"Stop resisting, little girl."
The Zero-Tails behind Shinnō surged with power, pouring vast amounts of chakra into him, accelerating his regeneration.
In the blink of an eye, the Shinnō who had been sliced down to the bone returned to his original form.
He bared his teeth in a smile. "Come. Return to the Mother Goddess's embrace. This is the path you were always meant to walk."
"I refuse!"
Sasuke's gaze sharpened, her decision finally made.
"In my current state, I can hold out for less than ten seconds." She glanced at the others in the room, then at Sakura. At last, she hardened her resolve. "I hope you won't blame me for this."
To make sure this strike would completely kill Shinnō, she decided to use the forbidden technique once more.
A searing light, bright as midday, burst forth and transformed into surging lightning.
Boom!
Thunder exploded from her shoulders and back, tearing apart her clothes.
The Chakra Pathway in her body was wracked with unspeakable agony. Muscles and bones tore under the strain, screaming in protest.
"Shunko!"
Within the blinding platinum glow, a suffocating aura of destruction spread.
Wild lightning roared without restraint, forming an armor that wrapped around Sasuke's body.
Jagged thunder horns jutted from her head, while six ancient tomoe-shaped thunder rings emerged from her back.
Bathed in golden lightning, the six rings rumbled like ancient drums, their sound echoing like the roar of the storm.
"This next move will end the fight."
Her eyes, filled entirely with gold, seemed almost detached.
Bzzzz!
The oppressive pressure in the courtyard surged, rising like a rocket. Even the air itself trembled, as if in fear of that power.
Blinding streams of lightning poured downward, gathering in her clenched fingers to form a gilded spear of pure thunder.
Her gaze, like that of a monarch who ruled over storms, fell upon Shinnō. Her voice was cold and unfeeling.
"This strike will end it all."
"Thunder Spear!"
Her roar shattered the air currents around her.
Summoning the last of her strength, she hurled the blazing golden spear toward the monstrous figure of Shinnō.
Boom!
A blinding streak of gold tore through the eerie crimson haze.
The sheer force it carried was beyond terrifying — in an instant, it shook the entire courtyard. The air, the atmosphere, even space itself seemed to boil and crack apart under its power.
The void cracked inch by inch, and along the path carved by the lightning, a clear, pitch-black chasm was plowed open.
Boom!!!
A massive mushroom cloud rose up, accompanied by a rolling wave of hot air sweeping through.
Visible to the naked eye, rings of explosions detonated one after another, spreading with unstoppable speed, leveling every room in the courtyard.
The shattered rocks were crushed under the storm's fierce gusts.
By this point, Sasuke no longer had the strength to worry about the pregnant people inside the rooms.
Her overwhelmingly powerful chakra roared like a raging storm, releasing a deafening, unbearable explosive sound.
Sakura, watching nearby, seemed to lose her sight at this moment, feeling as if the whole world had turned gray and white.
A moment ago, the courtyard had still been intact; now it was reduced to ruins by the terrifying explosions.
The ground trembled under the shockwave's terrifying force.
The void emitted a mournful cry, unable to bear the weight, like shattered glass being torn apart by the raging storm, leaving dark cracks that seemed ready to be destroyed at any moment.
Looking again at the surface at the storm's center, under this earth-shattering energy wash, dozens of meters of ground were vaporized by terrifying heat, forming a bottomless, enormous collapse.
Nearby rocks melted into boiling magma, slowly flowing.
In the white smoke rising from the scorching heat, a figure could be faintly seen, falling down in a miserable state.
"Sasuke!"
Fortunately, Sakura was warned in time and dodged the shockwave. Seeing Sasuke fall, she immediately rushed out and caught her.
"I... I won," Sasuke said with a bitter smile, gasping for breath.
However, this victory seemed too costly.
Her clothes were almost half torn apart, and under the instant, terrifying destructive force, her body's Chakra Pathway was severely damaged. Without timely treatment, it could endanger her future as a ninja.
Looking at Sasuke's pitiful condition, Sakura almost burst into tears. "I... I'll help you heal!"
As a medical ninja, this was the only thing she could do now.
"So dangerous..."
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the ruins.
Sakura and Sasuke's expressions suddenly stiffened, staring in disbelief at that spot.
There, in the area wiped out by the "Thunder Spear," a grotesque creature of twisted flesh appeared.
Its form was like an unstable black mist, but inside churned disgusting rotten flesh masses.
Horrifying tentacles extended outward, covered with hundreds of eye-like organs, silently watching them.
"Ah—!"
Sakura only glanced once before feeling as if her mind exploded, and she fainted immediately.
Though Sasuke was a bit stronger, looking directly at that terrifying creature still left an indelible "corruption" wound on her spirit.
The shapeless, rotten-flesh-like black mist had three goat-hoof-like limbs beneath, stepping out from the ruins slowly.
"Why? Why do you reject me? Why do you refuse the great 'Mother Goddess'? Come, join me, become part of the 'Mother Goddess'!"
At last, Sasuke could no longer bear it. The creature's twisted spiritual energy shattered her mental defenses.
Looking at the unconscious Sasuke, the fully transformed monstrous 'Shinnō' laughed wildly, "Now, you are mine!!!"
However, just as it tried to capture Sasuke with its tentacles, an unexpected change happened!
Boom—
A deafening roar ripped through the night sky!
A terrifying pressure from above surged like a falling torrent, violently pinning Shinnō to the ground!
That force was beyond anything it could resist!
Shinnō looked up in horror and saw a meteor several meters wide, dragging blazing flames as it fell from the sky toward its position!
"A meteor? How… is that possible?!"
Shinnō was confused—where had the meteor come from?
"No, no!!" Terror showed in its countless twisted eyes. "Mother Goddess, save me!"
Boom—crash!!!
The meteor slammed down, its devastating force leveling the entire hill!
Scorching waves of heat and dazzling light rose in a mushroom cloud hundreds of meters wide, stirring the clouds in the night sky.
Shockwaves spread across the sky in all directions!
"A meteor. A very 'coincidental' one fell on the hill."
In an unseen place, Uchiha Sogetsu watched the hill hidden by flames and light, and quietly spoke.
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