In a dimly lit space somewhere, everyone from Sasuke's team wore expressions of pure despair: ಥ_ಥ
Karin suddenly spoke up.
"Say… have we been completely forgotten by now?"
Suigetsu sighed.
"It's not impossible… I really wanna know what's happening out there. When the hell are we getting out of here…"
Jūgo muttered.
"Also, that masked guy must be busy lately. He hasn't brought us food for days now. I'm starving! (´இ皿இ｀)"
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly.
"Damn it! One day I'll get out of here and kill him myself! Ծ‸Ծ"
...
Land of Wind. In the desert.
Naruto stood focused, staring intently at the distant Shinju. A hot breeze brushed his face, but his attention didn't waver in the slightest.
"Are you sure this will work?" he asked, eyes wide. ⊙▽⊙
Facing the sky, the Shinju spread his arms in an embracing posture, hesitating slightly.
"I'm not sure… but we have to try, don't we?"
After speaking, the Shinju began forming hand seals.
"Earth Style: Meteor Pulling Jutsu!!"
A few minutes later.
Naruto scratched his head.
"Guess it failed. Maybe we should try researching another method?"
Unwilling to give up, the Shinju kept his head tilted upward.
"Not necessarily. Let's wait a bit longer… maybe the meteor just needs more time to fall."
"Caw caw caw——"
A flock of birds flew across the clear blue sky, their sharp cries echoing as if mocking the two men's naïveté.
Then, something dark and sticky dropped from one of the birds—landing right on Naruto's hand, the one he was using to shade his eyes.
Startled, Naruto lowered his hand… only to see a nice splatter of bird poop.
"Stupid bird! (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ)"
Fuming, Naruto almost hurled a Wind Style shuriken straight at the flock.
"Don't move," Shinju said calmly, forming a small globe of clear water with Water Style to wash off Naruto's hand, gesturing for him to stay calm.
Then, he pointed upward.
"Help me look—see if there's anything up there? ò.ό"
Naruto looked up into the sky, focusing hard. (≖╻≖;)
Sure enough, he spotted a small black dot.
And it was growing fast.
Naruto's eyes widened. ∑(✘Д✘๑)
"That's… a pretty big bird dropping."
Shinju grinned.
"Or, maybe—just maybe—that's not bird poop at all, but a meteorite? ヾ(Ő∀Ő)ﾉ"
A few seconds later, the meteorite was less than two kilometers from the ground!
Even from a distance, Naruto could tell—it was enormous. At least five to six hundred meters in diameter!
It completely blotted out a portion of the sky above them, the air heavy with overwhelming pressure.
Naruto's heart nearly stopped as panic set in. ヽ(ຶ▮ຶ)ﾉ!!!
"Run!! Shinju! Use your Flying Thunder God and get us out of here!! Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"
Shinju nodded, dropped a Flying Thunder God kunai on the spot, grabbed Naruto, and teleported them back to Island Turtle!
After setting Naruto down safely, Shinju immediately activated the technique again—teleporting back to the meteor's impact point.
Naruto, now back on the island, looked up anxiously.
"What's he doing?! Does he plan to get crushed along with it?"
"He's way too good for that! There's no way he's thinking of something so crazy, right?! Σ( ° △ °|||)︴"
...
Land of Wind. Desert.
Shinju activated Sage Mode—preparing to catch the meteorite head-on.
When he cast the jutsu earlier, he'd thought he'd only pull down something about the size of a soccer ball.
He hadn't expected to drag down something this massive!
A meteorite five hundred meters wide would devastate an enormous area upon impact.
Even though the Land of Wind was vast and sparsely populated, there was no guarantee no one lived within a two-hundred-li radius…
Clapping his hands together, Shinju created a wooden avatar clone from his body.
Then his real body began forming hand seals again.
As soon as he shouted, his body began to swell and expand rapidly—growing into a giant a thousand meters tall!
Though the move looked impressive, it was actually a modified version of the Akimichi clan's Multi-Size Technique.
Meanwhile, his clone flew into the sky, boosted by Wind Style, and reached the meteorite's surface.Placing its palm on the meteor, it cast Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique!!
The meteor's mass was reduced—but its falling speed barely changed.
Soon, the gigantic rock, five hundred meters wide, was less than a hundred meters from the head of the giant Shinju.
At this moment, the enlarged Shinju had opened the Seventh Gate of the Eight Inner Gates, his whole body radiating with blue steam!
At the same time, the Yin Seal on his forehead released, activating Creation Rebirth—ready to heal any injuries from taking the meteorite head-on.
With all buffs stacked to their maximum, Shinju raised his hands and caught the meteorite descending from the heavens!
The instant his palms made contact, his expression shifted dramatically, his face tightening with surprise. ヽ(ຶ▮ຶ)ﾉ!!!
"What the—?!"
"This meteorite?! …Why is it so light… (°ω°)ﾉ"
He had expected that, even with its mass reduced by Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique, the meteor's immense speed would still make it incredibly heavy and destructive.
But instead—it felt… easy.
Almost like catching a basketball falling from a hoop.
His hands tingled a little, sure—but that was it.
"Boom!!"
With a casual flick, the giant Shinju hurled the meteor to the side, shrinking back to normal size. He looked almost disappointed.
"If I knew it'd be this easy, I wouldn't have bothered going all out. ┐(´-｀)┌"
Now came the excavation work—to dig out the extraterrestrial metals inside the meteorite.
Shinju wasn't much of an expert in minerals or treasures, but there were specialists back on Island Turtle.
He decided to bring the meteorite back and let them study it properly.
...
Island Turtle. Within the forest.
Naruto was pacing anxiously.
"What's taking Shinju so long?! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
Killer B, sitting nearby, looked relaxed.
"Yo yo~ Naruto, chill. Shinju's young, yeah, but he's careful, steady, and never reckless. Handles heavy stuff like it's light work~"
"But it's a meteorite, B-san!" Naruto protested.
"You didn't see it—it looked like a whole piece of the sky was falling! T^T"
Killer B shrugged.
"Either way, no need to worry too much—"
Before he could finish, the entire Island Turtle shook violently!!
Moments later, the deep roar of the giant turtle echoed around them!
"What's going on? Did Akatsuki find our hideout already?! (￢‸￢)?"
B looked up in confusion—only to see the sky darken above them.
"Why's it getting dark? (꒪⌓꒪)"
Then he looked closer—and realized it wasn't nightfall.
It was a giant stone!
Killer B froze. !!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ
"That… that rock!!"
Naruto, beside him, stared wide-eyed as well. (꒪⌓꒪)
"He actually brought it back?!"
Up in the sky, Shinju hovered with one hand supporting the meteorite, thinking about where to put it.
It clearly couldn't stay on the island—the giant turtle had already screamed in pain when he first arrived, unable to bear the pressure of the massive stone resting on its shell.
Shinju sighed.
"Looks like I'll just have to create a new patch of land out at sea!"