"Eight Million Gods" is a concept from the Shinto belief system, which posits that divinity resides in all things—every object and every phenomenon in the world is inhabited by a god. To say "Eight Million" is to say "Infinite."
At this moment, Ren Uchiha poured every ounce of his power into the Kusanagi sword. Multiple tiers of energy clashed, collided, and annihilated one another within the blade. Yet, due to the Kusanagi's unique property of being able to contain all forces, it held them fast. Even as the power turned violent, it could not escape the confines of the divine artifact.
Then, under a series of harsh, restrictive conditions—the absolute bodily control granted by the Cursed Seal, the all-encompassing capacity of the Kusanagi, and the temporary lifting of his own power limits by absorbing the Nine-Tails' chakra—these forces began to blend.
They reached a profound state known as: The Limit.
As the wielder, Ren could feel it clearly. When power reaches its zenith, one becomes aware of a shackle at the end of the world's conventional strength—a boundary. It was a threshold imposed by bloodline and the origins of chakra, a gateway that prevented mere mortals from reaching the realm of the gods.
Looking at the incandescent greatsword forming in his hands, Ren had a faint epiphany. It was as if he had accidentally touched a key that unlocked the underlying logic of the shinobi world.
The realization was fleeting. This level of power was only possible due to a perfect storm of factors that allowed him to touch this realm temporarily.
Ren let out a cold sneer. "So, at the end of power, there exists such a shackle? Is this the reason why Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta are so rare?"
"But... the existence of ninjutsu is the blooming of miracles!"
With that thought, Ren gritted his teeth, his face contorting with effort as he poured everything else he had into the mix!
"Wind Style: Vacuum Blade!"
"Water Style: Water Fang Blade!"
"Fire Style: Heart-Fire Flame Blade!"
He was only missing Lightning Style and an Earth Style sword technique to fuse an unprecedented Five-Element Sword. Even so, with these three, the momentum of the "Glorious Greatsword" surged exponentially!
The blade grew. Silently, the fifty-meter sword pierced through an invisible membrane, ballooning to a staggering one hundred meters in length!
The violent sword-wind pierced the heavens, shattering the storm clouds in the night sky. The pure radiance of the full moon spilled down, illuminating the battlefield.
Feeling the terrifying power gathering above its head, the Nine-Tails' eyes widened in disbelief.
"This power... how is it possible?!"
In its thousand years of existence, it had only felt such rule-breaking power from two men. Just thinking of their names was enough to make the strongest Tailed Beast tremble in horror.
Madara Uchiha.
Hashirama Senju.
Ren, struggling to hold the massive construct, roared toward the sky:
"Minato! Kushina!"
"Now is the time!"
The violent aftershocks radiating from the blade were already grinding away at Ren's flesh and bone. This power, far beyond what he should be able to wield, was a curse and a burden.
Ren reached his limit. He didn't even have the strength left to swing the forbidden blade he had created. His arms suddenly exploded into a mess of muscle fibers and bone fragments. The greatsword plummeted!
It fell like a divine pillar from the heavens. At the final second, Ren spun around, his teeth sinking into a nearby Earth Grudge Fear thread. He used the tension to swing himself off the Nine-Tails' head just as the sword crashed down. He tumbled onto the ground, battered and broken.
BOOM!
The hundred-meter incandescent sword struck. It displaced a massive wave of sand and debris, blowing away everything in the vicinity. The hilt slammed vertically onto the Nine-Tails' forehead—which was already bound by Adamantine Sealing Chains and Ren's mathematical web.
It was like a hydraulic press crushing clay. The Nine-Tails' head was instantly deformed, driven back into the pillar of light. The sword's momentum didn't stop, grinding the fox's chakra body into a pool of crimson shadows.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains caught it, pulled it, and began dragging it back into the seal!
"NO!"
"DAMNED UCHIHA BRAT!"
The Nine-Tails gave a desperate roar, its mouth clamping onto a low cliffside to arrest the pull. "This once-in-a-lifetime chance... I'll kill you! I'll kill you!!"
Through sheer will, the complete Nine-Tails refined a massive burst of chakra in the external world. Pinning itself against the giant sword, it refused to retreat another inch. To the fox, "dying" outside—even just a part of its body—meant a chance at rebirth. Being sealed back meant pure imprisonment.
Only the head remained outside the seal. The situation reached a deadlock.
Ren, lying paralyzed in the ruins of the stone pillars, watched with bated breath.
"Minato... is that suppression still not enough?!"
He had used everything. He could only hope for his teammate now.
Suddenly, a kunai was thrown from the cliffside where the Nine-Tails was biting down. A yellow flash followed. Minato Namikaze appeared in the air!
As he fell, Minato looked at the hundred-meter sword that made even his scalp tingle. His mouth twitched uncontrollably.
"I only asked you to buy me some time, Ren... you really gave me a massive heart attack."
Minato gave a helpless, wry smile. In his hands, he held a deep, dark sphere of spinning energy—the weapon he intended to use to approach the fox and seal it back into Kushina.
Great Spiral Ring: Rinne!
In truth, when Ren had used the Spiral Web, he had already done enough. Minato had been confident then. But now, with Ren having created a "uncontrollable-weapon-of-mass-destruction" that was about to explode on contact with the ground, Minato felt exhausted.
Ren hadn't just suppressed the Nine-Tails; he had almost beaten it to death. If the external body was destroyed, Kushina would suffer severe, perhaps fatal, injuries. Minato now had to protect Kushina and the Nine-Tails that was trying its best to stay out and be killed.
Minato took a deep breath. His gaze sharpened. He threw six Flying Raijin kunai in mid-air and vanished!
SHING!
He appeared before the Nine-Tails and slammed the Great Spiral Ring into its head! The expansion of the spiral energy left the beast dazed. The Adamantine Sealing Chains finally yanked the beast back completely.
In the midst of the explosion, Minato vanished and reappeared beside Kushina, using his own Four Symbols Seal to assist her in locking the Nine-Tails away. He scooped up the weakened Kushina, then flashed to the next kunai to grab a bewildered, armless Ren.
Three more flashes took them far away from the center of the incandescent sword's impact, landing them in front of the Central Tower of the Forest of Death.
Minato finally exhaled.
But then, a crimson arm abruptly pierced through Minato's abdomen.
He looked up in shock. Kushina, her eyes filled with tears but her body sprouting seven tails in a new semi-tailed beast state, was staring at him helplessly. Ren tried to intervene, but with both arms gone and his body at its limit, he could only watch the tragedy unfold.
"Cough!"
Minato spat out a mouthful of blood, staring at Kushina. Her face was a horrific mask, half-weeping and half-laughing with madness.
In the distance, the hundred-meter white sword finally touched the earth. A blinding, pale light erupted!
Shockwaves, thunder, and a gale of pure malice swept across the world. The Nine-Tails' voice echoed in all three of their ears simultaneously:
"Hehehehe...!"
"Dreadful brats—!!"
"It looks like I am the winner!"
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