Capítulo 119: 118. Rise of Shadows Pt 5
The clash of jutsu and the roar of monstrous voices filled the night with a fierce, unrelenting din. Under the crimson-stained sky, squads of Leaf shinobi fought with furious dedication. Time Squad members slowed the world around them with concentrated bursts of temporal distortion, allowing wounded allies to dodge lethal blows or letting them rush in to deliver the finishing strike before the enemy could react. Void Squad carved invisible wells in the ground and air, warping space to collapse entire swarms of lunging horrors into a single gravitational point, then destroying them in an explosive implosion. Light Squad turned gloom into a brilliant battlefield where radiant illusions and piercing flares blinded the advancing creatures, while Shadow Squad slipped through inky corridors of darkness, severing tendons and throats with clinical precision. Space Squad, guided by Minato's oversight, opened fleeting dimensional gates that let battered squads exit the thickest danger and reappear on rooftops to rain down supportive fire. It was a living tapestry of advanced combat, a synergy few would have believed possible in any earlier era.
Naruto led from the front, each step carrying the echoes of six times his past strength, Kurama's chakra swirling with faint streams of Time manipulation. He paused just long enough to dispel any illusions around him—real illusions conjured by the enemy or flickers of leftover genjutsu from that twisted herald—then he launched himself at the wave of towering abominations that surged from the remains of the latest rift. Forming a colossal Rasengan, he laced it with shifting arcs of temporal force. The swirling sphere glowed, warping the edges of sight. He spun forward, slamming it into the largest creature's chest, momentarily slowing time around the point of impact and drawing out the Rasengan's destructive power. A vortex of compressed seconds crashed through the monster's torso, leaving a ragged hole that dissolved into noxious vapors. Even in the midst of exhaustion, Naruto shouted encouragement to those near him, fueling morale with his unbreakable spirit.
Sasuke, equally unwavering, moved fluidly through the fray. Each slash of his blade carried the crackle of Void lightning, arcs of manipulated space that extended his reach far beyond the steel's length. When a cluster of agile fiends lunged for him, he stepped out of normal reality for a heartbeat, reappearing behind them to slice through spines and twisted limbs. Eyes blazing with dual energies, he scanned for any sign of a commanding presence among the horde, but only the lesser beasts snarled in the gloom, relentless but leaderless. Space distorted again as he crushed another wave with a gravitational chokehold. Though drained by the continuous use of advanced manipulation, Sasuke refused to let his aura flicker. The illusions that once shaped his life had no hold on him now—only his resolve to protect, to stand beside his comrades no matter the cost.
Sakura's glow of Light artistry matched Naruto's fiery presence. She conjured illusions of starlight that danced across the battered streets, confusing the fiends who tried to pinpoint her location. In one smooth motion, she vaulted overhead, fists gleaming with Chrono Essence, and slammed them into the ground between two monstrous reptilian creatures. A double shockwave burst forth—first the raw physical impact, then the time-bent aftershock that took an extra second to ripple out, freezing the creatures just long enough for her to deliver a second blow. Their bodies cracked, twisted, and fell lifeless. Sakura's chest heaved, her heart hammering from the demands of sustaining so much chakra. Yet she found an anchor in the memory of her illusions in that mirrored realm, the reflection that once undermined her. Now she owned her worth. She was no longer overshadowed.
Anon guided squads of black-clad operatives in a deadly dance of shadows. Whenever a fiend bared down on an isolated defender, illusions sprang up: a phantom labyrinth of swirling darkness that inverted the creature's sense of direction. It reeled, flailing, until lethal kunai found its heart. Anon flickered in and out of existence, stepping from one area of shade to another, dismantling the largest threats with slashes of a Void-phase blade. One particularly gargantuan horror reared back to crush half a dozen wounded shinobi behind a wrecked tower. Anon materialized at its flank, placed a hand on its hide, and conjured a swirl of living darkness that consumed the creature from within, reducing it to smoking rubble. Even as sweat dripped down his brow, he never faltered. Their illusions might not hold forever, but for every second they delayed the creatures, more allies found a chance to regroup or strike back.
