DAIMYO: Chapter 103/106

Chapter 103: AB Combination

Above the city wall.

Minato's golden hair danced in the wind, his gaze sharp as a blade, instantly locking onto Killer B's movements.

"Don't even think about it!" he growled, and his figure vanished.

Flying Thunder God Technique!

The Yellow Flash arrived first, instantly appearing in Killer B's path, firmly blocking his way.

As the Hokage, he was the village's final line of defense.

Just as Minato was about to intercept—

A figure appeared between him and Killer B without any warning.

No chakra fluctuations. No high-speed afterimages.

Even Minato's Flying Thunder God felt slow in comparison at that moment.

Arashi stood there, back to Minato, facing the charging Killer B.

"I told you," his indifferent voice clearly reached Minato's ears, "just watch."

Minato's hand seals froze mid-air.

What... How could he be faster than the Flying Thunder God?

The next instant.

Under everyone's gaze, Arashi raised his hand and reached directly for Killer B.

He was being underestimated!

"Roar!" Killer B let out a beast-like roar.

His eyes narrowed beneath his sunglasses, and the Tailed Beast's chakra instantly ignited.

Four tails erupted at once, transforming into massive, ferocious chakra claws that lunged at Arashi from all directions, intending to shred him to pieces.

But that hand ignored distance, ignored the rampaging chakra.

It simply landed on his head.

Buzz!

In that instant, time seemed to freeze.

Killer B's charge came to an abrupt stop.

The four gigantic chakra claws shattered like fragile bubbles before even touching Arashi, dispersing into red motes of light.

"Wha... what?!"

His pupils contracted sharply behind his glasses.

The power pressing down from above prevented him from moving even a finger.

His proud strength, the Tailed Beast chakra that could level mountains, was completely helpless beneath this single palm. He didn't even have the right to struggle.

Arashi applied slight pressure with his palm.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, Killer B was violently slammed into the ground.

A deafening tremor!

A massive crater, dozens of meters wide, exploded outward as spiderweb-like cracks spread in all directions.

The shockwave turned into visible white air currents, sweeping away everything nearby.

At the center of the crater, Killer B's Tailed Beast cloak shattered inch by inch, the sound of bones fracturing clearly audible. His entire body lay embedded in the earth, limbs splayed, blood spreading beneath him. His fate unknown.

One palm.

Suppressing the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki!

On the city wall, all the Konoha high-ranking officials stood in stunned silence.

That... was a perfect Jinchūriki.

That was the Eight-Tails, someone who could confront even the Fourth Hokage head-on.

And he was... crushed with one palm?

"Watch closely!" Arashi turned his head slightly and smiled at Minato. "This is my stage now."

"Uh..." Minato was speechless.

"B!"

A pained roar pulled everyone back to their senses.

A's bloodshot eyes were wide with madness, blood vessels popping as fury consumed him.

His younger brother, his only family, had just been smashed into the ground by that man in the most humiliating and degrading way.

Humiliation.

Rage.

An endless killing intent instantly took over his reason.

"Damn youuuuuu!!!"

Lightning exploded.

He activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to the maximum. The blue lightning around him nearly became tangible.

His entire figure transformed into a bolt of blue lightning, radiating an aura of destruction, as he charged straight at Arashi.

"Lightning Release: Lariat!"

"Oh?" Watching A's berserk form, Arashi smiled. "So you want to dance too?"

At the same time—

In the deep crater, Killer B struggled to get up, coughing violently and spitting blood.

If the Eight-Tails hadn't protected his heart at the last second, that palm would've taken his life.

Seeing his brother charging forward without hesitation, he pulled two swords from his back without a second thought.

"Big Brother!"

With a roar, Killer B squeezed out the last of his strength and transformed into a red bolt of lightning.

The two brothers, hearts as one.

In this moment, they staked everything—Kumogakure's honor, their bond as brothers—everything!

