Wrong—something was very wrong.
After Tatsumi felled the Nation-Protecting Machine God, the footage kept rolling.
By rights it should freeze on his determined face and fade to black, just like Tanjiro's scene.
But the screen hadn't gone dark yet, which meant the video wasn't over.
Naruto World
Naruto, watching the heavily wounded Tatsumi on-screen, was cheering just as loudly.
He clearly believed that if Tatsumi could beat such a powerful enemy through willpower and the strength of his comrades, then his own dream of becoming Hokage was totally achievable.
"So he was beaten just like that?" Sasuke frowned; he'd never expected a ninja tool that looked so mighty to be crushed so quickly.
It left him deeply disappointed—Itachi was far stronger than the figure in the video: an S-rank missing-nin with terrifying power, the man who had wiped out the entire Uchiha clan in a single night and awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
At the thought, Sasuke clenched his fists, his face filled with frustration.
"I really was too naive; relying on outside power is pointless. I have to get stronger myself, and fast."
Sakura Haruno's mouth hung open. She wasn't as thick-skinned as Naruto, nor did she brood like Sasuke.
She was simply stunned: the Nation-Protecting Machine God had entered with such overwhelming force, like a deity descending.
So why had it been destroyed in under thirty seconds by that golden-armored youth?
'Every jutsu has a weakness; the kid must have found this ninja tool's flaw and smashed it in one shot.'
Kakashi quietly exhaled and wiped the cold sweat from his brow. The stronger you were, the more you understood.
To Naruto's team, it looked like sheer grit had let the boy wreck the weapon.
But Kakashi knew a tool that massive, capable of the damage shown, had already reached Tailed Beast level.
Thank goodness it was only a ninja tool, not an actual Tailed Beast—and now it was destroyed.
Otherwise, the Ninja World would probably be plunging into another war over the thing.
As Kakashi watched the enormous Nation-Protecting Machine God topple, he suddenly felt something was off—why hadn't the video ended?
The next instant the camera cut to a crowd of terrified civilians.
Night Raid Headquarters
'This is bad!!'
Najenda realized what was happening, her expression turning grim.
'!!!' So did Akame, unease flashing across her face.
It wasn't just them; no one in Night Raid was stupid. One look at the fallen Machine God and the civilians below told them something had gone wrong.
Sure enough, Tatsumi spotted the crowd and the collapsing giant. Without a word he flew forward, determined to stop the Machine God from the front.
One-Punch Man World
Genos was stunned by Tatsumi's move. "Is he insane?! He's going to catch that colossal robot head-on?!"
If Genos were in Tatsumi's place, he'd ignore the giant and evacuate the civilians instead.
With his speed, rescuing those people who'd somehow wandered onto the battlefield would be easy.
But Tatsumi was trying to stop the massive machine from the front—suicide!
Even if he'd found its weakness and defeated it, the thing's sheer size remained.
If it had been uninjured and at full power, maybe he could hold it back.
Right now, though, he was badly wounded from the fight—how could he possibly stop its fall?
"..."
Saitama watched in silence, a different emotion flickering in his eyes.
He said nothing, simply observing; it was Tatsumi's choice.
With his strength, the boy could have ignored the civilians and survived, but he chose to protect them, willing to pay any price—including his life.
Demon Slayer World
'This boy, too, has a gentle heart that wants to protect others,' Rengoku Kyojuro said, smiling sadly.
He could see that Tatsumi wouldn't make it; he was spent, unable to keep fighting.
Even through the screen, Rengoku could tell Tatsumi's body had hit its limit; he was holding up the falling Machine God on sheer willpower.
"Hang in there!!! Don't lose!!"
Inosuke roared, ignoring his injured throat as he stared at the screen. "Don't let it crush you!!"
"You can do it!" Tanjiro shouted.
Agatsuma Zenitsu, moved by Tatsumi's resolve, joined in. "Don't lose!!"
No matter how loud their cheers, no miracle appeared on-screen.
The Nation-Protecting Machine God came down. Tatsumi gave his life to keep it from landing on the civilians.
Arms spread, back against the Machine God's head, Tatsumi looked as though he'd simply fallen asleep.
The picture vanished, plunging into darkness.
Type-Moon/Fate World
"The final Incursio."
Gilgamesh watched the scene unfold, a delighted smile on his face. "Interesting. 'Final'—does that mean death?"
"The final battle, the final transformation, ending in death."
"Fascinating. A different kind of 'burning passion'? This video editor is truly amusing."
Gilgamesh finished his red wine; clearly he held this ninth-ranked recap in very high regard.
Night Raid Headquarters.
Everyone stared at the last scene in silence—none of them had seen it coming.
After all that effort defeating the Nation-Protecting Machine God, Tatsumi had died saving the people.
Smack!
Bulat slapped Tatsumi's back and gave him a thumbs-up. "As expected of you, Tatsumi. You looked incredibly cool protecting those civilians."
"Ha… hahaha…" Tatsumi had no idea how to respond.
He hadn't yet lived through those trials, so the version of himself on-screen felt unreal.
"We've gathered a lot of valuable intel," Najenda said with a smile; the haul this time was huge.
Put to good use, it might let every one of them avoid death.