Some time later, across the Pacific, in the United States.
Inside the Pentagon, a group of military officials stared at the images on their screens, erupting into chaos.
"Has the Okinawa base been contacted?"
"Yes, we've made contact. Smithfield Estate has also responded. The USS George is ready to move at any time!"
"The George alone isn't enough! Deploy the USS John immediately!"
"Do we need to go this far? It's just one person..."
"F*ck! If we don't take this opportunity to eliminate him completely, when will we? Besides, he's openly provoked us in front of the entire world!"
"Yes, sir!"
Okinawa, Japan, was home to the largest overseas US military base in Japan.
At that moment, the USS George and the USS John, two of the world's largest aircraft carriers, lay anchored in the waters off Okinawa.
The soldiers, accustomed to an easy life, many having grown quite portly, were now scrambling. The entire carrier was in an unprecedented state of high alert.
"Enter Condition One! Move it, you worthless scum!"
On the carrier, a five-star general bellowed orders. Thousands of soldiers sprang into action, sounding the highest level of combat alert.
Their target was only one: Nishikawa Makoto, currently in the center of Tokyo.
"Fire!"
Finally, the five-star general on the carrier fleet issued the attack order harshly.
It wasn't just the carriers. All strategic weapons the US had deployed in the surrounding area also launched their assault.
In an instant, countless air-to-surface missiles, strategic main guns, and anti-aircraft guns hurtled through the sky like blazing meteors, all aimed at the heart of Tokyo's city center.
Rumble rumble rumble...
The sky over Tokyo erupted with deafening roars. The flashes from countless shells and missiles intertwined, painting the originally blue sky a blazing, fiery red.
Below, millions of Tokyo citizens watching the broadcast from various locations were stunned speechless.
This must have been what the end looked like when the dinosaurs went extinct.
Atop the truncated Tokyo Tower, Makoto looked at the incoming missiles and muttered to himself, "They're not using nukes?"
Not surprising, though.
While the US normally didn't give much thought to its 'subordinate' Japan, Japan did hold significant strategic importance. So, they naturally wouldn't readily use such destructive weapons.
As his words faded, all the missiles converged on a single point, like comets following a preset trajectory.
Explosions echoed one after another, a relentless cacophony.
Thick black smoke churned like a giant beast, completely blotting out the sky over Tokyo.
"Excellent!"
The five-star general on the destroyer watched the screen showing the Tokyo city center transformed into a scorched wasteland, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
In his view, after an attack like that, it was impossible for anyone to survive.
Yui and the others, who had already evacuated to the suburbs of Tokyo, watched the scene with pounding hearts, their voices trembling with tears. "Ma, Makoto... is he okay?"
Regardless, they had spent nearly five years together with Makoto. There was a bond, and naturally, they didn't want him dead.
Yumiko, Hina, and the others beside her remained silent, their fists clenched tightly.
Chizuru recalled the Aizono sisters, Utaha, and the others weaving through the soldiers moments ago, and bit her lip.
She had been in such a hurry to escape that she hadn't even thought to fight alongside Makoto.
By the time she realized it, the military's attack had already begun. With her current strength, she couldn't possibly return to the center of the battlefield.
At this moment, Yui and the others were far from the only ones watching the broadcast.
It seemed like the entirety of Japan, perhaps even half of humanity, was watching.
Even the players who had already been to the other world felt a shock no less intense than anyone else.
Because the power Makoto was displaying now was on a completely different scale from what he had shown in the Naruto World.
Yukino was pale, a mix of shock and terror swirling within her. She felt more acutely than ever the chasm-like gap between herself and that man.
Mrs. Yukinoshita clenched her fists tightly, her eyes filled with desperate prayer. "Please, please be okay..."
Finally, the bombardment on the scene began to subside.
Watching the screen showing Tokyo's city center, now a devastated wasteland, the five-star general on the carrier concluded that Makoto was dead.
"It's a shame we can't bring the body back for study. He was a superhuman after all," A US official said quietly, greed gleaming in his eyes.
"Oh well, we'll have to settle for capturing those girls who were with him."
