Anko felt cold when she did not see the body explode and reveal itself to be a Shadow Clone.
Instead, the Uzumaki's body lay on the ground, with blood leaking out of him.
Hiruko smiled when he saw the Chakra Chains around him dissipate, and grinned when he saw the Hebi-sensei let out a rage-filled cry.
However, all of them suddenly froze as their hearts briefly stopped.
The world around them started to twist, and they finally realised that they were inside some sort of Genjutsu.
Before they could try to break out of it, they were freed, and both Anko and Kakashi were stunned when they saw Hiruko bound against the Steel Sphere with the Chakra Chains that were coming out of it.
And the Steel Sphere was somehow on top of the Forest of Ice Spears now...
Wait... was it not always there? The realisation dawned on them, and they blinked in surprise at what they heard next.
Hiruko was screaming his heart out in unimaginable pain, and Anko rushed forward without wasting any time.
She grabbed her kunai and impaled Hiruko, but then, to her dismay, the man's body broke apart into pieces and escaped the Chakra Chains, which were now becoming dim.
Realising what was happening, she glanced at Kakashi, who immediately rushed forward and used Raikiri on the Steel Tomb, trying to break Enma out of it.
Luckily, they managed to get to him, and then Anko smacked her fist on the Steel Sphere, breaking it into pieces.
The Uzumaki gasped for breath as soon as he was freed, but then grabbed them with his Chakra Chains before throwing them back.
Enma performed some hand seals and then smashed his palms in the air.
"Sealing Art: The Octagonal Prism." He lightly said, still fighting for breath, and soon barriers shot out from under Hiruko's body, and he was caged inside a transparent barrier.
Anko and Kakashi watched as Enma threw himself back in their direction with his Chakra Chains, and when they caught him, he started breathing heavily.
They were relieved to see that he was fine, just tired, but then their hearts slowed down when they saw Hiruko morphing into a terrifying creature that looked more like a demon than a human.
"Run!" Enma screamed, and Anko instinctively grabbed him and ran out of the hills with Kakashi.
Karin, who was carrying a girl in her arms, was already leading everyone away from the hills, and into the forest. A minute later, she suddenly jumped on the ground and activated the seals that were hidden on the back of her hands.
All of them gathered around her as she smashed her palm on the ground, soon covering them all inside a dome-shaped barrier, and they understood why she created it when they saw the light flash from the hills.
The evening briefly turned into midday, and then they saw the massive shock waves rushing at them followed by an apocalyptic sound of the explosion.
The moment the shock waves hit the barrier, they all thought that they were going to die.
Their entire world turned blinding white, and Princess Naho, who was in the arms of Karin's Shadow Clone, instantly fainted at the shock of it all.
The flash passed, but the shock waves kept hitting the barrier, which soon started to crack under the pressure.
However, it somehow survived, and only shattered apart when the pressure of the blast passed by them.
Enma quickly summoned a similar barrier again, just in time before the scorching heat could burn them.
He was panting heavily as he was very tired now, and Karin did not care about anything else as she supported him when he was about to fall back.
She wanted to share her Chakra with him, but he stubbornly refused, and she pouted.
In her heart, she was stunned that he was this tired. She had never seen him like this.
It should not have been possible for him to run out of Chakra...
However, soon, her face turned pale, and when she looked outside the barrier, she saw a fifteen-foot tall demon walking towards them with glowing red eyes. He did not even seem bothered by the terrifying heat.
"W-what's that?" Ino stammered, and everyone else was tense as well.
"That's Hiruko," Kakashi whispered and flinched when the monster smacked his fists on the barrier, soon unleashing a barrage of them, which made the structure shake and crack.
"Any ideas how we can beat him?" Asuma pensively asked.
"I am too tired to use my Chakra Chains now." Enma shook his head. "The only sure-shot way to beat him is through Sage Arts. He has made his body nature's enemy, and he won't be able to absorb nature's energy. In fact, he is weak against it. Using Ninjutsu is pointless. And Taijutsu is useless as well."
"Heh..." Guy smiled and quickly made up his mind. "When the barrier falls, run. I will deal with this one. What's his name again?"
"Guy..."
"That's my name, Kakashi." The man gave his thumbs up and a bright smirk and everyone felt their hearts drop.
Anko was staring at the monster, and she was ready to reveal the power of her Cursed Mark. She now knew that she had a chance to beat this thing, but she was quite worried about leaving her Team behind. If she failed, and this man went after them...
"Guy, I will deal with him..." She never got to finish her words as she heard her student's voice.
"Onee-sama... help," Karin whispered, and when they all glanced at her, they found a seal on the back of her left hand, which was lit up.
