At that very moment, Killer B emerged from the Falls of Truth.
"Did he make a run for it? Bakayaro, Konoyaro!"
Iruka looked at Killer B, his expression complicated. "Are you Killer B-sama? I have a request..."
"Hmm?" B hummed, puzzled.
Iruka bowed deeply toward him. "Please, protect Naruto!"
Sensing Iruka's sincerity, B gave a light chuckle. "That's the wrong way to do it, yo. No doubt."
"Stretching out your fist is the simplest way!"
As he spoke, B bumped fists with Iruka.
"I get it now! Bakayaro, Konoyaro!"
B looked at Iruka steadily. "Deep inside Naruto, I can always see you and that girl from the Uchiha clan."
Hearing this, a wave of warmth washed over Iruka's heart.
"I don't know what you did for Naruto, but you and that Uchiha kid are very special to him."
"Everything you gave him, he has kept engraved in his heart."
"Your words are a powerful force that protects Naruto."
Iruka lowered his head as he watched Killer B chase after Naruto into the distance.
…
SLAM!
The Raikage struck the table with his fist.
"What is the meaning of this, Tsunade?!"
"You failed to stop the Nine-Tails."
Tsunade looked on helplessly; she knew Iruka had failed. "Now, we have no choice but to stop him with brute force."
"Is the Barrier Team ready?"
Mabui spoke softly: "You have already set up thirty-six layers of Self-Repairing Barriers outside."
"No matter how powerful a Jinchuriki is, they won't be able to break through. Please, rest easy."
"And what about the enemy army?" Tsunade asked.
"Kanon Uchiha is too mysterious, and the same goes for Madara Uchiha. It's unclear if the barriers can hold them back."
…
First Division.
The Bashosen swung down.
Tenten panted heavily. Watching as Kitsuchi strangled the last White Zetsu to death, she collapsed in exhaustion.
"I'm going to die... help..."
"You've overused your chakra. Don't use that Ninja Tool anymore..."
"I can't... this tool is just too useful," Tenten murmured to the person treating her.
As Choji Akimichi finished off the last of the Reanimated shinobi, smiles finally broke out across everyone's faces.
"Yeah. With this, the First Division's job is over," Choji said calmly.
But as the shinobi surveyed the battlefield, a masked man stepped forward out of an open space. Someone immediately noticed his silhouette.
Indeed, the one who had arrived was the Masked Man.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Everyone stared at the man's white tomoe-patterned mask and the Gunbai strapped to his back. They froze. This appearance was unmistakable.
"You... You! Could it be?!"
BOOM!
Behind the Masked Man, the Gedo Mazo (Demonic Statue of the Outer Path) rose instantly. The series of deafening roars caused the entire First Division to turn pale with fright.
The terrifying Gedo Mazo appeared with such force that the entire region trembled. Great cracks spider-webbed across the ground due to its arrival. Atop the head of the statue, a young girl clad in a blue Uchiha-style coat looked down upon the crowd.
The Masked Man and Kanon had appeared at the same time! However, this version in the blue coat was merely Kanon's shadow clone.
The Gedo Mazo let out an ear-piercing shriek that made everyone shudder.
"What is that? It's bigger than Choji!" Ino cried out in shock.
"No, the one standing on its head is the real trouble!" Shikamaru immediately spotted Kanon's presence.
"Not just Kanon, even Madara is here?!"
"I have a bad feeling about this!" Shikamaru cursed, gritting his teeth.
The moment Darui saw Kanon, his heart skipped a beat. Back at the Five Kage Summit, C had been cut down by Kanon in an instant. Now, having just finished a major battle, how could they possibly stop this behemoth?
Sure enough, atop the Gedo Mazo, Kanon began to weave signs.
"Those signs... it's the Great Fireball!" Shikamaru shouted.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique," Kanon murmured softly.
As expected, a massive sphere of flame erupted from Kanon's mouth. The terrifying fireball struck the ground, sending a horrifying heatwave surging outward, annihilating everything in its path.
With just one strike, over a dozen Allied Shinobi were blown to bits. Sensing Kanon's initiative, the Gedo Mazo also began to move.
"Come here, Choji!" Choza Akimichi roared.
"I'll leave Hizashi-san to everyone else! Dad and I will handle that thing!" After giving his instructions, Choji rushed toward Choza.
The two giants of the Akimichi clan were clearly the most prominent figures on the battlefield, but the Gedo Mazo in the distance, though hideous, was equally imposing.