"Pass the order. Prepare to return to base..."
"Is it over?"
Before the return order was fully given, a mocking voice echoed through the broadcast signal once more, reaching every corner of the world.
Immediately following, a colossal shadow, rivaling the entire Tokyo Tower in size, burst through the smoke and dust, appearing in everyone's view.
All their faces instantly turned deathly pale.
They focused their eyes. The colossal demon god, several times larger than the Fourth Form Susanoo, now hovered silently at the center of the battlefield, taking the shape of a massive elliptical sphere.
It seemed to be gestating something terrifying, radiating a suffocating pressure.
And Makoto stood calmly atop that monstrous entity, his expression placid, even slightly mocking.
"Japan, the US... In the end, the power of this world amounts to this much."
Makoto spoke calmly, then suddenly raised his voice, which was transmitted through the broadcast to every corner:
"Before my Complete Body Susanoo!"
Hearing the words 'Susanoo', many Japanese citizens were shocked anew, 'Why would that monster speak the name of a deity from our legends at this moment?'
The next second, the already enormous, egg-shaped monster began to grow and expand wildly. As Makoto slowly raised his hand, his five fingers clenching into a fist.
"Form!"
With that single word-
The oval-shaped sphere of Chakra sprouted thick arms and legs, fully transforming into a colossal demon god that seemed to pierce the sky.
"So, so big!"
In a classroom at Totsuki Culinary Academy, Nakiri Erina gaped, her delicate, divine tongue slightly protruding, her face a mask of undisguised shock and awe.
At that moment, the Totsuki Academy was full of Makoto's acquaintances.
Yukino, Hayato, Kotonoha, and others had been evacuated there due to the crisis at Shuchi'in Academy.
Because Shuchi'in Academy and Totsuki Academy were both top-tier schools, they had a good relationship.
However, Totsuki specialized in training top chefs, and its campus was located in a suburban area, far from the city center, to facilitate the cultivation of ingredients and culinary research.
Thus, it became a shelter for many students.
Tomoya watched the screen showing the colossal, sky-obscuring demon god, his legs giving way as he collapsed to his knees, his voice trembling. "Th-this is... his true power..."
Suddenly, the gray-black Complete Body Susanoo unfurled a pair of massive black wings from its back. Like an arrow released from a bow, it shot into the sky, flying rapidly southwest.
Its speed was astonishing. The helicopter with Mizunashi Rena and the others couldn't possibly keep up with its afterimage.
"Where is he going?"
Watching the Complete Body Susanoo's retreating figure grow smaller on the screen, Nakiri Alice turned to the person beside her, her voice unsteady.
Hachiman blinked. "Looks like southwest."
Southwest?!
The people around him all changed expression drastically. Alice, being of Nordic descent, didn't immediately grasp the implications.
To the southwest lay Okinawa.
And as everyone knew, the largest US military base in Japan was located there.
Buzz buzz!
About two minutes later, many people's phones began vibrating violently.
They all pulled out their phones to see a YouTube video notification pop up on their screens.
[Streamer Makoto is live: Going to kill your daddy, come watch!]
Everyone was dumbfounded.
'What was this now?'
YouTube officials, however, were equally helpless.
Makoto had just sent them a direct message: if they didn't promote his stream, the next thing he'd kill would be every higher-ups of YouTube.
So, trembling, people clicked on the video. In the stream, Makoto was smiling at the camera, performing a familiar eyebrow waggle, then slowly panned the lens.
Below the camera was a vast, azure sea. In the center of the sea lay two colossal aircraft carriers… the USS John and the USS George.
Then, the entire sea surface began to churn violently, visibly rolling as if the ocean itself was terrified.
The next second, a towering blade of light, over a kilometer in length, descended, aimed directly at the two destroyers on the water.
The flash that erupted was as dazzling as daylight. Even through their phone screens, many instinctively shielded their eyes.
They could even faintly hear the deafening explosion from the southwest, like the very planet were splitting apart.
When everyone looked down again—
The carriers... no, the entire sea surface, had been cleaved clean in two.
A massive, bottomless gash extended to the horizon, its end nowhere in sight.