At the main gate of Konoha, dust billowed, and the roar of Ninjutsu intertwined with the shouts of summoned beasts.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood in the center of the battlefield, his hands gripping a massive staff—the Adamantine Staff.
This staff was no ordinary metal; it was transformed from his old comrade, the Monkey King Enma. It possessed adamantine hardness, could freely extend and change, and could even transform into chains, long staves, or giant pillars according to combat needs.
"Roar—!"
The giant tail of the Azure Dragon swept over, and the Third Hokage's eyes narrowed. The Adamantine Staff in his hand suddenly extended, smashing down like a pillar supporting the sky!
"Bang—!"
The air exploded as the Azure Dragon's scales collided with the Adamantine Staff, sending sparks flying. The immense impact cracked the ground beneath the Third Hokage's feet, but he remained unmoving. Instead, he used the momentum to swing the staff, forcing the Azure Dragon back several meters.
However, before he could catch his breath, the White Tiger's sharp claws attacked from the side!
"Lightning Release: Lightning Bomb!"
Darui's support arrived just in time, and the dazzling lightning forced back the White Tiger. Darui then seized the opportunity to swing his Ninja Blade, with Lightning Release Chakra wrapped around the blade, striking at another approaching Nine-Faced Beast.
The Third Hokage's gaze was calm, but his heart was filled with solemnity—these summoned beasts were too troublesome.
He had fought his entire life and seen countless powerful summoned beasts, but he had never encountered such a gathering of nine, each possessing at least the strength of an Elite Jonin. The last time he felt such solemnity towards summoned beasts was when he faced Hanzo the Salamander.
The Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise excelled in close-quarters combat, their scales as hard as iron; the White Tiger was extremely fast, its claws capable of tearing through Chakra-enhanced ninja tools; the two staff-wielding humanoid summoned beasts could cast Sealing Jutsu to restrict everyone's movements, while the Shinigami harvested Chakra; and the giant bird circling high in the sky continuously attacked from above, suppressing the Konoha Anbu's formation.
They were not ordinary beasts but strictly trained weapons of war, each possessing an independent fighting style, cooperating flawlessly with each other.
"Hokage-sama!" a Hyuga Anbu gritted his teeth and shouted, "Their Chakra reactions… are still increasing!"
The Third Hokage tightened his grip on the Adamantine Staff, a look of determination appearing on his aged face—it seemed he could no longer hold back.
He took a deep breath, and the Chakra within his body began to boil. As the "Professor of Ninjutsu" proficient in all five elemental releases, he was rarely pushed to the point of needing to go all out.
But today, facing this group of monstrous Nine-Faced Beasts…
"Everyone, retreat!"
The Third Hokage roared, his hands quickly forming hand signs. Chakra surged through his body. Next, he would let these summoned beasts witness—the true power of a Kage-level ninja.
The Third Hokage's Shadow Clone instantly completed the hand signs, and four figures stood in four directions, with Wind, Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Water Chakra condensing in their throats.
Five Elements: Great Bullet Barrage. This was a destructive Ninjutsu capable of completely tearing apart the Nine-Faced Beast's formation.
However, just as the Chakra was about to erupt—
"Swish!"
The figures of the Nine-Faced Beasts vanished without a trace.
It wasn't Body Flicker Jutsu, nor was it Substitution Jutsu, but rather like an illusion that had been erased, leaving not even a trace of Chakra fluctuation.
The Third Hokage's aged fingers suddenly tightened, forcibly interrupting the Ninjutsu he was about to release.
Something was wrong.
His battlefield intuition furiously pounded at his nerves. The disappearance of those summoned beasts was too bizarre, as if… they had been forcibly recalled by some higher-level power.
He suddenly looked up, his cloudy yet sharp gaze piercing the sky.
A hundred meters away in the sky, a blurry figure floated silently. His black robe billowed like an ink stain spreading in clear water. In his hand, an indescribable mass of pitch-black energy was condensing, devouring even light itself.