Blue and red lightning intertwined in the air.

"Lariat!"

The strongest combined technique!

Terrifying energy turned into a beam of destruction, aiming straight at Arashi's neck.

"Brothers dancing together!"

Facing this earth-shattering blow, Arashi's smile widened.

He didn't dodge. He simply raised his hand.

Clang!

A sound like metal colliding.

That Lariat, capable of tearing through anything, was firmly blocked by just two fingers.

The rampant Lightning Release chakra was completely extinguished at his fingertips.

The destructive force was reduced to nothing.

Time froze.

A and B remained frozen in their charging posture, faces full of disbelief.

Their strongest, all-out combination attack... had been blocked with just two fingers?

…In the distant forest.

Obito's Sharingan spun wildly under his mask, almost bleeding.

"Impossible… Absolutely impossible!"

His voice trembled with disbelief.

This kind of power… "Obito, hurry and go!"

Black Zetsu's voice rang out, filled with unmistakable fear.

"This man is an anomaly!"

"He's not someone who should exist in this world!"

"Go, Obito! The Eye of the Moon Plan can't afford any setbacks!"

"We must retreat now and plan for the long term!"

For the first time in centuries, Black Zetsu felt a crisis that chilled him to the bone.

This Daimyo-sama of the Land of Fire, this mysterious Dao-Grade power, had surpassed every scheme he had plotted over millennia.

If they didn't leave now, even he might not survive.

But Obito ignored him.

His gaze was locked onto the golden figure standing on the distant city wall.

Minato. His teacher.

At this moment, Minato's entire attention was focused on the Daimyo's power. He had no time for anything else.

This was the chance.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Plan?"

Obito's voice was hoarse, edged with madness.

"Compared to that, I'd rather make this hypocritical world… feel pain ahead of schedule."

His body began to distort, space swirling into a vortex that swallowed him whole.

"Obito! You're insane!"

Black Zetsu's shrill cry echoed through the empty forest, but no response came...

In Konoha, along the evacuation route.

The crowd was retreating in an orderly manner under the organization of Konoha shinobi.

Rumble!

A loud explosion rang from the direction of the city wall, making many civilians pale with fear.

Panic spread quickly, and everyone instinctively sped up.

Kushina and Mikoto moved along with the crowd, helping to guide the elderly and children.

Both wore loose civilian clothes, though their slightly swollen bellies still showed they were pregnant.

"Kushina, don't worry," Mikoto gently comforted her friend, noticing her unease. "Minato is the Hokage, and Daimyo-sama is here. Everything will be fine."

"I know..." Kushina rubbed her belly, frowning beneath her crimson hair. "But the commotion is too intense. I have a bad feeling... like something terrible is about to happen."

As the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, her sensitivity to malice far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Just then—

In a nearby alley, a shadow twisted unnaturally, and a figure wearing a spiral mask slowly emerged.

He stared at Kushina in the distance… and her slightly swollen belly.

His eyes were filled with icy hatred.

Minato.

You were part of Rin's death.

You took everything from me.

Then I'll destroy everything you hold dear.

He slowly raised his hand.

In his palm, space began to distort, forming a swirling vortex.

Die.

Along with your unborn child.

Killing intent surged, ready to strike.

"Stop!"

An aged voice rang out.

Then a playful one followed. "Heh, we really do have a rat."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 104: Target – Nine-Tails Jinchūriki

In the vast forest north of the Land of Fire, two thousand figures raced rapidly through the treetops.

Their feet lightly tapped the tree trunks, leaping forward dozens of meters with each step.

Behind them, only leaves stirred by the fierce wind remained.

Sweat streamed down their faces.

No one spoke.

The only sounds were the howling wind and the rustling of leaves as they passed.

At the front of the formation, Kakashi's figure was the fastest.

"What… exactly happened in the Village?"

They had been rushing back ever since receiving the order.

The message had contained only a brief sentence: Kumogakure invasion, return to reinforce immediately!

Regardless of how Kumo ninja had bypassed the border, for the Village to issue an emergency recall, the number of enemies had to be significant.

Tightening his grip on the short sword his father had left him, Kakashi soared off a towering tree, shooting toward the distance.

Behind him, two thousand Konoha shinobi, not a single one falling behind, surged through the boundless forest toward the eye of the storm...

At the same time, in Konoha.

The streets leading to the shelter were in chaos.

In a nearby alley, the sudden appearance of Hiruzen and Orochimaru sealed off all escape routes.

The alley was dimly lit. The only thing visible was the eerie glow of a Sharingan through the eyeholes of a spiral-patterned mask.

Obito's movements stopped. He looked at the two who had surrounded him, one in front and one behind, and said in a hoarse voice, "So, the one on the city wall was just a Shadow Clone…"

Staring at the Sharingan exposed under the mask, Hiruzen's expression turned serious as he questioned, "Who are you? What is your purpose in infiltrating Konoha?"

Obito let out an aged chuckle.

"Who I am doesn't matter."

"What matters is that I've come to take what I want."

His gaze passed over them and landed on Uzumaki Kushina, who was being guarded by several Anbu not far away.

Just then.

Boom!

The wall next to the alley exploded!

Amidst the debris, Tsunade rushed in, her voice filled with fury. "I don't care if you're human or ghost! If you dare cause trouble here, you die!"

Before her words finished, the ground under Tsunade's feet cracked, and she appeared right in front of Obito.

She punched straight toward his face!

This strike had enough force to split mountains and shatter rocks!

Obito didn't move. He neither dodged nor blocked.

Just as the punch was about to land—

A bizarre scene occurred.

Tsunade's fist passed straight through Obito's head and crashed into the wall behind him.

Rumble!

The entire wall crumbled into dust.

"What?!"

Tsunade's eyes widened in disbelief.

She missed?

No, her punch had gone right through him!

"Genjutsu?" Hiruzen made a quick judgment and formed hand seals. "Release!"

But the masked man in front of him remained unchanged.

It wasn't Genjutsu!

"Interesting…" Orochimaru's vertical pupils gleamed with curiosity. "A Space-Time Ninjutsu that makes the body intangible? What a fascinating jutsu."

"Roar!"

With a deep roar, Enma appeared.

Hiruzen didn't hesitate, summoning his old partner. The Adamantine Staff instantly extended, sweeping across!

This time, Obito moved.

His body turned intangible again, letting the staff pass through.

The next moment, he reappeared like a ghost in the middle of the chaotic street!

"This is bad!" Hiruzen's expression changed instantly, realizing the target's objective.

Obito kicked over a burning barbecue stall.

Crash!

The charcoal and hot oil scattered, igniting the wooden structure instantly. Flames shot up, smoke billowing high with the help of the wind!

"Ahhh!"

Nearby civilians screamed in terror and scattered in panic.

"Bastard! Save the civilians first!" Tsunade shouted, giving up the pursuit and rushing toward the blazing area.

With a swing of her arms, she pushed the flames to one side, grabbing a panicked child and tossing him toward a safe zone.

Orochimaru also threw out several long snakes, wrapping around the fallen villagers and dragging them out of the fire.

Just as the trio's attention was drawn to saving civilians.

Obito's figure disappeared from his original position.

On the other side, Kushina stood surrounded by Anbu, one hand protecting her belly, the other gripping a kunai tightly as she kept her eyes on her surroundings.

The moment Obito vanished, she felt a spatial fluctuation behind her.

Without hesitation, she turned and stabbed backward with the kunai!

To capture her, Obito had to exit his intangible state.

At the moment he materialized, the kunai was already at his face!

"Hmph."

Obito snorted coldly, raising his left hand to deflect the kunai with the back of his hand.

His right hand turned into a claw, spatial distortion swirling in his palm as it reached for Kushina's shoulder, ready to pull her into the Kamui dimension!

Kushina's pupils shrank.

Her movements were slightly slower due to pregnancy. In this close encounter, she was at a clear disadvantage and couldn't dodge!

It looked like he was about to succeed!

"Now!" Hiruzen shouted.

Years of battle experience allowed him to seize the perfect moment instantly.

Whoosh!

The Adamantine Staff shot forward like lightning, arriving late but landing first, striking straight at Obito's ribs!

Fast. Precise. Ruthless.

This strike sealed off Obito's retreat path!

Obito's expression shifted. Now he had to choose, take the hit to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, or give up and phase through?

The strike was nearly upon him.

No time to think.

His right hand, already touching Kushina, instantly pulled back as his body became intangible again!

The Adamantine Staff passed right through his form and hit nothing.

Kushina, meanwhile, was blown back by the force of the strike's shockwave but was caught safely by an Anbu using Body Flicker.

She had escaped danger by a hair's breadth.

Tch!

Obito's face turned grim as he stood up straight.

He glanced at the unharmed Kushina, then at the trio now locking onto him once more.

The best chance was lost, and Kamui's time limit was almost up.

If he kept fighting, there was no path to victory.

"Enough." His voice was hoarse. "The game ends here."

"I only came to say hello today."

He suddenly formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball erupted, roaring toward the still-chaotic crowd!

"You won't get away with this!" Hiruzen and Orochimaru shouted in unison, forming seals. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

Two water walls shot up into the air, blocking the incoming fireball. Thick steam surged across the area.

In the dense white mist, only the masked man's last words echoed faintly.

"This false world will eventually end... within the dream of Infinite Tsukuyomi."

Then, his body and that crimson Sharingan were swallowed into a swirling vortex and vanished without a trace.

The steam cleared.

The street was a mess, with civilians sobbing and shouting all around.

Staring at the spot where the masked man disappeared, Hiruzen's expression was dark. His grip on the Adamantine Staff was so tight the veins on his hand bulged.

Tsunade stomped the ground in frustration, her face full of anger and unwillingness.

Only Orochimaru looked amused, licking his lips with his long tongue.

"He has to materialize to attack… Hehehe, an interesting weakness."

He glanced toward the massive earth wall in the distance, muttering to himself.

"How will that personage judge this rat?"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 105: Eight-Tails Complete

Lariat.

The strongest combined taijutsu of the Hidden Cloud Village's A and B combo.

Yet it had been casually blocked with two fingers.

Raikage A's towering figure remained frozen in his charging stance, his fierce expression replaced by a blank stare.

His proud strength was unraveling inch by inch under the opponent's fingertips.

Killer B's condition was even worse.

The chakra from his Tailed Beast Transformation was frantically leaking from his body.

"Is this the power you two staked everything on?" Arashi's voice was calm, yet every word rang clearly in their ears.

As his voice fell, he exerted a slight force with both hands.

Crack!

The crisp sound of bones breaking.

Bang! Bang!

Two heavy thuds followed in succession.

Under countless stunned gazes.

The Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer B, were sent flying back even faster than they had charged forward!

Their Lightning Release armor and Tailed Beast cloak shattered in mid-air, scattering into countless glowing particles.

Rumble!

The two crashed into the distant ground, raising massive dust clouds and leaving behind two deep craters.

As the dust settled.

In one crater, the Fourth Raikage lay soaked in blood. His right arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, already unconscious.

In the other, Killer B barely managed to support himself.

The Eight-Tails' chakra had instinctively shielded him at the moment of impact, dispersing most of the force.

"Raikage-sama!"

"B-sama!"

On the battlefield, countless Kumo ninja let out cries of despair, their eyes filled with panic.

Raikage-sama… Killer B-sama… their two strongest fighters had truly been defeated?

And they had been crushed so decisively!

Their opponent had only used a single move!

