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As if Ultraman's declaration had finally pushed it over the edge, Zetton let out a low, furious roar. The scales along its back flared open, launching even more fireballs—denser, faster, deadlier.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent energy swallowed the battlefield in an instant.
Zero and Cosmos darted through the suffocating curtain of fire, weaving through explosions that rained down like a meteor storm. The earth below endured impacts beyond imagination.
Every fireball that struck the ground triggered a catastrophic explosion. Thick smoke billowed upward. Mountains cracked and collapsed.
It looked like the end of the world.
"Cosmos! Circle around to directly above it!"
Zero barked the order without hesitation. His battle instincts were razor sharp. Against a giant enemy like this, he had already found the best strategy.
Zero flipped sharply through the air, narrowly dodging two massive fireballs that shot past his face. Then he crossed his arms. The twin ice blades on his head—his Ultra Sluggers—shot forward with a shrieking howl that split the air.
They tore through space and streaked straight toward Zetton's head.
Bang!!
The sluggers struck dead on target.
But the next moment was enough to make anyone's heart stop.
The impact vanished like a stone sinking into the sea. It caused no real damage at all. Zetton's bloated body merely swayed slightly before its indestructible armor bounced the sluggers away.
And the instant they rebounded—
Zetton seized the opportunity.
A fully charged fireball detonated point-blank against Zero's chest.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion swallowed him instantly.
The shockwave blasted the Giant of Light backward like a kite with its strings cut. He tumbled helplessly through the air before slamming hard into a distant mountainside.
Naruto World
Kakashi Hatake unconsciously swallowed.
Behind his mask, his face had gone pale.
The horror of Hyper Zetton had far exceeded anything he'd imagined. The power behind its casual attacks rivaled a complete Tailed Beast Bomb.
At the head of the room, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat silently.
The Jonin meeting had come to a complete halt.
Every elite ninja remaining in Konoha had witnessed the scene of utter devastation.
"This… this is insane…"
Kurenai Yuhi's eyes were wide, her body trembling slightly.
Watching mountains crumble and explosions tear the land apart, she felt like she had been dragged back twelve years into the nightmare of the Nine-Tails' rampage.
That night, her father had died beneath the Nine-Tails' fangs, his blood staining Konoha's streets.
Asuma Sarutobi felt a chill crawl down his spine.
During the Nine-Tails disaster, he had been stationed with the Fire Daimyo and avoided the catastrophe by chance.
But seeing Hyper Zetton now, feeling the overwhelming destructive pressure even through the screen, gave him a glimpse of what Konoha must have endured when the Nine-Tails descended.
The room fell silent.
These were Konoha's elite ninja. They had all lived through the Nine-Tails' fury. The pain of broken families and lost loved ones had carved scars deep into their souls.
And because of that…
A complicated, hidden resentment slithered quietly into many of their hearts.
The object of that resentment was the beast sealed inside Naruto Uzumaki—the savage Nine-Tailed Fox.
It was a pure, stubborn hatred.
Hiruzen's sharp gaze swept across every face in the room like a hawk. He saw it clearly: the lingering fear, the rejection, the distrust.
"Ahem."
He raised a hand and pointed toward the screen where Hyper Zetton was wreaking havoc.
"That monster… makes you feel suffocated with fear, doesn't it?"
The Third Hokage's question made every ninja tense.
Almost all of them nodded instinctively.
"You're not wrong," Hiruzen continued slowly. "If even one of those attacks landed on our village, the result would be a disaster beyond repair."
He took a deep drag from his pipe. Smoke curled through his steady gaze, as if pulling old memories out with it.
"I have only felt this level of destructive terror once in my life. When the Nine-Tails went berserk."
His voice suddenly hardened.
"Of course you hate it. You hate the creature that destroyed your homes and took your loved ones."
Before anyone could agree, his tone turned cold.
"But tell me this—what right do you have to transfer that hatred onto the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki… Naruto Uzumaki?"
The words struck like a whip.
Most of the Jonin froze in place, their expressions turning awkward and ashamed.
Only a few people like Kakashi and Kurenai remained calm.
Hiruzen snorted.
"You shouldn't hate him. You should be grateful to him!"
"Because Naruto Uzumaki is Konoha's hero."
"And his entire family… are heroes who gave everything for this village."
He sighed, then slowly revealed a secret that had been buried for years.
"This was supposed to remain the village's highest classified secret. But now… it's time you pillars of Konoha learned the truth."
"Remember. This does not leave this room."
His feelings were complicated.
After deducing Naruto's identity long ago, he had always intended to reveal it at the right moment to stabilize the village's core.
But he had never found the right opportunity.
Until now.
This sudden "heavenly screen" showing world-destroying monsters had given him the perfect excuse.
The Jonin stared at him in confusion.
Hiruzen's voice cut through the room like a blade.
"Naruto Uzumaki is indeed the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."
"But without him, the Nine-Tails would still be rampaging through our village."
"Do you know who he really is?"
"He is the son of the Fourth Hokage… Minato Namikaze."
The room exploded with shock.
"The Fourth Hokage sacrificed everything. He sealed the Nine-Tails into his newborn son with his own hands!"
"Minato was a hero!"
"And Naruto, like his father, is the savior who protected the village!"
Hiruzen's voice rose sharply.
"And what has he received in return?"
"Years of hatred!"
"Endless insults!"
"He lost both parents and grew up alone, yet he still endured it all and kept moving forward with unbelievable willpower!"
Every word struck like a hammer.
