Shinsei held Hinata as they stood in the vast universe. Behind them, the moon had split in two, shattering into a silent cloud of stardust.
Right now, huge pieces of rubble are hurtling towards the ground.
Some were larger than mountains, others as small as houses. They tore through the air and began to burn, like fiery swords thrown down from the sky.
" Little Nine."
Shinsei spoke. Little Nine lifted its head from Hinata's shoulder, its nine tails spreading out in the starry sky.
The golden Chakra Cloak glowed again, and its body expanded rapidly, transforming back into the golden Giant Beast.
It opened its mouth, Tailed Beast Bomb condensed within. The purple sphere of light spun wildly, growing larger and larger. The first Tailed Beast Bomb shot out and struck a giant lunar rock that was rapidly falling.
The purple light engulfed the stone, shattering it into countless tiny particles that burned up as they fell.
The second followed closely behind. The third, the fourth, Little Nine stood in the universe like a golden cannon, smashing the huge fragments that couldn't burn up before landing.
Shinsei knew that Little Nine wouldn't last long, after all, he wasn't the complete Nine-Tails. His Chakra wasn't inexhaustible.
Meanwhile, Chakra Xiaobai Shinsei's body had also run out. The Water Release used to fill the moon's interior had completely depleted Xiaobai's Chakra.
On the ground, Konoha was the first to react.
The siren pierced the night sky.
The two Tsunade were awakened from their sleep by Anbu Ninja.
The young Tsunade kicked the blanket off, threw on her coat, and walked out, a curse still lingering in her mouth.
The older Tsunade was already standing at the door, her face showing no sign of sleepiness. The two exchanged a glance in the corridor, said nothing, and simply walked side by side toward the Hokage Building.
On the rooftop of the Hokage Building, Minato had already arrived. He twirled the Flying Thunder God Kunai in his hand and then inserted it into a crack in the roof.
He glanced back at the two Tsunade and nodded.
"Thank you both for your hard work."
"Stop talking nonsense and tell me your location."
The young Tsunade had already formed hand Hand Seals, and the Yin Seal on her forehead glowed in the night wind. Blue lines spread from her brow to her entire body.
Sage Mode activated!
Her Chakra surged, causing the surrounding air to tremble slightly. The older Tsunade stood behind her, without activating Sage Mode.
She simply pulled a bottle from her pocket, took a big gulp, and then threw it on the ground.
The bottle rolled a few times on the rooftop and came to rest near the Minato. She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her gaze was as cold as ice.
"Don't worry about the skies above the village. The sensory team is already set up. The falling debris will hit various parts of the Land of Fire. Your job is to get us to the most dangerous place."
Minato nodded.
" Sasuke," Minato called out to those behind him.
Sasuke emerged from the shadows. He walked to the edge of the building, raised his right hand, and Lightning Release Chakra exploded at his fingertips.
Blue lightning gathered in front of his palm, forming a constantly rotating ring, with electromagnetic force rapidly accumulating within it.
"Ready," Sasuke said.
Minato handed him a Flying Thunder God Kunai.
Sasuke took the Kunai and Kunai it into the center of the electromagnetic track.
A burst of lightning erupted, Kunai shot into the sky at an invisible speed, leaving a blue trail behind it. The Kunai grazed the edge of a falling meteorite and embedded itself in its surface.
The next instant, Minato appeared on the meteorite with two Tsunade.
When it reappeared, it was on a much larger meteorite, which would cause great harm if it fell into the Shinobi World.
The older Tsunade walked to the edge of the meteorite and looked down.
They had entered the upper atmosphere. The surface of the meteorite began to glow red, and heat waves surged from all directions.
Without a word, the young Tsunade threw a punch, Chakra Enhanced Strength Technique. Her fist slammed into the surface of the meteorite, splitting the massive lunar rock in two.
The older Tsunade added a kick, sending the meteorite, now split in two, flying to either side and shattering into countless small pieces as it plummeted at high speed, burning to ash due to atmospheric friction.
Minato pulled them away from the crumbling meteorite.
With Issen flash of Flying Thunder God, the three appeared at a new target. One after another, piece by piece. The older Tsunade's fist and the younger Tsunade's Superhuman Strength fell alternately, shattering those fragments that could have caused a major disaster into the sky.
