Naruto : Gamer System-Chapter 64 : Heaven Judgement

"Be careful, Shikaku!"

Choza Akimichi, already gravely injured, used the last of his strength to block a fatal blow aimed at Shikaku.

Bang! Choza was sent flying, crashing to the ground with blood gushing from his back.

"Choza! Hang in there! Take this!"Shikaku quickly pulled out several hemostatic pills and administered them before turning his gaze back to the battlefield.

The situation was dire. Konoha's forces had dwindled. Out of a hundred shinobi, fewer than twenty remained standing. Most of the fallen were Chūnin and Genin—but over twenty had died, many of them taken down by the enemy commander.

On the Suna side, while they'd lost fewer ninja, many puppets had been destroyed, and over a dozen Jōnin had fallen thanks to Konoha's terrain advantage.

"Shadow Imitation Technique!"

Seeing another Konoha ninja in danger, Shikaku moved swiftly to trap the enemy.

But Garuda was prepared. Caught in the shadow, he calmly summoned his iron sand to form a barrier. One of the Suna-nin nearby tossed a flash bomb-like device between them. A blinding light erupted—instantly breaking the shadow's hold.

"Tch! They're too well prepared," Shikaku muttered.

More than just tactics—Suna was countering their secret techniques with pinpoint accuracy.

"The enemy clearly understands Konoha's bloodline limits and clan techniques. There must be a traitor, and not a low-level one either..."

"What do we do, Lord Shikaku?!" one ninja shouted. "We're being slaughtered out here. Should we fall back and recover chakra?"

Shikaku closed his eyes for a moment. "...To be honest, I have no plan. But we can't retreat."

If they allowed the enemy to break through now, everything they'd done would be in vain.

After a brief silence, Shikaku stood and walked forward.

"I've always been a tactician—winning battles at minimal cost—but that doesn't mean I've lost the blood of a Konoha shinobi."

"Shadow Sewing Jutsu!"

Shikaku charged forward, shouting,

"Let them feel the will of Konoha shinobi! Everyone—charge!"

"Ah... finally. It's complete."

After what seemed like an eternity, Haruto Itsuki finished the preparation of his technique. A radiant blue armor formed around his body—a shell of positive charges extracted from machinery, fused with his chakra.

If not for his special sealing array, the lightning in the sky would have struck him down by now.

Haruto slowly raised Murasame, and the sky tore apart. In the swirling storm clouds above, a giant figure of lightning began to emerge.

As Haruto opened his eyes, twin beams of blue lightning pierced through the clouds—followed by two enormous eyes glowing within the storm. Then, the colossal lightning giant took shape.

"Wh-What is that?!"

Shinobi across every battlefield froze, stunned by the terrifying presence above.

"What a fearsome jutsu..." Orochimaru watched in awe. "I didn't think Konoha had a trump card like this..."

Even Garuda paused, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the light in the distance.

"What is that thing...? Why do I feel so uneasy?"

Haruto floated upward, pulled by the magnetic forces his chakra had created.

"Huh... so I can fly using electric attraction... Not bad," he said, adjusting his chakra with ease. "A bonus discovery."

As a dazzling blue light spread across the battlefield, Haruto looked down. Konoha had less than seventy fighters left.

"This was avoidable... It's my fault. Now, I'll show you my wrath."

He raised Murasame. The giant in the sky slowly descended.

"All Konoha forces, fall back!"

Both allies and enemies looked up. A glowing blue figure hovered in the air—and behind him, the giant of thunder was descending from the clouds.

Konoha shinobi let out cheers and quickly withdrew. Suna-nin froze in terror, paralyzed by the thunder god's gaze.

"Is that... really human?"

"Lord Garuda... should we retreat?!"

Garuda's face was pale. Gritting his teeth, he shouted:

"RETREAT!!"

But Haruto's voice echoed through the air, cold and disdainful.

"Retreat? Too late."

"Ants of Sunagakure! Remember the name of this jutsu!"

As the fleeing Suna-nin glanced back, Haruto threw a ball of brilliant light toward them.

"Lightning Style: Heaven's Judgment!"

For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then—

RRRRRUMMMMMMBLE—!!

The giant's eyes flashed. A deafening roar of thunder tore through the sky. Twin beams of lightning as wide as towers slammed into the battlefield, vaporizing everything they touched. A crater spanning hundreds of meters was all that remained.

Silence.

Even Konoha's own soldiers stood frozen, their ears ringing, their jaws slack. The sheer power left them in awe—and fear.

All they could do was stare at the blue figure in the sky, suspended like a god of judgment.

Haruto exhaled slowly. Behind him, the thunder giant had shrunk by half. But he wasn't done thinking.

"This jutsu... has more potential," he murmured. "If developed further... it might truly live up to its name."