"Go, Gedo Mazo," Kanon said plainly, pointing forward.
The Masked Man remained where he was; his goal was to seize the Treasured Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths, which contained the Nine-Tails' chakra. With the assistance of Kanon's shadow clone, he would be even faster.
Watching the Gedo Mazo march toward them, both Kanon and the Masked Man activated their three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Found them," Kanon looked toward the rear.
"Yeah. I see them too."
Choji and Choza stood in the path of the Gedo Mazo.
"Dad!"
"Yeah, I know!"
Choza blocked a strike from the Gedo Mazo. Choji "emerged from his cocoon as a butterfly," his chakra wings fluttering behind him as he threw a punch backed by immense force directly at the statue.
But the moment he made contact, Choji felt his fist being halted.
"Do you really think you can stop us?" Kanon spoke indifferently.
Suddenly, the Gedo Mazo beneath her feet let out a furious roar, instantly blasting Choji and Choza hundreds of meters away.
A massive shockwave rippled out; many nearby shinobi were instantly turned into a bloody mist by the aftershock, and even the surrounding hills were shattered to pieces.
"What on earth is happening up there?!" Darui shouted in shock.
Amidst the chaos, Kanon looked at the Masked Man and said flatly, "It's done."
"Hmph. Next..." The Masked Man's body was enveloped by a spatial vortex and he vanished.
…
At Headquarters.
Ao spoke to Tsunade and A: "A massive amount of chakra has appeared!"
"What?" A and Tsunade looked up, confused.
"On the First Division's battlefield! A staggering chakra signature has manifested!"
Ao frowned, his expression horrified. "What exactly is that thing?!"
"I've linked to the First Division... it's a giant humanoid monster!"
"And the two people who appeared with it..."
"Based on the intel, it's Kanon Uchiha and Madara Uchiha!"
"What?!" Both Tsunade and A were stunned.
"In that case, the tactics must be adjusted," Shikaku Nara stated.
"The enemy leaders are on the front lines personally? What is their goal?!" Tsunade wondered aloud.
"The basis for a judgment is not yet sufficient..."
While Tsunade and the others were contemplating, another report arrived from the other side.
"Report! Killer B and Naruto Uzumaki have broken through the barrier and reached the outside!"
"What?! That barrier was supposed to be unbreakable, even for a Jinchuriki!" the Raikage barked.
"The two of them joining forces to break the barrier was completely unexpected!"
"The two of them?!" The Raikage swept his gaze across the room, gritting his teeth.
"It seems Killer B-sama lent a hand as well..." Mabui whispered.
"That idiot!"
"What do we do now?" Tsunade sighed.
"I will personally go and stop the Jinchuriki! Tsunade, you come too!"
"Then what about the Headquarters command?" Tsunade asked.
"Leave it to Shikaku!"
"Understood. Leave this place to me!"
"Good! It's in your hands. Tsunade, follow me!" Just as the Raikage was about to turn, Mabui gave him a reminder.
"Raikage-sama, please do not break the wall."
"Tsk..."
"Let's go." Tsunade nodded and departed alongside the Raikage.
…
The First Division's battlefield was currently a shambles, littered with the corpses of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Atop the head of the Gedo Mazo, Kanon stood with her arms crossed.
The Division Commander, Kitsuchi, quickly wove signs.
"Earth Release: Mountain Jutsu!"
In an instant, the ground on both sides of the Gedo Mazo transformed into massive walls, slamming together to crush it.
BOOM!
A massive Rasengan instantly blew one of the walls to smithereens. At the same time, an immense amount of chakra overflowed from the Gedo Mazo, an incomplete Cataclysm. The chakra blast turned countless nearby people into charred remains.
"What is that?! Her strength is beyond common sense..." Ino screamed, clutching her head.
"That's Kanon Uchiha! What did you expect?" Shikamaru kept his head low, his expression solemn.
"Based on Temari's testimony at the Summit and the gathered intel... could that thing be..."
"A humanoid monster?"
"Did a mere Uchiha brat just break my ultimate technique so easily?" Kitsuchi gritted his teeth.
"Is this your ultimate technique?" Kanon let out a light laugh and placed a hand on the head of the Gedo Mazo.
"Earth Release: Mountain Jutsu!"
"What?!" Kitsuchi gasped. That wasn't his technique, how could Kanon use it too?
Abruptly, massive walls erupted across the battlefield, sending many surrounding shinobi flying.