The instant Nietono no Shana flashed, a blazing fire dragon, followed by a roaring hurricane, howled past, leaving a large area of charred craters and a booming explosion in its wake, along the path where Sawara Kiri had moved.
Sawara Kiri remained in the posture of sheathing his sword, slowly exhaling.
The burning pain transmitted from every cell in his body forced him to calm down in this posture for a few seconds before he could barely recover his mobility from the stiffness, turning his head to look at the body lying in the center of the charred gully behind him.
Yamishibai's headless body, after falling, instinctively wriggled twice like an earthworm, and large patches of gelatinous pure white polymer appeared on the surface of the neck's opening, continuously congealing into tentacle shapes, attempting to connect towards the direction where the head had fallen.
However, after extending less than ten centimeters, it seemed to be blocked by some abnormal rule, like hitting an invisible wall, and tiny flames suddenly ignited, burning the very tips of the extending tendrils and emitting a sizzling sound.
Because only one strike was unleashed, the fire dragon that appeared in the eyes of those around in that instant seemed like an illusion, as if it were merely a condensation of spirit.
However, Sawara Kiri knew very well that it was not an illusion.
He stroked the second Katana at his waist.
Both the hilt and the scabble of that sword looked unadorned, and even the blade was a pure, mirror-like silver-white; judging by its appearance alone, it seemed to be far inferior to the B-rank Black Blade Shusui.
However, in terms of rank, it was the protagonist's exclusive weapon in the classic old anime "Shakugan no Shana," symbolizing the 'Heavenly Calamity Fire,' specifically used to kill 'Mystes,' monsters that transcend the limitations of time and space and feed on human existence, possessing a great power at the level of 'rules.'
Most importantly, its owner could actively choose when to use it, giving Sawara Kiri the opportunity to feign weakness.
He had already tried it before.
Neither Megumi's Susanoo nor Kushina's Kurama cloak could withstand the sharpness of this sword.
However, before truly fighting Yamishibai, he still felt a little uneasy in his heart.
Fortunately, Nietono no Shana did not fail him at the critical moment.
"Hoo—"
Seeing the headless corpse on the ground finally beginning to gradually disintegrate and turn into basic gray-white inorganic matter, Sawara Kiri finally felt a great weight lifted from his heart.
However, before he could even let out a sigh of relief, a figure, like an arrow, rushed into his embrace with a dull thud.
"Kiri!"
"Ugh, ugh… Ow, ow, ow!"
Looking at Megumi who had crashed into him, Sawara Kiri immediately let out a series of painful yelps, quickly patting her back, signaling her to let go quickly.
Uchiha Megumi paused at his words, her eyes, flushed red from tension, also steadied, and she immediately skillfully pulled open his clothes to look inside.
Then, she saw that beneath Sawara Kiri's clothes, just from that one impact, large patches of dark red bloodstains had oozed from beneath his skin, and his entire body was limp, as if he had no strength.
"Kiri?! What's going on?"
Megumi's heart tightened again involuntarily.
Heaven knew whether Kiri had used any forbidden jutsu to extract his body's potential to reach that level of strength just now.
She had indeed been a bit reckless just now.
Looking at Megumi's pale, anxious face, Sawara Kiri's heart warmed.
However, if he were to joke around in this situation, there's no telling what she might do, so he naturally extinguished the idea of teasing her and whispered reassuringly:
"It's alright, just excessive Chakra refinement."
"With Tia around, I should recover in a week or two."
Hearing his words, Megumi's taut heartstrings finally relaxed a bit, but her movements when touching him were noticeably more careful than at first, and she actively came to his shoulder, supporting one of his hands.
"You don't have to be so careful…"
Sawara Kiri mumbled a few words quietly, but Megumi, uncharacteristically, admonished him like a mother:
"Kiri, listen."
Sawara Kiri immediately fell silent.
He was supported by Megumi as he walked forward, while he himself looked at the system panel notification that had just lit up.
It was fine when he didn't look, but he was startled when he did.
"Sahara's Book of Friends: Character 'Ōtsutsuki Shibai (Outer Worldline)' collected."
