Chapter 253:
Seeing that he was next, Chaos hastily fired a purple laser from the recess on his face at the Imperial Armor.
"Celestial Shift!"
Chaos's attack was completely reflected by the Imperial Armor and struck back at him.
In the end, Chaos couldn't avoid the same fate—he was blasted away.
Watching the four Ancient Ability Beasts fly toward him one after another, Evilmoku hurriedly retreated to dodge.
"You… You all, get up! Get up now!"
Evilmoku shouted in a panic as he watched the Imperial Armor slowly approach him, kicking the Ancient Ability Beasts rolling on the ground, trying to rouse them.
"Cosmic Aurora!"
He drew a Taiji symbol with both hands in front of his chest, then gathered and compressed energy before unleashing it in all directions.
A black mist instantly enveloped Evilmoku. In such a short span, it could only save Evilmoku alone; the other four Ancient Ability Beasts were all destroyed, reverting to card form.
The Imperial Armor on Kawaki's body began to blur and fade, becoming faint and indistinct.
"Kawaki! Kawaki!"
Just before losing consciousness, the last thing Kawaki saw was Future Boruto's anxious expression.
The Village Hidden in the Leaves, now in the midst of rebuilding.
"Granny Tsunade, is Kawaki going to be okay?"
Inside a hastily erected tent, Naruto looked at the unconscious Kawaki and asked Tsunade.
"His autonomous breathing, pulse, blood pressure, and body temperature are all normal. Physically, there's nothing wrong with him," Tsunade said, her expression grave. "But… Kawaki shows no signs of speech, awareness, or cognitive function. In other words, though he's alive, he's in a state similar to a vegetative condition. There's no effective treatment for this. He has to recover on his own."
"I see…" Naruto responded. "Thank you, Granny Tsunade."
"I was the Fifth Hokage of the Leaf, after all. Of course I'll lend a hand in times like this," Tsunade said, waving dismissively. "But Naruto, the more pressing matter now is the reconstruction of the village."
"Yeah, but… because of the collars on your necks, you can't use ninjutsu. That'll really slow down the rebuilding efforts," Naruto said with a troubled expression. "And unfortunately, we no longer have anyone left in the village who specializes in scientific ninja tools."
"Inuzuka Akita…" Sasuke suddenly spoke from the side. "She was once Dr. Katasuke's assistant and has a strong background in scientific ninja tools. If it's her, there might be a way."
"Really, Sasuke? Is she in the village now?"
After this calamity, no one in Konoha's leadership dared to look down on scientific ninja tools anymore. After all, it was a liquid metal robot—a product of those very tools—that nearly led to the village's takeover by S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Yeah." Sasuke gave a silent nod.
"Naruto." Kankuro walked over, followed by Kitsuchi and Killer Bee. Kankuro said to Naruto, "Since Konoha's crisis has been resolved, it's about time we head back. The Kazekage will probably send people to help with reconstruction."
"Yo, Naruto, don't worry, the Raikage will send some aid your way too…"
Killer Bee slung his arm around Naruto's shoulder and rapped awkwardly.
"The Tsuchikage will as well."
Kitsuchi chimed in with his usual blank expression.
"Thanks to all of you," Naruto said sincerely.
…
Land of Water. Hidden Mist Village.
In the Mizukage's office, Evilmoku had just returned from the black mist and barely sat down before receiving a video call from the Daimyō of the Land of Water.
"Evilmoku, now's the perfect time to launch an attack on Konoha! What are you waiting for? It doesn't matter if we have to send every single shinobi from the Hidden Mist!"
"Lord Daimyō!" Evilmoku forced down the fury from losing his four Ancient Ability Beasts and replied, "While it's true Konoha's current strength is far from its peak, you should know exactly how weak the Hidden Mist's shinobi are right now!"
"Then what do you suggest, Evilmoku? If we wait for Konoha to recover, won't our chances be even worse?!"
The Daimyō of the Land of Water wasn't a fool. He knew full well that with the loss of Chōjūrō and Mei Terumi, the Hidden Mist had no decent fighters left. But if they waited too long, the chance to strike would disappear—and the other great nations might even band together to crush them instead.
Now that Evilmoku had become the Seventh Mizukage, it was impossible for the Daimyō to continue spouting lies that the Land of Water had no connection to the Ability Beasts. The other countries would never buy it. In fact, they might even form an alliance against the Land of Water. The stress had kept the Daimyō up at night, his hair falling out by the handful.
"Don't worry, Lord Daimyō. Don't forget—S.H.I.E.L.D. is still in cooperation with us…" Just as Evilmoku finished speaking, a rapid knock sounded from outside. "Come in."
"Mizukage-sama," said Kuju Karin respectfully as she entered, "Our people found a comatose S.H.I.E.L.D. member—Mitsuki—on the beach."
Because it involved S.H.I.E.L.D., Kuju Karin had come in person.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.? Mitsuki…" Evilmoku murmured, "Bring him to me."
Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki and Momoshiki had been devoured by Ōtsutsuki Urashiki, and then Urashiki himself was consumed by Mitsuki. Right now, Mitsuki's body contained the power of three Ōtsutsuki.
If not for the enhancements from the RC cells, Mitsuki would have long since transformed into Ōtsutsuki Mitsuki.
"Yes, Mizukage-sama."
Underground Umbrella base.
A red alert blared in Orochimaru's laboratory.
"What's going on?"
Kabuto, engrossed in his research, looked up at Orochimaru.
"Someone's broken into Umbrella again."
Orochimaru pressed a button as he spoke, pulling up footage of the intruder on the main screen.
Alone. Bald. Body pitch-black. Missing an eye.
"Orochimaru-sama, what should we do?"
"Whoever he is, since he's here, we might as well test the final prototype of the Bio-Ghost Project."
Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue, then pressed another button.
The corridor was suddenly bathed in a ghostly blue light, electric currents occasionally streaking across the walls.
The lightning eventually gathered on a crate at the corridor's end. As the box slowly opened, a figure floated to the ground. Deep blue skin, body crackling with electricity, a mask over his face, glowing eyes—the latest product of Umbrella's Bio-Ghost Project: the Terminator.
"So, this is Umbrella's new toy…"
Unfazed by the sudden appearance of the Terminator, the intruder showed no fear. On the contrary, he looked eager to fight.