Poof!
A massive cloud of white smoke erupted.
A colossal purple serpent manifested in the clearing.
"Kanon-sama! What happened to you?!"
Manda looked down at Kanon, who bore traces of bloody tears on her face, appearing utterly helpless and despairing. The sight immediately soured the great serpent's mood. Who on earth dared to make Kanon wear such an expression?
The Ryūchi Cave would surely have a blood feud with them!
Beside Manda, the three high-ranking authorities, Togirihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime, appeared simultaneously. As soon as they emerged, they were greeted by the lineup from Mount Myōboku on the opposing side. The summoning wasn't over yet; Garaga and Aoda had also manifested on the battlefield.
Naruto's pupils dilated. He stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at everything standing behind Kanon.
Kanon's three-tomoe Sharingan slowly faded away, leaving her pupils pitch-black and deep, like bottomless black holes devoid of any light.
"Where are we?" Manda asked, sounding puzzled.
"Based on the geography, this is Konoha," Tagitsuhime said, surveying the surroundings.
"What?! Konoha?"
Just as the others were about to speak, Kanon finally broke her silence.
"I destroyed Konoha..."
"I called you all here today because... I only hope you can help me..."
"What are you saying, Kanon-chan? You belong to Ryūchi Cave. It's only right and natural that we help you," Garaga barked. His gaze then turned icy as he locked onto Gamabunta in the distance. "I'll handle that guy, Manda!"
"The one with the twin blades belongs to me," Manda hissed.
"Aoda, Gamaken is yours."
The three Great Serpents of Ryūchi Cave quickly locked onto their targets. At that moment, Kanon had already moved. She, too, entered Sage Mode. Amidst her deep and despairing gaze, pink eyeshadow surfaced around her lids, and her pupils shifted into vertical slits.
Seeing this, Naruto gritted his teeth and lunged toward Kanon. He truly could not forgive the Kanon who had destroyed everything, even if she was once his best friend.
Simultaneously, the Animal Path summoned a rhinoceros bearing the Rinnegan, which charged toward the distant Naruto.
However, just as the rhino passed Kanon, she sent it flying with a single punch. A cold voice rang out:
"This is my fight. Senpai, do not interfere!"
The Deva Path, seeing no other choice, signaled the Animal Path to stop its summoning.
Naruto charged toward Kanon. On the scroll behind him, Shima and Fukasaku leaped into the air instantly.
"Sage Art: Frog Call!"
Kanon, rushing toward Naruto, was momentarily struck by the soundwaves. A Rasengan had already formed in Naruto's hand. Seeing Kanon seemingly frozen in place, tears welled in Naruto's eyes. He slammed the Sage Art: Big Ball Rasengan toward her.
As he watched Kanon get sent flying, Naruto took a deep breath, the Rasengan threatening to consume her body.
"Naruto-boy! Watch out!" Sensing something was wrong, Fukasaku shouted a warning.
Naruto was stunned as the Kanon engulfed by the Big Ball Rasengan vanished in a puff of white smoke.
From his flank, a whip-like kick swept toward his forehead.
Between two users of Sage Mode, whose strength could possibly be inferior? Naruto was sent flying by the kick, crashing into the ground like a cannonball.
Kanon landed, the wind catching her Uchiha duster and the clan crest on her back. Her hands blurred through seals.
"Sage Art: Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song!"
Four fire dragons erupted from Kanon's mouth, attacking Naruto simultaneously from the top, bottom, left, and right.
Boom!
Massive explosions resounded one after another.
Naruto burst out from the center of the smoke and fire, lunging at Kanon with a kunai. Just as the blade neared her side, Kanon spun her body, performing a backflip in mid-air to evade the strike before landing a kick squarely on Naruto's back.
It was a total suppression in taijutsu. From the start, Naruto had been a step behind.
Refusing to back down, Naruto braced his hands against the ground to stabilize himself. He leaped up, clashing with Kanon, who had now drawn her Kusanagi Sword.
Glints of steel and sparks flew across the sky as the two traded blows, but Naruto was clearly struggling to hold his own.
Under the high concentration of two Sage Mode users, everyone else had stopped fighting. The battle between Naruto and Kanon had undeniably become the focal point of the battlefield.
The pace of their exchange was so blistering that onlookers were left speechless. Kanon was suppressing Naruto through pure taijutsu without even utilizing the power of the Sharingan.
Seizing what looked like an opening, Naruto feinted a retreat and swung a punch toward the gap.
But the moment he committed, Naruto knew he had messed up. It was a trap. Countless bolts of Chidori Current surged from Kanon's body. The terrifying electricity swallowed Naruto, drawing a scream of pain from him.
He was then sliced away by the Kusanagi Sword. Blood splattered across the sky. This time, Kanon showed no emotional fluctuation; she looked like an empty shell of a soul.
Yet her attacks remained sharp. Upon landing, she raised her hand, extending a Chidori Sharp Spear nearly twenty meters long.
The terrifying current slammed down toward the spot where Naruto was trying to scramble up, hitting like a literal bolt from the blue.
