The system's light orb spun once in the air.
"Though I don't fully understand, it seems we're saved for now."
As a consciousness body, Satsuki also heard that string of system alerts just now.
Those three charging 'players' had clearly used some kind of bug or cheat. Their shortcut-style method of clearing seemed to trigger a dungeon detection mechanism, causing all monsters to lose their normal aggro settings. It even summoned monsters and Bosses from the other heavens.
From one of the gates emerged the colossal Asura Demon Lord and the Rakshasa Marquis, bringing their retinues along. They swung massive, curved blades as they stepped forth.
The Asura Demon Lord was a towering four-armed humanoid monster, face twisted and ferocious, muscles knotted, clad in gleaming golden armor. Around it floated a ring of resplendent swords, each radiating vigilance.
Beside him, slightly smaller in stature, was the Rakshasa Marquis. This humanoid fiend sat cross-legged on a black lotus throne, his entire body adorned with strange jewels of gold and silver. His twisted hands firmly gripped a magnificent waist blade.
Unlike the Asura, who devoted himself entirely to martial prowess, the Rakshasa Marquis's abilities were far more versatile—not only terrifying in melee combat but also wielding inconceivable spellcasting. Super-tier magic was child's play to him. His strongest trait was the ability to resurrect any target unconditionally, while also altering the revived being's template—so long as it fell within the Rakshasa lineage.
From another gate emerged the third heaven's Gandharva, followed by a host of celestial beings. Draped in translucent veils, their graceful figures shimmered faintly in the air. Their violet eyes carried the permanent passive effect of 'Enthralling Mortals.' Any target gazed upon for too long, without allies to intervene, would fall into eternal mind control. Furthermore, each celestial was a top-tier magic caster and healer.
The wide-area "Brahma Chant" buff surrounding the Six Heavens was constructed by the songs of these celestials.
The Asura Demon Lord and Rakshasa Marquis were the guardian Bosses of the second heaven, Trāyastriṃśa. The Gandharva was the Boss of the third heaven. Each of their individual strengths surpassed the four level-150 guardian Bosses of the first heaven.
The fourth heaven, Tuṣita, was an extremely complex four-dimensional labyrinth. Its Boss was the labyrinth itself and thus could not be moved here.
The fifth heaven, Nirmāṇarati, contained no enemies. Instead, it was a paradise—a continent overflowing with gold, jewels, and women, filled with every imaginable delight. In reality, it was a prison. Those who entered would be eternally trapped if they could not resist temptation and uncover its loophole. Under even stronger "Brahma Chant" brainwashing, they would be converted into demon-Buddha followers. For players, this meant becoming dungeon enforcers. Though the exact process was unclear, its killing power was said to be strong enough to pierce even world-class defenses.
In short, just to face these three glowing enemies, this End-Tier dungeon had mobilized nearly all its available power—everyone except Satsuki's own statue-body.
Golden runes flared across the colossal demon-Buddha statue—symbols representing the concept of "invincibility."
In this state, Satsuki's true body, the demon-Buddha statue, could not be targeted or attacked.
Yet, this sight did not ease her mind.
Even in the face of such overwhelming force, the three figures merely paused for a moment. Relaxed, they floated in midair, casually surveying the army of Bosses and mobs. Through her Tenseigan's vision, Satsuki noticed these three had no definite forms—only humanoid silhouettes made of colored light, cloaked entirely.
Then, for the first time, she heard their voices.
"There's even a detection mechanism? Interesting. Seems the programmers put real effort into this dungeon. Impressive." The golden figure on the left spoke lightly.
The red figure on the right twisted dramatically in the air and shouted loudly: "Ohhh~ Three heroes against endless waves of monsters~ I'm fired up!!!"
"Just Berserk state?" The blue figure in the lead swept a cold glance around, then raised her hands to her chest, forming a gesture.
From her body spread a colossal magic array, vast enough to blanket the entire sky.
Every monster and Boss within its range—Satsuki's demon-Buddha statue included—instantly had all buffs stripped away, even its supposed invincibility.
"All targets locked. [State Fill]—Authority, activate."
In that moment, all the mighty monsters and Bosses froze stiff, then toppled one after another, dead in an instant. Whether mere mobs or World-Class Bosses, they were no different.
On ground and sky alike, the scene unfolded like a massive domino effect—Satsuki's entire army collapsing in waves before her eyes.
It was exactly like what had happened in the first heaven.
No—there was one difference: the numbers. Here, the scope was vastly larger, requiring her to use an even greater search ability beforehand.
"State Fill? Authority?"
Satsuki's sharp senses caught onto the key words.
"System, are there any spells or abilities related to those terms?"
But this time, the system uncharacteristically failed to answer immediately.
"Run, Host."
"Hm?"
