Minato froze for a moment, then gave a slight nod. Sure enough, a red chakra began to envelop each member of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Noticing this chakra, Shikamaru frowned slightly and asked, "Are you planning to protect us from harm by relying on the Nine-Tails' chakra? But can you really pull that off?"
From a distance, Jugo rushed forward in a few bounds, positioning himself right next to Sasuke.
"Jugo."
"Sasuke, things are going to get ugly if this keeps up. Let's get out of this barrier using the Reverse Summoning Jutsu."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. I'll take you and Naruto out of here with me."
Naruto turned his head at that moment, looking toward Sasuke and Jugo. "I didn't share my chakra with you guys, did I?"
"Get over here!"
"What good could your chakra possibly do anyway?!"
"There's no time, hurry up!"
True to form, Sasuke walked over with Jugo. He also wanted to see exactly how Naruto planned to evade this incoming strike.
On the other side, Karin was trembling violently as she hid behind Nagato, staring up at the monolithic entity in the sky.
"What do we do?! What do we do?!"
Beside her, Deidara had reached the absolute peak of frenzy.
"Hahahahahahaha! This is the ultimate art! What's wrong with sacrificing yourself for art?!" Deidara laughed maniacally.
Konan and Kakuzu narrowed their eyes in tightly knit frowns, while Hidan stood next to them with a completely indifferent expression.
Kabuto stepped all the way to the front. He decided to combine his Inorganic Reincarnation with Nagato's Super Almighty Push to see if they could deflect the strike.
Kisame was already preparing to weave hand signs, but right at that moment, a spatial vortex swirled open.
A black Truth-Seeking Ball flew out, expanding just enough to perfectly envelope the members of the Akatsuki.
At that exact moment, Kanon grabbed Obito by the ear and barked out an order.
Even in his Six Paths Mode, Obito knew exactly how important Kanon was to him, so he didn't argue. Besides, even without the Truth-Seeking Ball, Kanon could have used his Kamui phasing ability to let the Akatsuki bypass the blast anyway.
So, he figured he might as well do it himself and take it as a favor. Watching the Truth-Seeking Ball wrap around everyone, Deidara instantly grew annoyed.
"I can't even watch such a beautiful display of art?!"
"Lord Jashin, is this a protective barrier you've granted us?! As your devout follower, I must offer up a proper prayer!" Hidan sat cross-legged on the ground and began to pray.
The surrounding members were utterly bewildered, and Karin couldn't help but complain about Hidan.
"Is this guy always like this?"
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, choosing not to say much.
In the distance, Hashirama's wood clone looked up at the gathering chakra, frowning slightly.
"He actually distributed chakra to every single shinobi... and the sheer volume matches my own."
"No, wait. There's also the Nine-Tails' chakra mixed into this."
"But relying on just this Nine-Tails' chakra won't be enough to withstand the resonant explosion triggered by those four Tailed Beast Balls."
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion erupted. The entire battlefield was instantly transformed into a sea of fire and ash, completely contained within the Crimson Ray Formation. In that moment, even the barrier itself began to expand and distort.
It was evident just how cataclysmic the strike was; a destructive force of this caliber was capable of wiping out several nations and permanently altering the geography of the land.
As the Truth-Seeking Ball slowly dispersed, Obito and Kanon materialized. The entire lineup of the Akatsuki stepped forward right behind them, completely unharmed.
"Senpai, are you all okay?"
"Yeah, no injuries."
Just as Kanon was about to say more, Karin lunged forward and threw her arms around her.
"Hey, hey, hey! Cut it out, we're in the middle of a war here."
Konan and Kabuto stepped forward as well.
"Let's move together from here on out," Konan suggested.
"Alright!"
With that, Kanon looked at Kabuto and flashed a small smile.
"Are your glasses fogged up?"
"I'm managing."
Turning her attention to the rest of the Akatsuki members, Kanon spoke in a soft, gentle voice:
"Thank you all for helping me. I know... I know you want to protect me. But that feeling goes both ways. It's the same for me; I want to protect you guys, too."
"So..." Kanon manifested a shadow clone and pulled Karin over to it.
As Kanon looked at the group, Obito immediately encased them all within a Truth-Seeking Ball.
"Kanon, what are you doing?!" Nagato demanded in shock.
"I don't want the Akatsuki getting hurt in this war anymore... Senpai, consider this my plea to you. Go back to the Hidden Rain Village and wait quietly for the war to end," Kanon murmured softly.
"Hey! Kanon, I'm a Reanimation! Let me stay!"
"No. The Hidden Rain Village needs someone of your caliber to watch over it."
With those words, Kanon bowed deeply to everyone with a warm smile. Seeing her wave goodbye, Nagato finally understood that this wasn't a permanent farewell.
Remaining here would likely only cause Kanon to lose her focus. After a brief moment of deliberation, Nagato gave a slight nod.
"You must win, Kanon."
"We'll be waiting for your return in the Hidden Rain Village!"
"I know!"
The moment Nagato nodded, the Truth-Seeking Ball vanished instantly. The Flying Raijin Technique was activated, teleporting the entire enclosed group back to the Hidden Rain Village. Immediately after, the shadow clone used the Flying Raijin Technique to warp the Truth-Seeking Ball right back.
"It seems you really do care deeply about everyone in the Akatsuki," Obito remarked.
"Yeah... Let's keep going."
