[Yugito Nii: Nice one, Samui. You broke the illusion immediately.]
[Mabui: I'd say it's because she and Nagi understand each other perfectly.]
[Atsui: Nice job, sis!]
[Dodai: Since the illusion can be broken, the others might be able to escape it too.]
[Darui: If it's Lord Raikage, he probably doesn't fear anything.]
[Ōnoki: I don't know about the others, but making that brat afraid seems pretty unlikely.]
[Omoi: Lord B should be able to break it too.]
[The screen continues…]
After breaking free from the illusion, Samui noticed that Shizuka was standing there with lifeless eyes.
"Still trapped in the genjutsu?"
Just as she finished speaking, Shizuka's expression suddenly returned to normal.
Not only that—she glared angrily at the Jashin.
"You bastard! How dare you slander Nagi! The man I love is no coward!"
Samui patted her shoulder reassuringly.
"Calm down, Shizuka. That was the Jashin's genjutsu just now. It's probably using those illusions to absorb some kind of energy from everyone."
At that moment, a loud shout rang out.
"You damn bastard! My old man and my brothers are no cowards!!"
The Fourth Raikage, A, had broken free from the illusion.
Then another voice followed.
"You don't even know what rap is! Oh—yeah!"
Killer B had also escaped the genjutsu.
Seeing this, Nagi transmitted his voice directly into the minds of the Kumogakure shinobi.
"Everyone has fear in their hearts."
"But those who succeed know how to control it—rather than letting it control them."
"The strength of the human spirit can overcome everything… even the fear within yourself."
Nagi's words were like heavenly music, shattering the fear lingering in the hearts of the Cloud shinobi.
One by one, they regained their clarity.
"The anthem of humanity is the anthem of courage."
"The greatness of humanity lies in its courage."
"Jashin—you will never defeat mankind."
Nagi increased the output of the Lightning Flash Pillar.
The light intensified, gradually driving back the Jashin's black gaze.
"ROAAAAR!!!"
The Jashin's eyes were injured by the blinding light.
Seizing the opportunity, Nagi clasped his hands together.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
The ocean beneath Cloud–Lightning Gorge suddenly erupted.
An immense torrent of seawater surged upward, surrounding the Jashin and forming a massive water sphere thousands of meters in diameter.
Inside the water sphere, the Jashin's movements became sluggish.
At that moment, Nagi condensed several Explosive Tags dozens of meters wide using natural energy.
"Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags Technique!"
The explosive tags attached themselves to the Jashin's body.
A single tag could continuously summon more explosive tags, triggering relentless chained detonations at fixed points.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Violent explosions erupted inside the water sphere.
Flames illuminated the entire sphere until it resembled a gigantic burning sun.
[Deidara: Now that is art!]
[Kakuzu: Impressive. It's like concentrating Konan's billions of explosive tags into a single point of attack.]
[Mū: The water sphere slows movement, and the explosive tags deliver the killing blow. Tobirama's techniques are as troublesome as ever.]
[Gengetsu Hōzuki: And the way the explosive tags summon more tags perfectly counters the Jashin's regeneration.]
[Hashirama Senju: Hahaha! Tobirama, that's quite a powerful technique!]
[Madara Uchiha: Hmph.]
[Hashirama Senju: Madara, what's wrong?]
[Izuna Uchiha: Hmph. That technique of Tobirama's was designed specifically to counter our Susanoo. You're still as ruthless as ever.]
[Tobirama Senju: Likewise. But I have a feeling Nagi isn't using this as the killing blow… he's trying to hold the Jashin in place.]
[Orochimaru: Oh? That's not the finishing move? What makes you say that, Lord Second?]
[Tobirama Senju: Intuition.]
[The screen continues…]
Suddenly, violent winds swept across Cloud–Lightning Gorge.
The sky rapidly darkened as dense storm clouds gathered.
Nagi felt the strange energy within his body begin to stir.
He closed his eyes.
Then he smiled.
"So that's how it is."
A platform of light appeared beneath his feet.
Slowly, it lifted him into the sky.
Looking calmly at the Jashin still being bombarded below, Nagi spoke:
"In the beginning, no one stands above the heavens."
"Not you."
"Not me."
"Not the Ōtsutsuki."
"Not even the other gods."
"But the unbearable vacancy of the throne of heaven… is about to end."
Nagi raised his head proudly.
His chest pushed forward, hands clasped behind his back, his aura overflowing with dominance.
"From this day on—"
"I shall stand above the heavens."
CRACK!!!
A bolt of thunder tore across the sky above him.
The storm clouds grew even denser.
Within the clouds, purple lightning flickered violently.
It looked as though the heavens themselves had been angered by Nagi's declaration, preparing to punish him.
Below, the Kumogakure shinobi—who had just overcome their fear—felt it return once more.
As they gazed at the lightning in the sky, they felt a terrifying sense of annihilation.
And it wasn't just them.
At that very moment—
Konoha — Hokage Tower
Tsunade looked toward the Land of Lightning with a panicked expression.
Shizune's legs trembled uncontrollably.
Even Tonton squealed in fear and ran around the room.
At the Konoha training grounds, Naruto froze in place.
Inside him, Kurama covered his ears in fear.
Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan and Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan activated instinctively.
Sunagakure
Gaara suddenly felt uneasy.
Inside him, Shukaku grew restless as well.
Kankurō nervously summoned his puppets.
Temari looked anxiously toward the Land of Lightning.
At that moment—
Every living being in the shinobi world felt an overwhelming pressure upon their very existence.
A suffocating sense of fear.
As if—
The heavens themselves had grown angry.
As if—
A divine tribulation had descended.
And it wasn't just those inside the screen.
Even the people watching outside felt an instinctive fear rise from deep within their souls.
[Naruto Uzumaki: Th-this… what is this? I feel… so scared…]
[Minato Namikaze: Naruto… d-don't be afraid… Dad is here.]
[Ōnoki: I… can barely breathe.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: Why do I feel… such natural oppression…?]
[Madara Uchiha: Wh-what is this feeling?!]
[Hashirama Senju: I don't know! Even through the screen my body is trembling!]
[Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki: What exactly is happening here?]
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki: This intensity… it's Shibai! It's Shibai!!! N-no… impossible! Impossible!]
[Isshiki Ōtsutsuki: Damn it… why am even I…]
[Jiraiya: What?! Even the Ōtsutsuki are reacting like this? What is going on? Uncle—this…]
[Tobirama Senju: This is… Nagi… standing above the heavens… are you attempting…]
[Nagi: Teacher… everyone… standing above the heavens is no simple matter.]
"What's coming… is the tribulation I must face to stand above them."
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