Chapter 125: The Weakness of the Extraterrestrial Visitor

“Watch out!” Sakura shouted, wielding the large-caliber machine gun in her hands and firing at the SSA, momentarily blocking its path.

Seizing this brief respite, Gaara gritted his teeth and amplified his chakra output. His hands moved swiftly through hand seals, manipulating the sand to form a colossal vortex that engulfed both the automated gun emplacement and the SSA.

The SSA robot struggled fiercely within the swirling sands, attempting to break free. It continuously unleashed energy blades, slashing at the surrounding sand, but the grains surged relentlessly, replenishing the barrier.

Beads of sweat dotted Gaara’s forehead; he knew this battle allowed no relaxation. Focusing intently, he compressed the sand further, striving to imprison the SSA robot completely. The machine groaned under immense pressure, its body crackling as if burdened by a great load.

Yet, the SSA did not surrender easily. It reactivated its energy blade system, launching an even fiercer assault. The blade shattered the sand’s constraints instantly, hurtling straight toward Gaara. He swiftly dodged to the side but was still caught in the shockwave, his body wavering slightly.

Taking a deep breath, Gaara steadied himself and sent the sand surging again to strike the SSA. The battle had reached a tense stalemate.

Despite Shukaku’s near-endless chakra support, Gaara’s repertoire of ninjutsu was limited, and his combat experience insufficient. Even with Sakura’s firepower backing him, he soon found himself on the defensive.

Moreover, Gaara was constantly distracted, protecting Temari and Kankuro, making the fight all the more grueling.

At this critical moment, Sasuke’s ninjutsu was finally ready. His eyes gleamed with excitement and confidence, like an artist about to unveil a masterpiece.

“Hahaha! You sand ninja, with your dark circles! Your jutsu is impressive, truly impressive!” Sasuke’s trademark Uchiha laughter rang out, wild and bold.

His Sharingan glowed crimson, burning like twin molten flames as he hovered midair, appearing as a god descending from the heavens.

Electric arcs danced around him like nimble snakes, crackling with energy.

Molten iron sand and regular sand orbited Sasuke erratically, like a loyal cadre of guardians.

This was the technique Sasuke needed Naruto’s help to buy time for.

Originally, he had to painstakingly extract iron sand from the environment using lightning chakra, then fuse it into a molten state with fire chakra—a long, exhausting process consuming vast energy and chakra.

But now, with the abundant iron sand Gaara had magnetically gathered, Sasuke saved precious time and chakra.

This technique was a labor of love, a fusion of lightning and fire chakra, representing a new frontier in his ninjutsu.

“I call this ‘Blazing Release,’” Sasuke declared, arms folded as he looked down arrogantly upon the SSA robot.

A proud smirk crossed his face, as if proclaiming victory over the formidable foe.

“Now, you’re the first to taste this jutsu. How’s your ammunition holding up?”

With that, Sasuke formed hand seals swiftly, pointing sharply at the SSA as he shouted, “Blazing Release: Fiery Blood and Iron Bones!”

In an instant, molten red steel droplets poured down like a torrential rain. The searing molten metal seemed like hell’s own fury, carrying an unstoppable force of annihilation.

Wherever the steel fell, the air warped from the heat, and the ground glowed a fiery red, resembling a furnace of torment.

After the relentless bombardment, the SSA robot looked battered and worn. Its body charred black as if scorched by intense flames, pocked with countless shallow dents. Yet, on the surface, the damage appeared somewhat superficial.

But Sasuke was far from disappointed—he was exhilarated.

His eyes blazed with fervent light, as if having discovered a hidden treasure.

“Ha! My suspicions were correct!” he exclaimed, clenching his fist with excitement and joy. “Indeed, the ultimate fusion of lightning and fire is your weakness!”

A wave of accomplishment surged through him, as though he had uncovered the key to defeating this mighty adversary.

Naruto, with his keen perception, rich experience, and sharp eyes, observed the SSA robot carefully, pondering deeply.

Soon, he discerned the robot’s true vulnerability.

It was not merely the fusion of lightning and fire attributes but rather the combination of piercing and explosive elements that mattered—delivering an explosion beyond the opponent’s formidable armor to damage the fragile interior.

Moreover, the perfect synergy of lightning and fire alone was insufficient; a potent spiritual machinery energy was also essential to neutralize the opponent’s defensive spiritual energy and enable the ultimate elemental transformation to penetrate.

Sasuke himself may not have realized that the spiritual machinery energy embedded in his jutsu was the very factor causing the current damage.

All three elements were indispensable; lacking any one rendered the attack nearly ineffective—unless one relied on brute strength to crush the enemy.

For example, Gaara’s earlier Sand Coffin barrage exerted such tremendous pressure that, if applied to ordinary steel parts, it could likely compress a car into a solid iron ingot.

However, spiritual machinery energy had only emerged in the ninja world within the past decade.

Few warriors could simultaneously meet these three conditions. Most, even if they understood their enemy’s weakness, would struggle to exploit it effectively.

They would have no choice but to endure the robot’s already formidable, shadow-level strength, fighting a war of attrition against the tireless machine, hoping to reserve enough destructive power for a final, devastating strike to work a miracle.

“A catastrophe… a catastrophe,” Naruto sighed, his voice heavy with worry and helplessness.

He gazed up at the sky, where several fiery meteors streaked across the heavens. How many such robots had already appeared? A fierce urgency gripped his heart. How many more must perish before they could stop these machines?

This pressing sense extinguished the brief arrogance that had blossomed after conquering the Land of Waves.

He knew he could not afford any slackening; the pace had to quicken.

“Again!” Sasuke continued forming seals, his gaze resolute and focused. He wielded his chakra-infused steel rain, pressing the attack on the SSA robot.

Watching the unsatisfactory results, Naruto shouted anxiously, “Sasuke! Increase your spiritual machinery energy output! At this rate, it will just drag you down!”

His voice brimmed with urgency and concern, his eyes locked on Sasuke, conveying an intense sense of immediacy.

“Sakura! Boost your chakra and spiritual machinery energy output! Bombard the robot with everything you’ve got to cover Sasuke!” Naruto commanded firmly and decisively.

“Got it!” Sakura responded quickly, though a flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes.

“But Naruto! I still can’t multitask like that…” she said, her voice trembling slightly with nervousness.

“You have to! Otherwise, you, me, and Sasuke—we’ll all die here!” Naruto snapped.

At this critical moment, there was no room for hesitation or retreat. They had to give everything they had to survive.

“Understood!” Sakura bit her lip, determination flashing in her eyes. She knew Naruto was right. They had no other choice. To live, to protect each other, they had to fight with everything.