Chapter 317: Fly, Holy Battle Machine
"Lightning Release: Chidori!"
Sasuke immediately switched to defense, lightning crackling around the marbles he launched.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"
The marbles fired by Karashi Tangno split into two identical marbles. The original marble that hit the ground began to fracture and sprouted saplings toward Sasuke.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Although he quickly launched a marble imbued with fire-natured chakra to burn away the advancing saplings, Sasuke could no longer react in time to defend himself.
Two of the sensory zones near Sasuke were struck, and the water flow's force instantly surged.
"Now's my chance!"
Seizing the moment before Sasuke could adapt, Karashi Tangno fired marbles in rapid succession.
"This is bad! Uchiha Sasuke is currently at a disadvantage!"
Despite managing to defend against several marbles, two or three still slipped past and struck the sensors.
The gates restricting the water flow burst open, and the powerful current swept Sasuke away.
"This is bad! If Uchiha Sasuke falls off, we may have to declare Karashi Tangno the winner ahead of time!"
"Hmph, so this is the level of a Konoha shinobi?"
Karashi Tangno scoffed dismissively.
As he fell from the waterfall, Sasuke pulled out his Kusanagi Sword and hurled it upward.
"Amenotejikara!"
Using the power of his Rinnegan, Sasuke switched places with the Kusanagi Sword midair.
"Uchiha Sasuke hasn't given up yet! The match continues!"
The Captain Red Dragonfly shouted excitedly.
"Kagutsuchi!"
Falling from midair after the switch, Sasuke pulled the launch lever on his battle marble machine. Behind him, the spectral form of Susanoo appeared, drawing a bow.
"Wood Release: Advent of a Tiny Forest!"
A scaled-down version of Advent of a Sea of Trees.
Karashi Tangno fired multiple wood chakra-infused marbles toward Sasuke in the air, instantly forming a dense patch of forest.
A thunderous explosion echoed.
Karashi Tangno's figure was blasted off the waterfall by the explosion's shockwave. At the same time, all ten sensors beside him were destroyed.
"I declare the winner: Uchiha Sasuke!"
The Captain Red Dragonfly was the first to announce.
"Well done, Sasuke."
Sai said happily as he watched Sasuke leap down from the waterfall.
"Yeah."
Sasuke gave a small nod.
"Hold it!" Karashi Tangno climbed back up from the waterfall, his face twisted in anger. "Hand over the Peace Star!"
"Karashi Tangno, I understand how you feel, but you've lost. The Peace Star is the victor's prize."
The Captain Red Dragonfly tried to reason with him.
"I said, hand over the Peace Star!"
As his words fell, Orochimaru's experimental subjects began to surround them.
"You…"
The Blue Dragonfly Captain stopped the Captain Red Dragonfly, who was about to speak again. He looked sternly at Karashi Tangno. "Are you really going to try to seize the Peace Star before the award ceremony is even over?"
"I said! Give it to me!"
"…Fine, I understand." The Blue Dragonfly Captain nodded and turned to the Captain Red Dragonfly. "Don't get involved. Leave this to me."
"Got it."
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
Karashi Tangno instinctively sensed danger.
The Blue Dragonfly Captain soared into the air, extending his right hand toward Karashi Tangno, gathering an ominous energy beam.
"What is that?"
Sasuke looked up and asked, watching the unknown energy gather in the Blue Dragonfly Captain's hand.
"Oh, that's infinite energy. Not just Blue Dragonfly—I got some too."
The Captain Red Dragonfly explained.
The blue beam fired at Karashi Tangno below. Though he narrowly dodged, the blast left a bottomless crater where he had stood, and the surrounding plant life vanished.
"Dodged, huh…"
"Damn it! What are you all standing around for?! Attack him together!"
Karashi Tangno yelled furiously at the glassy-eyed experimental subjects around him.
The Blue Dragonfly Captain soared higher. The blue energy enveloped him, forming the shape of a dragonfly. Once at a certain altitude, he dove at Karashi Tangno.
"This is bad! That guy's way too hyped up!" the Captain Red Dragonfly muttered as he looked at the airborne Blue Dragonfly Captain. He then turned to Sasuke and Sai. "You two—get over here, now!"
Red energy wrapped around the Captain Red Dragonfly, Sasuke, and Sai, forming a red dragonfly-shaped shield.
The Blue Dragonfly Captain finally crashed into the ground. A massive explosion erupted, shaking the earth with blue light.
Inside the red energy barrier, Sasuke and Sai wore grim expressions.
"All right, all right. Don't worry. As long as I'm here, you're safe."
The Captain Red Dragonfly smiled reassuringly.
Once the smoke cleared, the once-green terrain had been turned to scorched black earth. The surrounding trees were gone. The lake had dried up, and even the waterfall that fed it had vanished.
"Honestly! I knew I shouldn't have let you handle it!" The Captain Red Dragonfly scolded as he withdrew the red energy. "It's been so long since your last fight, you just wanted to go all out, didn't you?!"
"No. I simply wanted to end it quickly," the Blue Dragonfly Captain replied flatly, then looked to Sasuke and Sai. "The Peace Star is yours."
He casually tossed the final Peace Star to Sasuke, then rose into the air.
"Hey! Blue Dragonfly, wait up, you jerk!"
The Captain Red Dragonfly quickly followed.
Konoha Village — Hokage's Office
"Sasuke, are you all okay? The stream cut off right when Karashi Tangno tried to steal the Peace Star—what happened?"
Naruto asked with concern.
"Naruto, in the end, the Blue Dragonfly Captain stepped in and took care of Karashi Tangno."
Sai answered from beside him.
"I see… Sai, just how strong is the Blue Dragonfly Captain?"
Shikamaru asked.
"Very strong. Not your average level of strong."
"Under that kind of attack, even if I used all my power, I wouldn't escape."
Sasuke added.
"By the way, Naruto, now that we have the final Peace Star, what should we wish for?"
Shikamaru turned to Naruto.
Naruto fell into deep thought, staring at the Peace Star on his desk. After a moment, he said, "I guess… we should wish for a resolution to the zombie problem in the Land of Water. What do you think?"
"Yeah, I agree. As long as the zombies remain in the Land of Water, I can't rest easy."
Shikamaru nodded.
After all, the apocalyptic vision Boruto had described for the ninja world's future was far too terrifying.