The next instant, someone suddenly appeared on top of the monster's head, and she curiously looked at all of them, who were caged inside the dome.
Kushina's eyes landed on Enma, and then on Pakura and Kahyo. She also looked at the rest and found them all haggard, and then she tilted her head and jumped up when Hiruko tried to grab her.
She suddenly appeared right behind the monster with a sword in her hand but was surprised when it hit the body and sparks flew.
Her eyes instinctively glanced in her nephew's direction, who mouthed Sage Art with his lips, and she quickly got the gist of what was happening.
The people inside the dome watched in a trance as the Uzumaki Matriarch activated a seal on her body, and then her pupils formed a vortex pattern, spreading over her irises. She also had glowing red and golden vortex seals on her cheeks, and one in the centre of her forehead, which were slowly revolving.
She rushed back as the monster chased after her, but then she suddenly stopped and appeared right under it to bury a punch in its belly.
Anko and Kakashi stared in disbelief as Hiruko was sent flying into the sky like an arrow, and then Kushina appeared in the sky, leaving behind a red blur. She kicked him right back to the ground.
The heavy body crashed, quickly forming a crater, resulting in an explosion, and then the Uzumaki Matriarch dived right into the depression and disappeared from their eyes.
Shizuka felt dizzy at the sheer display of physical strength, but Lee had bright stars in his eyes after what he had just witnessed.
Guy, on the other hand, was stupefied just like the rest.
A while later, they watched another explosion come out of the crater, and the next instant, Kushina appeared in front of the barrier. Her eyes had returned to normal, and the three glowing seals on her face were slowly disappearing as well.
Enma, who had caught his breath, opened the Barrier and winced when the Uzumaki Matriarch grabbed him by his collar and lifted him as if he were a sack of potatoes.
Everyone sweated at the sight of him being treated this way, and they watched Kushina lovingly pat Karin's head, a stark contrast in her attitude and treatment towards her nephew and her niece.
"Who's this?"
"Naho," the Uzumaki Princess informed her aunt. "She is the Fire Daimyo's granddaughter. Our mission was to rescue her."
"And she?"
Karin looked behind and saw the woman with midnight blue hair.
"She's Yuki Kahyo, and survivor of the Bloodline Purge in the Hidden Mist. She helped us."
"Oh."
"Is he dead?" Kahyo looked at her and asked, and Kushina brightly smiled at her.
"Of course. He was way too weak. I don't know why you guys were scared of him."
They all deadpanned at her words, and chills rushed up their spines.
"Let go..." Enma suddenly said, and regretted it immediately as she really let go and he dropped on the ground.
"Why do you have metallic dust inside your body?"
Her question made everyone tense up, and Anko and Kakashi looked at him in shock.
"That man had a Magnet Kekkei Genkai, and he was controlling metallic dust... he imprisoned me with it inside a Steel Tomb..."
"And you let him imprison you?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
Enma kept quiet, and Kushina kept staring at him for several minutes.
"You don't need me to help you clear it. Do you?"
"No."
"Hmph! Suit yourself." She said and glanced at Pakura.
"She helped us too." Karin immediately said.
"Pakura of the Sand..."
"I don't associate myself with Hidden Sand. So don't call me that."
"Oh?" Kushina interestedly looked at her.
The Kunoichi stood up and looked at the Uzumaki boy, who was again panting for breath.
"I am free to go, right?"
"Yeah..."
She nodded her head and turned around, but froze when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"No, you are not free to leave." Kushina coldly said and then grabbed Kahyo as well before she disappeared with the two.
"Is that the Flying Thunder God Technique?" Asuma looked at the Uzumaki Princess when his shock wore off, and Karin shook her head.
"It's a Jutsu my father created and taught her. We don't know what exactly it is." Enma said as he panted harder for breath, and Karin, now aware of why her brother was behaving like this, worriedly looked at him.
She was about to help him heal before he turned her hands away.
"Nii-san!" She glowered at him for being so prideful as to not accept her help.
"I will deal with it myself, Karin. I was negligent. It's my punishment." He said as he forced himself to stand up.
"Why are you so stubborn?!" Ino screamed at him, and her outburst made everyone flinch.
"Because if something like this happens to me again in the future, and there's no one by my side to help me, I should know how to bear this pain and fix my own body. Especially when I have the power to do it." He sighed but then winced in pain again.
"You are brimming with the power of youth! I like it!"
Guy Sensei gave him a thumbs-up, and everyone sweated at his words.
"No, he is just a stupid kid." Anko rolled her eyes and then picked up Naho in her arms. "Mission accomplished. Let's get back to the village."
Everyone glanced around the Akagahara Forest, which no longer existed, and then sighed in their hearts in relief before they followed the Hebi-sensei and headed back to Konoha.