[Nine-Tails! Give me all your power!] Naruto roared, pouring all of the Nine-Tails' chakra into his Rasengan.
[Tailed Beast Ball Rasengan!] A devastating surge of energy formed in Naruto's palm.
The mere sight of it left Deidara and Sasori stunned.
[That… that's… what in the world is that?] Deidara stammered in disbelief.
[Incredible… someone actually managed to harness a Tailed Beast's power to this extent…] Sasori trembled with shock, every joint in his puppets audibly clicking and clacking.
[Click-clack-click-clack-click.]
[Get out of here—now!] Deidara shouted as he saw Naruto charging straight at them, immediately fleeing for his life.
They had no choice but to escape. The Tailed Beast Ball Rasengan in Naruto's hands looked extremely dangerous—it was not something they could handle.
Just as Deidara tried to run, Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly teleport right beside Sasori.
Only then did Sasori realize that during their earlier fight, Naruto had marked one of his puppets with the Flying Thunder God seal.
When Sasori retrieved the puppet, it was as though the Flying Thunder God seal had been transferred directly onto him.
As a puppet master who usually commanded his puppets from a distance, Sasori never imagined that retrieving his own puppets would bring the Flying Thunder God seal back to him.
Realizing his defeat, Sasori closed his eyes.
The next moment, Naruto slammed the Tailed Beast Ball Rasengan into Sasori's face.
A massive explosion rocked the heavens, like the end of the world itself.
Right before the blast hit, Naruto quickly escaped using the Flying Thunder God Technique, narrowly avoiding the impact.
[I had to take the risk to ensure Sasori was dead for good,] Naruto thought, knowing he himself had been in danger.
Actually, the Tailed Beast Ball Rasengan could have been launched from a safe distance instead of being used point-blank.
But Naruto, confident in his abilities and the Flying Thunder God Technique, took the high-risk route just to guarantee a one-hit kill on Sasori.
Amid the flattened wasteland, Deidara stood utterly drained of chakra.
[Cough…] He didn't even have the strength to stand up anymore.
Scanning the surroundings, Deidara confirmed his worst fear—Sasori was gone, reduced to ashes.
Such a horrifying explosion deeply shook him.
Earlier, when the Tailed Beast Ball Rasengan exploded, Deidara had used up all his Explosive Clay and chakra.
Creating another explosion.
An explosion to counter an explosion.
By detonating his own clay, Deidara managed to neutralize the blast wave from the Tailed Beast Ball Rasengan.
Naruto descended from the sky, landing before Deidara with a bright smile.
[Deidara, looks like we meet again.]
[Do I even know you that well—] Deidara spat angrily.
[If you don't know me well, then why keep coming after me?]
[It's you who keeps messing with the Akatsuki Organization!]
[You're one unreasonable guy,] Naruto said with a sly grin. [But you got one thing right—explosions are art.]
Deidara froze at those words.
Naruto continued, [All your Explosive Clay is gone, isn't it? But I can still recreate that kind of blast. This time, there's no escaping it.]
[Dying in a huge explosion—consider yourself honored.]
Naruto was breaking his enemy completely: "After you die, I'll tell the entire world..."
"Deidara, the rogue ninja from Iwagakure, died beneath my explosion. Deidara's explosions are child's play. Naruto Uzumaki's explosions—that's real art!"
"I'll kill you for sure!" Deidara growled through gritted teeth. "Kill you! Kill you! Kill you!"
After an earth-shaking explosion, Deidara's soul ascended to the heavens.
Meanwhile.
"Darn it! Darn it! Darn it! Darn it! Darn it!"
Zetsu was livid—and terrified.
He never expected to suffer such a crushing defeat today.
Zetsu realized—he'd been exposed.
Naruto seemed to know everything.
"Darn it!" Zetsu sweated coldly. "With Byakugan and Sharingan watching me... I'm trapped."
As soon as he spoke, a cold-faced figure landed before him, blocking Zetsu's escape route.
The figure landing before him was none other than Itachi Uchiha.
Itachi slowly turned around. His cold, unfeeling Sharingan alone sent chills down anyone's spine.
"Darn it," Zetsu muttered, glancing behind.
Hinata, Zabuza, and Haku were closing in from behind.
Trapped from both sides now.
"Darn it! Front blocked by Sharingan, rear blocked by Byakugan. Naruto planned this—this is a trap set specifically for me," Zetsu realized, hopelessness sinking in.
"Hahaha!" Naruto stepped forward from the shadows, his cloak torn and scorched—clearly fresh from battle.
"Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki… you're really here? That means Hidan's already—" Zetsu couldn't bring himself to say it. "What about Sasori and Deidara?"
"All of them." Naruto pointed at himself proudly. "I killed them."
Zetsu didn't dare hesitate—he needed to run.
[Kotoamatsukami!] Naruto instantly activated Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan ability.
Zetsu's whole body stiffened, unable to move at all.
"I'm your father. I'm your father. I'm your father," Naruto repeated in a low voice. "I'm your father."
Zetsu immediately stood straight. "Yes, Dad."
Earlier, Naruto had planned to use Kotoamatsukami on Hidan—as a decoy.
Actually, his real target had always been Zetsu.
Zetsu may not have been strong, but he held the key.
Wasting this rare technique on Zetsu was worth it.
"Everyone, come out—the truth I promised is right here," Naruto called out.
[Chapter Break - More Exciting Content Ahead!]
At this moment, Pain's Deva Path and Obito Uchiha stepped forward.
They stood not far away, motionless, silently listening.
"Tell us everything about your schemes," Naruto ordered.
"Yes, Dad," Zetsu replied numbly. "I once altered the Uchiha Clan's stone monument, inscribing Infinite Tsukuyomi into it…"
Zetsu revealed all his past misdeeds.
He had continuously stirred up conflicts across the ninja world, inciting endless wars.
Then he inscribed the world-saving plan onto the stele: Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Deliberately manipulating the Uchiha into thinking they were chosen, pushing these dramatic, delusional people toward their so-called salvation.
Uchiha Madara was trapped, and so was Obito Uchiha.
"In truth, [Infinite Tsukuyomi] cannot save the world," Zetsu said. "It will only release Princess Kaguya sealed within the moon, ultimately leading to the world's destruction." After speaking, he remained still.
"How could it be like this..." Obito Uchiha wailed in despair.
A chill ran through Naruto.
In reality, Obito Uchiha didn't care about the fate of this world.
Obito's push for [Infinite Tsukuyomi] was simply his way of destroying the old world and rebooting everything—his only chance of seeing Rin again in the new world.
To put it with Naruto's pre-time-travel words:
Obito wanted to speed-run through the first playthrough of the world without caring about the ending, eager to immediately reload for a second playthrough.
"Obito, you need to face reality," Naruto reasoned. "The dead don't come back. [Infinite Tsukuyomi] won't give you hope, nor can it restart the world. You'll never see Rin again through it."
Obito ripped off his mask, revealing his true face.
"Why! Why did you give me such hope, why deceive me!" Obito exploded at Zetsu in fury.
Zetsu replied, unflinching, "To save my mother, I had to deceive everyone—including you."
"You're a liar too," Naruto shot back. "You even tricked Nagato into joining you."
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>