Whether it was Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, or Kakashi, all of them stood frozen, staring blankly at the half-collapsed world before them. Silence hung heavy, broken only by the faint crackling sound of the world quietly crumbling into darkness.
As shinobi, they understood what this scene meant, but they were still lost in it, unable to fully process the overwhelming shock,
The entire world,
Shattered by Kaede's single punch.
Kaguya, who could freely reshape and destroy worlds, was undoubtedly a godlike being. And Kaede, who could shatter a world with one blow, was clearly just as divine.
"A battle of gods against gods..." Sakura whispered to herself.
Even Naruto, who had long dreamed of surpassing his late father and become Hokage, felt the immense gulf between himself and Kaede, completely stunned and overwhelmed.
Crackle, crackle!
The ruined half of the world could no longer hold itself and rapidly spread toward them.
Seeing this, Kakashi's expression darkened. Though his Rinnegan could shift through space, jumping from Kaguya's Genesis Dimension back to the ninja world was beyond him, at best, he could only jump between Kaguya's six other spaces.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Kaede appeared beside Kakashi, tore through the complete Susanoo, and stepped inside.
"Go back to the ninja world first."
His eyes flickered, and his ocular power surged as he opened the Yomotsu Hirasaka spatial portal. With the Genesis Dimension collapsing, the chaotic spatial energy inside had disappeared.
Without waiting for a reply, Kaede tossed Kakashi into the portal, followed by Naruto, then Sasuke, and finally Sakura.
"Hokage-sama..." Sakura clenched her fists, gazing at Kaede with admiration.
Kaede gave her a slight nod and sent her through the portal as well.
After sending them away, Kaede didn't enter the portal himself. Instead, he closed Yomotsu Hirasaka and looked deeply toward the collapsing world's edge, staring into the darkness before stepping forward.
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Shinobi World.
Above the Hokage's office in Konoha.
A dark spatial portal opened, and Kakashi's figure was thrown out, falling toward the Hokage building below. He stabilized midair and landed smoothly.
"That's... Kakashi!"
Seeing Kakashi fall from the sky, Tsunade and the others on the rooftop immediately turned their attention to him.
Kakashi didn't greet them but raised his hand as Susanoo chakra surged, forming a skeletal hand that caught Naruto and Sasuke.
Sakura was caught by Kakashi last.
Tsunade and the others looked at Naruto and Sasuke with surprise but said nothing, quickly turning their attention back to Kakashi.
"Kakashi, did you come from the Hokage?"
"How is the Hokage over there?"
Tsunade and Shikaku's voices sounded one after another.
The ripple of the Rinnegan faded from Kakashi's eyes, returning to their normal black as he looked at Shikaku and the others. Remembering the terrifying power Kaede had just displayed, he said:
"Hmm..."
"Our leader probably went to pursue the enemy further. He should be fine... for the most part."
Some sighed in relief, but Tsunade and the others still looked tense.
"What do you mean, 'for the most part'?!"
Kakashi rubbed his forehead, unsure how to explain, and recounted the brief battle with Kaguya.
Hearing that Kaede had destroyed half a world even while fighting Kaguya stunned Shikaku and the others who already knew Kaede's strength.
Destroyed half a world?
What kind of sight was that?!
No matter how they imagined it, it was almost impossible to picture, the more they thought about it, the more overwhelming it felt, leaving them dazed.
Meanwhile, Naruto, Sasuke, and the others sat on the ground nearby, panting heavily, their clothes soaked with cold sweat.
After all, they were still only Genin.
Even with Kaede and Kakashi protecting them, bearing the sheer force and aftershocks of that battle was a severe mental strain. Now that the crisis was over and they had returned to the ninja world, exhaustion suddenly hit them all at once.
Time passed, minute by minute.
Kaede had yet to return, and the tense atmosphere on the rooftop never eased. Tsunade and the others kept looking up at the sky.
One minute...
Two minutes...
Finally,
After about an hour,
A dark spatial portal appeared in the sky. Kaede stepped out, a faint refreshing expression on his face, his aura calm and peaceful.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Kaede!"
Seeing him, Shikaku and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Tsunade and the others didn't call him 'Hokage-sama' this time, they called him by name.
Kaede smiled slightly and floated down from the sky.
"Is it over?"
Kakashi asked.
https://pa1.aminoapps.com/6802/bafac6b56740b229a350cb59f81049cf00f7c388_hq.gif
Kaede nodded slightly.
"Yeah."
He then glanced at Konoha, his eyes sweeping over the many shinobi still trapped in Infinite Tsukuyomi. After that, he brought his hands together in front of him.
"Infinite Tsukuyomi, release!"
With the surge of chakra, the Infinite Tsukuyomi cast by Kaguya was silently lifted. Those deep in sleep remained asleep, while those awake looked around dazed, unsure of what had happened.
Seeing this, Kakashi finally relaxed.
"So... no more troublesome enemies from now on?"
"No, there will still be enemies."
Kaede lowered his hands and looked at him seriously.
"Do you know why Kaguya used Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Tree World Descent to continuously gather chakra? Long ago, she was an invincible progenitor of chakra."
Kakashi's expression tightened suddenly.
"Of course, it's because... there are enemies even Kaguya fears."
Kaede looked at Kakashi with deep intensity before turning toward Shikaku and the others nearby.
"Shikaku, Tsunade, Rin, go stabilize the situation."
After saying this, Kaede stepped into the Hokage building and disappeared. Kakashi remained outside, his expression shifting as a heavy weight settled in his heart.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria