Although Eren, the titan-shifter, had fallen,
the operation had to continue. To protect him, the humans began diverting the giants' attention, keeping them away from the immobile Eren.
The video went on: instead of fighting the giants head-on, the soldiers distracted them and herded them toward the base of the wall.
Even so, corpses and blood littered the ground and the rooftops.
It was a battle without hope, yet these humans still fought on.
Unlike Tanjiro, Tatsumi, or Emiya Shirou, who fought alone, the people in this Number 7 countdown fought as a group.
They were afraid, terrified even, but they still battled to protect the people inside the wall.
At that moment the blond boy from earlier appeared. Spotting a nearby girl, he asked, "Mikasa, how's the operation going?"
"Armin?"
Mikasa was clearly startled to see Armin there. "Get away from here, it's dangerous! That titan isn't acting on Eren's will right now."
I talk to him, but he doesn't react at all.
Now it's pointless for anyone to speak to him.
Armin heard this and asked urgently, "What about the plan?!"
"It failed!" Mikasa continued. "Because no one can abandon Eren, everyone keeps fighting."
"But… if this goes on, more Titans will swarm us and we'll all be wiped out."
In less than a minute their exchange painted a perfect picture of despair.
They can't leave Eren behind; he's the only human who can turn into a Titan—our most valuable weapon.
Unlike the rest of us, Eren, who can become a Titan, is infinitely more important.
At that moment, images flashed through Armin's mind—Eren emerging from the Titan's nape.
He slowly drew the blade at his waist and murmured, "One meter long, ten centimeters wide."
"Armin!" Mikasa, seeing his movement, couldn't fathom what he intended.
"I'm going to pull Eren out," Armin shouted to her. "Mikasa, hold off the Titans here!"
"Huh?" Mikasa froze for an instant.
"Eren always appears from the Titan's weak spot; that must be tied to the core mystery of these creatures."
With that, Armin fired his anchor, locking himself onto Titan-Eren, and whispered, "It's fine—avoid the center and I won't die. Just a little pain."
The moment the words left his lips, he plunged the blade into the Titan, right where Eren was.
"Aaaaargh!!!"
The Titan, motionless on the ground seconds earlier, now roared and thrashed wildly.
"Armin, don't be reckless!" Mikasa yelled.
Dangling beside the rampaging Titan, Armin shouted back, "Mikasa, do what only you can! If you move, people will live!"
"Leave Eren to me—go!"
Gritting her teeth at those words, Mikasa finally sprinted away, weapons ready.
Outside the video.
Naruto World.
"How do we fix this—wake Allen's consciousness or what?"
By now Naruto was curious; the title made it clear: "Eren plugs the gate with the boulder—humanity's first victory over a Titan."
From the previous reels Naruto knew Eren would wake up; he just wondered how.
"Probably love!" Sakura said, watching little Eren's warm home and Armin pounding on the window. "Love will wake him, I'm sure."
"No way," Sasuke disagreed. "It'll be his obsession to kill Titans."
The earlier clips showed Eren's hatred for Titans was off the charts.
Just like my own drive to kill Itachi— that same obsession will bring him back.
"…"
Kakashi stayed silent, glancing at Naruto; in a way, Eren's plight mirrored Naruto's.
Back in the Land of Waves, when Sasuke had seemed dead, Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra had nearly burst free and almost unsealed the beast.
Had that happened, the destruction would have dwarfed anything Titan-Eren could cause.
The video rolled on.
Armin told Eren that if he stayed, the Titans would eat him.
Inside the house, little Eren looked at his father, mother, and tiny Mikasa and, asking why he had to go outside and join the Survey Corps, his pupils widened as if struck by a memory.
"Eren," Armin said gently, "we promised we'd explore the world outside someday, remember?"
Eren's pupils shrank; the words hit him hard.
"Far beyond these walls," Armin went on, "we'll see burning water, frozen earth, deserts of snow—"
"—the world my mom and dad wanted to reach."
As he spoke, the screen filled with the pictures in his mind.
A boy raised inside the walls, he idealized everything beyond them.
"I guess you forgot," Armin smiled. "You stopped talking about it with me—"
"—probably so I wouldn't enlist."
The scene shifted: little Eren's eyes trembled as he whispered, "The outside world."
He stood, the blanket sliding to the floor.
Armin pressed on: "Eren, answer me—why risk stepping past the walls into what might be hell?"
"You could die horribly, like my parents—so why do you want to go?"
His question made Eren turn. Looking out at his friend, he said, "You ask why?"
"Isn't it obvious?!"
The camera showed Grisha, Carla, and Mikasa, silent, watching.
Little Eren shouted, "Because I… was born into this world!!"
"Boom—!!"
Flames consumed everything except Eren, who stood with steely eyes.
...
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