As the blade of Mushoukou rubbed against its scabbard with a sound, the Nature Will gathering a Tailed Beast Bomb below seemed to hear a natural enemy approaching, causing all the hair on their body to stand on end.
That fear even surpassed the terror of having their life force drained while unable to struggle.
Perhaps Naruto's words truly had an effect.
Under the pressure of this fear that surpassed all limits, a new power budded quietly within the heart of the Nature Will.
This time, they did not choose to flee.
"Raaaaaagh!"
They let out a roar almost instinctively. The blood vessels on their body bulged beneath the skin's surface due to the increased speed of Chakra Flow, looking somewhat similar to when the Hyuga Clan of Konoha activated their Byakugan, appearing slightly ferocious.
More Natural Energy was drawn from the surroundings and transmitted over within this roar.
In that instant, the sky was an enemy, the earth was an enemy, the mountains were enemies, the rivers were enemies, even the flowers, plants, and insects on the ground were Naruto's enemies.
Under the focus of Nature Will, Natural Energy completely enveloped the Tailed Beast Bomb itself, dyeing it a kind of 'iridescent black' color.
It was the color of all things and phenomena.
"Haaa!!!!"
This Natural Energy Tailed Beast Bomb, large enough for one person, shot straight towards the sky with a momentum capable of destroying mountains and splitting seas.
High in the sky, Naruto floated quietly, his muscles actually beginning to compress under the effect of Life Return.
It was different from the time he fought against Shiki.
Naruto's figure became somewhat gaunt and desolate, but the hand gripping the sword hilt was exceptionally steady.
"All sounds fall silent, no thoughts, no musing-"
In an instant, the hostility of all things in heaven and earth was stilled, even the 'breathing' sound of plants completely vanished.
In the next moment, a transparent sword light resembled the Milky Way.
By the time the Nature Will reacted, Naruto was already behind them, slowly sheathing his sword.
"-Sever."
'When did he move!?'
They had no perception of it at all!
Even though everything in the surroundings saw Naruto as an enemy, and the perceptions of all living beings became the 'eyes' of the Nature Will, they didn't realize it until Naruto had already finished his slash.
'What extreme speed, what...'
'A dazzling sight!'
The Tailed Beast Bomb, which had been split in two at some unknown time, exploded mid-air.
As if also applauding this single sword strike.
Boom—
Without needing to get close, Kousei, Karin, and the others could see the terrifying explosion.
That kind of destructive power was enough to obliterate any major Ninja Village.
"Dad!"
"Naruto-san!"
Different voices called out from different locations, but the worry in their hearts was the same.
"Huh? This is..."
While running, Kousei suddenly felt a slight coolness on her face, then subconsciously reached out to touch it.
It was a faintly shimmering green point of light. Looking up, within the area covered by the aerial explosion, points of light scattered outwards like rain.
When these points of light landed on the body, they flickered a few times before extinguishing, as if merging into it.
When they landed on other trees, plants, and flowers, those leaves seemed to turn several shades greener.
This was the aura of life.
...
"So, not afraid anymore, right?"
On a large rock, Gaara, who was slowly exiting his Sage Mode state, was laid out flat. Sitting beside him was Naruto, leisurely drinking his sake.
In Naruto's perception, the previously god-like entity was more like a newborn that had lost their protection and was full of threats.
Beneath the facade of indifference lay fear, the worry that more lives would be lost because of this.
They always deeply loved all life that grew on this planet, which is why they would rather nip a part of it in the bud early to protect the rest.
This was a biological instinct.
"Uzumaki Naruto... as expected... you are special."
The voice coming from Gaara's mouth had become intermittent.
Don't misunderstand, Naruto didn't directly kill Gaara.
What he 'severed' was the spirit.
This swordsmanship had transcended the category of severing life, reaching a higher level.
Similarly, achieving this effect also required absolute mastery over one's will and spirit, as well as innate Chakra… none could be lacking.
"Something everyone already knows doesn't need reiteration. Try to have a bit more depth."
Naruto's expression wasn't particularly heavy… he even seemed interested in trying to pour a mouthful of sake into the Nature Will's mouth.
It was just refused.
The Nature Will had not vanished, but Naruto had merely severed their connection to this body.
More precisely, they was being forced out of this body again.
If there wasn't another person with a weak will yet capable of absorbing Natural Energy, it seemed unlikely the Nature Will would be able to manifest again.
Unless Naruto actively absorbed a massive amount of Natural Energy and entered that Super Sage Mode again.
After experiencing the fear of death once, the threat from that extraterrestrial race didn't seem so terrifying anymore.
The Nature Will, struggling to control Gaara's body, turned their head to carefully examine the man before them.
Their own birth was because of the other party.
Before being perceived, they were just a hazy planetary consciousness.
It was precisely because of being perceived that they gained self-awareness.
For lifeforms of this level, the relationship of cause and effect was instead more abstract.
"Perhaps you truly can do it... protect this world."
"So, who is the enemy? You should at least reveal some useful information."
"They... call themselves... the Otsutsuki Clan... beings from beyond the sea of stars..."
From Gaara's mouth, Naruto learned the basic information about this Otsutsuki Clan.
For example, they usually operated in pairs of two, finding planets possessing life force, that is, Natural Energy, then one of them would transform into the God Tree to absorb this energy and bear the so-called 'fruit'.
After that, the remaining person would take the fruit, which represented the life of that planet.
And Chakra was precisely the product of this God Tree's fruiting.
Also, because they fed on these fruits, the so-called Otsutsuki Clan naturally possessed an inherent resistance to almost all Ninjutsu.
Given the current strength of beings in the Ninja World, there probably weren't any existences capable of matching them.
And this was just for one or two members… in the distant sea of stars, there were countless members of the Otsutsuki Clan.
This despair-inducing reality was what ultimately drove the Nature Will into madness and fear.
Coupled with the shadow of having their life force extracted without being able to resist, they thus conceived the idea of 'erasing their aura to escape'.
"A thousand years ago... the Otsutsuki Clan that arrived here has not yet perished..."
"One of them is hidden very deeply, even I don't know where... the other… is there."
As they spoke, the Nature Will, with some difficulty, manipulated Gaara's body to raise an arm and point towards the sky.
There, one could vaguely see a hazy sphere.
"The moon?"
"You mean, there's another Otsutsuki Clan on the moon?"
Hearing this, Naruto felt a bit puzzled, 'Did I have to fly to the moon? I wonder if the Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique could fly that high.'
"Not on the moon, but sealed by the moon."
"The entire moon is her seal."
From the mouth of the Nature Will, Naruto heard for the first time this ultimate truth concerning the Ninja World.