Chapter 414:
"Damn it!"
Obito knew full well that Skynet wasn't lying—this time, the pressure from Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon was far greater than when Gray Wolf Clone No. 4 had used it.
He feared the shield in his hand might be easily blasted away.
"Shikamaru, you go first!"
"Captain?!"
Shikamaru looked at Obito, confused.
"I don't think I can block this attack…"
Even the sturdiest shield is only useful when it can perfectly intercept an enemy's strike. Obito couldn't guarantee that he'd be able to withstand the shockwave from Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon.
"Namo Gatling Bodhisattva—Sixfold Purity Depleted Uranium Rounds! Three thousand six hundred rounds per breath, boundless mercy to deliver all sentient beings!"
A clear, ringing female voice rang out, followed by a deluge of bullets from the sky, raining down upon the golden dragon charging at Obito and Shikamaru.
The bullets struck the dragon, making it visibly grimace in pain.
"Who's there?!"
As the thick smoke and gunpowder cleared, the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon had already vanished. Skynet looked into the pitch-black sky.
"H.Y.D.R.A. Agent—Peggy Carter."
She was the last H.Y.D.R.A. operative Shunhi had created before the system update—Peggy Carter's body, Rin's memories as her soul, and she was granted the Namo Gatling Bodhisattva avatar to counter the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon.
"Peggy Carter…"
It was their first time meeting, but Obito was absolutely certain—this person who had appeared so suddenly to save him had to be Rin.
His lips trembled. After so many days and nights dreaming of their reunion and preparing all the things he wanted to say, he couldn't get a single word out.
"H.Y.D.R.A.!" Skynet shouted toward the airborne Rin, clad in an exoskeleton suit. "Scientific Ninja Tool Puppet Army—capture her!"
Rin remained silent, staring calmly at the wave after wave of Scientific Ninja Tool puppets flying toward her. She pressed her hands together in a seal. Behind her, the avatar of Namo Gatling Bodhisattva reappeared.
The Bodhisattva pulled the trigger, its Gatling barrel spinning rapidly and spewing flames, shooting down the oncoming puppets one by one.
In just a single minute, she had destroyed over a hundred Scientific Ninja Tool puppets.
"Damn it!"
Skynet charged into the sky to face her himself.
"Don't you dare approach… Carter!"
Black shadows shot out from Obito's hand, binding Skynet's legs.
Shikamaru followed up with the same technique, launching his shadow to restrain Skynet.
"Get out of my way!"
As Skynet shouted at the two on the ground, Rin had already turned her Gatling gun toward the immobilized enemy and opened fire.
Bullets tore through Skynet's flesh.
Blood poured from the bullet holes riddling his body.
In an instant, his entire form was perforated.
"I will… never… forgive… you…"
Only his head remained functional, and Skynet weakly stared up into the sky, his words fragmented.
Rin slowly descended to the ground.
"…Carter…"
Obito gazed at Rin, his heart in turmoil.
"Captain, orders from H.Y.D.R.A…," Rin said, looking at him. Although she had been resurrected, Shunhi hadn't told her that Obito had also been brought back. "H.Y.D.R.A. is temporarily working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to fight Skynet. Next, you need to head to Iwagakure in the Land of Earth."
"Iwagakure, huh…"
Shikamaru rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Given the current situation, Iwagakure might be the last sanctuary.
To get from the Land of Water to the Land of Earth, they had to pass through the Land of Fire. Since this was the first wave of Scientific Ninja Tool puppets attacking Konoha, that meant Skynet hadn't yet had time to deal with the Land of Earth.
"You're not coming with us, Carter?"
Obito looked at Rin, a strange tension rising in his chest—a long-standing side effect of being around her.
"No. I need to go and inform the others."
With those words, Rin flew back into the sky.
Obito stood frozen, staring blankly at her disappearing figure.
"Alright, Captain, let's move. If we wait and Skynet comes back, we won't be able to leave."
Shikamaru nudged him.
"…Yeah."
Obito nodded.
——
Land of Iron
In berserk mode, Himawari and Tetsubaki stood on either side of Future Boruto. Mitsuki, half of his body vaporized by a laser, knelt weakly on the ground.
There were too many enemies—each of them was facing hundreds of Scientific Ninja Tool puppets at once.
"Mitsuki!" Tetsubaki looked at him, then turned to the indifferent Future Boruto. "Isn't he your comrade? Why don't you care at all about his death?!"
What did it mean to not care?
Was crying the only way to prove one cared?
Future Boruto remembered the outbreak of the bioterror crisis—watching his family being eaten, one after another, then infected—some even tried to eat him. Tears streamed down his face at the memory...
"My tears dried up long ago…" Future Boruto said. His eyes had long lost the ability to cry. "Keep fighting. This isn't the time to weep. We need to find a way to take down the chakra-absorbing Scientific Ninja Tools around us."
At the north, south, east, and west corners of the battlefield, four large chakra-absorbing devices had been erected. Together, they formed a square-shaped barrier that suppressed all chakra within.
Any chakra used within that area would immediately be decomposed and nullified.
It sounded simple, but it was incredibly hard to pull off. Not only were they harassed by waves of puppets, but they also had no effective way to destroy the devices.
Then, bullets rained down again from the sky.
"What is that…"
Tetsubaki looked up. In the dark night, a beam of light appeared.
It was the Gatling-wielding Bodhisattva!
Bullets poured down from above.
"Carter! Take out those four large Scientific Ninja Tools first!" Future Boruto shouted up at her.
"You know her?" Tetsubaki asked.
"She might not know me… yet."
Boruto answered simply, leaving the clueless Tetsubaki even more confused—she had no idea he was from the future.
Once Rin destroyed the four devices, Future Boruto was able to use ninjutsu again.
"Let's do this, Lord Boruto!"
Having his chakra restricted all this time had also left the Nine Tails within Future Boruto feeling furious and suffocated.
"Right!"
Future Boruto entered Tailed Beast Mode.
A single sweep of his tail was enough to wipe out five or six Scientific Ninja Tool puppets with ease.
He leapt into the air, opened his mouth, and fired a small Tailed Beast Bomb down below.
After an hour of intense battle, all the puppets had been destroyed—now, the ground was littered with puppet parts and crafting materials.
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