In that moment, the morale of the Kumo forces shattered along with the fall of those two figures.

Fear spread like a plague.

Just when everyone thought the battle was over.

A sudden change occurred!

"Bro… brother!"

A roar tore through the silence.

Killer B staggered to his feet, ignoring his broken ribs, a sweet metallic taste filling his throat.

He stared fixedly at the motionless, blood-soaked figure in the crater.

That was his only family.

Now he lay there, life or death unknown.

"You bastard…"

Killer B adjusted his slipping sunglasses. His voice trembled, tinged with grief and fury. "I will… I will kill you!"

Humiliation, rage, sorrow… all emotions ignited in that instant, transforming into pure, primal killing intent!

Roar!

A beastly cry erupted from deep within the crater!

Boom!

Crimson chakra surged into the sky.

The earth shook. Space warped.

Within the crater, Killer B's bones groaned as he stood. Blood oozed from his orifices.

He reached desperately toward where Raikage A had fallen.

That place was silent.

"Bro… ther…"

He hoarsely uttered two words.

Inside his mental world, the Eight-Tails, Gyūki, spoke: "B, your body's at its limit."

"Ah, Hachi…" Killer B's consciousness was faint, but his face was firm. "Lend me all your power."

"You'll die."

"Then let me die!" Killer B roared within his mind. "I will… kill him! Avenge my brother!"

Gyūki went silent.

It felt its partner's resolve.

This wasn't a berserk rampage, but a deliberate decision to risk everything.

"…Alright, you idiot fool."

"Let's go wild one last time!"

Boom!

Crimson chakra erupted like a volcano!

Flesh writhed. Bones expanded!

Killer B's body rapidly grew in a terrifying manner!

One, two, three… eight massive, octopus-like tentacles tore through his flesh, whipping wildly and carving deep trenches into the ground!

A ferocious bull's head burst from his back, letting out a thunderous roar!

In mere seconds.

A towering beast nearly a hundred meters tall, with the features of both a bull and an octopus, loomed over the battlefield!

The Eight-Tails, Gyūki.

Fully manifested!

Roar!

Gyūki howled toward the heavens. The resulting sound wave became a powerful shockwave, blasting away countless Kumo ninja and nearby Shadow Clones who couldn't react in time!

The ancient, oppressive presence of this tailed beast chilled the battlefield to the bone.

"I-It's the Eight-Tails!"

"B-sama… has fully unleashed the Eight-Tails!"

The surviving Kumo shinobi's eyes lit up with awe and conviction.

Their hero was making a final stand, at the cost of his life!

"Quick… retreat!"

Minato's expression changed drastically as he shouted toward the city wall.

The colossal beast lowered its head, locking onto the lone figure below with its two eyes.

Then, it opened its enormous mouth.

Black and white chakra began to gather, compressing and rotating at incredible speed!

A pitch-black sphere quickly took form.

Tailed Beast Ball!

"Die!"

Fueled by Killer B's bottomless rage, this death sphere launched toward Arashi with a thunderous roar!

The space along its path wailed in distortion. The ground beneath it was scorched black from the escaping energy.

This was a strike capable of erasing all of Konoha!

"Dodge it!"

Tsunade screamed, instinctively about to leap down.

Arashi, however, didn't move.

He simply stood there, looking up at the Tailed Beast Ball rapidly expanding in his vision.

"This power… is rather interesting."

He even found the time to comment.

Then, under countless stunned gazes.

He slowly raised his right hand.

No hand seals.

No chakra fluctuations.

He simply opened his five fingers and, as the Tailed Beast Ball approached, gently made a fist.

Buzz!

The roaring Tailed Beast Ball, still meters away from his palm, abruptly stopped in mid-air!

No matter how it spun or how violently its chakra distorted the air, it could not advance another inch!

"Wha… what?!"

Gyūki's beastly eyes widened in shock.

Impossible!

And the next scene would be forever etched into its memory.