"Emotion Points +5"
"Bond Level Up ↑"
"Ōtsutsuki Shibai (Outer) Bond Level: Five → Six"
"Ōtsutsuki Shibai (Outer) Inner Conflict (Deep Layer) · Second Confrontation"
"Just one more time, just one more time! I will definitely defeat that inferior being! That… man who trampled on the glory of a god!"
"Did I lose again?"
"Bond Achieved · Opponents Across Time and Space"
"Special Reward: Can randomly select one [SS-rank Ability]"
"Bond Achieved · Shared Destiny of God and Man"
"Special Reward: Can randomly select one [SS-rank Talent]"
"See, what's so good about chasing women? Brothers' gift packs are much more generous, aren't they?"
Looking at these lines of text, Sawara Kiri's blue eyes widened, and his pupils even shrunk significantly.
He completely ignored the system's nonsense in his heart, subconsciously staring at those lines of text.
Level five bond?
When?
Me?
When he noticed the words 'Ōtsutsuki Shibai (Outer)' on the notification panel, he suddenly understood something.
That's right, a bond is inherently one person's recognition of another.
Because Ōtsutsuki Shibai's point of recognition was still on him, the bond from the original worldline was inherited.
And he also completed a deep heart knot, "Second Confrontation," along the way.
This heart knot could be said to be the easiest one he had ever obtained since activating the system.
He didn't even know when it started.
He didn't expect that winning this battle would bring such benefits.
Sawara Kiri thought, his heartbeat noticeably quickening.
Megumi, who was helping him walk back, seemed to sense his sudden excitement and subconsciously turned her head to ask:
"Kiri? What's wrong?"
"Mm, nothing."
Sawara Kiri had a clear smile on his face and whispered, "After this battle, I saw a chance for a breakthrough."
"After returning, my strength should have another significant improvement."
Uchiha Megumi was stunned at his words, and seeing his happy expression, her lips also curved into a smile:
"Practice after your injuries heal, okay?"
"Of course."
Sawara Kiri was also aware that his current physical condition was not suitable, although most of the time there were no accidents when he accepted abilities, what if there was an unforeseen circumstance?
He was the cautious Second Hokage.
Naturally, he had to prioritize his life.
While they were being lovey-dovey, Kushina, standing far away with her arms crossed, looked as if she was getting goosebumps:
"Eek, Minato! Look at them."
"They're not even married yet, and they already look like an old married couple."
"Don't you dare learn from Megumi!"
"Huh?"
Minato looked puzzled: "Isn't that good?"
Suddenly, Kushina's expression towards Minato became a little subtle.
No wonder she felt that Minato was becoming more and more like Grandma recently; had their relationship already advanced to the old married couple stage in his heart?
"Sigh."
"There's really nothing I can do with you."
Kushina put her hands on her hips, sighing about something she didn't know.
However, since it was Minato, there was nothing she could do.
"Whoosh—"
While they were still muttering, Mr. Orochimaru, who was nearby, had already shot out like the wind, with unprecedented speed, rushing into the gradually ice-covered land, grabbing Yamishibai's divided body, and quickly shooting out an unknown number of small snakes to collect the scattered body fragments around him.
The standard attitude of an enthusiastic research expert.
He was truly dedicated.
However, time waits for no one.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz"
After Yamishibai's corpse landed, this vast world of ice and snow inexplicably began to experience a slight tremor.
Namikaze Minato initially thought it was an illusion caused by intense spatial changes.
But as time went on, this sensation became increasingly noticeable.
His expression couldn't help but tighten.
At this moment, Orochimaru, who had finished collecting materials, returned to his usual leisurely demeanor and said:
"Minato, let's go back."
"This world probably won't last much longer."
"Orochimaru?"
Namikaze Minato looked incredulous.
Sawara Kiri had already been helped forward by Megumi, and he said calmly: "This world is not a real world, but an illusory world constructed by Ōtsutsuki Shibai with his ocular power."
"The actual size of the entire planet is just the size of a small asteroid."
"It has only lasted until now because that guy's ocular power is strong enough."
As he spoke, his voice couldn't help but carry a hint of emotion: "In terms of absolute strength, he is indeed much stronger than me."
No one knew the outcome of the battle just now better than Sawara Kiri.
