Uchiha Sasuke's gaze was, a moment ago, still fixed on Hyuga Kawa.
Watching the man crush the enemy with a posture that was almost cruel, his tightly strung heart had just relaxed for an instant, and the joy of surviving the disaster hadn't even had a chance to bloom in his heart.
The next second, a sudden, unheralded chill shot through his entire body, causing every hair on his body to stand on end.
He didn't even have time to react, as if a flash signal flare had detonated at point-blank range above his head; his vision was instantly and completely drowned out by a pure, blinding white!
His hearing was instantly stripped away, leaving only a high-pitched roar that seemed to shatter his skull, as though he had been thrown inside a giant, madly vibrating bell.
The moment before his vision was completely swallowed, Sasuke's Three-Tomoe Sharingan reflected the distant figure of Hyuga Kawa, who was closest to the light.
Hyuga Kawa had turned his body, facing the torrent with his back, as a ferocious, air-distorting heat wave rushed up from behind him, causing the corners of his cloak to flap violently.
The next moment, a pair of pristine white wings suddenly extended from Hyuga Kawa's back.
Simultaneously, a streak of golden light also began to emanate from within Hyuga Kawa's arms.
So beautiful.
Uchiha Sasuke, whose mind was a blank slate, subconsciously produced this thought in his final moment, a thought purely based on visual instinct.
It was his last thought.
Boom!!
An indescribable impact and heat wave, like countless explosion tags igniting all at once, completely engulfed him and the entire shelter!
Sasuke felt as though he had become a fallen leaf in a gale; a brutal force he couldn't possibly resist slammed into his body.
His body flew up uncontrollably, tumbling helplessly in the air until he smashed into the hard, cold rock wall.
Crack!
A bone-shattering sound erupted from within him, causing Uchiha Sasuke to let out a muffled groan as his body slid weakly down the wall and fell heavily to the ground.
The deafening explosion lasted only a moment, followed by a sharp ringing in his ears that hammered into his brain like steel needles.
He didn't know how long passed before the blinding white before his eyes gradually dissipated, and the ceaseless ringing in his ears slowly receded like a tide. Excruciating pain once again filled his nearly blank mind.
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
Uchiha Sasuke coughed up a large mouthful of blood and struggled to open his eyes, which were heavily bloodshot. His vision was blurred, and he strained to focus on what lay ahead.
He saw a pair of immense white wings spread out to their maximum extent, every feather clearly visible, flowing with a white light.
They sheltered almost every surviving person within the entire shelter.
No, it wasn't just Hyuga Kawa.
Sasuke looked at Hyuga Kawa's pair of wings, and then at Uzumaki Naruto, who was protected within his arms.
At this moment, Naruto's body was covered by a coat of surging crimson chakra, with four tails extended, giving off a menacing, ferocious aura, making him look like a monster.
In addition, five golden chains extended from Naruto's back, rising upward and then dropping around the outside of Hyuga Kawa's white wings that encompassed the crowd.
It was like a giant birdcage.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen were here at this moment, he would immediately recognize this ability that Naruto was unconsciously using.
It was the Barrier Ninjutsu that Uzumaki Kushina had employed using the 'Adamantine Sealing Chains' during the 'Nine-Tails' Attack' many years ago, in a final effort to prevent the Nine-Tails from escaping during its sealing.
Uzumaki Naruto had been imprinted with the 'Karma,' and his bloodline had long been modified, a fact Hyuga Kawa naturally knew.
But Naruto had always been driven by instinct to unconsciously suppress this power to restrict the Nine-Tails. Now, under Hyuga Kawa's guidance, it was released together with the Nine-Tails' chakra.
"Is that... Naruto?"
Feeling the ferocious and mighty aura and seeing Naruto's completely altered appearance, Uchiha Sasuke's expression turned solemn.
The survivors also snapped out of the shadow of death, staring blankly at the massive wings that had spread open to shelter them.
The wings flowed with a gentle yet tough white light, with white light particles still faintly drifting from the edges.
And at the center of the wings was Hyuga Kawa, kneeling on one knee, tightly shielding Naruto in his arms.
"Cough! Cough!"
Just then, Hyuga Kawa suddenly lowered his head and coughed violently. Blood spurted from his mouth, staining the ground in front of him—a truly shocking sight.
His entire body was covered in blood, as if countless tiny blood vessels had been ruptured by the terrifying impact's aftermath.
Fear, shock, dread, relief, euphoria, reverence...
Seeing this scene, in the silence that followed the narrow escape from death, incredibly complex emotions frantically grew, intertwined, and spread in everyone's hearts.
A moment later, the five golden chains extending from Naruto's back slowly retracted, re-entering his body, and the scarlet chakra covering him was restrained and faded away.
However, Naruto was clearly still unable to withstand such power at the moment and had already passed out.
Simultaneously, the enormous pair of wings on Hyuga Kawa's back slowly retracted.
Bang! Bang!
Losing the support and protection of the wings, the large amount of rubble and broken beams that had been blocked and buried by the wings crashed down, making a dull, heart-stopping, loud noise.
And the crowd, who had been protected and enveloped by the wings, was finally able to see the full view of the shelter.
"Hiss!"
A chorus of gasps could be heard rising and falling.
The scene that met their eyes was several times more devastating than they had imagined.
The originally indestructible dome had been pierced, turning into a massive hole with jagged edges, exposing the sky outside.
Sunlight shone directly into this deep underground shelter for the first time, but it brought no warmth whatsoever; instead, it illuminated the horrific disaster.
With Hyuga Kawa's position as the dividing line, the area in front of him was covered in cracks but had not collapsed. The area behind him, however, was nothing but scorched earth, pitch black.
The sturdy rock walls had collapsed and shattered over large areas, with rocks and concrete blocks piled up haphazardly. The ground was rolled up and cracked as if it had been plowed, leaving behind an intersecting network of ditches.
Supporting pillars were snapped and twisted, looking as if they would completely topple over at any moment. The air was filled with a thick smell of blood, charring, and the odor of death itself.
And through the massive hole in the dome, everyone clearly saw, suspended in the distant sky above the clouds, that grotesque and strangely shaped Airship Fortress!
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