Chapter 254: The End of the Sky Ninja

In the depths of the airborne fortress, Naruto stood with a troubled expression, staring at the long, dark, ominous entity before him.

No matter how many times he destroyed it, it regenerated back to its original state. Despite its lack of overwhelming strength, its persistence left Naruto at a loss for how to deal with it.

Earlier, he had managed to resolve the Zero-Tails' presence by awakening Amaru, but now there was no one nearby to influence its power.

Adding to his frustration, Naruto felt his chakra constantly being drained.

Thankfully, the Nine-Tails, filled with disdain for the Zero-Tails, actively supported Naruto in this fight. Without the Nine-Tails' assistance, Naruto doubted he could sustain his energy against the relentless siphoning.

"Rasengan!"

Once again, Naruto slammed a Rasengan into the Zero-Tails, reducing it to pieces, only for it to start regenerating again.

Even with the Nine-Tails' chakra, this endless loop was going nowhere.

Just then, Naruto noticed a platform descending from above.

It was likely an enemy. Even Naruto could tell that none of his allies would know how to operate such a mechanism.

He readied himself, watching cautiously as the platform reached the floor.

When he finally saw its occupant, Naruto froze.

A skeletal old man with a balding head stepped off the platform. Naruto blinked in confusion and asked, "Uh… Excuse me, sir… who are you?"

"You wretched Nine-Tails brat! Look at what you've done to my Zero-Tails!" Shinnō growled, his voice filled with rage as he gazed at the shattered, regenerating form of the Zero-Tails.

"Shinnō?! What happened to you? Why do you look like this?!" Naruto exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"I became like this thanks to your comrade!" Shinnō roared, his voice seething with hatred.

"I mean… I get that, but how did Neji do it? Did he… make you old somehow?!" Naruto asked, his voice tinged with a mix of curiosity and fear.

"I didn't do anything of the sort," Neji's voice interjected as he finally arrived, overhearing Naruto's question.

His tone carried a note of exasperation as he added, "This is all his own doing."

"Oh, Neji, you're here!" Naruto said with relief, his face lighting up.

"How's the situation?" Neji asked without preamble.

Naruto quickly summarized the events and then looked at Neji with anticipation. "So, what should we do now?"

"As expected, its regeneration is tied to the villagers being held captive. That's the source of its power," Neji said grimly. "But don't worry. Hinata's group has already gone to rescue them. We just need to hold it off for a little longer."

"They can do it! I'm sure of it," Naruto said with determination.

"Too late!" Shinnō suddenly burst into laughter. "I'll remove all the restrictions on the Zero-Tails. Even if it kills me, you're all coming with me!"

Shinnō's voice grew maniacal as he shouted, "A group of Konoha's finest, including the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki… Taking you all with me is worth it!"

As he spoke, the Zero-Tails regenerated once more, but this time, it began to transform. Black tendrils erupted from its body, writhing violently.

The tendrils immediately wrapped around Shinnō, dragging him into the Zero-Tails.

"I'll see you all in hell!" Shinnō screamed as he was consumed.

In his final moments, Shinnō's eyes were filled with resentment. His grand plans, his revenge, all of it had come to nothing.

His vision of using the airborne fortress and the Zero-Tails to exact his vengeance had crumbled entirely.

And to think, the Zero-Tails' power wasn't even strong enough to defeat a "mere Nine-Tails brat."

With that bitter thought, Shinnō was completely devoured.

"This looks bad," Naruto muttered, swallowing nervously as he watched the Zero-Tails' transformation.

"No time to waste. We need to move," Neji said, his Byakugan observing the rapidly expanding tendrils. "This is likely its final outburst. Avoid direct confrontation and escape now."

"Got it!" Naruto agreed, and the two began sprinting back the way they came.

The Zero-Tails' tendrils went berserk, spreading across the fortress in a desperate attempt to grab anything in their path.

On their way out, Neji and Naruto collided with disoriented Sky Ninja, scattering them. Moments later, the tendrils caught up, consuming the Sky Ninja before they could react.

"Over here!" Neji called, his Byakugan leading him to where Hinata's group awaited with the rescued villagers.

"On it!" Naruto followed Neji, and soon, the pair burst onto the outer platform where Jūgo, Sakura, and Hinata were waiting.

"You're finally here," Sakura said with relief. "Once we hit the button, this airship will take us back down."

"Naruto, leave the button to your Shadow Clone. We're out of time," Neji instructed, his tone urgent.

"On it!" Naruto quickly created a Shadow Clone, which ran to the button and gave them a thumbs-up.

