Chapter 208:
"Flame Dragon, let's go together!"
"Right!"
The two of them launched a pincer attack on the Evilmoku while simultaneously twisting the dials on their belts.
"Seal Demon Slash!"
"Wind Piercing Thrust!"
The Evilmoku, struck head-on by two ultimate moves, swayed violently and nearly collapsed to its knees.
"What?! It's still not dead?!"
Flame Dragon stared at the Evilmoku, whose body was now surrounded by a green glow.
"It's not dead, but it's close enough. Flame Dragon, one more time!"
"Got it!"
The two unleashed their finishing moves once again.
"Damn it!"
Clutching its chest and panting heavily, the Evilmoku's face was full of unwillingness.
"Chief, are you okay?!"
Delta rushed to the Evilmoku's side, asking with concern.
"I'm fine."
Despite what he said, the Evilmoku clearly looked anything but fine.
"I'll hold them off. Chief, you go ahead."
Delta stepped in front of the Evilmoku, shielding him from Flame Dragon and Wind Eagle.
"…I'll leave it to you then, Delta."
A cloud of black mist enveloped the Evilmoku, whose eyes remained fixed intently on Flame Dragon and Wind Eagle.
"Guess we're heading out too," said Boro to Delta.
"See you later," Code added with a grin.
They didn't care in the slightest about their comrade's sacrifice—after all, Delta was just a synthetic humanoid created by Amado. Amado had originally built four Delta bodies. Although one was destroyed during an encounter with Future Boruto, this made only two losses in total so far.
"Don't think you can run!" shouted Tentō.
"Explode!"
Delta formed a hand sign, and a blinding white light began radiating from her body.
"Wood Release!"
Wood burst from the ground at Delta's feet, encasing her entirely.
"Susanoo!"
At the same time, Sasuke summoned Susanoo, shielding himself and the others.
Susanoo held up a black flame shield formed from Kagutsuchi, bracing in front.
A deafening explosion followed.
The wooden encasement around Delta was instantly obliterated, and the massive shockwave drove Sasuke's Susanoo backward. Even the black flame shield formed by Kagutsuchi began to crack under the force.
"Is everyone okay?"
After the explosion, Sasuke looked around.
Though they were a bit battered, no one had been seriously injured—a fortunate outcome under the circumstances.
"Unbelievable… that thing could even self-destruct."
As he removed his Flame Dragon armor, Tentō glanced over at Shinki, who had just shed his Wind Eagle armor.
"The Land of Iron..."
Elsewhere, Tetsubaki was kneeling on the ground, staring at the ruins that had once been the Land of Iron.
Delta's explosion had completely obliterated the entire Land of Iron.
"Sasuke, let's head back."
The Daimyō of the Land of Fire approached Sasuke, his face still bearing traces of fear, though it was now mostly marked by grim seriousness.
The destruction of the Land of Iron was no small matter. In fact, it was highly likely this event would serve as the catalyst for the other four great nations to band together and launch a joint assault on the Land of Water.
"Yeah."
Sasuke nodded. There was no point in staying any longer. Besides, this mission hadn't been fruitless. The reappearance of the Wind Eagle Armor gave Sasuke a sliver of hope for the ninja world's future.
"Wait—where's the Jar Merchant?"
Suddenly, Sarada looked around, just realizing something.
With an explosion like that, survival would have been near impossible without some kind of special means.
"…This was all we found when we looked."
In Sarada's hands was a filthy jar, its eyes marked with "XX" symbols. A somber air settled over the group.
"Let's head back..."
Sasuke's face also turned serious. But no one present noticed the puddle of silver liquid not far away on the ground.
Konoha Village.
Ichiraku Ramen, Second Branch.
Midway through preparing a bowl of ramen, Shunhi suddenly paused, shook his head, and muttered to himself, "I didn't expect the Jar Merchant to exit the stage like this…"
Umbrella Organization, underground base.
Orochimaru was observing a group of liquid-metal robots with a satisfied look.
"Are we really going through with this?"
Clone Gray Wolf turned to Orochimaru and asked.
"Of course. It's all for S.H.I.E.L.D., isn't it?"
Orochimaru chuckled softly, licking the corner of his mouth with his tongue.
He wanted to lick his face in excitement, but since Gray Wolf's cloned body couldn't perform such a motion, Orochimaru had to settle for licking his own lips.
Orochimaru's plan was simple—using the liquid robots' perfect shapeshifting abilities to gradually replace the residents of Konoha, ultimately taking complete control of the village.
"I want you and Red Wolf to oversee this plan."
"Really?!"
Clone Gray Wolf's face lit up with excitement—but the more excited he got, the more Orochimaru found him irritating.
"Of course."
Orochimaru nodded with a smile.
He was certain that once Jiraiya learned of this plan, he would insist on joining no matter what.
On the surface, Orochimaru claimed this was all for S.H.I.E.L.D., but in truth, it was a pretext to get rid of the annoying clone Gray Wolf.
If the plan succeeded, Orochimaru would be praised as the mastermind. If it failed, the only consequence would be the loss of that bothersome clone.
No matter how it turned out, Orochimaru came out ahead.
Hokage's Office.
Staring at the suddenly opened space-time tunnel, from which a group of dust-covered individuals emerged, Naruto asked, "Sasuke, what happened?"
"We did encounter the Evilmoku. Shinki also used this opportunity to become an Armor Hero summoner. But the Jar Merchant…"
As Sasuke trailed off, Sarada stepped forward, still holding the jar.
"The Jar Merchant… is gone?!"
Naruto stood stunned.
Beyond losing a powerful ally, the more serious issue was that the Jar Merchant had been Konoha's only link to Hydra.
In the face of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Ability Beasts, without Hydra's support, not even Naruto was confident the ninja world could survive.
"Summon Shikamaru immediately."
Naruto issued the order with a grim expression. From the shadows, an Anbu operative vanished in a blur.
Mount Myōboku.
As he trained in Sage Mode, Future Boruto suddenly clutched his head in pain. Golden chakra waves surged around him as he flickered between Super Saiyan-like form and his normal state.
"Are you okay?!"
Modern Boruto looked at his future self in concern.
After a while, Future Boruto returned to normal, looking exhausted.
"I'm fine… but something in the future just changed."
"What changed this time?"
"I don't know..." Future Boruto shook his head. "My memory is fuzzy, but… I think someone very important just died..."