"This is a power that can truly make you stronger," Sakura stared straight into Naruto's eyes, her tone utterly grave. "Memorize everything on it, and then… don't tell anyone, not even Kakashi-sensei.
At the words "can make you stronger," especially the chance to gain the strength to bring Sasuke back, Naruto's eyes lit up instantly. Without the slightest hesitation, he nodded firmly. "Got it! Thanks, Sakura!
Watching the heavenly screen, Naruto cradled the stone tablet and began to immerse himself in the vast "Divine Art" legacy. Every corner of the Ninja World fell silent for a heartbeat, then erupted in an even wilder storm of voices!
"So that's how it is! That explains everything!"
"No wonder! No wonder in the first heavenly screen that Uzumaki Naruto was absurdly strong!"
"To destroy the world with a single punch and shatter Uchiha Sasuke's Susanoo… turns out he also studied the 'Divine Art'!"
"Two 'Divine Art' practitioners… my god!"
"Team Seven… what kind of monster gathering is this squad?"
"That Kakashi Hatake—what did he do to deserve them? Don't tell me the dead weight is actually the sensei."
"Sakura!" Naruto's face shone with gratitude, making Sakura Haruno want to slap him.
Uchiha Sasuke stared fixedly at the stone tablet glowing in Naruto's hands on the heavenly screen, then looked at Sakura, his heart shaken beyond words.
She actually shared such a priceless opportunity with the dead last?
Time flowed on; the scene occasionally flashed to Naruto and Sakura arduously training in the "Divine Art."
Yet Naruto's progress was noticeably slow.
Perhaps because of the red light Sakura had infused into him.
One day, the two had just found a secluded spot for their usual practice when—
A vast, icy, crushing Chakra surged through Konoha like a hurricane!
"This Chakra is—!" Naruto jerked his head up.
Sakura's face paled instantly, her voice trembling with disbelief. "Sasuke?"
Before they could think further, a gigantic, condensed purple Chakra blade descended from the sky, striking the center of Konoha Village like divine punishment!
BOOM—!!!
The earth shook; smoke billowed sky-high.
Amid the roar of collapsing buildings and the villagers' terrified screams, a monstrous trench split the prosperous Konoha Village in two!
"Konoha, I, the Uchiha, have returned!"
A cold, hate-filled voice rang clearly through the chaos.
"Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura exchanged a glance, horror mirrored in each other's eyes.
Without hesitation, they shot off as two blurs, racing toward the Village—toward that familiar yet alien source of Chakra.
The scene shifted to the main gate of Konoha.
A colossal purple Susanoo towered like a demon god, exuding suffocating pressure.
It was Uchiha Sasuke!
Konoha Ninja poured in like a tide—Kunai, shuriken, every Ninjutsu imaginable—yet the attacks were like ants against a mountain, not even stirring a ripple.
Standing within the forehead crystal of the Susanoo, Sasuke's eyes were icy. Facing these insect-like assaults, he barely moved; a casual sweep of the Susanoo's arm sent dozens of Ninja flying, unconscious.
"You get one chance to live," Sasuke's voice rang through the Susanoo, laced with unquestionable killing intent. "Come at me again and I won't hold back."
"Uchiha Sasuke! What do you think you're doing!"
An aged yet steady voice rang out.
Clad in battle armor and gripping the adamantine staff, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared before the rubble, flanked by Anbu, his expression grave as he faced the titanic figure.
Sasuke's gaze locked onto Hiruzen Sarutobi; the murderous intent nearly solidified. With a beast-like roar he shouted, "What do I want? Revenge! Vengeance for the dead of the Uchiha!"
An Anbu member couldn't help but shout, "What does this have to do with Lord Sandaime! The one who wiped out your Uchiha Clan was Uchiha Itachi!"
"Silence! You have no right to speak his name!"
As if a scale had been torn away, the Susanoo instantly drew its bow. A condensed purple Chakra arrow shot like lightning, piercing the Anbu's chest and killing him on the spot!
"The tragedy of the Uchiha—every single one of Konoha's higher-ups is complicit, especially you, Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
"I will expose your ugliness to Konoha, kill you all, and then destroy the Village!"
Sasuke roared; the Susanoo's gigantic Chakra great-sword rose, tearing the sky as it slashed toward Hiruzen Sarutobi!
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face changed drastically. While rapidly forming seals to evade the mountain-splitting blow, he barked, "All Ninja below Jonin—evacuate the villagers at once! No pointless sacrifices! As long as I live, I will not let you destroy Konoha!"
BOOM!
Where the Chakra great-sword struck, the earth cracked again, leaving a bottomless gouge.
All-out war was about to erupt!
The entire Village faced its greatest crisis since the Nine-Tailed attack!
"Pretty words—can you back them up?" Sasuke's cold laughter brimmed with contempt; the Susanoo's attacks grew fiercer.
Against this complete Susanoo, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his Anbu were powerless.
Their strikes couldn't pierce its defenses, while any slash or arrow from Sasuke— even a graze—meant death or crippling injury.
The aged Third Hokage clung on with vast experience, but waning stamina left him in constant peril, sparks flying where the adamantine staff met the blade, lighting the grim resolve on his face.
As the colossal Chakra great-sword gathered again, poised to split the exhausted Hiruzen Sarutobi, the strike seemed impossible to dodge!
"Grandpa Third!" Naruto's eyes nearly split open.
At that critical instant—
BOOM!!!
A pink blur flashed in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi. She used no Ninjutsu—simply clenched her fist and punched the mountain-cleaving Susanoo blade!
No titanic blast, no blinding flash—only a deep, muffled crash!
The unstoppable Chakra great-sword was actually knocked askew by that seemingly tiny fist. It missed Hiruzen Sarutobi by inches, carving another deep trench and sending a gale that snapped everyone's clothes like banners.