Among all the Divine Tree Human replicas, Ci was the only one whose eyes were not Rinnegan, but Byakugan.
Of course, the Rinnegan possessed by the others were merely projections from the original Divine Tree Human, Tenya. Their only functions were shared vision and telepathic communication.
"That's Neji Hyuga!"
"The Hyuga jonin from Konoha who died in the Fourth Great Ninja War!"
"He was turned into one of these monsters too!?"
Surrounding Ci were the Sand Village's most elite troops: Gaara's Wind Release Corps, every one of them wielding three-star giant fans like Temari.
These shinobi had endured brutal training and possessed extraordinary resolve.
Even now, they retained their will to fight.
"Listen up!"
"We are the elite force trusted by Lord Kazekage!"
"No matter what reckless and foolish decisions Uzumaki Naruto has made, we are shinobi! We fight to the end!"
"That's right!"
"Even in death, we will not disgrace the name of the Sand or our Kazekage!"
They raised their giant fans as one and, empowered by Naruto's chakra, unleashed a massive Wind Release technique.
— Wind Release: Great Net
Whoooosh!
Countless giant wind blades interwove into an enormous net.
Its power was so immense that it tore up the earth along its path.
Ci seemed momentarily surprised by the sheer force of the attack.
Veins bulged around his Byakugan.
His wide-sleeved black robe spun with his rapidly rotating steps.
Boom!
A colossal Rotation erupted, producing a white vortex of force powerful enough to rival a Super Shinra Tensei.
The expanding cyclone collided with the incoming wind blades from every direction—and the two sides reached a stalemate.
Gaara's Wind Release Corps became the undisputed MVP of the battle.
They were the only allied unit to organize an effective offensive and fight a Divine Tree Human to a standstill.
"If every soldier in the Ninja Alliance had this level of combat ability," Madara mused, "and if they had a strategist like Shikaku Nara coordinating them, then perhaps the Ninja Alliance Technique truly would have value."
Watching the subtle shift in the Rotation's trajectory, Obito narrowed his eyes.
"Unfortunately… there are no 'ifs.'"
Boom!
Ci suddenly leapt into the sky while still spinning within the Rotation vortex.
"What!?"
The Sand shinobi were stunned.
"He can still jump after performing such an extreme taijutsu!?"
The issue wasn't that he jumped.
The issue was—
What was he jumping up to do?
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Without giving them even a moment to react, countless wooden spikes erupted from the airborne Rotation and rained down like a storm.
Obito's expression turned grave.
"To combine an Ōtsutsuki-level Rotation with Wood Release implantation…"
"At this scale, it rivals the impalement technique I used with the Ten-Tails."
"So this is a Divine Tree Human."
"If a mere replica is this terrifying, just how powerful is the original?"
The attack came too suddenly.
If they had known what was coming, the Sand shinobi might have been able to form a defensive barrier with Naruto's chakra and survive.
But there were no "ifs."
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
Screaming, row after row of shinobi collapsed like porcupines.
"Forgive us, Lord Kazekage… we can no longer serve you…"
"Uzumaki Naruto was far too reckless! He charged in without any intelligence on the enemy, without any strategy at all… AHHHHHH!"
"How… infuriating…"
"Because of his stupidity, even you will be branded a sinner of the Land of Wind!"
North Sector
Created from Choji Akimichi's chakra, Divine Tree Human — Biao expanded his adamantine body and transformed into a colossal Human Boulder, crushing the allied shinobi beneath his unstoppable charge.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Look at what you've done!"
"We haven't even reached the enemy village!"
"We haven't even seen the so-called celestial demon! AAAAAHHHH!"
West Sector
Created from Kakuzu's chakra, Divine Tree Human — Jiao unleashed black wooden tendrils evolved from Earth Grudge Fear.
These high-tensile tendrils spread like roots through the battlefield.
They pierced through the chakra cloaks protecting the shinobi.
Instead of killing instantly, they drained their victims' life force until the bodies shriveled into husks.
Only then did branching tendrils tear the corpses into bloody fragments.
"AAAAHHHH!"
"What sin did we commit to face monsters like this with no intelligence at all!?"
Once no living targets remained, the tendrils returned to Jiao's body carrying the stolen vitality.
South Sector
Created from Deidara's chakra, Divine Tree Human — Di rode atop a flying wooden dragon.
He slipped both hands into the pouches at his waist.
The mouths in his palms swallowed special seeds.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Depending on the amount of chakra infused, each seed transformed into a different wooden construct.
"D1 — Wooden Spider."
As he scattered them over the battlefield, countless wooden spiders descended.
Upon landing, they shrank to palm size and sprang toward shinobi whose legs were too weak with fear to move.
After absorbing the chakra cloaks surrounding their targets, the spiders rapidly expanded into half-human-sized monstrosities covered in bristling wooden hairs.
Their elongated legs wrapped around groups of ten or more shinobi at once, the wooden bristles hooking tightly into flesh.
"No… I don't want to die!"
"I just received news before departing that my child was born!"
"I haven't even seen my wife and baby!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! UZUMAKI NARUTO!!!"
Eight Divine Tree Humans unleashed their innate killing techniques and began a merciless slaughter of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
In the mere twenty seconds it took Naruto to rise from the ground, tear the wooden spikes from his body, and heal his injuries—
the battlefield became a sea of blood.
More than ten thousand had died.
Naruto's scalp spasmed.
His fingers twisted uncontrollably.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
His scream tore through the battlefield.
"Stop!"
"STOP IT!!!"
"YOU BUTCHERS!!!"
BOOM!!!
The Six Paths Susanoo rose once again, towering into the heavens.
Hagoromo roared within him.
"Naruto!!! Give it up! It's already too late!!!"
Naruto's eyes were blood-red.
"It's not too late!"
"If I pull everyone back onto the wings, I can lift them out of the Divine Tree Humans' killing zones!"
In different circumstances, what had once been a foolish idea now truly could have become a means of salvation.
If Naruto succeeded, at least the final twenty thousand surviving shinobi might be saved.
Unfortunately—
there were no "ifs."
At the vanished gate to Peach Paradise's second layer, Tenya's lips curled into a breathtaking smile.
— Amenominaka: Dimensional Shift
Open.
Enter.
Exit.
Close.
The four steps of the space-time movement were completed in a single instant.
Boom!
Tenya appeared without warning.
With one plain, unadorned kick, she shattered the cockpit of Naruto's Six Paths Susanoo.
Hagoromo's voice shook with disbelief.
"Impossible…"
"This chakra… it surpasses even the mother I once knew…!"
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