Chapter 212: You, Worthy of Being Called a God?
In an operating room in the Konoha Hospital.
Yamato lay on the surgical table, his face pale and his eyes shut tight. Strange, branch-like growths continuously sprouted from the stump of his severed arm.
Several medical-nin sweated profusely as nurses bustled back and forth, performing surgery on him while also working as part-time gardeners. It was the first time any of them had encountered such a bizarre symptom.
If the Hokage hadn't sent over top-secret reference materials, they would have been at a complete loss, scratching their heads in futility. Even with the information, the situation was still unnerving.
"It's no use. His cellular activity and recovery rate are too high. They regenerate before we can perform any delicate surgery. The most we can do is barely keep his cells from going berserk," the lead surgeon reported in a low voice, sweat beading on his forehead, to Hiruzen Sarutobi who stood watch from a distance.
The other medical-nin continued their rescue efforts, but they knew they were just racing against time. Because Yamato was injured and unconscious, he couldn't control his cells consciously, leaving them to rely on external force to suppress them.
But this wasn't a sustainable solution. Even with anesthetics, the moment they paused, the cells would turn on their host.
"...Do your best. Stall for as long as you can."
Beneath his mask, Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face was wrinkled into a tight knot. He fought the urge to light a cigarette in the operating room.
According to Kakashi's mission report, Yamato had used true Wood Release.
This was Wood Release, the technique of the First Hokage. If Yamato were to die here, the Wood Release might disappear with him, an immeasurable loss for Konoha.
With this in mind, he glanced at Yamato, who was now almost completely covered in branches on the operating table. Hiruzen walked out with a heavy heart and looked at the ANBU waiting outside.
"Hasn't Jiraiya brought Tsunade back yet?!"
"Lord Hokage, the message has been delivered. Lord Jiraiya should be on his way back."
Hearing this, Hiruzen began to pace again, his thoughts in turmoil.
With the emergence of Wood Release, he hadn't even had a chance to study the "Stone of Gelel" that Kakashi had brought back from the Land of Rivers. To be honest, Hiruzen wasn't sure if Jiraiya could even find Tsunade, let alone convince her to return.
But facing such a helpless situation, all he could do was pray for their swift return.
However, it was as the saying goes: when it rains, it pours.
Just as Hiruzen was pacing anxiously, an ANBU squad leader suddenly appeared before him.
"Lord Hokage, the Hyuga clan was attacked by an unknown intruder. After being repelled, the intruder engaged in another battle with someone outside the village. And, and..."
"And what! Spit it out!"
"The other party is suspected to be a member of the Crimson Moon, and they used a ninjutsu similar to Wood Release!"
At these words, Hiruzen's breath caught in his throat, and his face flushed red.
"Are you kidding me?!"
The Hyuga clan had been invaded more than once or twice; frankly, he was starting to get used to it.
But...
Crimson Moon? Wood Release?
Separately, Hiruzen understood both terms, but together they made no sense. One was a kekkei genkai unique to Konoha, the other an organization locked in a life-or-death struggle with Konoha.
How could these two possibly be connected?!
"Hah... I... understand."
Hiruzen took a deep breath, barely managing to compose himself.
The ANBU would never joke about something like this. He could be certain that a member of the Crimson Moon was fighting the intruder.
But a member of the Crimson Moon using Wood Release...
The ANBU must have been mistaken, or it was just a jutsu that resembled Wood Release.
"All ANBU, except for those evacuating the villagers to the safe zone, will follow me."
After a moment's thought, Hiruzen leaped from the window, heading towards the village outskirts.
No matter what, he had to see it for himself.
While the entire village of Konoha was in an uproar and Hiruzen himself was mobilized, another scene unfolded in a Konoha training ground.
Kakashi, his left eye wrapped in a bandage, stood still. His hands slowly formed seals as he whispered, "Raikiri!"
Instantly, with a crackling sound, his right hand lit up with electricity. The once-blinding blue lightning gradually shifted into the purple electricity he had recently manifested.
"...So that's how it works."
After studying the deep purple lightning on his right hand for a long time, Kakashi let out a soft breath and dispelled the Raikiri.
The "Purple Lightning" he had accidentally succeeded in using in the Land of Rivers was unstable, which was why he had rushed to this training ground immediately after his eye surgery. He had to memorize this feeling to ensure he could completely master "Purple Lightning" and the nature transformation of his lightning-style chakra.
Kakashi's talent was undeniable. Even without a Sharingan, his aptitude for ninjutsu remained. In some ways, the Sharingan gifted to him by Obito Uchiha had not only limited his chakra reserves for using jutsu but had also restricted his talent in swordsmanship.
