"Thank goodness Kurenai didn't come alone—Guy might hold out, but Kurenai definitely wouldn't!"
As Sora was inwardly relieved, Guy's voice suddenly shouted, "Sora! We found Kumaichi's fiancée!"
"Don't come any closer!" Sora instinctively roared, glancing quickly at the girl beside them.
But when he saw her eerie smile, his heart sank deeply—a strong sense of dread surged through him.
In a panic, he quickly released the half-formed Tailed Beast Bomb in his hand, then instantly appeared beside Guy and Kurenai, grabbing them and soaring upwards immediately.
"Water Style—Water Formation Wall!"
"Earth Style—Earth Wall!"
"Earth Style—Earth Rampart Wall!"
Sora rapidly unleashed several powerful defensive ninjutsu, but his sense of danger didn't diminish at all. He continued flying higher, constantly reinforcing their defenses.
In the end, he even created a water sphere around them, holding his breath alongside Guy and Kurenai.
As Sora finished these preparations, his previous attack—Tailed Beast Bomb: Crimson Flame—finally exploded.
Boom!!!
The ground quaked violently as flames engulfed everything within a 500-meter radius, leaving nothing but scorched earth behind. The girl who had approached with Guy and Kurenai instantly turned to ashes in the inferno.
Meanwhile, five kilometers away, Kumaichi watched Death God Mountain intently, his eyes burning with anticipation.
He had completely transformed. His previously dirty hair was now clean, and his worn clothing was replaced by an ornate robe embroidered with the terrifying visage of the Death God.
Sora was unaware of this, only knowing the sense of crisis within him was growing more and more intense.
Having stacked thirty-eight defensive ninjutsu layers around himself, he had already reached a height of three hundred meters when the danger fully erupted.
Suddenly, the sky above Death God Mountain darkened rapidly, turning pitch-black within seconds.
Below, where they had stood earlier, a dark vortex emerged, resembling a miniature black hole.
As the vortex spun faster, its gravitational pull increased dramatically.
Whoosh!
Trees, soil, rocks—everything was sucked into the vortex, disappearing completely from this world.
Even Sora and his companions in the sky were affected, feeling themselves relentlessly dragged downward.
The pull intensified, rapidly tearing away the layers of defensive ninjutsu surrounding them.
Thirty layers!
Twenty layers!
Ten layers!
Five layers!
In less than a minute, Death God Mountain was stripped bare; all vegetation, animals, and humans had vanished entirely.
Only Sora remained, desperately resisting, but now all his defenses had collapsed.
As time passed, their altitude kept dropping—they were now only 250 meters above the deadly vortex.
"Sora, let go of me! You can escape alone! This is the spirit of youth!"
Guy spoke solemnly, giving Sora a thumbs-up and his familiar sparkling grin. He had already decided to open the Eight Gates and unleash everything when he fell, destroying whatever lay below.
Kurenai, although pale and terrified, also resolutely said, "I'm only a burden now—just let me go and escape!"
As they spoke, their altitude dropped below two hundred meters, dangerously close to the vortex.
Though unable to clearly see the situation below, they could faintly sense the horrifying presence beneath them.
"Stop talking nonsense! I'll get us out!" Sora roared, pushing his Light-Heavy Rock Technique to its limit, but it still wasn't enough.
"You think you can swallow me?! Keep dreaming!" With a furious yell, he flipped himself upside down to face downward directly.
"Fire Style—Great Fire Annihilation!"
"Water Style—Super Exploding Water Shockwave!"
"Earth Style—Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Tailed Beast Bomb—Gale Force!"
Sora continuously released ninjutsu at an insane rate, like a machine gun firing endlessly downward.
The immense recoil temporarily halted their descent, stabilizing them around two hundred meters.
Though each technique was instantly swallowed by the vortex, the explosions illuminated the terrifying world beyond it.
In a fleeting glance, Sora was certain the vortex led straight to the Underworld—a place filled with the souls of the dead.
Even more frighteningly, he glimpsed a colossal claw emerging from the darkness, so massive that even Manda or Mount Myōboku's giant toads would seem tiny by comparison.
Just this single claw alone could envelop the entire vortex in its palm, as if the vortex itself rested within its grip.
Although unable to see clearly, Sora knew instantly this was the real Death God—no other being could exude such overwhelming dread.
Witnessing this, Sora realized unless he reached the Six Paths level, falling into that abyss meant certain death.
Clearly, this was the work of the previously hidden Cult Leader, attempting to sacrifice them to the Death God in exchange for immense power!
These thoughts flashed through his mind, but there was no time to dwell on them.
As the gravitational force grew even stronger, their altitude gradually dropped again.
Now only one hundred fifty meters from certain doom, Sora estimated he could last no longer than a minute more.
"Eight Gates—Gate of Shock, Open!"
Sensing Sora's desperate struggle, fifteen-year-old Guy erupted with full force, a brilliant blue steam surrounding him and illuminating the darkness.
In the next instant, countless fists descended toward the vortex, creating waves of air pressure striking downward like relentless rain.
Beside him, Kurenai, though specialized in genjutsu and nearly powerless here, continuously fired basic Fireball Jutsu downward.
Though her contributions were minimal, she gave everything she had left.
At this point, they were only a hundred meters above the vortex. Even though they temporarily halted their descent, Sora felt no relief.
Having cast thousands of powerful ninjutsu, his chakra reserves were nearly depleted; he could hold out thirty seconds at most.
Guy wasn't faring much better. In the future, he might've lasted several more minutes, but at only fifteen, opening the Gate of Shock limited him to a mere thirty seconds.
Despite his frantic desperation, Sora couldn't see any way out. All he could do was fight to the bitter end!
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