Arashi's five fingers slowly curled closed.

Crack… crack… A series of crisp cracks rang out.

On the surface of the pitch-black Tailed Beast Ball, countless fine fissures appeared!

The next moment.

Bang!!!

A muffled boom.

That pitch-black energy sphere, like a balloon, was crushed by bare hands!

The immense energy within instantly went berserk, erupting outward in all directions like a hurricane.

Everyone struggled to resist.

However, as these violent chakra winds approached Arashi's body, they parted around him on their own, only slightly rustling the hem of his clothes.

The storm faded.

Arashi still stood where he was, untouched and unharmed.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 106: Myōjinmon

Crushing a Tailed Beast Ball with his bare hands.

That scene was etched into the battlefield like an eternal imprint.

The aftershocks of the storm gradually faded, sweeping across the silent battlefield.

Arashi still stood in place, his clothes fluttering in the wind, not even a speck of dust on him.

As if what he had just crushed wasn't a Tailed Beast Ball, but a fragile glass orb.

In that moment, time itself seemed to freeze.

The surviving Kumo ninja on the battlefield, the Konoha higher-ups on the city wall, and even the dark figure lurking in the distance—everyone's thoughts came to a standstill.

"Gulp..."

A swallowing sound echoed from the massive throat of the Eight-Tails, Gyūki.

Its enormous beast eyes stared at the tiny human figure below, filled with fear and confusion.

What was that?

What had that person… done?

The Tailed Beast Ball… was crushed?

As an ancient existence that had lived since the time of the Sage of Six Paths, Gyūki's understanding of the world was utterly shaken in that instant.

It had seen Immortals.

It had seen Uchiha Madara.

It had seen Senju Hashirama.

But it had never seen such absurd, such completely unreasonable power!

This was not Ninjutsu.

Nor was it Sage Jutsu.

What kind of power was this?

On the city wall.

Minato's face had long lost its color. He stared blankly at the Daimyo standing below.

As the fastest shinobi in the world, he felt for the first time that his own thoughts were unbearably slow.

Flying Thunder God?

Rasengan?

The techniques he was so proud of seemed like jokes in front of that world-ending attack… that was so easily erased.

For a moment, a thought crossed his mind.

He, and the Genin who had just graduated from the Academy… perhaps there was no difference in front of that man.

Tsunade's Shadow Clone stood frozen, her lips slightly parted, unable to make a sound.

The pinnacle of medical ninjutsu was Creation Rebirth.

But the power that man had just displayed… left her without words to compare.

"Monster…"

Hiruzen's Shadow Clone muttered to himself, the eyes behind his glasses completely unfocused.

Suddenly—

"ROAR!!!"

A beast's roar, filled with fear and desperation, shattered the silence.

The Eight-Tails, Gyūki, moved!

Its eight enormous tentacles, like mountains, slammed toward Arashi from all directions with overwhelming force!

This wasn't an attack.

This was a desperate struggle, born from the most primal survival instinct of a living creature!

Faced with the Eight-Tails' might, powerful enough to shatter the land, Arashi didn't even blink.

"A death throe, huh?"

He let out a soft chuckle, stepping forward instead of retreating, moving toward the falling tentacles.

One tentacle smashed into the ground.

At the same moment, Arashi's toes lightly landed on the surface of the tentacle.

A gentle tap.

BOOM!!!

The entire tentacle suddenly caved in, smashing straight into the earth!

The ground split apart, and dust exploded into the sky.

Using the recoil, Arashi soared upward, sprinting along the massive tentacle.

The remaining tentacles swept toward him from different angles, stirring fierce winds as they tried to crush him.

But Arashi casually spun mid-air, using one tentacle as a springboard to leap to another.

In the middle of that chaotic, destructive assault, he rose and fell rhythmically, each step bringing him closer to Gyūki's main body.

Finally—

Arashi leapt from the final tentacle, landing squarely atop Gyūki's head.

