The flames contracted violently...
For a split second, it seemed as if they had frozen upon shrinking to their absolute limit. Then, they exploded outward, pouring heat and raw energy into the surrounding sky like a nuclear detonation.
A wild shockwave carved a massive ring over a thousand meters wide through the heavens, instantly scattering the nearby clouds.
At the center of the blast, the erupting energy formed a brilliant sphere over ten meters in diameter. The fiery red hue blotted out the sun, painting the sky like an apocalyptic twilight.
Then, the gravitational force suddenly vanished.
The giant boulders, people, and ruined structures that had been pulled into the sky began falling back toward the earth...
Everyone cheered with relief. Some even screamed at the top of their lungs to vent the terror they had just experienced.
Their joy, however, lasted for less than a second before a gravitational pull ten times more ferocious than before burst forth from the sky.
Not only were the falling people and debris instantly sucked back up, but entire mountain peaks and the very landscape of Kumogakure were uprooted. The land shattered in midair, turning into crushed rock that was drawn toward the core, forming an enormous celestial body.
Within ten seconds, the sun was completely blocked out by a massive sphere several kilometers wide.
Jokichi looked up at the colossal object in the sky, remaining silent.
He had intended to teach Kumogakure a lesson from the very beginning. He wanted them to understand the vast gap between an ordinary shinobi and a Six Paths-level entity, purely to reduce friction during the eventual unification of the world.
He had never intended to wipe Kumogakure off the map. From start to finish, he had been holding back.
After all, as the village with the strongest military power among the Five Great Shinobi Countries, their strength would be a tremendous asset to the entire Shinobi World once it connected to other dimensions in the future.
Even when he unleashed Chibaku Tensei at the end, Jokichi had been suppressing its full power, aiming only to sweep up the shinobi in this immediate area.
However, Yugito's Tailed Beast Ball had broken his hold over the gravity sphere. The suppressed energy was unleashed in full force, uprooting the entirety of Kumogakure.
Where Kumogakure had once been a landscape of towering peaks, there was now only a crater hundreds of meters deep. The only thing left standing was the single stone pillar beneath Jokichi's feet.
I suppose they brought this on themselves.
Jokichi could not help but shake his head. He raised a hand and gestured toward the sky. The massive cat demon broke through the outer shell of the sphere, plunging into the deep crater at blinding speed.
BOOM!
The giant beast crashed into the earth, shaking the ground and kicking up a towering cloud of dust.
When the dust finally settled, the massive cat demon had reverted to her original form...
She was a woman covered in grime, yet her expression remained calm and steady.
She had lost all ability to resist...
Though she tried to force herself up, her legs failed her completely.
Jokichi leaped down from the stone pillar and walked toward Yugito step by step. His unhurried footsteps echoed against the bare rock with rhythmic taps.
Hearing the approaching steps, Yugito raised her head to look at Jokichi. Unyielding hatred and bitter indignation burned in her eyes.
"Who are you?"
"What on earth is your goal?"
Jokichi stopped in front of Yugito, looking down at her with a cold, indifferent gaze devoid of any pity.
"Just a bit of chakra from Matatabi, the Two-Tails."
"Matatabi!"
Yugito froze.
She had never imagined that she was the sole reason for her village's destruction. Boundless remorse and tears poured from her eyes.
"Why... why?"
"If your target was me all along, why did you have to destroy the village? Why did you do something so unnecessary?"
Yugito shouted her questions aloud.
She was not naive enough to expect a genuine answer, nor was she truly interrogating Jokichi. She was simply venting the overwhelming guilt and self-blame in her heart.
Surprisingly, Jokichi answered her.
"Because the shinobi of Kumogakure place a high value on loyalty. If I had come for you alone, things would have likely ended up exactly like this anyway."
"To be honest, I really just wanted a little bit of chakra. I originally intended to discuss it with the Raikage, but he didn't even give me the chance to explain before attacking outright."
"The destruction of your village wasn't caused by you. It was caused by your arrogance and pride."
"Praising yourselves as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, boasting the strongest military power in the entire Shinobi World, and looking down on everyone else... That is your crime."
"That's not a crime!" Yugito stood up on trembling legs, her gaze resolute. "That... is our pride, ahhh!!!"
With a fierce roar, Yugito charged forward.
It was a desperate charge into the depths of hell. Yugito hoped to die before Jokichi could take Matatabi's chakra.
If she died, Matatabi, whose life was bound to its Jinchuriki, would perish as well and require time to revive.
Even if she could not stop this monster completely, she wanted to spite him and throw a wrench into his plans.
That was Yugito's sole intention.
However—
Swish!
Jokichi raised a hand, unleashing a powerful gravitational force that instantly dragged her through the air. His right hand clamped tightly around her throat.
Activating the ability of the Preta Path, Matatabi's chakra was forcefully siphoned out through Yugito's body.
[Ding! Special material "Matatabi's Chakra" detected. The special item "Ring of Matatabi" can be forged. Forged now?]
Not yet.
Jokichi declined the system prompt in his mind, then turned his gaze back to Yugito.
Watching her tragic, beautiful face turn pale as she struggled to breathe, Jokichi flicked his right wrist and tossed her aside.
Here I am trying to save the world, yet I end up looking like a demon king.
"Cough, cough..."
Yugito clutched her neck, breathing frantically for a few moments until the color returned to her face.
Her eyes, dripping with hatred, glared directly at Jokichi. "You destroyed our entire village, yet you dare claim you're saving the world?! What kind of sick mindset allows you to say such words?"
"...Our perspectives are simply too far apart. Even if I explained it to you, you wouldn't understand." Jokichi turned around and slowly walked away. "The Progenitor of Chakra is about to awaken, and the Eye of the Moon will shine upon the Shinobi World once more. When that happens, the entire world will fall into eternal silence. I am merely preparing for the impending destruction."
"Kumogakure has descendants of the Six Paths as well, doesn't it? You should possess some ancient secrets handed down through generations. If you still don't understand, you can just ask Matatabi inside you."
"By the way, Chibaku Tensei is a sealing jutsu. Your comrades aren't dead. Once the chakra maintaining the technique runs out, it will automatically disperse."
"Of course, it's a rather rough sealing technique, so I can't guarantee that every single person will survive."
Yugito stared blankly as Jokichi's figure vanished into the distance, before weeping tears of relief.
As long as the people were still alive, the village could be rebuilt.
Compared to the incomprehensible talk about the Progenitor of Chakra and the Eye of the Moon Plan, Yugito only cared about the fact that her comrades were still alive.
This is bad...
Matatabi's voice echoed in Yugito's mind.
I hate to ruin the mood while you're celebrating, but things are genuinely terrible!
"W-What's wrong?" Yugito asked, momentarily stunned.
The one who treated the Shinobi World as a farm and human life as fertilizer...
The mother of the Sage of Six Paths, the Progenitor of Chakra... Otsutsuki Kaguya...
If that man wasn't lying, the entire Shinobi World is about to face an unprecedented catastrophe. It's very likely that the human race will be completely wiped out.