end..."
Before he could finish speaking, the light in his eyes dimmed completely, and he collapsed as if all his strength had been drained away.
However, what was somewhat reassuring was that the chaotic energy glow on his body surface did not disappear. Instead, it gradually receded inward, as if forcibly restrained and compressed back into his body by an invisible force. However, the color under his skin continued to change faintly and irregularly, indicating that the internal struggle was far from over.
His breathing became extremely long and weak, and his heartbeat slowed to almost a standstill, as if he had entered the deepest state of tortoise breathing or suspended animation.
" Shira? Shira!" Ameno gently shook him, but received no response.
"He... is he asleep?" Shūji asked hesitantly.
"It's a deep sleep, or rather, it's a self-protective and regulatory mechanism activated by the body."
Maki carefully sensed the energy fluctuations of Shira. Although the internal energy was chaotic, the signs of it leaking out were indeed weakening.
He drew all his power back into his body, letting his body instinctively try to regulate and balance these rampaging forces. This was dangerous; if he failed...
The consequences are self-evident. But at present, they have no way to intervene in this level of energy conflict; forcibly interfering would only backfire.
"Do as he says." After a moment of silence, Rasa made his decision, his voice heavy with unprecedented weight. "Move him to the safest rear area, where Ameno, Maki, and our strongest medical and Sealing Squad teams will guard him 24/7. Buy him time to wake up."
Gaara nodded, and the sand gently lifted Shira's body.
"As for the battlefield..."
Rasa turned and looked towards the direction of the continuous artillery fire outside the tent, his eyes flashing coldly. "Pass down the order: adjust tactics, focusing on delaying, wearing down, and protecting our forces. Await the variables that Shira mentioned."
Time, amidst the deafening shouts of battle, the dazzling brilliance of Ninjutsu, and the brutal interplay of despair and hope, lost its clear measure.
Shira seemed to have sunk into a bizarre and chaotic sea of energy. His consciousness was blurred, and only the endless conflict, fusion, tearing, and regeneration pain and subtle changes deep within his body, like an eternal tide, washed over his remaining senses.
He didn't know how long he had "slept"—was it ten hours? A whole day? Or even longer?
He only vaguely sensed that the "war" within his body seemed to have entered a new phase. The ravages of fire and thunder had not ceased, but the Natural Energy brought by the Wind Xun Breathing Method, like the strongest bond and the gentlest solvent, began to try to guide and harmonize these two violent forces.
The pure "qi" transformed from the Zero-Tails became the most solid foundation and buffer, withstanding impact after impact and being tempered into greater solidity with each test.
Shinnō's Body Activation Forbidden Technique pushes his body towards an even more unbelievable level of strength and resilience with each act of destruction and repair.
The pain persists, but deep within that extreme agony, something seems to be being forged and nurtured, waiting for the moment it breaks free from its cocoon.
Suddenly, a vibration unlike any previous roar—deeper, more majestic, and seemingly acting directly on the soul—yanked Shira out of the boundless chaos!
He suddenly opened his eyes!
The first thing that catches the eye is Ameno's face, which is filled with exhaustion and worry, but bursts with immense joy the moment she sees him open his eyes.
" Shira! You're awake?! You're finally awake!!" Tears welled up in her eyes instantly, and she hugged him tightly.
Shira blinked blankly for a moment, then his consciousness quickly returned. The first thing he noticed was his physical condition.
The pain disappeared. No, it didn't disappear; the smoke of that internal battle had dissipated, leaving behind a "battlefield" that even he himself found somewhat unfamiliar.
The body is light yet full of power; every muscle, bone, and meridian seems to have been reforged, containing surging vitality and a kind of restrained, terrifying energy that can be unleashed at any moment.
The scorching heat of the fire attribute and the ferocity of the lightning attribute did not disappear, but they no longer clashed. Instead, they flowed like a gentle stream, harmoniously blending with the Natural Energy of the wind and the "qi" of the Zero-Tails, constructing a more complex, stable, and efficient energy circulation system within the body.
He could even clearly "see" the new "qi" flowing through his meridians, shimmering with pale gold, crimson, and azure light.
But at this moment, he had no time to fully appreciate this astonishing change. The sounds, the air, the vibrations coming from the outside world were so different!
There were no sporadic explosions, no small-scale fighting or shouting.
Instead, there was a vast, suffocating silence, like the stillness of a thousand horses, and beneath that silence, a terrifying pressure that made it hard to breathe, like the collapse of heaven and earth!
He sat up abruptly and found himself in a highland observation post protected by a powerful barrier. Beside him were Ameno, Maki, and many wounded soldiers and support personnel from Sunagakure and other allied forces. All of them were pale-faced, looking in the same direction with despair and determination.
Shira followed their gaze—
The next moment, he was completely stunned.