He looked down at the giant beast's fearful eyes.

"Hang in there. This'll be over soon."

Arashi clapped his hands together in front of his chest.

"Sage Art: Wood Release — Myōjinmon!"

Boom! Boom! Rumble!

The sky cracked open.

Dozens of massive red torii gates, engraved with sealing runes, descended from above with crushing force.

As if the heavens themselves were sending down judgment.

"What… what is that?!" Minato shouted from the city wall.

"Sage Art: Wood Release — Myōjinmon…" Hiruzen's Shadow Clone stammered, his voice trembling. "This is the technique the First Hokage used to suppress Tailed Beasts…"

Before he could finish.

One torii gate had already crashed down onto Gyūki's neck, pinning it to the ground!

Immediately after, more gates fell from the sky, locking down its tentacles and entire body.

Layer after layer, pressing it down completely!

"ROAR! ROAR!"

Gyūki roared in fury, thrashing madly and sending up clouds of dust.

But the Immortal Chakra flowing through the Myōjinmon sealed off all of its strength, rendering it unable to move.

Inside its mental world.

B's consciousness was already fading.

And Gyūki's soul trembled before an unimaginably vast golden figure.

Was that… the Sage of Six Paths?

No.

It wasn't the Sage of Six Paths… then who was it?

Why was that power so similar?

Under the gaze of that golden figure, its soul didn't even dare to resist.

Outside.

Arashi's figure slowly descended, landing in front of Gyūki's pinned head.

He gently placed his hand on the massive forehead.

There was no violent chakra.

No earth-shaking aura.

Just a simple touch.

Gyūki's colossal body trembled violently.

In that instant, its beast-like eyes lost their ferocity, turning empty and docile.

Under Arashi's palm, its form began to shrink at a visible speed.

Flesh melted. Bones retracted.

The vast, ominous Tailed Beast chakra receded like a tide, turning into a stream of red light and condensing back into one form.

Soon—

The towering hundred-meter beast vanished.

Only a blood-soaked, unconscious Killer B remained.

His body fell from mid-air.

But before he hit the ground, a gentle force caught him and slowly delivered him beside Raikage A.

The two brothers lay side by side.

Perfectly aligned.

Once everything was done.

Silence returned to the battlefield.

Five hundred Shadow Clones stood silently in place, surrounding the remaining Kumo shinobi.

The only reason they had kept resisting up until now was because they pinned their hopes on Raikage A and Killer B.

But now those hopes were crushed.

Their fighting spirit collapsed.

Clang.

Someone's kunai slipped and hit the ground with a clear sound.

That sound became the signal.

Clang!

Clang! Clang!

Hundreds, thousands of Kumo ninja dropped their weapons, falling to their knees.

Their faces were filled with nothing but numbness and despair.

Raikage-sama was defeated.

B-sama was defeated.

They… had lost.

Utterly lost.

They had been defeated without even a shred of dignity.

Just then—

A figure appeared on the city wall in an instant, dropping to one knee.

His voice was filled with urgency.

"Lord Fourth!"

"An unknown intruder appeared in the village. Their target… their target was Kushina-sama!"

"Lord Third and Lady Tsunade repelled him, but the enemy used a strange Space-Time Ninjutsu to escape!"

What?!

Minato's body went stiff.

A chill shot to the top of his head.

He whipped around and stared at the Anbu who delivered the report, then subconsciously looked down at the battlefield.

Crisis from within and without.

And he, the Hokage, had stood here the entire time, watching a performance he was utterly powerless to influence.

A deep sense of helplessness and lingering dread surged up inside him.

As if sensing his gaze.

At the center of the battlefield.

That man slowly turned around.

Arashi's expression was blank.

He walked through the kneeling Kumo forces, through the ranks of his silent Shadow Clones.

Then, he looked up at Minato standing on the wall.

"Minato, come down and clean this up."

(To be continued.)