Sakura noticed Neji's injuries and wanted to treat him but, sensing the urgency in his voice, nodded instead.

"Alright, let's go."

The group boarded the airship, and just as the Shadow Clone pressed the button, the Zero-Tails smashed through the fortress wall, its tendrils reaching for the fleeing airship.

"Go, go, go!"

The airship tilted and launched, breaking away from the platform and gliding into the air.

"Should we destroy the fortress?" Naruto asked, glancing back at the massive structure. "If it crashes onto the land, it could be dangerous, right?"

Neji was surprised by Naruto's foresight. "That's not for us to handle."

He pointed toward the coastline, where Kakashi, Shikamaru, Ino, and Natsuro stood waiting.

"Natsuro's there, so it'll be fine," Neji said with confidence.

"Then it's all good!" Naruto grinned, reassured by Natsuro's presence.

"Neji-nii-san, your injuries..." Hinata began, continuing to heal Neji's wounds despite his protests.

"I'm fine," Neji said, but he let Hinata continue.

With the fortress behind them and their airship gliding toward safety, the group finally began to relax.

"Not bad," a voice suddenly echoed from the airship.

"Natsuro!" Naruto exclaimed, spotting Natsuro appear seemingly out of nowhere. By now, Naruto had grown used to Natsuro's use of the Flying Thunder God Technique, having seen it many times before.

The villagers and Amaru, however, were startled by Natsuro's sudden appearance. But upon realizing he was an ally, they let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Leave the rest to me," Natsuro said, stepping forward to hover in midair, directly facing the airborne fortress. Even he couldn't help but marvel at its size and complexity.

The Sky Ninja truly had ambition, dedicating so much time and resources to create such a colossal... target.

While the fortress had impressive capabilities, its flaws were glaringly obvious. No matter how powerful, it was simply too large and vulnerable. Any hidden village could easily target and destroy it.

Natsuro contemplated briefly before deciding on the simplest method of destruction.

Electric sparks began to dance around him as he formed a hand sign. In the blink of an eye, a thin, imperceptible beam of light shot toward the fortress.

"Ninjutsu: Railgun!"

Then, forming another hand seal, Natsuro completed the attack.

"Ninjutsu: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

The single beam instantly split into thousands of radiant projectiles, tearing through the fortress like a storm of light.

As the beams struck, a monstrous, anguished roar echoed through the air, as if the Zero-Tails itself was howling in despair.

When the light faded, the fortress stood riddled with holes, barely holding together. Slowly, it began to crumble, fragmenting piece by piece until it plummeted into the ocean below.

The Konoha ninja watched the scene calmly, unfazed by Natsuro's display of power, they had seen him perform miracles before.

"So he's the Hokage," Amaru murmured in awe, finally putting the pieces together. She realized she had witnessed this very strength back in Konoha.

"That's right! Natsuro is super strong, the strongest!" Naruto said proudly.

Amaru glanced at Naruto, then at Hinata. With a wistful sigh, she resigned herself to reality.

After finishing his task, Natsuro returned to the shoreline where Ino stood waiting.

"You know," Shikamaru said with a hint of exasperation, "if you'd shown up earlier, this whole thing could've been over in seconds. We wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble."

"If I did everything, what would you all do?" Natsuro retorted. "Besides, the Hokage is busy. I only came because I had time to spare."

"Hokage-sama, the mission objectives were largely achieved," Kakashi reported casually. "Ino successfully controlled one of the Sky Ninja and retrieved their device intact, along with the ninja himself."

"Good work," Natsuro said, his eyes brightening at the news.

"Although," Kakashi added, "based on my preliminary observations, mass production of the device would be difficult. It requires a significant energy source, making it impractical in most cases."

"No matter," Natsuro replied dismissively. "We'll hand it over to the R&D department. It'll come in handy eventually."

As he spoke, the airship carrying Naruto's group began its descent.

"Let's go," Natsuro said, gesturing to his team. "Time to greet the real heroes of this mission."

"Yes!" the group responded in unison.

When they reached the landing site, they were greeted by an unexpected scene.

Amaru, standing on tiptoes, kissed Naruto on the lips, catching him completely off guard.

Naruto's face turned crimson, his mind struggling to process what had just happened.

Amaru stepped back with a smile, saying, "Consider that a farewell kiss. Hinata, I wish you two all the happiness in the world!"

Hinata, who had initially felt a pang of jealousy, immediately blushed and lowered her head at Amaru's words.

Meanwhile, the others, including Natsuro and his group, couldn't help but stare at Naruto with a mix of amusement and envy.

"Curse you, you lucky bastard!" Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

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