Their teamwork grew stronger with each fight, until finally they didn't even need to communicate; one punch from each of them shattered the meteorite. Minato only needed to teleport, his Flying Thunder God Kunai fast it was just a blur.
Sasuke stood on the rooftop of the Konoha building and fired more than a dozen Flying Thunder God Kunai in succession.
The cooldown time of his Lightning Release Electromagnetic Cannon was getting longer and longer, and his Chakra consumption was also increasing. But he didn't stop. He could only trust that Minato and Tsunade could keep up with his speed.
" Sasuke, your hands are shaking." Kakashi appeared behind him without him noticing and supported his arm.
"I can't worry about that now."
Sasuke gritted his teeth. He fired another electromagnetic cannon shot, Kunai shot through the air, embedding itself in a meteorite that was falling toward the western border of the Land of Fire.
Three seconds later, Minato and the two Tsunade appeared there.
When Naruto rushed out of the shelter, he was already wrapped in a scarlet Chakra Cloak.
Six tails spread out behind him, and with each step he took, a smoking footprint was left on the ground.
He was just helping Sakura evacuate the villagers when he looked up and saw Sasuke standing alone on the rooftop, firing one electromagnetic cannon shot after another into the sky. He also saw Minato leading two Tsunade leaping between meteorites, the image of his fists smashing moon Issen Issen across the night sky.
" Sasuke!" Naruto shouted towards the rooftop. Sasuke ignored him, firing another shot from his electromagnetic cannon, sending the Kunai through the air.
Naruto didn't say much. He clenched his fists, and his scarlet Chakra surged. His body was completely enveloped in Chakra, and his bones and muscles deformed under the Tailed Beast Cloak, making him almost look like a small Tailed Beast.
His pupils turned into a cross shape, and dark red Chakra condensed into a Tailed Beast Bomb in front of his mouth.
Sasuke suddenly turned around, and a pair of scarlet Mangekyō appeared in his eyes.
Naruto's current state is extremely dangerous. He will attack without mercy even if there is the slightest disturbance, even if it is a former comrade.
"I'm fine..."
Naruto gritted his teeth, his fox-like canines already showing. He looked at the meteorites falling from the sky and spoke solemnly.
"Don't worry about me, I can hold on. I'll stop the meteor!"
Sasuke nodded, then took out another Minato's Flying Thunder God Mark Kunai mark. He raised his right arm, aimed, and fired it into the sky.
"Aim!"
Kakashi flipped over from the side and shoved Naruto onto the shoulder.
"I know!" Naruto mumbled, changing the angle and launching the Tailed Beast Bomb.
The dark red orb of light grazed the sky above the Konoha and collided with a falling meteorite thirty miles north of the village.
The meteorite seemed to have been pierced through the middle by a giant Chakra Cannon, and then exploded into pieces.
The shockwave flattened trees within a radius of several hundred meters, but the village only felt a slight tremor.
" Shino, Sakura, take some men to the western part of the Land of Fire and extinguish any debris that might cause a fire."
Sakura ran out of the shelter, her clothes still covered in the snot and tears of the villagers' children.
She didn't say anything, she just ran west. Shino jumped off the roof, and hundreds of Kikaichū followed him, weaving a sensory network in the night sky.
Kiba and Akamaru circled around the edge of the village. Akamaru pointed his nose at the sky and barked incessantly.
Following the direction of Akamaru, he used his Fang Over Fang to smash the falling small fragments one by one.
Rock Lee had already opened Five Gates, his green bodysuit soaked dark with sweat. He ran wildly along the official road outside the village, kicking away the broken stones that crashed to the ground, as if he were playing a football match that would never end.
To the north of Konoha, an even larger moon rock than before is falling.
Naruto looked up, and all six tails swept across the ground simultaneously, uprooting several large trees and burning them to charcoal. His Tailed Beast Bomb was already half-formed, but he suddenly felt his body being pulled by an immense pressure.
The Six-Tails Mode was putting too much strain on his body; the Nine-Tails 'Chakra was surging out of the seal, as if it were going to burn him through.
" Naruto, go back here!"
The sound of Minato came from behind.
