The towering waves receded, leaving behind a devastated, waterlogged land.
The once-flat roof tiles were now submerged in murky water, reflecting the ominous purple light wall of the Four Violet Flames Formation.
Yulian's massive body stood in the water, each step appearing exceptionally difficult. The huge power pack on his back was spewing thick white steam from its side vents, emitting an unpleasant "hissing" sound.
"Warning! Warning! Power core temperature abnormal! Cooling system efficiency reduced by thirty-seven percent!"
"Warning: Structural damage to the outer armor of the left knee continues to expand! Slight leakage has occurred in the hydraulic transmission system."
Piercing alarm bells continuously shrieked in his personal communication channel, mixing with the dripping sound of water, as if forming a prelude to defeat.
"Hehehe, it seems your tin toy is taking on water, Naruto-kun."
A slimy voice rang out.
Orochimaru seized this rare opportunity. His snake-like flexible neck extended eerily at an inhuman angle, and he glided across the water's surface.
The kusanagi sword in his hand gleamed with deadly cold light under the purple illumination, like a venomous snake locking onto its prey, striking directly at the leg armor seam on Yulian's leg that had been cut open by the Water Release: Severing Wave, from an incredibly tricky angle.
"Clang!"
Yulian's reaction was still too fast for a heavy unit.
He parried the sword precisely with the adamantine staff, which had transformed from Enma.
The mythical weapon and the legendary divine sword collided with a deafening screech, and a string of dazzling sparks erupted on the dim water surface.
Enma complained in pain, "As expected of the kusanagi sword, but I can still hold on."
On Yulian's other side, Senju Hashirama also delivered a powerful blow, and a huge impact force was transmitted.
Already unstable, his body completely lost its balance.
"Splash—"
The heavy blue giant knelt in the water, splashing a large amount of water.
Opportunity!
Senju Hashirama's Wood Clones surged from all directions like a tide, their movements unimpeded in the water.
Countless tough, thick vines, like awakened giant pythons, suddenly shot out from beneath the murky water, carrying an all-encompassing force, tightly binding Yulian's limbs, waist, and power pack.
The wooden thorns on the vines dug deep into the armor gaps, emitting a grating friction sound, firmly pinning him in place.
At the same time, Senju Tobirama completed his hand signs.
Streams of highly compressed, high-pressure water guns shot out from different directions.
These water guns no longer aimed for large-scale destruction but transformed into the most precise "surgical scalpels," continuously striking every joint connection, every cooling vent, and every energy conduit of Yulian's armor.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The water streams impacted the metal, producing dull and continuous sounds.
A desperate situation of three against one.
Two were immortal and indestructible former Hokage with endless Chakra and vitality.
The other was a cunning caster holding the divine kusanagi sword.
They formed a perfect death net, capable of strangling any powerful individual.
"Five Elements: Great Barrage!"
An old roar came.
Four Shadow Clones instantly appeared beside Hiruzen Sarutobi. The five of them simultaneously performed hand signs, merging the five elemental Chakras they had learned throughout their lives into a multicolored energy torrent, unleashing it with all their might towards the vines besieging Yulian.
Flames, floods, earth walls, wind blades, and lightning intertwined, erupting with immense power.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's desperate intervention was effective, and Yulian's pressure eased considerably, allowing him to move with difficulty.
But it was only for a brief moment.
Against Senju Hashirama's seemingly endless Wood Release regeneration, this power was a drop in the bucket.
The moment the vines were destroyed, more vines grew from the water, thicker and tougher.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead was covered in sweat, and evident fatigue appeared on his old face, his chest heaving violently.
He was old, and his Chakra was being consumed too quickly in this level of confrontation.
"This won't do…"
In Uzumaki Naruto's icy blue pupils, there was no emotional fluctuation, calmly reflecting the entire battlefield.
The steam from Yulian's power pack grew thicker and thicker.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's breathing grew heavier and heavier.
Orochimaru's smile deepened.
This was a war of attrition.
A war between Yulian's power armor and the Edo Tensei's infinite Chakra.
