The barrier enveloping the entire fleet flawlessly neutralized the attack from the chakra cannon atop the moon.
It was now the perfect moment for the Shinobi Alliance to launch their counterattack!
Countless ships activated their external energy weaponry — some developed by Hoshigakure, others seized from the Ōtsutsuki Divine Sect, based on advanced Ōtsutsuki technology blueprints once gifted by Momoshiki.
A vast number of shinobi poured their chakra into the weapons. In an instant, countless beams and lasers shot toward the moon.
But since Momoshiki had made the second moon his base of operations, he had naturally made his own preparations.
Though Momoshiki himself had been grievously wounded by the power channeled from the Dragon Vein through the Slug Sage, the defenses he had left behind were still fully intact.
The reason was simple — all of this, including Momoshiki himself, was meant to serve as training material for the shinobi world.
The moon's surface suddenly shimmered with strange runes, forming a layer of protection that covered the entire celestial body. It was the Ōtsutsuki clan's planetary barrier technique — a defense capable of repelling long-range attacks from space fleets.
In the depths of space, such a barrier was even considered a symbol of whether a planet harbored an advanced civilization.
Although this moon was small in size, and its transformation into a habitable world was temporary — resulting in an incomplete barrier structure — the Shinobi Alliance's seemingly massive artillery barrage still couldn't pierce, or even shake, this protective shield.
Countless streams of light and energy blasts infused with the Alliance's chakra continued to rain down, only to cause tiny ripples across the barrier's surface.
"It's our turn!"
Naruto exchanged a glance with the new generation's elite, and they all nodded in unison.
While maintaining the fleet's defensive barrier, they diverted some focus to gather their immense chakra, forging it into their strongest attacks.
In the void, rootless wooden spikes suddenly emerged, sprouting radiant golden chains that whirled at high speed under the influence of Magnetic Release. Even the sparse matter and energy around them were forcefully drawn in, condensed into a force strong enough to distort space itself.
Using the same principle as the Rasengan, Naruto unleashed his attack!
The younger generation was not to be outdone.
Boruto was the first to move, simultaneously activating the Jōgan and the Six Paths Sage Mode. His body was wrapped in strange natural energy fused with Six Paths power. Behind him, nine Truth-Seeking Orbs shot out, pulling in countless meteor fragments from the cosmos to form nine massive, rotating stone spheres, which he sent hurtling toward the second moon.
Sarada's eyes took on a strange, sun-like pattern. Several pitch-black vortices that twisted space erupted from her gaze, intertwining and spinning, creating gravitational ripples of immense power.
A colossal Susanoo appeared in the starry void. From its back, it drew a bow and nocked an arrow infused with those gravitational black spheres. The arrow radiated overwhelming force as it streaked toward the lunar barrier.
Mitsuki, too, unleashed countless glowing blue Sage Art tendrils from his body. As they flew, they transformed into countless serpent heads, each opening its maw to release different weapons — concentrated energy beams, Tailed Beast Ball-like compressed spheres, or directly forming spears and blades. The barrage struck the barrier's nodes from every direction.
Inside the other ships, shinobi were unable to operate in the vacuum of space, but the captured tailed beasts, as pure energy entities, were unhindered. They unleashed their strongest techniques — Tailed Beast Balls.
If the earlier fleet weapon fire had been like a harmless drizzle, then now the attacks from the shinobi world's strongest were like a hurricane carrying hailstones the size of human heads.
Naruto's Rasengan struck first, making the calm, rippling barrier surface dent inward. Countless golden chains spun like deadly blades, while the runes within the barrier flickered violently under the heavy damage.
On the lunar surface, many sect followers were forced to halt their prayers to Momoshiki, sacrificing their own lives in blood rituals to repair the barrier.
But right after, the nine colossal meteors Boruto had summoned — larger than Tengai Shinsei — plummeted toward the moon.
In this moment, Boruto's Jōgan power, amplified further by Six Paths Sage Mode, had already surpassed even the might of Uchiha Madara.
The first three meteors struck the outer layer of the barrier at the same time. With a sharp crack, fractures spread across its surface, though the meteors themselves crumbled into dust.
However, the remaining six meteors were already diving toward the spot Naruto had weakened. If even one landed, the moon would be obliterated.
But the mysterious runes within the barrier began detonating one after another. Each time a set exploded, a powerful shockwave was released, shattering one meteor.
By the time half the runes had been consumed, Boruto's attack had been fully neutralized.
Thankfully, Sarada's arrow arrived right after. The intense gravitational pulses from her black suns devoured a massive portion of the golden runes.
The arrow pierced straight through the weakest point of the barrier, boring into the moon itself. At that instant, an enraged roar erupted from within — the wounded Momoshiki.
A torrent of divine power surged outward, shattering the arrow and the gravitational black suns in an instant.
Finally, Mitsuki's Sage Art serpents struck every vulnerable node at once, pushing the barrier past its limit and shattering it completely.
The nine tailed beasts transformed into meteors themselves, diving toward the second moon to slaughter the sect's followers.
But the sect still had formidable warriors — some blessed directly by Momoshiki and granted Kage-level power. These fighters slowed the beasts' advance.
Soon, however, the modified units led by injured shinobi joined the battle, followed by jōnin in space suits wielding scientific ninja tools. Despite Momoshiki's blessings, the remaining followers could no longer resist. Those outside or attempting to fight back were annihilated, with only a handful retreating into the moon's deep caves.
As the battle neared its conclusion and the last remnants of the Ōtsutsuki Divine Sect were slaughtered, an ominous feeling welled up in Naruto's chest.
Since the training mission had been fulfilled, he recalled all shinobi from the moon, instructing them to retreat to the ninja world and lie low near Hoshigakure.
Only Naruto, Boruto, and Sarada remained on-site, with Mitsuki and the nine tailed beasts moving to a distant formation position.
Something big was coming.
A deafening sound tore through the void, and the moon instantly split apart.
From within emerged a form that was no longer human — Momoshiki.
His body had completely turned to wood, fused with the God Tree, yet he had suffered such terrible injuries that even the God Tree's power couldn't heal him.
Gigantic wooden organs were crudely fused together by a faith power of interwoven gold and blood, forming the current Momoshiki.
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