Whoosh!
Just as Naruto and Sasuke were about to reach Kaguya,
Hiroki abruptly appeared at Naruto's side.
Naruto and the others were greatly startled.
"Tch…" Madara Uchiha sneered from afar. "Using underhanded tricks just to deal with two juniors…"
"Shameless!" Black Zetsu coldly chimed in, though no one was sure exactly who he was cursing.
Slap!
Hiroki grabbed Naruto's shoulder, easily lifting him up before hurling him straight toward the Ten-Tails.
Letting out an excited roar, the Ten-Tails opened its massive jaw wide, ready to swallow Naruto whole.
"Naruto!" Sasuke clenched his teeth hard, eyes locked tightly on Naruto's direction.
At that moment, the shapes within his eyes began rapidly shifting.
"Amenotejikara!"
The power of the Rinnegan released in an instant, instantly swapping Naruto's and Sasuke's positions.
Sasuke hovered midair.
Naruto returned to where he originally stood.
Hiroki smiled. Once again, he activated [Body Replacement Technique – Thousand Paper Cranes], reappearing and wrapping his arms around Naruto.
See? Back again, aren't we? Just look at how wide-eyed and clueless Naruto looks—he and Sasuke clearly aren't on the same page!
He could feel Naruto's emotions unraveling fast.
"…"
"You two are still way too soft. Did the Sage of Six Paths hand you his powers without even making you prove yourselves?"
Hiroki was certain—their foundations were weak.
Jiraiya died too early, leaving Naruto unable to fully master Sage Mode or build true harmony with the Nine-Tails, not even experiencing something as basic as the Chunin Exams.
Right now, Naruto was nothing but a paper tiger—utterly powerless.
Even weaker than Sasuke.
At least Uchiha Sasuke knew how to push himself mercilessly.
Yet the Sage of Six Paths still chose to pass on Yin and Yang chakra to them—how much did he really not want to get personally involved?
Fury surged within Naruto, syncing with the Nine-Tails sealed inside him. He bared his teeth, his eyes slowly morphing into beast-like pupils, while dark red chakra violently erupted from his body.
Hiroki gripped Naruto's right arm, dispersing the red Rasengan forming there.
On his palm, Hiroki saw the silvery-white Sun Mark.
"So your Sun Mark is on your right hand—which means Uchiha Sasuke's must be on the left."
At the same time, Kaguya stood atop the Ten-Tails' head, firmly catching Sasuke as well.
The delicious meal slipped away. The Ten-Tails snorted in dissatisfaction, exhaling several angry breaths.
The rising heat made Kaguya and Sasuke frown in discomfort.
With Kaguya standing on its head, the beast's aggression dropped significantly.
Tsunade and the others relaxed slightly, quietly aware of how much chakra they had lost, silently sighing in relief.
Although they had launched a full-scale attack against the Ten-Tails moments ago, the only move it truly noticed was Hinata's Tenseigan technique.
As for everyone else's chakra—it was like throwing raw energy straight into its mouth. The Ten-Tails swallowed it all without even blinking.
Moments later, this group of ninja surrounded the Akatsuki members once more.
Kakuzu let out a sigh and turned his head slightly toward Madara Uchiha.
By coincidence, he met eyes with Madara, whose gaze seemed somewhat lost.
Both stiffened at the same time.
Kakuzu thought inwardly: Madara, you should do something! At the very least, say something! Otherwise, we're going to look really foolish just standing here!
It feels like ever since the Ten-Tails showed up, Madara's gone quiet. Has something happened to him?
"..."
Madara awkwardly shifted his gaze away, glancing at the now much calmer Ten-Tails, feeling extremely uneasy but suppressing the urge to curse out loud.
He thought to himself: Is this Ten-Tails really that tame?
"Erm... Well... We mean no harm, really," Hidan spoke up cheerfully, trying to break the awkward silence.
"Shut up!" Tsunade snapped, grabbing both of his arms.
Other ninjas surrounded the remaining Akatsuki members and seized their arms in the same way Tsunade had done.
"Oh my goodness... Remember we're supposed to act like a big nation! Show some decorum and treat the prisoners properly!" Hidan intentionally exclaimed without offering any resistance.
The other Akatsuki members reacted the same way too.
Clearly, upon seeing their leader standing motionless in the distance like an idiot, they had decided not to struggle anymore either.
Once the boss suddenly goes silent and acts weak, it's pointless to keep fighting no matter how hard they try.
