Boom—!!!
A giant hammer suddenly fell from the sky.
The hammer's body glowed with a ghostly blue chill. The air touching its surface instantly condensed into tiny ice crystals.
The giant hammer met the descending Chakra Longsword of the Complete Body Susanoo head-on, with world-shaking force.
Clang—!!!
The metallic clash left everyone's ears ringing violently.
The shockwave spread in all directions, blasting away the remaining debris and corpses on the ground.
Simultaneously, the hammer's freezing power erupted instantly.
Blue cold surged from the hammer like a tide, climbing up the longsword's blade, rapidly spreading to the Susanoo's arm, shoulder, torso—
Crack, crack, crack—
The sound of freezing was incessant.
Within a single second, the hundred-meter-tall orange-red Tengu giant was frozen into a huge ice statue.
Frozen mid-swing, it stood rigid over the ruins of Konoha.
Everyone was startled by the sudden scene.
The fleeing Ino-Shika-Cho team stopped and looked back.
Choji's chubby cheeks puffed out in shock. Seeing the giant hammer in mid-air, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Wh... what is that thing?!"
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.
'A single blow freezing that kind of monster… that level of power… Was it another one of Makoto's people?'
Ino covered her mouth, speechless.
Then, the giant hammer shrank, deformed, and finally transformed into a large, fluffy squirrel.
The squirrel landed lightly on the ground. Standing next to it was Marina.
"Well done, Ragnir."
Marina hugged the large squirrel, kissed its furry forehead, and praised it with a smile.
"Wow! Marina, your Pokémon is amazing!"
Nijika and the others walked over, stars in their eyes, and reached out to touch Ragnir's fur.
Ryo stood expressionless to the side. "As expected of the big sister. Did Leader give it to you?"
As she said this, Ryo glanced somewhat disdainfully at her own Slowbro and Marill.
'Tch. Wasn't the gap just way too big?'
Marina smiled and explained, "He's not a Pokémon."
Crack—!
Suddenly, the sound of ice cracking came from the Susanoo's direction.
Everyone turned in unison.
On the frozen orange-red Tengu giant, a crack ran from its chest to its shoulder.
Then, more cracks appeared, spreading like a spiderweb in all directions.
Boom—!
The next second, the ice shattered completely.
Countless ice shards scattered like a blizzard, refracting blinding light in the sun.
At the center of the Complete Body Susanoo's forehead, Itachi looked down at the large, fluffy squirrel. A hint of wariness appeared in his remaining Mangekyo Sharingan.
"So there are summoned creatures like that?" He muttered to himself, deciding to deal with these people first.
The Susanoo's right arm raised again, the Chakra Longsword reforming.
He didn't care that Marina was a woman.
During the night of the massacre, he had killed countless children. Why would women matter?
Just as he was about to swing again—
"ROAR—!!!"
An earth-shaking dragon's cry echoed through the sky.
Everyone looked up.
A massive black dragon, slightly larger than the Complete Body Susanoo itself, was diving from the sky.
The dragon's scales glinted metallically in the sunlight, its wings blotting out the sky.
It was Airi in her Nidhogg form.
Boom—!
The black dragon slammed into the Complete Body Susanoo like a meteor, the sheer force of the impact driving the orange-red Tengu giant hard into the ground.
The earth shook violently, debris flying.
Airi opened her dragon's jaws. A searing blue-white light gathered deep in her throat.
[World of Thunder!]
The light grew brighter and brighter, like a small sun condensing in the dragon's mouth.
At the critical moment, Makoto remembered something and warned,
"Don't kill him."
Hearing this, Airi in her black dragon form immediately angled her head, the energy cannon in her mouth changing target from head to chest.
The next moment—
Boom—!!!
The violent energy beam exploded.
The blue-white energy blast struck the Complete Body Susanoo's chest like divine punishment. The orange-red energy armor began to break down, melt, and evaporate the instant the beam touched it.
The energy beam lasted three seconds.
When the light faded, a hole over ten meters in diameter was left in the Complete Body Susanoo's chest. White smoke still rose from the edges of the hole, residual energy crackling in the air.
Even with White Zetsu injecting Hashirama's cells into him, such severe damage would take time to heal.
Itachi gritted his teeth. Blood vessels were thick in Shisui's Mangekyo, which he now possessed.
He forced out more Ocular Power and Chakra, trying to repair the Complete Body Susanoo. Orange-red energy began to gather at the breach in its chest, slowly filling the gap.
But at that moment.
A powerful suction force suddenly came from the side.
'What—?!'
