In just the first wave of blows, eight thousand of the twenty-four thousand shinobi attached to the back of the left wing were smashed into bloody paste.
The screams tore at Naruto's nerves.
"Stop!!! Stop it!!!"
Even Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki could no longer watch.
"Naruto! Release everyone from the wings right now! If you don't, they'll all die!"
But Naruto was unwilling to let the Ninja Alliance Technique become a complete joke.
He still clung to the belief that, united, everyone could rise up and overcome any enemy.
"Everyone! Use your jutsu!"
"With the chakra I've given you, if we combine all your power, we can destroy those fists instantly!"
Perhaps he was right.
But his cries were drowned out by the thunderous barrage of fists.
No one could hear him.
And even if they had…
It wouldn't have mattered.
Naruto could amplify the chakra flowing through their bodies.
He could not strengthen the hearts within them.
The overwhelming pressure of the gigantic Buddha, combined with the sight of flesh and blood exploding all around them, had shattered their courage.
Most could do nothing but cower and wait for death.
In the few seconds Naruto hesitated, another four thousand were reduced to pulp.
Naruto's heart trembled in agony.
At last, he accepted reality.
The technique was released.
Whoosh!
Golden "dumplings" rained from the sky into a sea of blood.
Tears streamed down Naruto's face.
Recalling how Sasuke Uchiha had once used his Susanoo to protect Team 7 from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Naruto unfolded the torso of his Six Paths Susanoo like a mother hen sheltering her chicks.
"Don't be afraid… don't be afraid…"
"I'll protect you."
"I'll protect all of you."
Boundless fury welled up in his eyes.
"Madara Uchiha!"
"You butcher!"
"I'll never forgive you!"
The bent knees of the Susanoo straightened.
The immense weight of the True Several Thousand Hands was forced upward.
The thousand fists continued pounding against the back armor of the Six Paths Susanoo.
Yet instead of breaking the armor, the fists themselves began to crack apart.
Standing atop the Buddha's head, Madara frowned.
"The gap in durability is too great."
The moment Naruto released the allied shinobi from his wings, Madara understood.
The True Several Thousand Hands could no longer inflict meaningful damage on the Six Paths Susanoo.
Twelve thousand invaders had died beneath the barrage.
Madara snorted.
"Hmph. Worth it."
He withdrew.
As the pressure lessened, Naruto's bloodshot eyes burned with rage.
The colossal Susanoo gripped its sword and spun.
Slash!
The blade split the Buddha and the massive halo behind it in two.
Both halves toppled to either side.
"Madara Uchiha!"
"You will pay in blood!"
Naruto leapt from the crown of the Susanoo.
A Truth-Seeking Orb floated into his hand as he aimed at Madara's figure darting through the rubble.
— Six Paths: Universal Pull!
An irresistible gravitational force yanked Madara to him in an instant.
Limbo was still on cooldown.
Murderous intent flooded Naruto's Rinnegan.
The Truth-Seeking Orb transformed into a spear.
THRUST!
Madara's right half was blown apart into drifting ash.
Madara smirked.
"Heh… Yin-Yang Release."
Naruto spun the spear for a follow-up strike aimed at Madara's head, intending to erase him completely.
But at that moment—
Slash!
Obito Uchiha's Kamui shuriken struck Madara first.
The dimensional vortex forced Naruto to retreat.
He could only watch as Madara's mutilated body was sucked into Kamui's space.
"Obito Uchiha!!!"
Naruto's fury shifted instantly.
He hurled the spear at Obito's blue Susanoo.
Whoosh!
Obito had predicted the attack and maneuvered to evade.
Yet the spear's flight path bent unnaturally.
It pierced through the cockpit wall, through Obito's body, and out the other side.
Obito narrowed his eyes.
The spear had traveled far beyond the seventy-meter control limit of a Truth-Seeking Orb.
And yet it still tracked him.
Then the spear halted in midair, turned on its own, and shot back through him a second time before returning to Naruto and reverting to a Truth-Seeking Orb.
At last, Obito understood.
"I see…"
"Naruto's eye technique grants a soul to objects, allowing them to act autonomously."
Naruto gnashed his teeth.
"Damn it!"
"Kamui let him phase through twice!"
Hagoromo spoke calmly.
"There is no need to obsess over them."
"Obito has already lost his right arm to Yin-Yang Release, and Madara lost half his body."
"Once an Edo Tensei body is damaged by Yin-Yang Release, the reincarnation itself begins to destabilize."
"They have at most three days left."
"If we defeat the caster—Uchiha Jin—then Madara and Obito will never trouble the world again."
"Jin is not in Peach Paradise."
"If he truly is fighting Isshiki, then even if he survives, he will be weakened."
"We can seal Kaguya here, then deal with a weakened Jin."
"Everything will proceed naturally."
Naruto's eyes were red as he looked at the river of blood and scattered flesh gathering around the Susanoo.
"I know…"
"I know, Grandpa Sage."
"But Madara slaughtered so many members of the allied forces!"
"If I don't destroy him, I can't swallow this rage!"
Hagoromo answered patiently.
"Naruto."
"There is no war without casualties."
"They came here because they believed in you and longed for peace."
"They were prepared to bleed and die."
"The best way to honor them is to complete this battle's true purpose."
"Seal Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
Naruto wiped away his tears.
"Yeah… I understand."
"I'll carry the will of the fourteen thousand who have fallen."
Hagoromo urged him.
"Return to the Susanoo."
"Advance into the Hidden Shadow Village and force Kaguya to appear."
Naruto shook his head.
"I'm not using the Susanoo anymore."
Hagoromo was stunned.
"Why?"
Naruto spoke softly.
"I'm leaving it here to protect everyone."
Even Naruto finally grasped the severity of the situation.
Before they had even entered the village, the forces of the Sand and Cloud had lost nearly one-third of their troops.
Of those who remained, most had already lost the will to fight.
It was fine if they could no longer battle.
What mattered was that no one else died.
Otherwise, he would never be able to face Gaara and Darui.
Nor would he ever have the right to stand again as the Hero of the Shinobi War.
The dying screams of his comrades had brought him back to reality.
The Ninja Alliance Technique…
could not be used effectively in true Six Paths-level combat.
He had been forced to accept that painful truth.
Standing atop the outer armor of the Six Paths Susanoo, Naruto gazed toward the densely packed buildings of the Hidden Shadow Village.
"So be it."
"I'll face whatever comes next… alone."
Whoosh!
A sinister gust descended from above.
Instantly, Naruto's sentient Truth-Seeking Orb formed a black shield.
— Kamui!
Crack!
The long-range spatial distortion bored a hole through the shield.
A fist surged through the opening without slowing.
Obito, his left hand pressed against his trembling eye socket, said in a low voice:
"Naruto."
"It's too late for regrets now."
"No one can save those people anymore…"
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