The smoke thinned.
Jigen waited calmly.
Too calmly.
It was taking longer this time.
"Naruto!?"
Mei Terumi dashed past Jigen, ignoring the danger, and rushed into the wreckage.
Broken stone pinned Naruto to the ground. Massive slabs pressed his body into a crater.
She pushed the debris aside in panic.
On the other side—
Chojuro charged forward with Hiramekarei, blue chakra flooding into the blade without restraint.
He swung.
Clang—!
A pebble flicked from Jigen's fingers.
Hiramekarei shattered mid-swing.
The fragments were scattered across the ruined street.
Chōjūrō froze.
That weapon had survived a war.
It did not survive a flick.
Mei Terumī lifted the final slab with Water Release support.
Naruto lay embedded in the stone beneath.
His chakra cloak had faded.
His breathing was shallow.
Kurama's chakra flickered weakly inside him, stabilising catastrophic internal damage.
"Can you stand?" Mei Terumī asked, her voice tight.
"…Yeah."
Naruto's voice was hoarse.
Slowly, he rose.
Sage Mode pigmentation returned to his eyes.
Steam rose from his battered body as bones reset and torn tissue knitted together.
His prosthetic arm had already been destroyed earlier in the fight.
Now his entire body looked worse.
But he stood.
That was enough.
Jigen observed quietly.
He wasn't in a hurry.
If he could extract the Nine-Tails here, that would be far more valuable than killing Naruto outright.
Then—
He looked toward the sky.
"Where is that 'Moon' who showed himself earlier?" Jigen said evenly. "If he doesn't appear soon… I'll kill the Hokage. The Tailed Beast dies with him."
The threat echoed across the broken city.
Naruto's eyes hardened.
Kurama growled.
Mei Terumī clenched her fists but did not move.
She understood.
If Naruto fell—
The world would shake.
Inside the dimensional rift—
Sarada trembled.
"Let me go," she said.
Boruto looked at her calmly.
"In what capacity?" he asked.
"As myself."
Her fists tightened.
"I don't want to watch him die."
She stepped forward without hesitation.
Boruto studied her eyes.
The resolve was real.
"…Fine."
The space distorted.
Back on the battlefield—
A ripple opened mid-air.
A young kunoichi dropped to the ground not far from Naruto.
She had changed from the robes she had worn before.
Jigen barely glanced at her.
Insignificant chakra.
Ignored.
Mei Terumī frowned.
"Get out of here!"
Naruto turned—
And froze.
"…Sarada?"
He almost didn't recognise her at first.
But those eyes—
"Lord Seventh Hokage," she said softly, tears already forming.
"This is dangerous!" Mei Terumī shouted.
Naruto forced a smile.
"I'll handle it. Then I'll send you home."
Even now.
Still gentle.
Still protecting others first.
Jigen's gaze sharpened.
An acquaintance of the Hokage?
Then she would die first.
A black rod formed from Yin–Yang Release.
It shot forward faster than sight.
"Sarada— MOVE!" Naruto roared.
Too late.
The rod pierced straight through her torso.
Naruto screamed.
Kurama's chakra exploded outward.
He appeared beside her instantly—
But stopped.
There was no blood.
Her clothes were torn clean through—
Yet her body was unharmed.
Jigen's eyes narrowed.
Mangekyō Sharingan spun in Sarada's eyes.
A distortion shimmered faintly where the rod had passed.
Intangibility.
Kamui.
Sarada Uchiha stood firmly in front of Naruto.
"I can hold him off for a little while," she said quietly. "Please recover."
Naruto's expression trembled.
Relief.
Shock.
Guilt.
Pride.
All at once.
Jigen clicked his tongue.
Multiple black rods materialised.
They rained down in a storm.
Naruto tried to step forward—
Sarada raised her head.
"I said I'll protect you."
The rods pierced through her again.
And again.
And again.
Her body flickered, partially phasing in and out as Kamui activated at precise moments.
Each strike passed through space.
No blood.
No wound.
But maintaining the Mangekyō drained her rapidly.
Her breathing grew heavier.
Still—
She did not step aside.
Naruto watched her back.
Small.
Shaking slightly.
But unyielding.
For the first time in this battle—
Jigen's expression changed.
This was no insect.
This was a Uchiha.
And one willing to stand in front of the Hokage.
The black rods continued to fall.
Sarada did not retreat.
Even if her vision blurred—
Even if her chakra trembled—
She stepped forward.
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