89: The author has gone in again; what a troublesome country the cherry blossoms have been.

At this moment, Jeanne d'Arc looked up at the "sun" that was rapidly expanding in her field of vision.

The meteorite rubbed against the atmosphere, igniting ten thousand feet of raging flames; that terrifying heat and sense of oppression even caused the air below to begin to distort.

She did not retreat.

In the young girl's clear blue eyes, that sea of destructive fire was reflected.

She simply, silently, held the holy flag in her hand high above her head.

From the surface of the banner, an unprecedentedly brilliant golden glow erupted.

That glow was so pure, so divine, like the first ray of dawn piercing through the gloom of doomsday.

Facing the falling meteorite capable of wiping an entire city off the map, Jeanne d'Arc calmly chanted the true name of her Noble Phantasm.

"Luminosité Eternelle!"

The moment the words fell.

The holy flag in her hand unfurled in the wind.

The banner, printed with fleur-de-lis and saintly prayers, transformed into a massive golden light screen covering a radius of over five kilometers the moment it unfurled.

The light screen was like a circular holy shield polished to perfection by the hand of a god, precisely shrouding the sky above the core area of Hiroshima city.

Above the light screen, colors flowed and shimmered.

Countless phantom images of angels emerged within the screen; they blew trumpets, plucked harps, and chanted solemn, dignified hymns in unison.

That singing seemed to possess physical power, reaching everyone's ears through the live broadcast signal.

The divine aura, like a gentle tide, smoothed over the fear and despair breeding in people's hearts.

People who had been scurrying in panic on the streets subconsciously stopped in their tracks.

They looked up, staring blankly at the massive golden holy shield in the sky and the falling doomsday fireball above it.

Time was infinitely slowed at this moment.

The burning meteorite and the golden light screen collided with a boom.

The earth-shattering explosion that was expected did not occur.

The shockwave that would rend mountains and split the earth also did not occur.

The entire world heard only a crisp, distant tolling of a bell, seemingly from heaven.

“Clang——”

The terrifying kinetic energy, sufficient to destroy a modern metropolis, was entirely absorbed, converted, and neutralized by the holy light flowing upon the screen the moment it made contact.

The meteorite struck the light screen without stirring a single ripple.

It simply sank deep inside, like pressing a red-hot iron into a golden ocean.

Its speed slowed down drastically in a manner visible to the naked eye.

Finally, after the center of the light screen had dented inward by nearly a hundred meters, all its kinetic energy was completely exhausted, and it came to a standstill.

But the crisis was not over.

The kinetic energy had vanished, but its terrifying mass still existed.

It was a literal small mountain, its weight enough to crush any man-made structure on Earth.

Jeanne d'Arc maintained her posture of holding the holy flag high, unmoving.

The young girl's slender arms were, at this moment, supporting the entire sky of Hiroshima City.

Driven by the Noble Phantasm, her class skill [Magic Resistance: EX] was converted without reservation into the purest physical defense.

She forcibly bore the weight of a mountain.

“Crack... Crackle...”

After several seconds of stalemate.

The internal structure of the massive meteorite finally reached its limit under the dual erosion of its own terrifying pressure and the holy energy of the Noble Phantasm.

Cracks began to spread from the interior of the meteorite.

Ultimately, it could no longer maintain its form and burst apart with a crash.

Countless burning rocks, ranging from a few tons to hundreds of tons, slid silently toward the surroundings along the smooth arc of the golden light screen.

They bypassed the protected urban areas and accurately smashed into the uninhabited mountain regions and the vast sea surface around Hiroshima.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The delayed thunderous roars finally exploded on the outskirts of the city.

Massive plumes of dust and water vapor shot into the sky, forming small mushroom clouds.

On the sea, towering waves dozens of meters high were stirred up, spreading into the distance.

But all of this had nothing to do with Hiroshima City, which was protected by the holy shield.

The golden light screen in the sky, after confirming that all fragments had finished falling, slowly retracted and turned back into that simple, ancient holy flag.

The crisis was completely resolved.

Jeanne d'Arc withdrew her Noble Phantasm and took one last look at the city below, which was riddled with scars but had its core area perfectly intact.

Her figure transformed into golden particles filling the sky, slowly dissipating into the air.

The global live broadcast image finally froze.

On one side was the center of Hiroshima's urban area, with streets and buildings unscathed under the protection of the golden light screen.

On the other side was the city's outskirts, a broken land riddled with holes from the meteorite fragments, looking like it had been gnawed by a giant beast.