However, three Narutos rolled backward, narrowly evading the Sharp Spear.
"In that case, let's settle this with a new jutsu!" Naruto roared.
Three shadow clones gathered together, staring intently at the expressionless Kanon and the Pain standing behind her.
Gamabunta and the others didn't dare move. If they joined in, Manda and the others behind Kanon would do the same. If the two Great Sage Regions went to war, the entire surrounding area would be obliterated.
Observing Naruto's state, Pain spoke calmly.
"I see. So you, like Kanon and Jiraiya-sensei, have learned Sage Mode," Pain said softly.
"You said... Jiraiya-sensei?!"
"Like you and Kanon, I once studied ninjutsu under Jiraiya."
"To you, I am your Senpai. We come from the same master and should have understood one another. Our teacher always hoped for peace..."
"Don't give me that crap!" A Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken began to coalesce in Naruto's hand.
"What incredible chakra! Did his father teach him that?" Shima was shocked.
"No, I've never seen anything like this. Not once during his training. What is that boy trying to do?"
Over at the Ryūchi Cave side, Togirihime's lips curled into a confident smirk. Had she not known Kanon, she might have been surprised by such a move. But after spending two years with her, she knew full well what a true genius looked like.
Sure enough, Kanon raised her left hand. A Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, identical to Naruto's, manifested in her palm.
"What?! That child Kanon can also..." Both Shima and Fukasaku were stunned.
Naruto wasn't surprised. Kanon already knew the Rasengan, and her development of the technique had always been superior to his.
In the distance, Hyūga ninja watching from the ruins peered into the center of the battlefield.
"That jutsu is..."
"What's wrong?"
"The chakra from Naruto and Kanon Uchiha... yes, it's shaped like a shuriken. It's incredible!"
Hearing this, Sakura immediately understood what they were using: "The Wind Release: Rasenshuriken?!"
"Kanon can use it too..."
In the heart of the battlefield.
Naruto gritted his teeth, glaring at Kanon and Pain.
"Look at what you've done! How can you talk about peace after doing something like this?!"
"You see the trees but miss the forest. Naruto, you are still so naive... and still so disappointing," Kanon sneered, her expression twisting into something primal.
"Kanon is right. Surrender quietly. Your death will bring peace to the world," the Deva Path added, fueling the fire.
"I told you... to stop joking around!" Naruto bellowed.
He actually threw the Rasenshuriken!
"He threw it!"
"What?!" Shima and Fukasaku gasped in horror.
Kanon stepped forward. With her slender hand, she hurled her own Rasenshuriken in response!
Facing two identical Rasenshurikens, Fukasaku and Shima were dumbfounded. To throw a technique of that caliber, just how strong had Kanon and Naruto become?
A terrifying storm erupted between them. Massive blue spheres of energy expanded, and the sonic booms were deafening.
Kanon watched the destruction with indifference, her expression unmoving.
Naruto, however, stared at her with a grim intensity. His Sage Mode was reaching its limit. He had to find an opening to incapacitate Kanon before his time ran out!
Naruto charged again, clashing with Kanon's Kusanagi Sword. This time, Kanon didn't hold back.
She had just used the Perfect Susanoo, and the toll on her was significant. Yet, she was still steadily suppressing Naruto in his Sage Mode. Even Pain nodded slightly, acknowledging her sheer willpower.
"Kanon! Take a good look at what you've done!"
"You destroyed your own home!" Naruto screamed.
"So what? Are you still naive enough to think I'd turn back?" Kanon braced her hands on the ground, flipped, and kicked the hilt of her Kusanagi Sword.
The blade grazed Naruto's cheek. While he was still staggering in mid-air, Kanon's fist connected.
Bang!
The exchange became a brutal, physical brawl. Seeing that Kanon was finally moving with lethal intent, a spark of rage ignited within Naruto.
Meanwhile, Pain continued to provoke from the sidelines: "Be still, Nine-Tails. You will never understand peace."
Naruto and Kanon traded blows frantically, the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoing. Hearing Pain's words, Naruto snarled through gritted teeth:
"Don't give me that! My master! My teacher! My comrades! My village! You turned them into this... what right do you have to stand there and talk big with your 'peace'!"
Hearing Naruto's roar, Kanon's expression shifted from despair to pure fury.
"My family! My master! My clan! My brother! My comrades! My village!"
"Konoha ninjas destroyed everything I had! What right do you have to talk big here?!"
Kanon let out a piercing scream as her Rasengan collided with Naruto's. This time, Naruto was instantly swallowed by the force of Kanon's strike. He was sent flying hundreds of meters, slamming violently into a wall.
Bloody tears streamed from Kanon's eyes as she glared at the distant Naruto.
"You took everything I cherished. Why should I be the one to bear all this hatred and darkness? When I stood before you to speak of my pain, you dismissed it all as nonsense!"
"Naruto! Say it! Tell me!"
"You, who understands absolutely nothing, what right do you have to come back and say these things to me?!"