At that moment, several Allied Shinobi forced their way toward Kanon. The exact millisecond they drew near, a horrific tempest of energy pulverized them into stray particles. They vanished from existence before a single drop of blood could even hit the ground.
In that identical fracture of a second, Kanon rose to her feet. Deep within her eyes, a twenty-four-tomoe Rinnegan flared to life and receded just as instantly, so fast that absolutely no one caught the manifestation.
She merely stood in place, her heart hollowed out by an infinite, bottomless void.
"Konin, I won't ever waver again," Kanon murmured under her breath.
She redirected her gaze onto the Allied Shinobi Forces. This time, however, Naruto looked no different from the rest of the faceless army in her eyes. The frantic, manic frenzy was entirely gone from Kanon's face, replaced by a cold, peerless detachment.
Taking a single step, she flickered directly atop the Ten-Tails' head. Another tendril of flesh surged forward, plugging cleanly into the nape of her neck.
With that, Kanon integrated her consciousness directly into the Ten-Tails.
Both Obito and Madara flinched in absolute shock. The catastrophic beast they had been straining every nerve to suppress suddenly grew entirely tranquil beneath her feet, settling down as if offering absolute submission to its true master.
"Now's our chance! Naruto, move!" Shikamaru bellowed.
Instantly, Killer B launched a Tailed Beast Bomb, the Hyuga clan unleashed an eight-triagrams vacuum wall, and the Sungakure Wind Release users hurled a combined gale toward the Ten-Tails.
But a second later, every single technique phased cleanly through the Ten-Tails' massive form. It was the absolute authority of the Flower Realm.
"A pathetic pack of useless failures. You can all wait for death together, just like that worthless caged bird from a moment ago," Kanon remarked, her lips curving into a thoroughly satisfied smile. Beneath her boots, the Ten-Tails spat out a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The resulting shockwave sent countless bodies hurtling through the air, instantly obliterating thousands of Allied Shinobi.
"I'm far from finished, you insects of the Allied Forces." The Ten-Tails abruptly raised its ten colossal hands, generating ten massive spheres of Great Spiraling Ring to complement the Tailed Beast Bomb charging in its maw.
An era of absolute terror and despair descended upon the battlefield. A single Great Spiraling Ring possessed the catastrophic payload to erase Konoha from the map.
Yet now, under Kanon's precise manipulation, the Ten-Tails had manifested ten of them simultaneously, and each sphere pulsed with a magnitude several times more devastating than a standard Great Spiraling Ring.
"Hey! Are you trying to slaughter every single one of them?!" Obito barked at Kanon.
"Get out of my face." Kanon backhanded Obito, sending him skidding several meters away.
"I told you, to create, one must first destroy."
"Rest assured, once I have leveled this world to ash, I will spare a few innocent infants. I will ensure they grow up with absolutely no memory of what a ninja even is."
Beholding this staggering display of apocalyptic power, Naruto led the remaining vanguard forward, his advance completely unchecked by fear.
"Neji's will hasn't died yet!" Naruto roared.
"Splendid. Then you can go join him in the grave." Ten spheres of Great Spiraling Ring shot forth alongside a Tailed Beast Bomb, screaming toward the Allied Shinobi Forces. Positioned at the absolute front, Naruto was immediately struck by the Tailed Beast Bomb, blasting him backward as a colossal detonation ruptured the sky.
The remaining ninja charging alongside Naruto were violently intercepted by the ten spheres of Great Spiraling Ring. A single blast was more than enough to tear a human body to shreds, rendering even the protective shrouds of Nine-Tails chakra entirely useless.
In a matter of moments, the ten spheres scattered the charging shinobi into broken remnants, claiming the lives of hundreds within the fiery cataclysm.
Nevertheless, a few select ninja still managed to breach the perimeter, severing Madara and Obito's physical tethers to the beast.
As Obito and Madara dropped down to the earth below, Kanon drove a blade straight through Hinata, while a swift kick sent Rock Lee hurtling down from the Ten-Tails' head.
Watching her blade pierce Hinata's abdomen gave Kanon a rush of pure satisfaction. Before Hinata could utter a syllable, Kanon slammed a Rasengan directly into her shoulder.
Hinata plummeted from the summit of the Ten-Tails like a falling meteor, smashing a crater into the earth below.
The remaining Allied Shinobi stationed atop the Ten-Tails took several frantic steps back at the horrific display, but a sweeping Chidori Sharp Spear caught them instantly. The Nine-Tails chakra offered no salvation.
Kanon systematically cut through the vanguard, leaving them to crumble into ash and charred remains.
Severing her own connection to the Ten-Tails, she dropped down, landing precisely between Madara and Obito. A cold sneer played on her lips as she stared at Naruto, who was clutching his mangled arm in the distance.
High above Konoha.
Sasuke had just utilized Susanoo paired with an Arrow of Kagutsuchi to intercept the stray Tailed Beast Bomb, successfully altering its trajectory to spare Konoha from annihilation.
Four dark-robed figures walked into the perimeter.
"It looks like this place hasn't changed a bit..." Orochimaru observed indifferently, looking over the buildings marked with the Uzumaki crest.
"It's totally run-down..." Suigetsu muttered in disgust.
"Yes, well, this area is quite far from the village center," Orochimaru explained.
Leading the party into the derelict structure, Sasuke turned his gaze toward Orochimaru.
"Where is it?"
"Let me see... it should be right about here..."
Orochimaru reached out and selected a specific mask from the wall.
"Found it. This is the one."
Staring at the unsettling, chilling grooves etched into the mask, Suigetsu continued his commentary, "This place gives me the creeps. Now that we have what we came for, let's get out of here."