"Ask yourselves honestly," Hiruzen roared. "Have you done right by Minato!? By Konoha's greatest hero!?"
The revelation crashed down like thunder.
Aside from Kakashi and a few others, the Jonin were completely stunned.
Their minds buzzed.
Naruto Uzumaki.
The "demon fox brat" they had feared and despised…
…was the Fourth Hokage's son?
What had they done all these years to the orphan of their greatest hero?
"How… how is that possible…?"
One Jonin staggered back, face pale with disbelief.
"I… what have I done to the Fourth's child… I'm unforgivable…"
Another covered his head in anguish. Tears filled his eyes.
Minato Namikaze—the legendary Yellow Flash—had always been his idol.
Yet he had treated Minato's son with nothing but rejection and ridicule. He had even warned his own children never to go near that "demon fox."
"Reflect on your actions," Hiruzen said quietly.
"This matter is not to be spread outside. For now… our responsibility is to protect Naruto."
He slowly closed his eyes.
Even if the secret stayed hidden, the attitudes of these Jonin would change dramatically from now on.
It was the simplest and most effective way to make Naruto feel that he belonged to Konoha.
Meanwhile…
Inside the dark underground base of Root.
Danzo Shimura stared at the image of Hyper Zetton with blazing eyes.
His body trembled slightly with excitement.
What terrifying power.
Its destructive force seemed even greater than the Nine-Tails.
If…
If he could somehow control that kind of power…
Who in the ninja world could possibly stop him?
"What a shame…"
Danzo's face darkened with frustration.
Such overwhelming power… far beyond even the Nine-Tails sealed within a jinchūriki.
Yet it would never belong to him.
On the battlefield—
Though Zero had been blasted away, his reckless charge had successfully drawn Zetton's attention, creating a perfect opening for Cosmos.
Cosmos shot upward like a comet.
Blue light flared in his palm as he dove down and slammed his hand onto the sac-like organ on Zetton's back that launched the fireballs.
The blow carried tremendous light energy.
BOOM!
The energy sac exploded instantly.
But for a monster on Hyper Zetton's level…
It only forced it to take two steps back.
Cosmos himself was thrown flying by the violent recoil.
BOOM!
He crashed into a mountain like a cannonball.
The entire peak collapsed under the impact, dust billowing everywhere.
Seeing this, Zero pumped his fist and shouted:
"Nice one!!"
At least their combined attack had worked.
They had broken its defense.
Cosmos steadied himself in midair and prepared to destroy the second energy sac.
But this time—
Zetton didn't give him the chance.
In a flash, two gigantic scythe-like claws shot out from its chest.
They slashed toward Cosmos with lightning speed.
BOOM!!!
Cosmos had no time to react.
Before he could even raise a defense, the blades had already cut across his body.
He was sent flying and crashed heavily to the ground.
He struggled to rise.
But he couldn't.
One strike.
Just one.
Ultraman Cosmos had completely lost the ability to fight.
Zero stared in horror at his fallen ally in the distance.
But he didn't even have time to worry.
Because Zetton's follow-up attack had already arrived.
From its remaining energy sac, a rain of fireballs poured down toward the cliff where Cosmos lay.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
The earth shook violently.
The mountainside collapsed as huge boulders rained down.
Cosmos couldn't dodge.
He was instantly buried beneath the falling rocks, completely unconscious.
But Zetton wasn't done.
With savage brutality, it raised its claws and slashed repeatedly at the buried spot.
BANG! BANG! BANG!!!
Shockwaves surged through the ground like erupting ley lines, blasting up massive clouds of dust.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The subterranean shockwave detonated.
Cosmos was completely swallowed by the devastating force.
"COSMOS!!!"
Zero's eyes were bloodshot with rage.
He never imagined that someone as powerful as Cosmos would be utterly helpless before Hyper Zetton.
But he had no time to think.
Because Zetton's cold gaze had already locked onto him.
He was the next prey.
"Damn it!!"
Zero roared.
His arrogance and fighting spirit exploded.
The rebounding Ultra Sluggers snapped together in his hands, forming a massive green-glowing blade.
He shot into the sky without hesitation and charged straight at Zetton's massive scythe.
CLANG!!!
Metal shrieked against metal.
Before Zero could even savor the counterattack, a terrifying force warped the air itself as it surged through the blade.
It nearly knocked the weapon from his hands.
"Damn you!!"
Zero gritted his teeth and fought to resist the overwhelming power.
But after only a few seconds—
He lost.
Zetton hurled him away like trash.
BOOM!!!
Zero crashed heavily onto the scorched ground, pain exploding through his body.
For a moment, he couldn't even stand.
Far away in the Ultra Universe.
K76 Planet — Training Grounds.
Zero stood frozen.
His pride had just shattered.
At the beginning of the video, the King of Ultra had stopped his extreme training and asked him to watch.
What Zero never expected…
…was to see his future self on the heavenly screen.
The tactics, the combat awareness, the way he fought Zetton at first—it had filled him with pride.
He could tell clearly that if his current self faced that monster, he'd be obliterated instantly.
But his future self had become that strong.
For a brief moment, pride swelled in his chest.
Then it was crushed mercilessly.
He watched Cosmos fall.
He watched himself rush forward to fight Zetton head-on—
—and get casually swatted away like a bug, smashing face-first into the ground.
Zero froze completely.
An utterly dumbfounded expression spread across his face.
He hadn't even had time to enjoy feeling proud…
…and his future self had already been humiliated at light speed.
He slowly turned toward the King of Ultra.
"…King of Ultra… is Hyper Zetton really that strong?"
"....."