He appeared behind Naruto, his Flying Thunder God Kunai still scorching hot, and grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar. Naruto struggled for a moment, but did not resist.
He readjusted his breathing, and the Tailed Beast Bomb condensed and took shape at his mouth, with dark red light shining through the Chakra Cloak on his chest.
He opened his mouth, and a ball of light shot out, piercing the night sky and crashing into the largest meteorite.
The meteorite exploded in mid-air, Kakkō and debris flying in all directions like a volcanic eruption. Minato and Naruto retreated a short distance and landed on a cliff.
"Well done." Minato patted him on the head. Naruto grinned, then lay down.
Minato pulled him out and carried him on his shoulder, looking up at the sky. There were still a few fragments, but they wouldn't cause a major disaster.
The entire Land of Fire was illuminated by the glow of Ninjutsu in the darkness.
As dawn broke, the meteor shower gradually stopped. One by one, the Konoha ninjas withdrew from their posts, too exhausted to even speak.
Kakashi leaned against a half-broken wall, his Sharingan closed, his left eye bloodshot. Guy lay on the ground, his legs cramping from the aftereffects of the Eight Gates Released Formation, and Rock Lee collapsed beside him; the master and apprentice looked more disheveled than each other.
Sakura was still bandaging the injured villagers in the shelter, her hands covered in blood. Kiba, holding Akamaru, leaned against a tree root and started snoring.
Shino sat on the roof, unable to summon even a single Kikaichū.
Sunagakure.
Gaara stood at the village entrance, sand cascading down from the sky like a waterfall. His gourd was long gone, but the sand beneath his feet was full.
He blocked every meteorite that fell toward the village in mid-air with his Shield of Sand, then crushed it with his Sand Binding Coffin. Temari and Kankuro below directed the villagers to take cover, their voices hoarse from shouting.
Once the last wave of fragments was stopped, Gaara knelt on one knee. He didn't speak, but simply gazed at the moon split in two in the sky, his expression weary and heavy.
Iwagakure.
Ōnoki had used his Dust Release to its limit. His back was hunched over even more than usual, and he was hovering much lower above the village.
Kurotsuchi looked up and called out to him, "That's enough, you've stopped them all!"
Ōnoki didn't come down. He insisted on firing another Dust Release, shattering the last piece of meteorite that grazed the cliff into powder before slowly falling down. As soon as he landed, he clutched his waist.
Kurotsuchi ran over to help him up, but he snorted and pushed her hand away.
Kumogakure. Raikage A jumped off a cliff, his body covered in stone dust.
His fists had cracked countless stones, and the iron plates on his handguards were curled at the edges.
Darui leaned against a pine tree, his knife broken in half, but he couldn't be bothered to pick it up.
Samui remained calm, counting heads, though a few strands of his hair had come loose.
As she walked past Ai, she whispered, "Thank you for your hard work, Lord Raikage."
Ai didn't respond, but slammed his fist into the ground, creating a crater.
He looked up at the sky and muttered under his breath, "If I'm not mistaken, it's definitely that brat Shinsei again. If he pulls something like this again, I won't let him off the hook."
Kirigakure has lifted. Mei Terumi stands by the water at the village entrance, a weary smile on her lips.
She had used Lava Release too many times today, and her throat tasted of sulfur. Ao and Chōjūrō beside her were both in a sorry state, but the village was intact.
Mei Terumi looked up at the sky, then looked down at the water.
She sighed softly and turned to go back to the village.
Shinsei was still sitting on that scorched hillside. Hinata had woken up and was leaning against him, not saying a word.
Little Nine curled up in a ball, asleep on Shinsei's lap. Xiaobai poked half of its weak dragon body out from Shinsei's body, hanging limply.
"We should go back," Shinsei said.
Hinata nodded. Shinsei stood up and reached out to help Hinata up as well.
His legs felt a little weak, but he managed to steady himself.
He looked up at the sky, where the moon once hung, but now it was empty.
Looking at his own masterpiece, Shinsei couldn't smile at all.
Such a large moon falling into the Shinobi World, who knows how much harm it will bring to the people below.
This reckless act taught Shinsei a harsh lesson.
This made him never dare to underestimate others again.