He glanced at the sky, the storm still crackling.

"Maybe it's just an illusion... but I feel like I've deepened my bond with the lightning element."

Suddenly, in the large crater created by Haruto Itsuki's bombardment, the loosened earth revealed several surviving figures.

"Pfft!"Garuda spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Master Garuda, are you alright?" One of the surviving Sand ninja, protected by Garuda's technique, asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Garuda paused briefly, then said: "Hurry and run."

"Us? What about you, my lord?" asked one of the jōnin.

"I can't go back. Most of Sand's elite forces are gone... I've lost the right to return. As commander, this is my responsibility. I won't escape it."

"Your Excellency—"

"No more. At least one of us must stay to stall them. Go—someone needs to carry the report back."

The remaining Sand ninja looked at each other silently. Then, without another word, they split off in different directions and ran with all their strength.

From above, Haruto slowly raised his blade, Murasame, preparing to strike again.

"Haruto, stop!"

Haruto turned in surprise.

Shikaku stood watching him, his face calm but serious.

"The main force is already eliminated. The rest aren't a threat." He continued, "What we need now is to let the world know what Konoha has done—to build deterrence. If we wipe them all out, the other villages may feel cornered. We could bring another war on ourselves. For the sake of the bigger picture, we can't kill them all, Haruto."

After a long silence, Haruto nodded and slowly lowered Murasame.

He had just abandoned his killing intent—when a single figure walked toward the Konoha line.

"Is he... surrendering?"

As the figure approached, furious shouts rang out from the Konoha ninjas.

"He killed so many of us—kill him!"

"Kill him! He doesn't get to surrender!"

"What do you want? Surrender? It's too late!" Haruto stared quietly at the man. Despite his bloodied appearance, he carried a strange, calm dignity. It reminded Haruto of a plant from the desert—The cactus. Not just enduring, but defiant in its tenacity.

The man stopped.

"I'm here... to fight." frёewebηovel.cѳm

Haruto blinked, puzzled. "Did I hear that right? You still want to fight? We have dozens here, and even alone—I would still win."

Garuda looked up at him with a complicated expression. "To think that Sand would be crushed by a single child... Konoha really is a land of geniuses. One child who can tip the entire battle... You've proven why you are the strongest village."

Haruto narrowed his eyes. "Then why not flee? With your strength, it shouldn't be hard. Don't tell me you're afraid of failure. You don't look like the type."

Garuda turned to look toward the west—toward the Land of Wind.

"Because someone must bear the price of this failure. If I return, I'll either be executed in disgrace, or hunted as a traitor if I resist. But I will never betray my village."

He looked back with a firm expression. "That's why... I choose to die like a ninja."

The Konoha shinobi fell silent.

Haruto's expression shifted subtly. "Die like a ninja, huh... We may be enemies, but I can respect that."

He raised Murasame again. "Your name?"

"Garuda."

Haruto slowly floated upward, lightning flaring around him. "I'm Haruto Itsuki. I will not hold back. That is my respect to you."

"So be it!" Garuda charged, summoning gold dust to attack.

But his power was clearly spent—his control barely a fraction of what it had been, the speed sluggish, the force weakened. Everyone watching knew: this was a final stand from a dying man.

Haruto didn't drop his guard.

"Lightning Release: Blade of Heaven."

He brought down Murasame. The colossal lightning figure behind him mirrored the motion, cleaving the air.

"Rrraaaaagh!"

Garuda's gold dust shattered. He was struck down hard.

Time seemed to freeze.

He struggled upright, body blackened and burnt, left arm and leg completely gone.

He coughed blood, then hurled himself forward again, dragging a storm of dust behind him.

"I've figured out some of the weaknesses in his technique... Let this be my last service to the village." He wrote a few short lines onto a scroll, summoned a lizard, and fed it the scroll. The lizard vanished into the sand.

"At least now... my death means something."

Haruto calmly walked toward the fallen shinobi, dispelling the dust cloud with a flick of chakra.

"I've thought it over. I'll give you a cleaner end. You've earned that much."

Murasame stabbed cleanly into Garuda's chest.

"Haha... Thank you. It's no shame... to die at the hands of someone like you... hahaha..."

Garuda laughed even as his heart stopped. He died smiling.

Haruto looked at the lifeless body, his thoughts heavy.

"This man... never existed in the original timeline. But his strength and spirit were real."

He stared silently into the fading clouds of battle.

"I can't rely on the original story anymore. Maybe this was his fate all along. Or maybe I've already rewritten everything. In this giant ninja world, how could there be only a handful of elites?"

His grip tightened around Murasame.

"The future... it may not be the one I knew."

He turned to the massive lightning shadow behind him, still flickering with power.

"Good thing... I've gotten strong enough to survive."