Itachi's body jerked violently, as if gripped by an invisible giant hand, hard-pulling him from the center of the Susanoo's forehead.
Itachi was startled.
This move reminded him of the Akatsuki's leader, Pain's Bansho Ten'in.
He turned his head.
A young woman with a ponytail was aiming her hand at him. A black, spiraling hole was forming in her palm.
The black hole slowly rotated in the air, emitting a low hum, releasing an immense gravitational force pulling him towards her.
The Dark-Dark Fruit user... Hayasaka Ai.
"Get away!"
Ai clenched her fist.
The gravity surged.
Itachi's body was swept up like a leaf in strong wind, flying uncontrollably towards Ai.
Just as he was about to reach her—
Two more figures dropped from the sky.
Shrrrk—
Shrrrk—
Blood sprayed.
Two other Weapon Devils, their hands transformed into blade and sword, pierced through Itachi's shoulders, pinning him to the ground.
Katana Devil... Kotonoha Katsura.
Blade Devil... Kotonoha Kokoro!
Blood ran down the blades, forming a small puddle on the ground.
Itachi's body convulsed violently. He gritted his teeth, refusing to scream.
But his face turned pale at a visible rate, and large beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
The scene was reminiscent of Jiraiya's death.
"Excuse us. Please be quiet."
Katsura said softly, but her fangs gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and the blade on her head was still dripping blood.
Kokoro, beside her, unceremoniously added, "Onee-chan, you don't have to be polite with trash like him."
Kokoro's sword-hand twisted half a turn in Itachi's shoulder, making his mouth twitch in pain.
Seeing that Itachi had absolutely no chance of escape, White Zetsu had no choice but to detach.
The white substance peeled from Itachi's body, sliding off like melting wax, and burrowed quickly into the ground.
Katsura and Kokoro were startled and tried to act.
But White Zetsu was too fast. The moment the white goo touched the soil, it vanished like water into the sea.
Katsura withdrew her bloodied sword-hand, walked to Makoto, and bowed her head slightly.
"I'm sorry, Makoto. We weren't fast enough."
Her voice was soft and meek, tinged with a pitiful air.
Though, with her devil form full of fangs and a blade growing from her head, the poor-little-me look was somewhat undermined.
Makoto gestured for them to not worry, then thought for a moment and spoke.
"Care for a chat, Black Zetsu?"
At these words, both Itachi, pinned to the ground, and Obito, held by Kakashi and the others, changed their expressions.
'Black Zetsu?'
'Why was Nishikawa Makoto looking for Black Zetsu?'
Itachi's pupil constricted slightly. He knew Zetsu was an Akatsuki's member, a creature with no combat ability but excellent at gathering information and disguising.
But he didn't understand why Makoto had called out specifically for Black Zetsu. And if he was looking for Zetsu, he should have said 'Zetsu', not singled out 'Black Zetsu'.
Deep underground, Black Zetsu's expression changed drastically.
'What did this guy want with me?'
He had no intention of responding to Makoto.
His body moved slowly underground, carefully shifting away from the battlefield.
He just wanted to escape back to Amegakure as soon as possible and discuss the next plan with Nagato, Konan, and the others.
After all, Black Zetsu had little combat ability himself. Being captured by Makoto and his women would be a big problem.
Just as Black Zetsu was about to speed up his escape, Makoto spoke again.
"Kaguya."
Instantly, Black Zetsu, already deep underground, was thunderstruck.
His beady eyes bulged.
'He said what?! He knows about Kaguya?!'
"Makoto? What is it?"
A cool voice came from the side.
Shinomiya Kaguya, hearing her name, walked gracefully to Makoto's side. She tilted her head slightly, her red eyes showing a hint of confusion.
Obviously, she thought Makoto was calling her.
Makoto put his arm around her slender waist, leaned down, and gently kissed her vermilion lips.
"Oh, nothing. Just felt like saying your name."
Kaguya's face flushed red all the way to her ears.
She struggled a bit, trying to push Makoto away, but the arm around her waist didn't budge.
"Yo-you... it's embarrassing with so many people around..."
The baka Kaguya's face looked like it was about to bleed.
After finally breaking free, she hid behind Ai, only half her face visible, glowering at Makoto with her crimson eyes.
Tsunade's eyes practically rolled out of her head.
'This damn brat. Why did he love shoving this couple crap down people's throats?'
Deep underground, Black Zetsu stared blankly.
'Had he just said 'Kaguya'... was that a coincidence?'
'Just happening to call a woman named 'Kaguya'?'
'Or could it be...'
A deep fear flickered in Black Zetsu's beady eyes.
He didn't dare think about it anymore.