Chapter 123: Attack of the Extraterrestrial Visitors

Dust and smoke surged like a violent tidal wave, instantly forming a thick curtain that completely obscured everyone's vision.

This was the Forest of Death, and the tower at its heart had been reduced to ruins. One of the fiery meteors had struck with the force of a thunderbolt, its immense impact shattering the tower into collapse. Fortunately, it had been devoid of life, housing only cold electronic equipment and vacant chambers.

Naruto did not hesitate to activate his protective shield. The transparent barrier emitted a soft glow, pulling Sasuke and Sakura tightly behind him. Through the perception of his Kagura Shingan, he could clearly detect that Gaara’s sand had also formed a sturdy fortress, shielding his trio securely. That fine, granular sand seemed possessed of a life of its own, displaying a formidable protective power in the face of danger.

"Is that... the scent of motherly love?" Naruto mused to himself. "I had assumed this sand was a manifestation of Shukaku’s power... It seems there is more to Gaara’s story than I thought."

A sudden hiss of venting valves erupted from within the dust, sounding unnervingly sharp in the silent air. A high-speed blast of air roared, scattering the surrounding dust to reveal the mysterious object within. It was a steel sphere, its surface gleaming with a cold metallic luster, resembling an airdrop pod or a landing craft.

"What is that thing, Naruto? Have you ever seen it before?" Sakura asked in a low, trembling voice. Her eyes were filled with a mixture of curiosity and dread as she stared fixedly at the sphere. The surface was covered in various gauges, valves, and gears—the aesthetic was indeed strikingly similar to the contraptions Naruto tinkered with.

"I don't know," Naruto replied concisely, his gaze locked onto the sphere, his eyes alight with contemplation. "But I certainly admire those gears and gauges. To remain in such pristine condition after being scorched by such intense heat—the level of material technology here far exceeds my own. If I could master this technology, perhaps I could even take you all to visit other planets."

No sooner had Naruto finished speaking than another hiss of escaping gas echoed, and the hatch on the sphere slowly creaked open. Everyone’s attention was instantly drawn to the opening, watching the interior with bated breath. The inside was a maze of conduits and interfaces.

Then, emerging from the hatch, came a massive steel humanoid. It resembled the robots Naruto typically built in style, yet its form was entirely different. Naruto’s robots were quadrupeds, towering in height and designed for both engineering and combat, leaning heavily toward the former. This machine, however, was a bipedal humanoid standing roughly three meters tall. It stood upright and imposing, and at a glance, one could tell it was a machine built for pure combat.

The robot was crafted entirely from brass and steel, with every detail showcasing exquisite craftsmanship. Its body was adorned with intricate gears, bolts, and steam pipes, shimmering with a chilling luster under the twilight sun as if it were a work of art. Its head was a simple, glowing red camera lens, the crimson light burning like a flame. Its limbs were powerful, with complex and sophisticated mechanical structures at the joints; as it moved, the forceful operation of steam pistons was faintly visible. Embedded in its chest was a hemispherical device covered in gears and dials, housing a mechanical apparatus of unknown function that flickered with an eerie, sickly green light. That glow felt like a summons from the abyss, chilling to the bone.

"If I’m not mistaken, that’s a difference engine," Naruto murmured, his eyes filled with astonishment and admiration. "It’s an advanced super-difference engine, iterated through countless generations, further modified with spiritual energy similar to spirit-mechanical power, and there are even traces of chakra-based enhancements."

"In my estimation, the processing power of that engine is likely immense. It might even be equipped with a highly developed artificial intelligence."

Sasuke frowned slightly, pointing at the robot and asking in a low voice, "There is a line of tiny text on the robot’s collar. Can you read it?"

As he spoke, he used a twig to carefully sketch the characters on the ground. Naruto leaned in and whispered, "SaberStorm-Alpha... How should one translate this? Saber Storm Alpha? It looks like a model designation for that kind of robot."

The steel monstrosity stepped out of the landing pod and slowly came to a halt. Its cold head emitted an eerie red light, like burning ghost fire. Then, the head rotated three hundred and sixty degrees in place, the crimson beam slowly sweeping over everything in the vicinity. When the light finally landed on Naruto, it lingered for two seconds before retracting.

Then, the sickly green light on the chest’s difference engine began to flicker at a high frequency, and the gears spun with the ferocity of a crazed beast.

"Target confirmed: SSA SaberStorm unit landed in the designated area. Executing search and destroy mission."

A cold, electronic voice emanated from the robot’s speakers, its tone devoid of any fluctuation, as if it had come from another world.

"Received CIC instructions: Adding rescue mission."
"Analyzing environmental data, searching for signs of life."
"Intelligent organisms detected, clear signs of life."
"Energy signature analysis and assessment, comparing with database... resembles the Otsutsuki clan."
"Biological entities contain high energy density; threat level: extreme."

Upon hearing the words "threat level," Naruto’s heart sank. This mysterious robot’s technological level was far superior to his own; it was hard to say exactly how strong its combat capability was, but it would undoubtedly be a formidable challenge.

He hurriedly channeled his spirit-mechanical energy, intending to convert the Forest Walker into a defensive shield to withstand the enemy's first strike. However, he was too late. Just as his energy began to spread over the Forest Walker, Sasuke suddenly shouted, "Danger!"

In the next instant, the three of them appeared far away from the Forest Walker without warning. A split second later, the Forest Walker collapsed into a fireball and began to slowly melt. The SSA robot had been pointing a hand toward the direction where the Forest Walker had stood.

It turned out that Sasuke had observed the future several seconds ahead through his ocular jutsu and seen the SSA robot launch its attack. He had used the Sword of Godly Suspension to whisk Naruto and Sakura away just in time. Sasuke also realized that one of his hypotheses was correct: Naruto was indeed highly resistant to the influence of the Sword of Godly Suspension. Carrying Naruto through a time-stop required an immense expenditure of chakra and spirit-mechanical energy.

"High-threat targets detected. Executing priority mission: Eliminate high-combat-power individuals."

The robot’s cold voice echoed once more.