Plus, one after another, these top-tier experts showed up, and they simply couldn't stand a chance against them.
They figured it would be smarter to play weak for now and look for an opening to escape later.
Hiroki couldn't help but glance over at Madara as well. He wondered: Is this guy preparing some ultimate move or has he completely lost his nerve? How come none of that boldness from earlier remains?
"What's going on? What about us then?" A few scattered White Zetsu murmured in confusion.
The White Zetsu clones felt puzzled—why was nobody paying attention to what became of them?
Immediately afterward, Kaguya expressionlessly tore off Sasuke's left arm.
Sasuke grunted in pain as blood splattered onto the ground.
Kaguya channeled more force into her grasp, turning the torn arm into fine dust.
"Don't torture Sasuke like this! What are you trying to do?!" Naruto shouted emotionally; seeing Sasuke in agony clearly affected him deeply.
"There's no specific purpose. If Hayato refuses to show himself, then these two fools can die instead as atonement!"
Kaguya replied coldly, "Let's see whether he truly cares about his reincarnated sons."
Having said that, Kaguya shifted her gaze elsewhere and addressed Tsunade: "Tsunade, throw them over here..."
"Throw? Them?" Tsunade pointed at the captured Akatsuki members.
"Exactly. Feed them to the God Tree." Kaguya nodded slightly, indicating the Ten-Tails beneath her.
Kakuzu, Hidan, and Kisame Hoshigaki all subtly changed expressions.
Sasori of the Red Sand also looked unsettled.
It wasn't only them; even other ninjas from allied villages beyond Konoha—including Onoki and Rasa along with their Rock and Sand Ninja—exchanged uneasy glances.
Since when did Konoha become so ruthless?
They were actually feeding living humans directly to a monster!
And just what kind of creature was that monstrous thing anyway?
Its sheer size... Could they have fattened it up with human lives?
Even a Tailed Beast wouldn't be this massive.
A few clueless people began to doubt in their minds.
"Wait!"
Before Tsunade could move, Onoki reached out and stopped her.
Rasa stepped forward as well, silently taking a firm stand beside Onoki.
At the same time, he cast a glance toward Terumi Mei's location.
He noticed her smiling at him, completely unfazed.
That expression seemed to mock how she'd outsmarted both the Sand and Rock ninja back then.
Enraged beyond reason, Rasa immediately rebuked, "Terumi Mei, you truly are a traitor."
"Kazekage-sama, Tsuchikage-sama, I'm equal to both of you in status. How could there be any talk of betrayal?" Terumi Mei retorted playfully.
Onoki slightly raised his hand, signaling Rasa not to waste effort arguing with Terumi Mei.
"Tsunade, don't you think you should explain something? Who exactly is that woman, and why did this creature appear? Why would you actually obey her?"
Hearing his serious question, Tsunade couldn't help but laugh. "Onoki, we're all seasoned veterans here—there's no need to act clueless, right?"
She couldn't believe the village's leader had never heard anything about Jiraiya running around with Naruto and stirring up all sorts of rumors during his lifetime.
Even if he really knew nothing, Tsunade had no intention of explaining anything now.
Once the Akatsuki members had their chakra absorbed, it would soon be their turn next.
Sighing helplessly, she said, "Sorry, but even though I'm also a Kage, I'm practically nothing compared to that elder woman. I can't possibly go against her decision."
"Let go! I'm definitely not some damn snack for you to munch on!" Hidan angrily struggled.
At the same time, Sasori of the Red Sands made his move.
His neck performed an amazing 360-degree rotation while spewing countless poison needles from his mouth.
The Konoha ninja who had been pinning them down panicked for a moment, easing the pressure from their hands.
The four Akatsuki members successfully broke free.
"You lot really don't listen unless we knock some sense into you!" Tsunade punched the ground, cracking it, then ordered the Konoha ninja, "Get them!"
Yugito and Terumi Mei both gave simultaneous hand signals, and the Kumo and Mist ninja immediately sprang into action.
Though these four Akatsuki members were Kage-level experts, the combined strength of the three villages was more than enough to match them.
Victory was clearly on the horizon—it was just a matter of time.
The camps of Onoki and Rasa hesitated, still taking no action.
Pressing Naruto beneath his foot, Hiroki focused entirely on Madara Uchiha with a teasing tone: "Senior Madara, Lord Madara, why have you suddenly gone so quiet? That doesn't sound like you at all."
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