"I can guarantee these people are absolutely not players. There's no way players of this level could exist—what a joke!"
"They're clearly GMs. I've been collecting data on their actions all this time, but only when the status bar showed you being hit by an authority attack did I realize it."
"Authority attack?" Satsuki finally noticed her status bar below, where numerous combat messages had popped up.
[You have been targeted by an [State Fill] authority attack.]
[Your authority rank: End-Level.]
[Result: Attack invalid.]
"GMs?" Satsuki murmured.
"Host, you finally believe me for once?" The system's voice brimmed with relief, but in the next breath it slumped back into its familiar uselessness: "But what do we do now? No matter how strong monsters are, how can they possibly defeat GMs?"
Ignoring the system, Satsuki fixed a grave stare on the three figures already closing in on the demon-Buddha statue. Her mind spun rapidly—
The system's program hadn't issued any emergency warning. That likely meant she wasn't entirely without hope. And just now, her status bar showed her authority rank as End-Level—apparently even higher than theirs.
That must have been why the State Fill didn't kill her.
But… how should she fight back against them?
After that map-wide [State Fill] authority attack, the Sixth Heaven of Desire now held nothing but the colossal demon-Buddha statue—and the three figures striding through it as if it were empty space.
After that map-wide [Status Fill] authority attack, only the colossal demon-Buddha statue and the three figures moving through the battlefield like it was empty remained in the Sixth Heaven of Desire.
Even they seemed slightly surprised that the statue had withstood the attack.
"The final boss of this dungeon isn't simple. It actually survived Blue-chan's Status Fill without dying?" The golden figure spoke with a trace of solemnity.
"In that case, I won't be able to contribute much more offensively," the clear voice of the blue figure replied. "If we want to retreat, now would be the time."
"Retreat? Too soon for that~." The red figure's tone was burning with excitement as he gazed at the demon-Buddha statue in the sky. "Since it can't be filled with a death state, then we'll just create its death directly!"
With a swing of his right hand, a golden spear appeared.
Before Satsuki could react, the spear pierced forward with a speed that seemed to cut through the boundary of time, stabbing directly into the statue's forehead.
"[World's Fall]—a spear only GMs can wield. It amplifies my [Instant Death Authority] into [Super Instant Death Authority]. In this game, aside from those with Supreme Authority, no one can resist it!"
[Super Instant Death] was one of the highest forms of authority in the game, its level surpassing even the number-one-ranked world-class weapon, the [Longinus: Spear of Deletion]. Compared to [Status Fill], [Super Instant Death] was far more domineering in single-target judgment.
At the point where the golden spear clashed with the colossal statue, dazzling light and sparks exploded outward.
It was faint, but the spear was slowly pushing forward. Once it pierced through the immense protective layer of authority, Satsuki would be erased instantly—no chance of survival.
This was the ultimate clash of powers in this world, a direct contest of authority against authority.
It was no longer a matter of players or mortals.
In every sense, this was an unmistakable [War of the Gods].
"Host, hurry! While the demon-Buddha statue is holding their attention, transfer your consciousness into another monster. It may be disgraceful, but at least you'll live!"
The system's advice was timely and rational. Against such foes, perhaps there really was no other choice.
But Satsuki instantly rejected the suggestion.
"Running would only delay my death. If I want to live, I have to defeat them."
Since receiving the Strongest System Across All Worlds, she had long since accepted this reality. She knew her future was filled with countless formidable enemies—some she would never be able to defeat. If she fled now, would she flee again next time? Would she hide forever, becoming a so-called strongest who never dared raise her hand?
What a joke!!!
Dancing on the edge of life and death didn't faze her—but it awakened a long-lost desire to challenge such power head-on.
If one asked why, perhaps it was simply because the words [Strongest] carried an irresistible allure. And from the moment she, Satsuki Ōtsutsuki, accepted this system, she had been destined to walk a path of endless challenges.
It was a mutual choice, with no regrets between life and death.
This resolve drove Satsuki's consciousness to make a shocking decision.
Fixing her gaze on the clash of spear and statue, she flashed forward, plunging directly into the statue's body, determined to merge with it once again.
"If I must die, then I'll die together with it."
But just as she was about to fuse with the statue, her 360-degree vision caught sight of the golden system orb—it too was following closely behind her, diving toward the statue.
Seeing her gaze, the orb spun frantically in the air. "Th-this is just the internal program acting on its own!"
For once, the system not dragging her down in a critical moment was… unfamiliar.
Satsuki let out a rare, quiet laugh, then sank back into darkness.
Returning to the void, her heart was calm as still water—just as she had been in the Naruto world. No matter how powerful the enemy, whether in her past life or now in this female body she had crossed into, she would never accept defeat.