He had always been researching the nature transformation of lightning-style chakra. Now, having lost the Sharingan, he adapted quickly, successfully creating a semi-complete Purple Lightning after just a few attempts.
This way, even without the high-speed assault of the "Raikiri," his overall combat strength hadn't significantly decreased. In fact, it was a blessing in disguise, as he had found a path more suited to him.
—The combination of Purple Lightning and swordsmanship.
"I never thought that after all these years, I'd have to pick up the White Fang's swordsmanship again."
Kakashi gave a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.
But then, as if remembering something, his expression suddenly turned somber.
"That masked man who called himself Madara Uchiha... why did he feel so familiar?"
If it hadn't been for that masked man's ambush, Yamato wouldn't have been forced to use Wood Release while grievously injured, and he wouldn't have ended up in his current state of a comatose critical patient.
Most importantly, the masked man had also been forced to use a space-time ninjutsu. Although Kakashi's Sharingan had been taken due to the asymmetry of information, he couldn't shake a strange feeling of familiarity.
"...What am I forgetting? Is that guy really Madara Uchiha?" Kakashi scratched his head in frustration.
Just as he was pondering this puzzle, an ANBU shinobi appeared before him.
"By order of the Hokage, proceed to the village outskirts to repel the enemy."
Hearing this, Kakashi couldn't help but be taken aback.
Don't tell me Ame-no-Minakanushi followed me all the way to Konoha? Is it really that serious? All I did was take a "Stone of Gelel" amidst the chaos.
But before he could ask, the ANBU shinobi had already vanished.
"One disaster after another."
Watching the several black figures leaping across the rooftops in the distance, Kakashi sighed internally and followed them.
A few moments later, about a kilometer outside the village, the Konoha shinobi came to a halt.
But when they looked into the distance, they froze in place.
There stood a colossal black Wood Golem, its arm entwined with an equally terrifying black wood dragon. Bathed in the faint moonlight, it exuded an aura of strangeness and deathly silence.
"Could that be... the legendary Wood Release?"
"No, impossible. How could it be Wood Release? Such an absurd..."
"Wait, look at the top of the golem's head. Is that a figure?"
At this, everyone followed the voice and looked.
A figure wearing a mask and a billowing cloak stood there. It was a familiar attire that the ANBU remembered vividly.
"It's the Crimson Moon? A member of the Crimson Moon is using Wood Release ninjutsu?!"
"No, how can that be Wood Release? Look, it's black!"
Even with the truth right before their eyes, many refused to believe it. After all, an enemy hostile to Konoha was using Konoha's long-lost Wood Release.
Such a thing...
However, they soon noticed that the person was not looking at them but was gazing up at the night sky.
Following his lead, the Konoha forces all looked up and saw a point of light in the night sky. The point of light was growing larger and brighter.
Hiruzen's brow furrowed. "What is that?"
An ANBU shinobi with sensory ninjutsu next to him said with uncertainty, "Is that... a meteor?!"
VMMMM!!
Under the control of the giant Tenseigan, a rocky celestial body that had been orbiting the moon gradually broke from its path, accelerating as it smashed towards the ninja world.
Intense friction with the atmosphere ignited the meteor's surface, turning it into a sword-like stream of light that tore through the silent night sky, hurtling towards Konoha at an astonishing speed.
Although its volume was diminished by the atmospheric friction, making it smaller than the meteor that hit Amegakure, the terrifying spectacle of this fireball, dozens of meters in diameter, was still noticed by countless people who stared in stunned disbelief.
In Iwagakure's Tsuchikage building, Ōnoki was nursing a headache over the disappearance of the Four-Tails. But when he felt the meteor streak across the sky above his village, he shot up and rushed to the window, craning his neck to look.
"What's going on? Another meteor?"
"Although this one is much smaller, it looks a lot like the one from Amegakure."
Just as Ōnoki was wondering if it was man-made, he suddenly realized the meteor's trajectory.
"Wait! That trajectory is... the Land of Fire, Konoha? Hahahaha!!"
Ōnoki froze for a moment, then his old face bloomed into a wide smile. He immediately ordered the ANBU outside his door, "Send men to investigate the situation in Konoha now! I want a detailed report on everything that happens!"
"Oh, and while you're at it, send some spies to Amegakure to investigate... no, wait."
Ōnoki paced for a moment, then changed his mind. "Let's go to Amegakure in the form of a diplomatic trade mission. Find out how they dealt with the last meteor."