"Yes, let us depart."
"To the place where all the secrets lie sleeping."
The four left the perimeter, charting a course through Konoha toward the Uchiha clan grounds and the Naka Shrine.
Along the path, Sasuke leaped onto a lone utility pole, the very same vantage point where both Kanon and Naruto had once stood. He cast his eyes down, overlooking the expanse of the village.
"This place... has changed quite a bit too," Sasuke said quietly.
"What's up with that guy?" Suigetsu asked from below, thoroughly perplexed.
"He's acting exactly as he did right before we launched the Konoha Crush plan."
"Meaning what?"
"Even if he and the village have both transformed completely..."
"This place remains his homeland. He requires a moment to let himself sink into the nostalgia."
"He's using the memories of the past to reaffirm his resolve," Orochimaru explained to Suigetsu.
Sasuke gazed out across Konoha. Every corner bore the indelible imprints of his life with Kanon: the markets where she bought groceries, the stalls where they ate ramen, the training grounds where they practiced shurikenjutsu, and the arenas of the Chunin Exams.
It held the memories of their training sessions with Itachi, and the winding mountain trail where Itachi would carry him home on his back.
The four finally arrived at the Uchiha clan grounds, which had been reduced to a desolate field of debris. This home, once filled with boundless memories, had been systematically dismantled when Kanon and Pain launched their assault on Konoha.
Kanon had personally reduced this sector to ash, forcing their home to serve as a funeral pyre alongside the rest of the village.
Yet Sasuke remained completely unfazed; their true destination lay beneath the ruins of the Naka Shrine.
"Whoa! So you actually have to use a jutsu to shift the entrance stone out of the way!" Suigetsu marveled.
"The Uchiha's Naka Shrine is completely gone; Kanon destroyed everything above ground."
"The surface is of no consequence. What matters is what lies beneath."
Orochimaru and the others followed Sasuke deep into the subterranean chambers of the shrine.
As Sasuke's eyes locked onto the Uchiha stone tablet ahead, a sudden wave of memories flooded his mind.
Following the night of the clan downfall, it was right behind this very stone tablet that Sasuke had discovered a bleeding, heavily battered Kanon.
The echoes of those ancient vows resonated clearly within his mind. Somewhere along the way, those promises had completely vanished into thin air.
He hadn't been a proper older brother. From their childhood to the present day, countless memories of his life with Kanon rushed to the surface, leaving Sasuke completely at a loss for words.
Beside him, Orochimaru turned to address the group: "Well then, I shall begin. Stand back."
Orochimaru donned the mask as a massive surge of chakra erupted from his form. He began to execute a bizarre, rhythmic movement in place, his throat releasing a series of agonizing, guttural sounds.
Directly behind Orochimaru, the specter of the Shinigami materialized from the Reaper Death Seal.
Sasuke watched the Shinigami through his three-tomoe Sharingan, giving a slow nod. The scroll Suigetsu had retrieved earlier contained the precise method to undo the Reaper Death Seal.
By utilizing that specific mask, one could force the Shinigami to possess their own body. Once invoked, slicing open the belly of the Shinigami would unravel the seal entirely.
However, the caster had to serve as the sacrificial vessel, which explained Orochimaru's agonizing contortions.
In that exact moment, a bloody gash ripped open across Orochimaru's abdomen. Concurrently, several luminous souls emerged from the Shinigami's clutched belly, and the sealed essence of Orochimaru's arms flowed directly back into his physical form.
"They've returned! And now that the power in my hands has been restored, I can utilize the Reanimation Jutsu!"
"Yes... to bring back those four men!"
"Of course, you are well aware that such a feat requires certain components!"
"Jugo! Sasuke! Suigetsu! Prepare yourselves!"
"Understood," Jugo nodded.
He slammed his palms onto Sasuke's shoulders, channeling his Curse Mark Sage chakra. Instantly, the White Zetsu clones that Obito had covertly attached to Sasuke for surveillance reacted violently to the chakra, forced to reveal their true forms.
A White Zetsu glared at Orochimaru, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Curse you... how did you know?!"
"My dear clones, it is because my extensive research has granted me a flawless understanding of Hashirama's cells."
"And that, naturally, includes the methods to sense them."
"Six clones in total, just as I calculated... I spent our entire journey observing the six Zetsu attached to Sasuke, and only upon arriving here did I verify their exact positions."
"I have already accumulated the personal DNA profiles of four distinct individuals! I do quite enjoy collecting things, after all."
"Suigetsu, Jugo! I leave the remaining two specimens to you!"
"You got it, Orochimaru-sama!" Suigetsu grinned, prying open the jaws of one White Zetsu.
Jugo actively absorbed the White Zetsu's chakra, rapidly restoring his physical form to adulthood.
With a swift motion, Orochimaru slammed his palms flat against the stone floor, causing an intricate network of sealing formulas to ripple outward.
"Summoning: Reanimation Jutsu!"
In an instant, four distinct souls were channeled directly into the White Zetsu clones, using them as living sacrifices.
Simultaneously, Orochimaru executed a change of bodies, slithering his consciousness directly into the mouth of the Zetsu clone Suigetsu was holding down.
Orochimaru shed the Zetsu skin, rising to his feet beside Suigetsu as he turned his gaze toward the four reanimated figures. "The men who know everything... the Hokage of the past generations!"
Standing directly before Sasuke, the reanimated forms of the First through the Fourth Hokage materialized in unison.
Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Minato Namikaze stood side by side within the subterranean depths of the shrine.
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NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]