In the outside world, at that very moment, the colossal statue stirred…
Bolts of lightning and serpents of thunder erupted, crackling wildly around it. Black lotus blossoms bloomed and withered in the air, each petal holding within it the rise and fall of a world, filled with stars that gathered into radiant clouds, weaving into a vast and endless galaxy.
Crack—crack—
Fragments fell from the statue's surface. The giant form, now fused with Satsuki's consciousness, split with jagged cracks, golden light bursting outward from within.
The golden spear—already nearly piercing the forehead of the demon-Buddha statue—was suddenly blasted away by that radiance.
Clang—
A crisp sound rang out as the indestructible golden spear gave a mournful cry, then snapped in two in midair. Before the disbelieving "eyes" of the three GM avatars, the weapon known as [World's Fall] fell, shattered.
Yet there was no time to process what had happened. In the same instant, a destructive energy erupted from the statue, sweeping across the field. For the first time, the three invincible figures were forced backward at extreme speed. The golden GM seemed to recall something, his voice filled with horror:
"Red-Phoenix, Blue-Dragon—run! This is End-Tier Vipralopa Power!!"
End-Tier Vipralopa Power!
The fastest to react, Blue-Dragon, immediately attempted to lock the three of them with invincibility status. But in the next moment, she realized her [Status Control] authority had completely failed.
A debuff labeled Vipralopa Power appeared in her status bar—its duration marked as N/A. Under its effect, her authority-based abilities could not activate.
"Qilin-senpai, your authority is Energy Control. Can't you restrain this force?"
"If it were only world-class energy, I could. But End-Tier Vipralopa Power exceeds the limits of my authority." The GM named Gold-Qilin was already afflicted by the same terrifying power. He turned to the dazed Red-Phoenix. "I fear your spear…"
"I tried to restore Red-Phoenix-senpai's weapon with my [Status Fill], but the system prompt said it could not bypass the Vipralopa Power." Blue-Dragon lowered her voice. "I'm sorry. I'm useless—I couldn't help anyone."
"Don't blame yourself, Blue-Dragon." Gold-Qilin placed a hand on her shoulder. "We must retreat at once. Log off and report this to the higher-ups."
With that, he grabbed the still-broken Red-Phoenix and slapped him twice, hard, across the face.
"This isn't the time for despair. Move! While our invincibility hasn't fully worn off!"
The blows finally snapped Red-Phoenix back to his senses. Looking at Gold-Qilin with despair, he muttered, "I know you're a normie, Qilin-senpai, but to hit me so roughly while treating the girl so gently—"
"What was that?"
Seeing Gold-Qilin's golden, stern face, like a square-jawed uncle glaring down at him, Red-Phoenix wilted instantly. "N-nothing."
Just then, a strange voice echoed inside all three GMs' minds. It was as if three different voices spoke simultaneously, layered with chilling reverberation.
"Now you want to flee? Too late."
The moment those words fell, the seals around the demon-Buddha statue shattered completely. The surging destructive force it had held back could no longer be restrained. In a single breath, it expanded outward, sweeping across the entire Sixth Heaven of Desire.
Wherever the power passed, space fractured, earth collapsed, and the once-blue sky turned black with thunderclouds and lightning.
Even the background music shifted into its exclusive theme: [Return of the Demon-Buddha].
"This guy really has flair… not only intelligent voice lines, but even a dedicated BGM."
As Red-Phoenix muttered, he suddenly noticed the red glow around him fading. His true in-game form appeared—a winged being with scarlet feathers.
Blue-Dragon and Gold-Qilin, too, were stripped of their GM authority light, revealing their true avatars: a female dragonkin with blue scales, and a light elf, respectively.
"Damn… the Boss's Vipralopa Power has completely suppressed our GM authority. We—"
Before she could finish, a system prompt appeared.
"Your invincibility status has been forcibly removed by a higher authority."
The message struck like thunder. Without invincibility, they were fully exposed within the Boss's Vipralopa Domain.
On their system panels, the debuff Brahma Chant appeared, its percentage climbing rapidly.
"What?!"
Even the always-calm Gold-Qilin was shaken. GMs were supposed to be untouchable, protected by WORLD's blessing. No existence had ever been able to harm them.
Yet now, that foundation was shattered—by the first-ever End-Tier dungeon Boss.
From the mist that always cloaked the statue's three-faced head came a voice, overlapping and resounding:
"Such cliché last words. Is that all you can offer?"
What?!
Before they could process why the Boss responded with such intelligence, chanting erupted all around them. Under its power, they saw the Brahma Chant debuff in their status climb rapidly toward 100%.
Every command, every skill, every function grayed out—unusable. Even the chat window was locked.
This was completely abnormal.
But they had no chance left.
"If you're powerless… then drown."
A wave of dark energy swept over the three immobilized GMs. In their final sight, the Brahma Chant reached 100%, engulfing them in a scarlet-black hellscape.