In the underground chamber beneath Naka River Shrine, Jiraiya finally brought Naruto and Sasuke to their destination.
At the very deepest part of the chamber, a gigantic stone tablet covered in ancient script came into view.
Sasuke was pulled forward by an invisible force—no matter how he resisted, he couldn't stop it. He walked toward the tablet against his will.
The moment his eyes touched the text, the intricate pattern of his Eien Mangekyo Sharingan surfaced.
Countless pieces of information and visions flooded into his mind like a raging tide.
The Sage of Six Paths. Indra. Asura.
A curse of brothers killing brothers, passed down generation after generation.
"Ah...!"
Sasuke let out a scream.
At the same time, a drastic change erupted within Naruto's inner consciousness.
The Nine-Tails saw someone it had once hated, now piloting a blue giant and fighting to the death to protect the village—its feelings turned incomparably complicated.
"Brat."
Naruto froze. He could feel it—this was the Nine-Tailsspeaking to him.
"Do you want power?" The Nine-Tails's voice carried a seductive pull. "This time, I mean it. I'd rather be used by you than get captured again."
Naruto didn't hesitate for even an instant. His will manifested inside the mindscape as a firm, unwavering answer.
"I do, you Madara fanboy."
The Nine-Tails bared a feral grin.
"Then stop suppressing me!"
The instant those words fell, the Hakke Fuin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style) on Naruto's abdomen resonated with Sasuke's Eien Mangekyo Sharingan in an unprecedented harmony.
Naka River Shrine's roof was blasted clean off.
Two enormous torrents of chakra became twin pillars of light, tearing open the dark canopy above Konoha's skies.
Across the entire battlefield, everyone locked in combat—shinobi and Arrancar alike—turned to stare at the two pillars that pierced heaven and earth.
At the center of the battlefield—
Grimmjow kicked a massive boulder into powder. He licked the blood from his claws—blood that belonged to Kakashi.
Not far away, Kakashi knelt on one knee. His Kamui (Divine Might) had been pushed into overuse; beneath his mask, his face was pale as paper.
Behind him, Sakura was forcing herself to maintain Iryo Ninjutsu (Medical Ninjutsu), treating other comrades who were gravely wounded.
"Next is you, woman."
Grimmjow's figure flashed—he appeared right in front of Sakura.
"Stop!"
Kakashi forcibly drove his Raikiri (Lightning Cutter). Blue lightning crackled in his hand, but it flickered unsteadily due to his weakened body.
Grimmjow didn't even glance at him. With a casual backhand, a blast of wind pressure sent Kakashi flying into the ruins. He slammed into broken walls and collapsed unconscious.
Despair swallowed Sakura whole.
She watched the enlarged claw reaching for her, and closed her eyes.
The pain she expected never came.
She opened her eyes and saw two silhouettes standing in front of her.
One burned with golden flames from head to toe.
The other was wrapped within massive purple skeletal armor.
Naruto and Sasuke had arrived.
"Sasuke! I'll be the main attacker—cover me!"
Naruto's voice came from within the golden chakra form.
"Shut up, dead last! Don't order me around!"
Sasuke's reply was as cold as ever, but his Senpo: Susanoo had already spread enormous bone wings, forming a flawless offense-defense formation together with Naruto.
Grimmjow stared at the two brats who had suddenly appeared—and exploded with brand-new power. His excitement only intensified.
"Good! That's it! Now you're worthy opponents!"
He tore open his shirt, palm pressing down on the sword at his waist—already unable to wait to release.
"Kishire... Pantera (Grind... Panther King)!"
A storm of blue Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure) swept the surroundings.
"Come on! Let's kill each other for real!"
With his Resurrección complete, Grimmjow let out a beastlike roar, and his body vanished from where it stood.
Naruto, controlling Nine-Tails Chakura Modo, streaked forward like a golden meteor and slammed head-on into Grimmjow.
A gigantic chakra hand extended—fingers spread—and an intensely compressed Bijudama (Tailed Beast Ball) formed in his palm. Naruto pressed it straight down.
Grimmjow didn't dodge. Both palms thrust forward as crimson Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure) condensed madly.
"Gran Rey Cero (King's Hollow Flash)!"
The crimson beam collided with the golden sphere in a deafening detonation.
The explosion made the whole earth tremble. A wave of annihilating shock, centered on the two of them, flattened everything on the ground into nothingness.
Within the smoke and dust of the blast, a purple silhouette appeared above Grimmjow like a ghost.
