Research Institute, underground shelter.
Tsunade said in surprise: "What, Node 6 has also fallen?"
The Communication Unit shinobi replied panting: "Yes, this is the latest news that just came from there!"
Sasori asked: "And the reinforcement nail?"
"The reinforcement nail is still running!" After a pause, the Communication Unit shinobi said: "The stationed general of Node 6, like Node 8, led the enemy away at the last moment."
Hearing this news, Sasori did not know whether to be relieved or frustrated.
Amado waved his hand, signaling the Communication Unit shinobi to withdraw.
After the Communication Unit shinobi left the command center, Amado's assistant stepped forward and said: "I just contacted the Barrier Unit. Although Nodes 8 and 6 have fallen one after another, the defensive barrier is currently still running normally."
Shizune sighed in relief: "Fortunately, we left enough redundancy when designing the defensive barrier!"
Tsunade said: "It's useless. Now is just the beginning. The successive falls of Nodes 8 and 6 are the inevitable result after the Infinite Tsukuyomi was interrupted. After this, more nodes will definitely fall, and the defensive barrier probably cannot be preserved!"
"This..."
Shizune was instantly stunned like a wooden chicken upon hearing this.
Sasori stared at Amado: "Hey, is there any meaning in us continuing to hold on now?"
Amado shook his head: "I don't know!"
"Damn it!"
Sasori cursed in a low voice.
The atmosphere in the command center immediately became incomparably oppressive.
Because everyone knew that the fall of Node 8 and Node 6 was just a beginning; the situation would only get worse and worse. And Shinji, in whom everyone placed high hopes, was now also in a bitter struggle. The end of the shinobi world seemed already impossible to change.
Amado glanced at the few of them and said: "If the shinobi world is destined to perish, I will also flip the middle finger to the Hegemon before dying!"
Hehe
Several people laughed.
A joke from Amado allowed the oppressive atmosphere to be eased.
He then continued: "The current situation is indeed very bad, but the Ancestor of Chakra, Kaguya Otsutsuki, is still sealed on the moon, the Sage of Six Paths is also watching the shinobi world, and there are the Three Great Sage Regions of Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryuchi Cave. Variables still exist."
Tsunade sighed: "Let's hope so!"
Amado said: "So we will still resolutely execute the original strategy, defending the Barrier Project to the death, and maintaining the situation as much as possible!"
Sasori said: "That is all we can do!"
Amado then came to the command console, pointed at the map of the shinobi world, and said: "Although we are not clear about the specific personnel guarding each node, looking at the current situation of fallen nodes, nodes with later numerical ordering have a higher probability of falling. So next, we need to worry about Node 7 and Node 9."
Sasori immediately said: "Rest assured, besides the engineering unit supporting Node 8, I have four more engineering units on standby, which can support four nodes simultaneously."
Amado nodded: "Very good, we only need to..."
At this time, a Communication Unit shinobi hurried to the command center, interrupting Amado's words: "Emergency communication! The final message has come from Node 5. The defending general has been defeated, and the node has completely fallen!"
Tsunade frowned: "What!?"
Amado looked at the map on the command console, his brow furrowed tightly. He originally thought the next ones to have problems would be Node 7 and Node 9; he didn't expect that Node 5, with a lower numerical ordering, would be the first to have a problem.
Sasori asked: "What about the reinforcement nail?"
The Communication Unit shinobi had a face full of terror: "We... we can no longer contact Node 5 now, so I cannot confirm the situation of Node 5's reinforcement nail."
Sasori whispered: "Could it be that even the base hidden deep beneath the node has been captured?"
Shizune covered her mouth.
Although Nodes 8 and 6 were breached by the enemy, the bases hidden under the nodes and the reinforcement nails were still operating. Node 5 falling completely was the first such instance!
...
Node 5.
Kabuto Yakushi, his whole body wrapped in dark purple smoke, walked slowly out of the wreckage of the underground base, smiling at Naruto in the distance: "As expected, a facility was hidden here. The Research Institute just loves to play this game!"
Naruto gritted his teeth: "Damn it!"
Kabuto Yakushi, who mastered Sage Mode, was himself a Kage-level powerhouse. Coupled with the fact that he transplanted First Hokage's cells into himself during his tenure at the Research Institute, his physique had undergone a leap, raising his strength to the level of a strong-Kage in one go.
Now, after obtaining the power of the Hegemon, his strength was second only to Otsutsuki Shibai among all the shinobi controlled by the Hegemon. Therefore, Naruto, who had easily defeated the Fifth Kazekage, did not gain any advantage when facing Kabuto Yakushi.
Moreover, Kabuto Yakushi understood the Research Institute's way of doing things very well. He knew that with the Research Institute's style, they would definitely set up a base under the node. Thus, he used Shadow Clones to attract Naruto's attention, while his main body infiltrated the ground, annihilated the base under the node, and destroyed the reinforcement nail.
Rumble
At this moment, a roar suddenly came from the sky.
Naruto and Kabuto Yakushi both looked up together, only to see the defensive barrier that had been protecting the shinobi world finally unable to hold on after the successive falls of the three key nodes 8, 6, and 5, and it was forced to dissolve.
Naruto's face changed drastically: "How can this be!"
Kabuto Yakushi grinned: "It's over. This struggle that should not have happened is finally over! Embrace your fate, Naruto!"
Naruto roared: "Why? Why are you helping the Hegemon commit evil?"
Kabuto Yakushi stared coldly at Naruto: "When you step on an ant to death, do you care what it thinks?"
Naruto said: "We are not ants! The shinobi world is not an ant either!"
Kabuto Yakushi laughed: "In the eyes of the Hegemon, everything is an ant! Naruto, the reason you are angry is because you simply do not understand the Hegemon's greatness. When you understand the Hegemon's strength as I do, you will calm down!"
Rumble
As if to confirm Kabuto Yakushi's words, cracks of thunder exploded in the sky.
Then, one vortex after another appeared. The Hegemon of Terror, entrenched in the universe, once again broke through the space barrier of the shinobi world and transmitted its power into the shinobi world.
Streams of dark purple smoke fell to various parts of the shinobi world. Kabuto Yakushi in front of Naruto also received one, and his aura surged instantly, reaching the peak of the Six Paths level in an instant, only one step away from Kekkei Mora.
Spreading his arms, Kabuto Yakushi said: "See? This is the Hegemon's power. Even bestowing such a trivial bit of power is enough for me to undergo a complete transformation!"
Naruto's face was gloomy.
Kabuto Yakushi said: "The Infinite Tsukuyomi has been broken, and the barrier has also been broken. Give up, you no longer have any chance of winning!"
Naruto said: "I will fight until the final moment!"
Kabuto Yakushi shook his head: "There is no final moment. When the barrier is broken and the Hegemon's power pours in continuously, everything will come to a screeching halt!"