A war between mortal flesh and immortal puppets.
The outcome was predetermined from the start.
Unless… Naruto's gaze passed over the struggling blue giant, past the two constantly casting Hokage, and finally, precisely locked onto the figure standing at the edge of the barrier, leisurely enjoying the scene like a play.
The target was not the puppet, but the puppeteer.
An extremely risky decision instantly formed in his mind, which had been tempered countless times by Imperial doctrine.
He was not sure if this action would break some fragile balance in space or dimension in this world.
But he was even more certain that if he didn't do something soon, he would lose a loyal warrior and a pawn he had set up long ago.
"Yulian."
His resolute voice rang out in Yulian's thrumming helmet.
"Whatever the cost, buy me thirty seconds."
Amidst the clamoring alarms, Yulian's response was concise and powerful, proclaiming the oath long engraved in his soul.
"For the Emperor."
The next second, his steel hand, gripping the adamantine staff, suddenly loosened.
The mythical weapon let out an unwilling hum in the air, a flash of light, and transformed back into Enma, landing heavily on a nearby rooftop.
The kneeling blue giant's body suddenly shook.
"Buzz—Boom!"
The power pack on his back began to overload in a self-destructive manner, emitting a sharp roar on the verge of its limit.
He completely ignored the vines piercing into the armor seams, and he also ignored the water guns continuously impacting his joints.
The power armor on his arms, infused with instantaneous energy, showed an ominous red glow through the patterns on its surface.
A pure force, in a self-destructive manner, erupted from within him!
"Crack—Bang!"
The countless vines wrapped around him were all shattered by this brutally unreasonable force.
Wood chips and water splashes exploded in all directions.
Yulian stood up.
Like an enraged primordial beast, he wielded the power sword in one hand and his other steel fist, unleashing a storm of pure violence around himself.
No defense, no evasion, only offense.
Every sword swing tore through the air, every punch carried the momentum of smashing mountains.
The offensives of the two Hokage and Orochimaru were temporarily forced back several steps by this fearless and insane aura.
He had long been accustomed to such desperate struggles in life-or-death situations.
Otherwise, he would never have survived countless battlefields piled with mountains of corpses and seas of blood to reach this point.
And it was within these thirty seconds, bought with life and loyalty, that Naruto moved.
He no longer chanted sacred prayers but squatted down with even greater speed.
He extended his right index finger, its tip covered with a thin layer of Nine-Tailed Chakra, easily slicing open his left palm.
Blood dripped.
Using his own blood as ink and the slick rooftop as a canvas, he began to draw a brand new, more mysterious, and more complex mark than the double-headed eagle emblem.
The color of that mark was no longer the gold representing divinity and glory.
Instead, it was the jet black representing shadow, death, and ultimate judgment.
The lines were intricate, the structure twisted, as if containing some spatial logic that should not exist in this world.
"What is he doing?"
Orochimaru's snake eyes narrowed slightly, and an inexplicable sense of unease surged from the bottom of his heart.
He couldn't understand the pattern, but he could feel that as the pattern took shape, the surrounding light seemed to be absorbed into that tiny mark.
Naruto made the final stroke.
The moment the entire mark was completed, it made no sound and released no energy.
However, the shadows within the barrier seemed to come alive.
In the corner behind Naruto, unnoticed by anyone, the shadows, like living ink, began to writhe, converge, and swell.
A slender, agile figure silently "stood" up from the shadows.
Her entire body was encased in a tightly fitted, matte black "synthetic skin" that outlined her curves, revealing no trace of skin.
Her face lacked distinct gender features or facial details, a side effect of prolonged use of the shapeshifting drug "Polymorphine."
In her hands, she held two oddly shaped curved blades. The blades were not solid but appeared as a non-material, constantly fluctuating energy form.
A cold, clearly synthesized, emotionless female voice crossed the spatial barrier, ringing directly in Naruto's mind.
The voice was filled with questioning and vigilance.
"Calling Assassinorum?"
"On an unrecorded feudal world?"
"Summoner, explain your unauthorized action."
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