"Keep going? Wasn't the entire battlefield wiped clean?"
"Take a look around us."
Obito frowned. To his surprise, he realized there wasn't a single soul left standing in the blast zone.
Sure enough, as the dust cleared, it became clear that everyone had been teleported completely outside of the barrier.
Kanon let out a soft sigh and said to Obito, "So that's how it is, after all."
Indeed, looking at the Flying Raijin kunai scattered across the ground, many of the shinobi began to piece together what had happened.
It was the Fourth Hokage's Flying Raijin Technique that had warped everyone away, achieved by linking up with Naruto's Nine-Tails' chakra.
Tobirama looked at Minato and praised him with a smile, "Fourth Hokage... with this, you've officially saved the shinobi forces for a second time."
Minato was panting heavily, clearly strained by the sheer exertion of the technique. "There were still... quite a few failures..."
"The real trouble is what comes next."
Tobirama then explained the strategy that Naruto and the Nine-Tails had devised. It operated on the same principle as the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and as the creator of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Tobirama was easily able to analyze and break it down.
"So, my explanation was spot on, right?"
"Huh? Is that how it works?"
"Never mind," Tobirama muttered, completely exasperated.
"Lord Second, you sure know a lot about my shadow clones!" Naruto laughed.
"That is a jutsu I invented! Those are my shadow clones!" Tobirama barked back at Naruto.
"Naruto, I really wish I could just sit down and have a long talk with the person you are today," Minato said softly.
"Men don't need a whole lot of words. I already get it. I've already met Mom's chakra."
"Whatever you want to say, it's definitely the same stuff my nagging mom wanted to say, right?!"
"I've known all along!"
Watching Naruto speak, Minato wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. This feeling filled him with intense nostalgia. Even when backed into a corner with nowhere left to run, he still felt completely invincible.
This feeling... yes, it was exactly like standing side-by-side with Kushina.
In that exact instant, Naruto's pupils shifted into vertical slits.
"Power is just surging out of me. Let's hit 'em head-on!" Golden chakra erupted fiercely around Naruto as he charged straight toward Obito and Kanon in the center of the battlefield.
Sasuke stared at Naruto, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spinning rapidly. He watched Naruto in sheer disbelief, the boy possessed an utterly staggering amount of chakra.
Throughout this war, Naruto had shattered his expectations step by step, and now, he had firmly pulled ahead of him.
Tobirama shouted after Naruto:
"Naruto, that battle cry of yours was certainly majestic."
"But I still need to remind you of one thing."
"You haven't forgotten that all attacks except for Sage Jutsu are completely ineffective, have you?"
"You're not an idiot."
Naruto skidded to a dead halt the moment he rushed out. He whirled around, his face twisted in utter shock. "Oh right! I totally forgot!"
Seeing Naruto's reaction, both Tobirama and Sasuke looked like they were on the verge of tears from sheer exasperation.
"Fine. You're even more of an idiot than my brother!"
Minato looked on, laughing nervously in embarrassment.
Inside Naruto's subconscious, Kurama was laughing hysterically while mocking him. However, Kurama reassured him that there was no need to worry, because Naruto could now access Sage Mode even while in this state.
It had all depended on whether Kurama would permit it, and now, Kurama was giving Naruto the green light.
The pupils in Naruto's eyes gradually shifted, orange pigmentation flaring around his eyelids as his eyes transformed into the Sage-Tailed Beast cross-like pattern.
Minato shouted over to Naruto, "Naruto, channel Senjutsu into the Rasengan!"
"Right!" Naruto shouted back, before yelling toward Tobirama.
"Lord Second!"
Tobirama grabbed the legs of their Tailed Beast Modes, instantaneously teleporting the two of them right into the barrier.
"Charge straight ahead! We'll handle whatever comes next!" the Nine-Tails roared.
On the other side of the field, watching the two Tailed Beast Modes materialize with a massive Rasengan hoisted between them, Kanon yelled out to Obito.
"Give me Six Paths chakra!"
Without a second thought, Obito slammed his hand onto Kanon's shoulder. At that exact microsecond, inside the Flower Realm, Konin snapped her eyes open.
"It's done," Kanon's voice echoed from outside the Flower Realm.
"Got it. Leave the rest to me," Konin nodded.
In that spectacular moment, Kanon's Complete Body Susanoo materialized, adorned with the unmistakable markings of the Six Paths.
Simultaneously, a massive Sage Art: Ultra-Many-Orb Giant Rasengan manifested in the Susanoo's grip, dwarfing even the colossal Rasengan wielded by Naruto and Minato in their Tailed Beast Modes.
BOOM!
The monolithic titans of both sides collided violently. Kanon instantly felt a massive wave of crushing pressure.
As Naruto and Minato unleashed furious roars, Kanon's resolve burned just as fiercely, refusing to be outmatched by either of them.
Gritting her teeth, Kanon let out a fierce battle cry. The Rasengan in her hands spun and compressed at a violent velocity before being slammed downward and crushed by the massive hand of her crimson Susanoo.
Naruto and Minato's Tailed Beast Modes were instantly blasted apart, sending them flying backward until they crashed violently against the walls of the Crimson Ray Formation. Kanon stumbled back several paces before Obito reached out to steady her.
Staring at Kanon standing tall within the crystal of her Susanoo, Sasuke was left completely frozen in awe. Had Kanon truly achieved this terrifying level of power?
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NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]