Even Ōtsutsuki Shibai, who descended in a puppet body, was still superior to him.
This indeed severely suppressed his arrogance.
However.
He turned his gaze to the two prompts on his panel.
Next, it might not be the case.
The next moment, the group of people, led by Namikaze Minato, leaped back to the Ninja World.
Soon after, this world, completely frozen by ice and snow, gradually began to disintegrate.
The atmosphere scattered, the surface was covered with lava, and the water vapor solidified at extremely low temperatures also overflowed into the boundless outer space.
The entire world was once again reduced to desolation.
It became one of the most inconspicuous meteorites in the asteroid belt, disappearing into the sea of meteorites just like it.
On the other side, Konoha.
Since Sawara Kiri's figure disappeared and the Village became quiet again, Tsunade and others had already led the Genin participating in the Chunin Exams back to the Village.
In fact, as early as when Tsunade sensed the intense Chakra eruption from the center of the Village, they had already set off, arriving just as Sawara Kiri and the others disappeared into the Village.
When she received relevant news from the surrounding Ninja, Tsunade's heart immediately surged with anger.
You, Sawara Kiri, and Orochimaru!
You two bastards, you've been hiding such a big matter from me all this time?!
Was she still the Fourth Hokage or not??
That was an Ōtsutsuki!
However, after the anger subsided, what followed was intense worry.
This time, not only did Sawara Kiri disappear, but even Orochimaru, that stabilizing force, went into that space whose exact location was unknown, leaving only Jiraiya, the intelligence chief, who was also severely wounded, making her inexplicably feel a sense of emptiness, as if she had no one to rely on.
Since becoming Hokage, this was the first time she had faced such a situation.
But from this small detail, it could also be seen that this time, Sawara Kiri and Orochimaru, those two bastards, had gone all out.
Just how powerful were the opponents they faced?
Tsunade didn't know.
Also because of this intense worry, she hadn't returned to the Hokage Building since coming back; instead, she simply stood with the Ninja in the designated battleground clearing, quietly waiting for their return.
Fortunately, Sawara Kiri didn't make her wait long.
In just a few minutes, the group of people appeared out of thin air next to a coordinate set by a Flying Thunder God Kunai.
Seeing them safe and sound, Tsunade's previously dim eyes suddenly brightened, and she habitually rushed over, clogs clattering:
"Kiri! You bastard…"
Before she could finish speaking.
Her subconscious embracing motion froze under Uchiha Megumi's suddenly sharp gaze, and she also realized that this wasn't at home, and there was a large group of subordinates watching.
Immediately after, her open hands flexibly changed into an examining posture, one hand grabbing his arm, the other pressing on his chest, looking like an experienced doctor, while also speaking in a calm tone:
"How did you get so badly injured? What happened to the guy who attacked Konoha?"
"Huh?"
"It's a good thing you have that little thing inside you, otherwise just excessive Chakra refinement would have killed you!"
Watching her skilled movements as she felt him up and down, Uchiha Megumi couldn't help but narrow her eyes, the three tomoe in the center of her pupils quietly rotating.
That old woman always inexplicably made her feel unpleasant.
However, seeing that she was seriously examining Kiri, the young girl still forcefully suppressed this emotion in her heart, quietly watching her touch and grab here and there.
Sawara Kiri clearly noticed Megumi's subtle change in expression, and with a stiff smile on his face, he subconsciously tried to shift the target, so he cast his gaze towards the Konoha crowd that had always surrounded this battlefield and whose numbers were clearly growing.
At first, the Ninja in the front row all paused for a moment when they saw the figure appearing in the center of the battlefield, subconsciously holding their breath.
But immediately after, a wave of enthusiastic cheers erupted from these front-row Ninja.
As the news spread between the front and back rows, the result of the victory made the tens of thousands of people in front of them erupt in earth-shattering shouts, like dominoes gently pushed by a finger.
Sawara Kiri's name echoed through the sky.
"The morale is usable."
Watching the crowd, Orochimaru spoke calmly from behind.
"Naturally!"
Tsunade, who had just finished her examination, looked at the bloodstains gradually oozing from Sawara Kiri's body and also spoke with anger, coldly saying: "If they want to fight, this old woman will fight them to the end!"