This place is no longer the relatively familiar desert and Gobi, but a much larger, more complex terrain, a scorched earth battlefield that seems to have been ravaged countless times.
The sky was an eerie dark red, devoid of sun and moon. The scene in the center of the battlefield made him wonder if he was still dreaming.
Far ahead, three figures emanated powerful, familiar yet unfamiliar Chakra fluctuations— Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Minato Namikaze!
They were standing squarely on the side of the Allied Shinobi Forces, confronting the enemy! And standing slightly ahead of them was Adamantine Staff, his expression extremely Hiruzen Sarutobi! They had all come!
Further away, the banners of the Allied Shinobi Forces still fluttered, but their numbers were unimaginably vast! A quick glance revealed that almost all the remaining Allied Shinobi Forces soldiers who could still move seemed to have gathered on this final battlefield, a dark mass, but the atmosphere was solemn and tragic.
He saw many familiar yet somewhat changed faces in the crowd.
At the forefront of the crowd, several figures stood out. Naruto Uzumaki, with blond hair, a golden Chakra Cloak, and an aura as vast as the sea; Sasuke Uchiha, with a cold and complex gaze and the Kusanagi Sword hanging at his waist; and Sakura Haruno, standing beside them with a resolute expression.
Team 7 has regrouped, and they all exude a powerful aura that sends chills down your spine!
Not far from the observation post, a figure wearing a green bodysuit and with thick eyebrows stood quietly; it was Might Guy.
Kai wasn't as excited as usual; his face was more serious than ever before, even carrying an almost tragic resolve. But when his gaze met that of the newly awakened Shira, his seriousness was mixed with respect.
He nodded heavily and silently to Shira.
Hey buddy, what are all these things?
Shira was completely bewildered. She had only "taken a nap," but it felt like the Shinobi World War had skipped all the chapters in between and fast-forwarded to the finale?!
The Impure World Reincarnation Hokage are on our side so quickly? Sasuke is back? And what's the source of this soul-chilling oppressive feeling in the air...?
His gaze finally landed on the center of the void directly in front of the allied forces' camp, a void distorted by terrifying Chakra.
There, a figure floated. He wore white robes, like those of a god, with nine jet-black Truth-Seeking Orb floating behind him, and held a strangely shaped staff in his hand.
One half of his face was a remnant of the Spiral Mask, while the other half was cold and ruthless. On his forehead was a blood-red Rinne Sharingan, radiating an indifferent, godlike gaze.
His aura was subtly connected to the entire world, as if he were the master of this space, the source of Chakra, and the god who would bring about the end.
The Ten-Tails Jinchuriki – Obito Uchiha.
At this moment, Obito, or rather, the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki " who was in control of his will, was looking down at the Allied Forces gathered below, as well as the First, Second, Fourth Hokage, and Third Hokage blocking his way, with his cold Rinne Sharingan.
His voice wasn't loud, yet it resonated clearly deep within everyone's soul. Gone was the Masked Man's somber tone; only pure divine indifference and a declaration remained.
"The struggle ends here, you ants."
"Having gathered the power of all the Tailed Beast and obtained the Sage of Six Paths, I have transcended the mortal realm and stepped into the realm of gods."
"This world, filled with war, pain, loss, and despair, is already rotten to the core. Your bonds, your efforts, your so-called protection are nothing but laughable dust and meaningless noise before true power and eternity."
" The Infinite Tsukuyomi will cleanse all this filth. In the eternal dream, there is no war, no loss, and everyone will find eternal 'happiness' in their own perfect world. This is true salvation, this is the only way out for this world."
"Abandon futile resistance and accept this supreme gift. Or..."
He slowly raised the staff in his hand, and the nine Truth-Seeking Orb slowly rotated behind him, emitting a wave of destructive power.
"Together with this old world, vanish into nothingness."
Despair, like the deepest sea, engulfed the allied forces. Even Hashirama Senju and the others had extremely grave expressions.
They could sense that the power of the " Ten-Tails Jinchuriki " before them had reached a level they had never imagined in their previous lives.
Shira stared blankly at everything, at Obito floating in the air like a god, at the Hokage and the Allied Forces standing in the air, ready for battle but with a heavy atmosphere, at Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura who had just assembled and were resolute in their expressions, and at Might Guy beside her who seemed to have made some kind of preparation...
I woke up to find that my teammates and opponents had all upgraded to their final forms, and the boss had become a god?
Isn't the progress bar for the Fourth Shinobi World War being moved a little too fast?!
He subconsciously clenched his fist, feeling the new, transformative, surging yet perfectly integrated power within his body. He then looked at the "god" in the sky, which exuded an aura of despair and impending doom. An absurd yet fiercely burning fighting spirit, mixed with a tremendous sense of responsibility and urgency, suddenly surged into his heart.
Regardless of how much of the plot he missed, he's awake now.
The final battle has clearly reached the last and most brutal chapter, determining the fate of the world...