One step forward, and it felt like crossing the ends of the earth.
At this moment, the startling cry of the sword path and the brilliant light of the blazing sun all transformed into fleeting glimmers and flowing shadows in Sora's hands, traversing a void of space to illuminate the pupils of the one-armed Uchiha.
The light arrived first, the sound followed.
It was an extremely terrifying vibration, exploding violently in the air, stirring up sudden gales and tornadoes, shaking the earth left and right as if plunging into a raging sea and furious waves.
Boom!
In an instant.
Sora swung his sword. The tremendous force erupted from his Rank 6 Reiatsu combined with the Blut Arterie tore the thick air in two, creating a terrifying vacuum zone.
One moment, the sword light arrived.
With a backhanded slash, another sword light brushed past the air currents, dragging scattered white ripples, accurately and exquisitely colliding with the brilliantly fierce sword light descending from the sky.
Clang!
Mid-air, two flashes of cold light collided. Where the blades met, a large shower of sparks scattered.
Then, the unimaginably huge recoil force violently sent that Uchiha, who had inexplicably become full of astonishment, flying backward.
Sora, who was mentally prepared, only took half a step back before steadily stabilizing his posture.
"That abnormal energy reaction from before... so it was you, Uchiha..."
Sora looked at the one-armed Uchiha before him, his gaze also quite surprised. He never expected to encounter Uchiha Sasuke in this era, and even...
It was the one-armed Uchiha Sasuke from after the Valley of the End battle!!!
The black trench coat, the handsome face, the signature missing arm… Sora recognized his identity immediately.
Sasuke!
A person possessing the protagonist's destiny in the Naruto World. Together with the other protagonist, Uzumaki Naruto, he thoroughly ended the Fourth Great Ninja War and sealed the immortal boss, Otsutsuki Kaguya.
And Sasuke's combat power undoubtedly stood at the pinnacle of the Ninja World. His strength even far surpassed that of Madara at his peak.
To put it bluntly, even gathering all the forces of the current Ninja World might not be enough to kill the one-armed Sasuke before him.
It's like when evaluating the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, we often use terms like 'Strongest Hokage in History' or [The Professor] to showcase his power.
The Third Raikage was the one who fought ten thousand Iwagakure's Ninjas alone.
The Third Tsuchikage was the strongest Kekkei Tota User.
But when evaluating the one-armed Sasuke, these boring qualifiers aren't needed. Just the word [Invincible] is enough.
In the thousand-year history of the Ninja World, the only Ninja who could potentially defeat the one-armed Sasuke would never actually fight him to a conclusion.
This also means Sasuke sufficiently represents the absolute peak combat power of the Ninja World. He is the invincible one, the strongest one.
Now, facing such an opponent, even Sora must go all out.
'Only...'
'How did Uchiha Sasuke appear here?'
'Is it the power of the Dragon Vein, or the Otsutsuki Clan's Space-Time Artifact, Karasuki?'
After a brief moment of surprise, Sora's expression turned serious. If the opponent is the Rinnegan Sasuke, then there truly is zero room for carelessness.
Simultaneously, the expression on Uchiha Sasuke's face, who had been sent flying by Sora, was also quite grave.
His crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared fixedly at Sora standing firm in the field.
'This Chakra, stronger than a Tailed Beast... he...'
'Who exactly is he?'
Sasuke's gaze was also full of doubt.
'The other party was with the Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei, so he's clearly also a Kirigakure's Ninja. But was there such a Ninja in Kirigakure's history???'
Yagura, Utakata, Hoshigaki Kisame, Momochi Zabuza, Hozuki Mangetsu, Kimimaro...
Several famous Kirigakure's figures floated through Sasuke's mind, but none matched the person before him.
'Could it be...'
'Some Kirigakure's genius Ninja who died in the wars?'
Sasuke had a look of sheer disbelief on his face, 'Then who killed this Kirigakure's Ninja, who was stronger than a tailed beast?'
His thoughts were utterly chaotic.
Just then, Sasuke used several flips to dissipate that huge recoil force and landed steadily on the ground.
Of course, Sasuke was still very puzzled.
How could a person who could send him flying with one sword strike remain unknown and unnamed in Ninja World's history?
When he looked up again, the look in Sasuke's eyes became even more astonished.
Because the mysterious Kirigakure's Ninja opposite him suddenly erupted with a sky-high energy reaction.
"Reign Over the Frozen Heavens!"
"Bankai!"
"Daiguren Hyorinmaru!!! "
Sora held nothing back. The instant he repelled Sasuke with Blut Arterie, he released Hyorinmaru's Bankai.
In that instant, boundless Reiatsu, like a tidal wave, surged madly from Sora's body.
"Ice Dragon Tail!"
Ice wings sprouted from Sora's back. He raised his hand and swung down his Zanpakuto, immediately creating a terrifying wave of freezing air in the direction the blade pointed.
White cold light surged like a tide, rushing torrentially towards Sasuke.
'This power...'
Sasuke's expression froze. He formed a one-handed seal and spat out a massive fireball.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Abruptly, the mass of blazing flames exploded mid-air.
It was a gigantic fireball over forty meters in diameter, containing a dizzying amount of flames.
Those chaotic flames danced under high-pressure Chakra, emitting even more terrifying heat.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The fireball rolled, emitting tremendous roars that echoed incessantly.
'This...'
'The Great Fireball Technique!?'
Itachi on the side looked on in horror. He simply couldn't believe that this mountain-like Fire Release was actually the Great Fireball Technique, the Jutsu the Uchiha Clan was most proficient in!!!!
Then, the tide-like freezing air collided with the mountain-like fireball.
A terrifying energy erupted, creating a bizarre white fire tornado in the field. The fire, compressed by the frost, shot straight into the sky, reaching hundreds of meters high, forming a fearsome red-and-white pillar of light.
In that instant, Itachi was completely dumbfounded. He stared, mouth agape, at the soaring pillar of light, his brain short-circuiting.
'Is this really the power of a Ninja!??'
Itachi swore he had never seen a Ninjutsu with such terrifying power in his life!!!
The pillar of light shot skyward…
Then, violent shockwaves erupted and swept out in all directions. The high-pressure shockwave assaulted them.
Ancient trees that would take dozens of people to encircle were torn to shreds. The corpses of the Konoha's Ninjas in the field, already like rotten wood, were directly turned to dust.
Where the wind pressure reached, everything was destroyed.
Itachi's face showed despair. His father was still unconscious, so how could he possibly escape to safety in such an apocalyptic scene?
However, suddenly…
Itachi discovered that the familiar yet unfamiliar figure had, at some point, arrived in front of him.
A purple skeleton-like light suddenly surged from that person's body, completely enveloping him and his father.
Rumble rumble!
Outside the purple light was the sound of explosions and roars as if heaven and earth were being destroyed. But inside the purple light, it was unexpectedly calm, as if none of the turmoil outside could affect this small world.
'Itachi...'
'This time, I'll protect you.'
Sasuke faced the stormy waves, but a trace of tenderness suddenly flashed in his crimson eyes.