"Sakuya! Use your Byakugan to investigate that direction!"
"Yes!"
Hyuga Sakuya—an elite Anbu of the Hyuga Branch Family—formed hand signs without hesitation. Beneath his mask, veins bulged beside his eyes, and his Byakugan's vision instantly locked onto the black shadow in the sky.
Then— "...!"
His breathing stopped.
In the Byakugan's vision, the "inside" of that humanoid outline was not the Chakra flow a human should possess at all.
It was an abyss.
Pitch-black, viscous, and violent Chakra wriggled like a living thing, with a crimson vortex churning at its core. Each pulsation made the surrounding natural energy let out an unbearable wail. Just looking at it felt like cold tendrils were crawling into his brain along his line of sight, tearing at his sanity.
This… what is this…
Sakuya's fingertips began to tremble. On the night the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself, he had used his Byakugan to observe tailed beasts, even facing the Chakra of the rampaging Nine-Tails. But the existence in the sky at this moment was far more… blasphemous than those.
No… impossible… how could human meridians bear this level…
The density of the Chakra had surpassed the concept of "quantity," becoming a negation of "existence" itself. It was like someone witnessing a tsunami, where even fear seemed pale in the face of the giant wave.
Cold sweat dripped down Sakuya's jaw, soaking the lining of his Anbu uniform. His throat convulsed, wanting to report to the Third Hokage, but he found himself unable to make a sound—
"Sakuya!"
The Third Hokage's low roar was like thunder, sharply piercing Hyuga Sakuya's fear-frozen mind. Sakuya awoke from the nightmare, and the blood throughout his body began to flow again. His throat was dry and aching, but he finally squeezed out a sound—
"Hokage-sama! We must stop that Ninjutsu! If it falls on Konoha… the entire village will be razed to the ground!"
The threat of death had never been so clear.
The Third Hokage's pupils suddenly contracted. Although his intuition had long sensed danger, when Sakuya personally confirmed it, the worst premonition still became reality.
"Sealing Squad! Immediately deploy the barrier!"
He shouted the order, but just as he was about to form hand signs, attempting to release Ninjutsu as quickly as possible to interfere with Menma in the sky.
The figure in the sky moved.
Menma slowly raised his hand, and that pitch-black sphere—the Great Spiraling Ring—began to descend silently.
Its speed was not fast, even appearing somewhat slow, as if mocking the struggles of mortals. But it was this composure that made it even more despairing.
Wherever the pitch-black sphere passed, the air twisted and fractured; even space itself could not bear its weight.
Destruction was about to descend.
— — — — — —
Menma Uzumaki floated above the clouds, his black robe flapping wildly in the chaotic airflow. Above his palm, that pitch-black sphere—the Great Spiraling Ring—was continuously collapsing and condensing with a terrifying presence.
The already abyssal Chakra core became even more solid, with light unable to escape its gravity. The pitch-black energy was compressed to its extreme, and ominous patterns, like twisting and wriggling blood vessels, appeared on its surface.
Around the Spiral Wheel Ring, space began to fracture.
Pale energy rings appeared out of thin air, slowly rotating around the pitch-black sphere like planetary rings. These rings were not solid but spatial fissures created by Chakra compressed to its limit, intensely rubbing against natural energy, like a Saturn shrunk countless times, suspended in the sky.
"Buzz—!"
A low hum emanated from within the sphere. The Konoha ninja looked up, their pupils reflecting the slowly descending pitch-black star.
Each inch the Spiral Wheel Ring descended, the surrounding air let out an unbearable wail, clouds were torn apart, light was distorted, and even sound was completely swallowed.
A primal fear spread in everyone's hearts.
Besides the fear of death, there was also an instinctive tremor towards a terror that transcended comprehension—like ants looking up at a falling meteor.
"This is a parting gift."