High above the battlefield, two figures hovered in the sky.
Pain and Onoki.
Both of them stared at the blazing mass descending toward the earth, their expressions locked in grim focus.
"We stop it here," Pain said.
Onoki exhaled slowly, his voice tight.
"If it costs me everything… so be it."
There was no hesitation.
No probing attacks.
They both went all in.
Pain surged forward first, arms spread wide as his voice cut through the air.
"Almighty Push!"
A massive wave of force erupted outward, focused into a single direction. The pressure was overwhelming—enough to flatten a city if unleashed freely—but here, it was concentrated entirely on the incoming meteor.
At the same time, Onoki raised his hands, forming a bright, razor-sharp beam of energy that shot forward and struck the surface of the blazing rock.
For a moment—
It worked.
The meteor slowed.
Fragments of its surface disintegrated under Onoki's attack, breaking apart into dust.
Below, the allied forces erupted in cheers.
"It's working!"
"Keep going!"
But in the sky—
Pain and Onoki both knew the truth.
They were already at their limit.
And the meteor?
Barely affected.
It was like trying to stop a tidal wave with bare hands.
Then—
Something else struck.
Several massive spheres of energy slammed into the meteor from below, exploding against its surface.
Pain glanced down.
The jinchūriki.
They stood together, arms raised, each one having launched their strongest attack.
For a brief moment—
Something shifted.
Not power.
Something else.
Unity.
"…Hold it!" Onoki shouted.
Pain pushed harder, drawing out everything he had left.
Blood began to spill from their noses, their bodies trembling under the strain.
Still—
It wasn't enough.
The meteor kept coming.
—
Above them, Noah Vale watched the effort with open amusement.
"Not bad," he said lightly. "But not enough."
His laughter rolled across the sky, echoing for miles.
Below, despair took hold.
Some prayed.
Some froze.
Some simply stared, unable to accept what was about to happen.
"Please… someone stop it…"
"There has to be a way…"
Noah tilted his head, listening.
"No gods coming to save you," he said. "But you've got me."
Then he moved.
His fist drew back—
And came down.
The impact didn't just hit the surface.
It traveled through the entire structure.
A ripple of force spread inward, tearing the meteor apart from within.
For a split second—
Everything went still.
Then—
The meteor exploded.
A massive burst of debris scattered across the sky, breaking into countless fragments that spread outward like a violent, burning storm.
Below, silence.
"Did… we survive?"
Pain and Onoki hovered in place, momentarily stunned.
They hadn't stopped it.
He had.
And he'd done it effortlessly.
For a fleeting second, relief tried to take hold—
Until someone shouted.
"Look out!"
The fragments were falling.
Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands.
Each one still large enough to kill.
Each one descending like a rain of fire.
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
—
Above it all, Noah watched calmly.
"Crisis averted," he said with a small smile.
He didn't seem to register that he had created the crisis in the first place.
Below, the ground shook violently as fragments slammed into the earth. Explosions rippled across the landscape, tearing through formations and scattering what remained of the allied forces.
When the dust began to settle—
Most of them were gone.
Buried beneath stone and fire.
Noah hovered silently, looking down at the devastation.
"Still quite a few left," he noted.
Then he frowned slightly.
"Too many, actually."
He raised a hand.
A small, dark sphere began to form at the tip of his finger.
At first, it was barely visible.
Then it grew.
And grew.
The air warped around it as energy condensed, swelling into a massive sphere—ten meters, then twenty, then far beyond.
Below, the survivors looked up.
And froze.
"Is that…?"
They didn't need confirmation.
The energy alone told them everything.
"…He's a monster."
In the sky, Noah hovered like something out of myth—calm, composed, completely detached from the destruction beneath him.
In his hand—
A massive sphere of compressed energy, now towering over a hundred meters in size.
He studied it briefly.
"…That should do."
Down below, the remaining fighters broke.
"We surrender!" someone shouted. "We're done! Just stop!"
Noah smiled faintly.
"Now?"
He shook his head.
"Too late for that."
His gaze swept over them.
"I'm not interested in numbers," he said. "Only quality."
A pause.
"Survive this, and we'll talk."
Then—
He let go.
The sphere dropped.
For a single instant, everything went silent.
Then the world turned white.
—
Far away, in Konoha—
Sasuke stood waiting.
Then—
Light.
A distant bloom of fire rose on the horizon, expanding outward with terrifying speed.
"…What is he doing?" Sasuke muttered.
The shockwave followed.
—
When it was over—
A massive crater stretched across the land, several kilometers wide.
At its center, Noah stood alone.
The ground beneath him was glassed and fractured, the air still heavy with heat and dust.
For the first time, he touched down.
He looked around.
Empty.
Silent.
"…Anyone still alive?"
His voice echoed across the crater.
"Come on," he called. "This place is getting lonely."
No answer.
He cupped his hands slightly, raising his voice.
"I won't attack," he said. "You've got my word."
A beat.
"…Probably."
Nothing moved.
Nothing answered.
Just wind, dust—
And the echo of a battlefield that no longer had anyone left to fight.