It was Sasuke's Senpo: Susanoo (Sage Art: Susanoo).
The chakra longbow in his hands was pulled to its limit. A single arrow—wrapped in black Amaterasu (Heavenly Illumination) flames and purple cursed-mark lightning—locked onto Grimmjow below.
"Amaterasu: Kagutsuchi (Heavenly Illumination: Fire God)!"
Grimmjow sensed lethal danger. Abandoning the energy clash with Naruto, he forcibly twisted his body and used Sonido (Sound Step) to evade the killing shot.
The black-flame arrow slammed into the earth. The ground ignited instantly—soil and rock alike were reduced to nothing within the black fire.
Grimmjow had only just reappeared, barely steadying himself, when Naruto's next attack arrived.
"Senpo: Yoton: Rasen Shuriken (Sage Art: Lava Style: Spiral Shuriken)!"
Lava power surged across Naruto's golden chakra cloak.
Grimmjow's gaze sharpened. He knew he couldn't dodge this one.
He crossed both arms before his chest. His Hierro (Steel Skin) hardened to the extreme, and blue Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure) formed a heavy suit of armor.
The lava Rasen Shuriken (Spiral Shuriken) carved into his arms.
Then came a violent explosion.
Wind fed the flames—molten lava sprayed everywhere.
Grimmjow was blasted backward by the tremendous force, a deep trench gouged into the ground behind him.
Soot-black scars appeared across the white outer armor of his released form.
He glanced down at his injuries—and instead of anger, his grin turned even more deranged.
"Hahahaha! Interesting! This is way too interesting!"
He snapped his head up, eyes boiling with battle intent.
"This is what fighting is!"
He spread his arms wide. Countless blue spears of light condensed behind him.
"Pantera no Tsume (Panther King's Claws)!"
The spears rained down like a storm, covering the sky as they shot toward Naruto and Sasuke.
Sasuke's Susanoo stepped forward at once, spreading its enormous bone wings to shield Naruto behind him.
The bone wings became a shield. Black curse-mark patterns surfaced across them, blocking every incoming spear of light.
Seizing the opening created by Sasuke's defense, Naruto rapidly formed hand seals.
Countless golden figures split off from his body—each one maintaining Kyubi Chakura Modo (Nine-Tails Chakra Mode).
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"
Hundreds—thousands—of golden Narutos surged at Grimmjow from all directions, each forming a massive Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere) in hand.
"Rasenrengan (Spiral Successive Spheres)!"
The scene became spectacular in an instant.
Grimmjow looked at the sky full of golden figures and snorted with contempt.
He leapt high, and his Gran Rey Cero (King's Hollow Flash) began to condense.
"Die! Gran Rey Cero: Dark!"
A gigantic black-and-crimson beam descended from the sky like divine punishment.
Wherever it passed, Naruto's shadow clones vanished —along with the ground beneath their feet, everything was instantly vaporized.
Just as the beam was about to swallow everything—
The blue Susanoo stood in front once more.
Sasuke poured all his chakra into defense. The colossal purple demon used its body to forcibly tank that strike.
In the violent explosion, Susanoo's armor shattered inch by inch, and its massive form began to grow hazy and unstable.
"Sasuke!" Naruto's true body shouted.
"Shut up! Find his position!"
Naruto immediately activated Sage sensing, capturing Grimmjow's location within the chaos.
"Left!"
He didn't need to say more—Sasuke was already moving.
The Susanoo on the verge of collapse used its last strength, aiming the chakra longbow at the left side of the sky.
"Enton: Amaterasu!"
A clump of black fire appeared out of thin air on Grimmjow's body.
"What!?"
Grimmjow was shocked. He hadn't expected a counterattack after taking that level of assault.
The black flames spread rapidly, burning his body and his Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure).
In the instant he was distracted trying to extinguish Amaterasu (Heavenly Illumination), Naruto seized the chance.
He gathered every last scrap of chakra he had left—together with the Kyubi's power—into a single point.
A black Gudodama (Truth-Seeking Ball) formed in his hand, born of In'yoton.
"Bijudama!"
Naruto hurled the condensed sphere of destruction.
The Gudodama (Truth-Seeking Ball) struck Grimmjow mid-struggle.
An absolute darkness swallowed Grimmjow's figure completely.
When the darkness dispersed, the sky was empty—nothing remained.
The golden flames around Naruto faded. He returned to his normal form and fell from the sky.
Sasuke's Susanoo also fully dissipated, and he too dropped weakly downward.
Both of them had exhausted their last strength.
(End of Chapter)
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