The next moment.
Terumi Mei threw her arms open and wrapped them around Yuto, her voice choked with emotion: "I thought I was going to die — that I'd never see you again."
Hearing Terumi Mei's words, Yuto was startled for a moment, then gently patted her shoulder with a soft laugh.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
"There are a lot of people watching, you know."
Yuto ruffled Terumi Mei's auburn curls, teasing her in a low voice.
Only then did Terumi Mei come back to her senses. She quickly released her grip on Yuto's arm, the blush on her cheeks deepening.
She had genuinely thought she was about to die, and when Yuto suddenly appeared and saved everyone present, her emotions had gotten the better of her for a moment.
Thinking of that, Terumi Mei shot Yuto a fierce glare.
Feeling Terumi Mei's venomous look, Yuto's face showed a helpless expression. She was the one who had thrown herself at him — how had it ended up with him being blamed? As expected, when it came to this sort of thing, women really weren't reasonable.
Ao and Chojuro beside them quickly turned their heads away, pretending they hadn't seen a thing.
Kisame Hoshigaki just curled his lip, completely uninterested. Thinking of the terrifying power Deidara had unleashed in his self-destruction, he couldn't help but feel a lingering chill.
Thank goodness Yuto arrived in time. Otherwise, everyone would have been left here today!
On the other side.
Kitsuchi and the others heard the cheers for Yuto rising from the enemy's position in waves, and when the terrifying explosion they had expected failed to occur, Kitsuchi's heart sank.
The Iwagakure ninja also noticed this. One by one, they dropped the Earth Release defensive jutsu they had been maintaining and gazed toward the Hidden Mist positions with grim expressions.
When everyone saw Yuto's figure standing at the forefront of the enemy formation, their hearts sank.
"It looks like Yuto stepped in. There's no hope left. We've lost!"
Kitsuchi was not the type to give up easily, but in the face of absolute power, futile resistance only invited ridicule.
On the battlefield, even someone as strong as Kitsuchi had lost all hope — let alone the ordinary Stone ninja. Their morale had plummeted to its lowest point.
Nearby.
Akatsuchi, who had been relatively silent throughout, sensed the shift in everyone's emotions and suddenly stepped forward. His normally chubby, good-natured face was now filled with an indescribable resolve.
"So what if we know we can't win?!"
"If the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki-sama, were on this battlefield, he would fight to the very last moment too. Iwagakure may fall, but the Will of Stone will be passed down forever!"
Akatsuchi let out a passionate battle cry. He pulled a kunai from his ninja pouch and charged toward Yuto with an unwavering, forward-rushing spirit.
All the Stone ninja stared at the scene in a daze. Their sagging morale, upon seeing Akatsuchi's lone figure charging ahead, began to boil once more.
"That's right!"
Kitsuchi remembered that the seeds of the village had already been carried away by Kurotsuchi. The look of defeat vanished from his face, replaced by firm resolve.
Then Kitsuchi also let out a great roar and charged forward just like Akatsuchi!
The Stone ninja were completely swept up. Faces set with the resolve to die, they let out roar after roar, and everyone charged forward as one.
Seeing this, the Hidden Mist ninja fell into a moment of solemn silence, their gazes filled with sighs.
Yuto watched the Stone ninja, their eyes filled with unwavering resolve as they marched toward death together, and even he couldn't help but be moved.
"Truly remarkable spirit. The Will of Stone, is it?"
"As the last of the five great villages to be destroyed, this is a strike delivered with my full respect!"
Yuto's expression turned solemn. These people were no match for him, yet they were worthy of his admiration.
Yuto solemnly raised his palm and aimed it forward. Golden chakra surged from his entire body like a tide, making him look like a divine being.
Six Paths Tenseigan Mode!
"Truth-Seeking Orb Light Cannon!"
Yuto spoke in a low, grave voice.
Swoosh swoosh!!
In an instant, a massive volley of Truth-Seeking Orbs wrapped in golden chakra erupted from Yuto's palms, sweeping across everything before them like a rain of lasers!
The power of each fist-sized Truth-Seeking Orb was several times greater than a Tailed Beast Ball — the difference between them was fundamental in nature!
With that single release, every Stone ninja who had steeled themselves for death was engulfed by the Truth-Seeking Orb Light Cannon!
Boom boom boom!!
Boom boom boom!!
Deafening explosions and thunderous roars instantly consumed everything ahead. Terrifying shockwaves spread outward in every direction as violent blasts.
Even the Hidden Mist ninja stationed at the outer edges of the blast were blown flying in large numbers by the sheer force.
After unleashing that strike, Yuto released the Six Paths Tenseigan Mode. Without so much as a glance at the aftermath, he walked to Terumi Mei's side, wrapped his arm around her slender waist, and in a turn — the two of them had already vanished.
"The cleanup is in your hands."
The instant Yuto disappeared, a calm voice reached the ears of Ao and Chojuro.
"Yes, Yuto-sama!"
"Yes, Yuto-sama!"
Ao and Chojuro quickly responded with respect.
It wasn't until a good while after Yuto and Terumi Mei had left that the aftermath of the Truth-Seeking Orb Light Cannon finally settled completely.
When people finally raised their heads to look toward the distant battlefield, every face showed expressions of shock and disbelief.
There, where the Hidden Stone positions had been, everything had completely vanished.
That's right!
Completely vanished — as if erased from the map. Everything that had existed on that ground was simply gone.
"What a terrifying attack. They didn't even leave bodies behind?"
Chojuro drew in a deep breath and spoke with a sigh of awe.
"That's a blessing in its own way. At least we don't have to clean up the battlefield."
Ao's face was slightly stiff as he spoke, though his heart was far from as calm as he appeared.
Yuto-sama's power seemed to have grown even stronger than before — increasingly terrifying!
After a round of stunned silence, everyone quickly came back to their senses, their faces lighting up with elation.
All of Iwagakure's main ninja force had been completely wiped out. That meant the entire ninja world — aside from their Hidden Mist Village — had seen the other four great villages completely withdraw from the stage of history.
Under Yuto-sama's leadership, they had truly succeeded. If anyone had told all the Mist ninja present about this outcome before, they would never have believed it possible to achieve what they now saw before them!
Konoha Year 63, September 20th.
Aside from the Hidden Mist Village, the last of the five great villages — Iwagakure — was annihilated.
Konoha Year 63, September 30th.
The Hidden Mist Village established the Land of Earth Administrative Office at the former Iwagakure site, primarily handling affairs related to ninja and civilians in the region.
At the same time, they also established the Land of Earth Genin Ninja Academy, accepting any students within the Land of Earth who wished to become ninja.
Note: The reason Konoha's calendar is used throughout is that, compared to the Hidden Mist's calendar, Konoha's calendar is more widely recognized.
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