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On the video feed, the tiny figure of the Earth Shadow, Ōnoki, looked like an ant standing against a falling meteor that blotted out the sun.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
Veins bulging on his forehead, his entire body creaking under the strain, Ōnoki fought to hold the impossible weight. Against the mass that could crush mountains, his small frame seemed ready to shatter at any moment.
Iwagakure, Earth Shadow's office.
Watching himself struggle on the screen, Ōnoki fell silent.
Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi were frozen, too intimidated by the sheer pressure of the footage to make a sound.
His mind involuntarily drifted back over sixty years, to when he had been nothing more than an aide trailing behind the Second Earth Shadow, Mū.
To build alliances, they had gone to Konoha.
But what greeted them was only one man—Uchiha Madara. The icy, piercing gaze. And those words that haunted Ōnoki even in nightmares:
"No alliance exists."
"In the face of Uchiha power, you have only submission."
One glance, one overwhelming aura, and he and Mū were utterly defeated. Totally, hopelessly.
The fear named "Madara" had shadowed his life ever since.
"But…"
Ōnoki's gaze shifted to the screen, where the older version of himself still stood tall despite his age. A spark ignited in his cloudy old eyes.
"The me of the future… seems like I've finally stopped running from that fear!"
Then the video took a turn.
Just as Ōnoki's strength was about to give out and the meteor hovered ominously above…
RUMBLE!
The desert beneath them quaked violently.
"I'll lend you a hand, Earth Shadow!"
Sand exploded into the air as if alive, shaping into massive hands that cradled the meteor from below.
The camera zoomed in—it was the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara.
Unlike his current brooding self, Gaara in the video had clear, determined eyes.
"Flowing Sandfall… stop it!!"
Earth Release lightened the load while sand provided support.
With the combined might of two Kage, the once unstoppable meteor finally—suspended in midair.
Silence.
Then, an eruption of cheers!
The allied shinobi celebrated with tears, the sheer relief after such devastation radiating across every corner of the world.
…
Everywhere, shock and awe followed.
Sunagakure.
"That's… Gaara?!"
Temari's fan slipped from her hands, and Kankurō's jaw practically hit the floor. "That monster who only knew killing… actually risked himself to protect others? And he became Kazekage?!"
Maki stared at the screen, taking a deep breath. "Seems like the future holds a lot we don't know. Becoming Kazekage means he earned the respect of Chiyo and the village. Maybe Sunagakure's future really can be hopeful."
Gaara himself sat on a rooftop, hugging his knees, watching the screen where his beloved future self stood. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes, then a deep yearning.
"That… is me in the future?"
Marine Headquarters, One Piece World.
"Oh~ impressive."
Kizaru adjusted his sunglasses, his rare serious tone showing. "That short old man doesn't rely on a Devil Fruit or high-speed techniques, yet he can fly freely… what a convenient power."
"And that sand-controlling brat."
Crocodile frowned as he watched the screen. As a Sand-Sand Fruit user, he had to admit that Gaara's mastery of sand rivaled his own.
"Vice Admiral Garp, could you stop that meteor?" a trembling marine asked.
Garp stared at the screen for a long moment. "If it were the Iron Fist, maybe I could smash it. But to 'catch' it unharmed like they did… while protecting others behind you under that force? Hard. Very hard. This isn't just strength—it's ultimate control of strength."
Soul Society.
"Amazing!"
Renji swung Zabimaru, admiration in his eyes. "That old man's spiritual pressure… no, chakra, isn't massive like a captain's, but the willpower is insane! Still, compared to our captain Byakuya's Bankai, it's not as flashy."
Ichigo didn't overthink it—he just felt the thrill. "So this is a Kage? The village's protector… damn, they're all badass!"
But just as everyone thought the crisis was over and breathed a sigh of relief…
The video's background music abruptly cut.
Atop the rocky spire, Uchiha Madara gazed at the suspended meteor. No disappointment—just a faint, approving smile.
"Impressive, Ōnoki."
"To hold back this blow…"
His voice was calm, but it carried a chilling, unshakable composure.
He tilted his head slightly, the Sharingan in his eyes glinting with mischief.
"Then…"
"How will you handle… the second one, Ōnoki?"
What?!
In reality, Ōnoki's smile froze.
Every viewer's heart skipped a beat.
In the video, Ōnoki and Gaara hadn't even caught their breath when a massive shadow swept across the land.
Everyone stiffened, eyes rising.
The clouds tore apart.
Directly above the first meteor, a second, even larger meteor descended, roaring with the power to obliterate everything!
Double… Heavenly Impact Meteor!
Despair.
If the first was a natural disaster, this second one was a death sentence.
"No… noooo!!"
Ōnoki's desperate scream filled the air.
BOOM—!!!
The second meteor slammed into the first.
For an instant, the world went silent.
The first meteor, once seen as hope, shattered instantly. The massive shockwave spread like a nuclear blast. The sand that had supported it scattered. Ōnoki, like a kite with a snapped string, was hurled violently toward the ground.
The two colossal meteors, stacked together, crashed into the earth with unstoppable force!
THUD!!!
The video shook violently. The ground split, dust and debris shot kilometers into the sky, and the shockwave leveled everything within dozens of kilometers.
This is Uchiha Madara.
This is… godlike power.
The great warriors across the worlds watched the apocalyptic scene in complete silence.
"....."