Ever since the incident with the previous meteor, all the spies he had sent to infiltrate Amegakure had gone silent. He hadn't been able to directly confront Amegakure before because the ninja world was in a period of détente. But this time, he was sending official diplomats. If Amegakure killed them without reason, then Iwagakure would have a justification to intervene.
"Still, is it a coincidence? Or... is it being controlled by someone?"
After the initial excitement, Ōnoki quickly regained his composure, and doubts began to surface. "If someone has developed the technology to control meteors, then Amegakure and Konoha were likely attacked by the same enemy."
Faced with this second meteor incident, many realized the situation was abnormal. The leaders of many villages issued orders to gather intelligence, watching with schadenfreude to see how Konoha would handle this crisis. The Five Great Shinobi Villages had all nearly recovered their strength, and they believed it wouldn't be long before the next Great Ninja War erupted. If this meteor could genuinely cripple Konoha, they would have to consider starting the war ahead of schedule.
Meanwhile, in just a few seconds, the point of light in the sky had transformed into a clearly visible ball of fire, plummeting straight down.
Within the Hyuga compound, a shocked Hiashi activated his Byakugan, staring at the falling meteor.
"Neji, this power to manipulate a meteor, could it be..."
Beside him, veins bulged around Neji's temples, a trace of shock in his eyes. "Could it be related to the 'eyes' they were talking about?"
This meant that the man from before, who also possessed the Byakugan, was capable of unleashing such a terrifying jutsu? Did that mean they could do the same?!
Atop the tall, black golem, Naruto also looked up at the meteor smashing towards him.
The dim night sky was once again illuminated by the meteor's fiery glow. In a daze, it felt as if the sky had instantly turned from night to day, so bright that it was hard to keep one's eyes open.
Gazing up at the rapidly falling meteor and feeling the turbulent air currents around him, Naruto also narrowed his eyes slightly.
"So this is the power of the so-called Tenseigan?"
If it hit directly, he would probably be vaporized.
As the light in the sky grew brighter, Naruto's expression became increasingly indifferent.
"Huff... huff! Is this still too much for me?"
After remotely controlling the Tenseigan, Ōtsutsuki Tatsuhito collapsed onto his flying shinobi tool, his face pale as he gasped for breath.
Despite possessing Ōtsutsuki blood and having access to the giant Tenseigan, his bloodline wasn't pure enough. It was extremely difficult for him to wield the Tenseigan's full power. Just controlling the trajectory of a small meteor had drained all the chakra from his body. And that was with the giant Tenseigan bearing most of the cost.
If he had to rely solely on his own power, he wouldn't even be able to nudge a meteor, let alone make one fall.
"Heh heh, do you see, you lowly ninja?"
Ōtsutsuki Tatsuhito pushed himself up, a wild, arrogant smile on his face as he looked at Naruto. "Open your eyes and see! This is our true power!"
Although this falling meteor wasn't large, it was a genuine meteorite that had drifted through the boundless cosmos, its material far harder than ordinary rock. Coupled with the force of its descent from space, its overall power barely met his requirements.
"Hahaha!" Ōtsutsuki Tatsuhito yelled, "Flee, you peasant of the ninja world! You will taste the consequences of angering a god!!"
With that, he turned to leave, planning to use his flying tool to get as far away from the area as possible while Naruto dealt with the meteor. In his view, faced with such immense power and the threat of death, anyone's only choice would be to flee in terror.
But unfortunately for him, Ōtsutsuki Tatsuhito's hopes were destined to be dashed.
"A god? A guy like you is worthy of being called a god?"
As the chilling voice echoed, the black golem raised its arm once more.
"There is only one person worthy of that title! That person is definitely not me, and it's certainly not you!"
BOOM!!
In an instant, the black wood dragon on its arm was launched again.
Amidst the flickering firelight and scattering sparks, Naruto, his body cloaked in blue chakra, shot rapidly behind Ōtsutsuki Tatsuhito.
Ōtsutsuki Tatsuhito heard the voice and turned his head, and as he looked at the terrifying mask rushing toward him, an immense sense of absurdity and fear flooded his heart.
"You suicidal maniac!" His face held none of its earlier arrogance, only endless panic and terror.
Anyone could see that with the power of the meteor overhead, there wasn't even enough time to escape. To continue fighting was undoubtedly to seek mutual destruction!
But Ōtsutsuki Tatsuhito had never imagined that this man could be so insane as to attack him at a time when they should have had a tacit understanding to stop fighting and flee for their lives!
(End of Chapter)
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