While Minato and the others were preparing for their own battle with the Nine-Tails, the situation on Kyosuke's front had taken a new turn.
With a deafening crash, a colossal figure staggered back. It was Dark Owl's Majestic Attire: Susanoo. The once-invincible armor was now cracked and broken, and the Wood Golem within was covered in deep gashes.
"Impossible! How can the two of us together not be able to defeat him?!" Dark Owl roared, her voice a raw, desperate scream. She had been so close to killing him. But the small gap in their strength now seemed like an insurmountable chasm.
"We have to retreat! Now!" Tobi's panicked voice echoed in her mind, but she was in no mood to listen.
"If you're afraid, then go! I can handle him myself!" she snarled.
Heh. Easy for you to say, Tobi thought. If I were to show any sign of leaving, you'd probably erase my consciousness and use my body to continue the fight.
He knew better than to argue. He poured all of his remaining chakra into the golem, preparing for a final, desperate stand.
As they were gathering their power, the mist above them suddenly parted, and Kyosuke's Perfect Susanoo descended like a god from the heavens, its blade pointed at Dark Owl.
But it was different now. The violet-red Karasu-Tengu armor was now wreathed in a green, ethereal flame, and six massive snake-like shadows coiled around it. It was a new form, born from the fusion of his Susanoo and his Sage Art.
"Sage Art: Susanoo."
The pain in his eyes was a constant, searing throb. He knew he didn't have much time left.
Even with the Sage Body, the strain of the Perfect Susanoo on a non-Eternal Mangekyo is too great.
...This next strike will be the last.
He sheathed his Susanoo's blade, and the giant assumed an Iaijutsu stance. The pressure radiating from it was suffocating, and the sage fire that now swirled around the scabbard promised a cataclysmic attack.
Dark Owl, in turn, gathered all of her remaining chakra into the golem's hands, forming a massive, white spear, many times larger than before.
The two colossal figures, their power now at its absolute peak, drew the attention of not only the distant Anbu, but also the rampaging Nine-Tails.
Following its gaze, Minato and the others also saw the two giants. "You, take your men and reinforce the village walls with an earth-style jutsu! Don't let the shockwave reach the village!" he commanded.
I hope it's enough, he thought, a sudden, chilling memory of the Valley of the End flashing in his mind.
From within the diamond-shaped crystal on the Susanoo's forehead, Kyosuke remained calm, his arms crossed. But beneath his placid exterior, a wild, exhilarating joy was building. This was a true battle to the death, a clash of titans, a dance on the edge of oblivion.
"Hahahaha!" His laughter echoed through the night as his Mangekyo spun to its absolute limit.
The blade of the Perfect Susanoo... was unsheathed!!!
The sheer force of the sword pressure caused the ground for several kilometers around to collapse, forming a massive, crater-like depression. A wave of white-hot fire followed, incinerating everything in its path.
"Susanoo: Imperial Lock of Blazing Annihilation."
All of creation was consumed in that single, devastating moment.
The Spear of the Firmament, on which she had pinned all her hopes, was instantly swallowed by the attack. The seemingly impenetrable armor was peeled away, layer by layer.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!" she screamed in despair, her hopes of revenge turning to ash.
In that single, instant, the Susanoo's armor was broken, the Wood Golem was shattered, and Tobi was torn from her body.
And then, the blade found its true target. Her mask, forged from a branch of the God Tree, which had once seemed so indestructible, cracked and shattered.
And the face beneath it, a face filled with rage, despair, and a profound, heartbreaking sorrow, was revealed to Kyosuke's Sharingan.
Though years had passed, though the innocent, carefree girl he had once known was gone, he still recognized her.
In that single, fleeting moment, as the blade was about to fall, the two of them, their fates so cruelly twisted by destiny, were finally reunited.
"No!!!"
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