At the heart of it all, Ryusei commanded the flow. The battered squads, frayed from ceaseless conflict, rallied behind him when time distortions threatened to unravel their lines. He switched seamlessly between chronal manipulations that slowed entire arcs of the monster horde, giving allied jutsu time to devastate them. When corners of the village threatened to succumb to collapsing dimensional pockets, he reversed or stabilized them with Void mastery, forging safer ground for reinforcements to push forward. His eyes flickered with exhaustion, but he pressed on, determined to keep the entire battlefield functioning as one cohesive front.
And then, in the midst of this carnage, the swirling clouds overhead parted anew. A regal shadow figure, different from those lesser monstrosities, descended with slow, deliberate grace. Lightning forked around its silhouette. Its eyes were deep crimson orbs burning with hatred and cunning. In one clawed hand, it held a staff of swirling darkness, each swirl reflecting some twisted dimension. The creature hovered, surveying the battered defenders as if studying them. It raised its staff, unleashing an eerie hush that crept across every street.
When it spoke, its voice sliced through the hush: "You've fought valiantly, Leaf. But your defiance only amuses us. The convergence is endless, and you have only finite strength. Surrender, or see your village annihilated."
Naruto drew in a ragged breath, meeting the creature's gaze with unflinching resolve. "We've heard that threat before. We're still here."
Sasuke flicked blood from his sword, turning his Rinnegan upon the regal shadow. Sakura and Anon flanked him, each brimming with cautious fury. Ryusei found a vantage on a fractured rooftop, his aura vibrating with tension. Thousands of creatures still teemed below, but they paused, awaiting a signal from their commander.
"You cannot stand against the will of the infinite," the creature growled, staff crackling with arcs of malevolent lightning. "Even your new powers are crumbs before the feast that is the convergence. I'll devour your world as we devoured countless others."
Minato, perched on the damaged Hokage Monument, commanded every shinobi to hold their positions. No one flinched as the regal figure conjured a sphere of roiling black flames above its staff, prepared to hurl it down. Naruto inhaled deeply, forming a gargantuan Rasengan layered with Time's compression at the ready. Sasuke's sword glowed with Void lightning, while Sakura summoned a matrix of Light illusions around them. Anon melded into the shadows, illusions already unraveling to disguise the squads. Ryusei's eyes flared, arms raised to shape temporal distortions. The moment crackled with a sense of finality.
In a heartbeat, the regal figure launched its blazing sphere. It hurtled earthward, trailing shrieking tendrils of dark energy that threatened to warp the entire courtyard into an abyss. Minato flickered in a burst of Spacefold, placing an advanced array of dimensional seals in the sphere's path. The ball slowed, buckling space around it, but not fully halting. Tendrils lashed out to unravel the seals. Ryusei stepped in, weaving temporal folds to stall the sphere's momentum. Their combined efforts pinned it midair, a swirling ball of annihilation crackling inches above the ground.
"Sakura!" Naruto roared. She nodded, fists flaring as she hammered the orb with a cataclysmic strike of Light. Sasuke's Chidori raked across its surface, while Naruto slammed a Time-rasengan into its underside. The regal figure snarled overhead, pouring more energy into the orb. For a harrowing second, it seemed unstoppable. Then something gave. The orb destabilized, collapsing into a swirling vortex of negative energy that vanished with a shockwave of wind.
The cost was heavy. Naruto stumbled, chest heaving. Sasuke winced, the feedback stinging his nerves. Sakura had to lean on a piece of broken rubble, eyes narrowed in pain, and Ryusei's arms shook from sustaining massive time manipulations. Yet the orb was gone, and the center of the village remained standing. Another narrow victory.
The regal figure snarled from above. "You resist even now. Then I have no choice but to unleash the final wave. Pray you find peace in oblivion, Leaf."
Lightning flashed, and the figure vanished into the swirling red clouds. Below, monstrous roars renewed. A fresh legion of horrors crawled forth, eyes glinting in the shadows, the air thick with gloom. Bruised but unbroken, the defenders steeled themselves once again. They might be nearing their limits, but no one spoke of surrender.
"We can do this," Naruto said, voice ragged but unyielding. "We don't stop until they're all gone."
Sasuke and Sakura exchanged determined nods, while Anon and Ryusei braced for yet another round. The night wore on, the village battered but alive, hearts pounding as they prepared for the next punishing wave. Far above, the storm churned, each thunderclap a promise of deeper horrors. And yet, in that glimmer of battered hope, the Leaf shinobi stood ready, the ties of unity stronger than any shadow seeking to devour them.
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