This extremely intense visual contrast brought an unparalleled impact, deeply imprinted in the mind of every viewer.

Twenty-four hours after the Hiroshima incident.

The entire world fell into an eerie calm.

From the White House to The Kremlin, from 10 Downing Street to the capital of Huaxia, the official institutions of all major powers chose silence with surprising consistency.

No statements, no announcements.

It was as if that crisis, which could have destroyed the world, had never happened.

But in corners invisible to ordinary people, the intelligence agencies of all countries were operating frantically with unprecedented efficiency.

The CIA, MI6, Mossad, Huaxia's Ninth Bureau... countless top analysts, physicists, and linguists were urgently summoned to analyze the global live broadcast footage frame by frame, over and over again.

In stark contrast to the deathly silence of the officials was the volcanic eruption of celebration on the global internet.

The moment the crisis was confirmed to be resolved, the long-accumulated fear and despair instantly transformed into the most fanatical worship and catharsis.

“Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! I can't say anything else except holy crap!”

“I declare that from today on, I am the most loyal believer of Lady Saint Jeanne d'Arc!”

“Lady Saint, my god! That was a meteorite! She actually held it up!”

“To the person above, what 'Lady Saint'? Call her the Holy Mother! Even the Virgin Mary isn't as amazing as her!”

The netizens of Sakura Country, in particular, who had been pulled back from the gates of hell twice, fell into a religious-like frenzy.

Countless people spontaneously flocked to churches, even though most of them weren't even believers.

Others printed out the final frozen image of Jeanne d'Arc, set up incense tables at home, and worshipped her devoutly.

Within just a few hours, the name "Jeanne d'Arc" was spontaneously given titles like "Saint of National Salvation" and "Guardian Deity of Hiroshima" by the people of Sakura Country.

The topic #We Owe the Saint a Citizenship# even reached the top of Sakura Country's trending list for a time.

Of course, where there was celebration, there was also gloating.

“To be fair, Sakura Country's luck is really something else. Are they in the VIP disaster seats for the Holy Grail War?”

“Last time it was the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, this time it's Heavenly Restriction: Planetary Invasion. Is Godzilla going to land next time?”

“Don't be a hater. Godzilla is also a specialty of Sakura Country. If he really shows up, it'll be a civil war.”

“I'm more curious—Uchiha Madara is also a character from your Sakura Country's manga, right? Is this a case of cultural export exporting yourselves out of existence?”

This comment instantly woke up countless netizens who were watching the drama unfold.

That's right!

Li Bai and Furina are from Huaxia.

Roosevelt is from America.

Jeanne d'Arc is from France.

The previous Shuten-dōji and the current Uchiha Madara... aren't they just from your Sakura Country's myths and drawn by your manga artists?

In an instant, the direction of public opinion began to shift toward an extremely subtle angle.

“I get it! This is all the author's conspiracy!”

“It must be that manga artist named Kishimoto; he's Uchiha Madara's Master!”

“Otherwise, how do you explain a manga character appearing in reality? The author must have used the Holy Grail to summon him!”

“I suggest a strict investigation! The author must be interrogated! Make him hand over the command spells!”

This theory, which was originally just a joke, spread across the internet like a virus.

Countless angry and terrified citizens of Sakura Country actually came to believe this logic.

They swarmed the official account of the Prime Minister's Official Residence and the Ministry of Defense's account, leaving frantic messages and petitions, demanding that the government immediately arrest Kishimoto Masashi, the author of naruto.

This surging wave formed by public will soon made it impossible for the officials to continue feigning ignorance... Late at night.

In Tokyo, inside a quiet detached house.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses, looking somewhat tired, had just put down his drawing pen and rubbed his aching shoulders.

He was the author of naruto, Kishimoto Masashi.

The events of the past few days made him feel like he was dreaming.

The character he created by hand had almost destroyed a city in the real world.

Just as he was preparing to go make a cup of coffee to refresh himself.

“Ding-dong——”

The doorbell rang.

Kishimoto was a bit puzzled. At this hour, who could it be?

He walked to the entrance and looked out through the peephole.

Outside the door stood two men dressed in black suits with serious expressions.

On their chests, they both wore a fleur-de-lis badge that did not belong to any known department.

Kishimoto's heart sank abruptly.

He opened the door.

The leading man presented him with a red document stamped with the seal of the Cabinet Secretariat.

“Are you Mr. Kishimoto Masashi?”

The man's voice was devoid of any emotion.

“We are from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office. There are some matters we need you to come back with us to assist in investigating.”