The Nine-Tails looked at me dead in the eyes. The Sharingan that had been illuminating its pupils was now gone, leaving behind only its pure, rage-filled feral eyes staring directly at me. I thought to myself, Well, it seems that either Fourth Hokage Minato has severed the connection between the Nine-Tails and Obito, or the Nine-Tails has broken free from the Sharingan's Genjutsu because of the continuous pain and injuries I've inflicted on it. Whatever the case may be, at least now it will focus solely on me rather than blindly trying to destroy everything in its path under the orders given through the Sharingan.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the Nine-Tails suddenly raised its head and opened its mouth wide. Almost instantly, blackish-red and sky blue chakra began gathering in front of its mouth. The chakra swirled violently, compressing and condensing at an alarming rate. The surrounding air trembled as the immense concentration of chakra grew denser and denser until a Tailed Beast Bomb formed. Compared to the gigantic Tailed Beast Bombs the Nine-Tails usually created, this one was relatively small, measuring only around four to five feet in radius. Yet despite its size, I could clearly sense the terrifying amount of destructive power compressed inside it. Without hesitation, the Nine-Tails swallowed it. As soon as the Tailed Beast Bomb disappeared into its maw, its cheeks and throat bulged outward unnaturally, as though it had stuffed an enormous amount of food into its mouth all at once. Seeing that sight, I immediately had a rough idea of what kind of attack it was preparing.
The very next moment, the Nine-Tails lowered its head and aimed directly at me. Its mouth opened, and a powerful crimson energy beam erupted forward. The beam tore through the air with overwhelming force, leaving visible distortions in its wake as it raced straight toward my position. Looking at the incoming attack, I raised the corner of my mouth slightly.
"Well, I expected this attack only."
I didn't retreat or dodge; instead, I instantly focused Armament Haki throughout my entire body. Jet-black Armament Haki rapidly spread across me, coating every part of my body. At the same time, all three of my swords were covered in the same hardened black sheen. Gripping them tightly, I raised the swords in front of me and crossed them together to form an asterisk-like defensive position.
The onlookers were naturally watching all of this unfold. As they saw me preparing to take the attack head-on, many of them were horrified while others were simply stunned. A direct attack from the Nine-Tails was something even elite shinobi would desperately avoid if possible, yet here I was, standing my ground. Some probably thought I was being reckless, and others might have thought I had gone insane. But I didn't care what anyone else was thinking, as my entire focus remained on the attack rushing toward me.
And then, boom!
The crimson beam slammed directly into my crossed swords. An earth-shaking explosion echoed throughout the battlefield. The force behind the attack was monstrous, and the instant it connected, I was pushed backward. The ground beneath my feet shattered as two deep trenches formed behind me. I dug my feet into the earth and strained against the overwhelming pressure, but the beam continued driving me backward. Chunks of stone exploded around me, the ground cracked, and the surrounding air screamed under the force of the collision.
Then, crash! The first house behind me was obliterated as I was driven straight through it. Before I could regain my footing, another crash rang out. A second house collapsed, followed by a third, and then a fourth. Wood, stone, and debris exploded in every direction as the beam relentlessly pushed me through the village. Only after tearing through four entire houses did my backward momentum finally stop.
A few moments later, the energy beam itself dissipated and vanished, letting silence descend for a brief second. The entire area was covered in dust and debris. Broken wood, shattered stone, and clouds of dirt filled the air, obscuring everything from sight. Inside the dust cloud, I immediately jerked my body.
Boom!
The debris surrounding me shattered apart and was blasted away by the force of my movement. Without wasting a second, I jumped forward and landed in the open area created by the attack. Around me stood the remains of half-destroyed houses. Cracked walls leaned dangerously to one side, while broken beams and shattered rooftops littered the ground.
My kimono had suffered heavily from the attack, with several sections torn apart while others hung loosely from my body. However, aside from a few bruises and the strain of taking the attack head-on, my body was mostly fine. I stabbed the sword in my right hand into the ground beside me. Then, using one hand, I grabbed what remained of my upper kimono and tore it away completely, letting the damaged cloth fall to the ground. My upper body was now bare, revealing the dense muscles forged through years of relentless physical training and combat. I rolled my shoulders, eliciting a loud crack, then tilted my neck slightly for another crack. A faint smile appeared on my face as I locked my gaze onto the Nine-Tails once more. The beast stared back at me with nothing but pure hatred and rage, and I stared right back. Neither of us looked away. The battlefield itself seemed to grow quieter as our eyes met once again, both of us preparing for the next clash.
…
Shinku had been forcefully repelled by Ryuma, allowing the boy to bypass him and rush toward the battlefield. The moment Ryuma disappeared from his sight, a bad feeling settled in Shinku's heart. He was worried that Ryuma might do something reckless, or that he might throw himself into a battle far beyond what a young man should be facing. He was perhaps even more worried that the shinobi already stationed around the area might misunderstand Ryuma's actions and create unnecessary conflict in the middle of a crisis. Without wasting any time, Shinku immediately ran toward the direction where the Nine-Tails was rampaging.
The ground trembled beneath his feet as distant explosions echoed throughout the village. Flames illuminated the night sky, and thick smoke rose from countless destroyed buildings. The closer he got to the battlefield, the stronger the pressure became. Several adult shinobi followed behind him, including Jonin, Special Jonin, and experienced Chunin who had been redirected from nearby sectors. All of them were rushing toward the source of the destruction. As soon as Shinku arrived, he leaped onto the roof of a damaged building to gain a better view of the battlefield.
The very first thing he witnessed was the Nine-Tails opening its mouth before a massive crimson beam erupted forward. The sheer power contained within that attack caused even veteran shinobi to freeze for a moment, as the beam tore through the air like a natural disaster. Shinku's eyes widened as he followed the trajectory of the attack. When he saw who it was aimed at, his expression immediately changed.
"Ryuma!"
Shock and horror appeared on his face. He couldn't even imagine someone surviving an attack like that, not because he underestimated Ryuma's strength, but because the attack was coming from the Nine-Tails itself: a creature capable of leveling entire sections of the village with casual movements. Even many elite Jonin would be reduced to nothing if they were struck directly by such an attack.
Yet Ryuma didn't run, nor did he dodge; instead, he stood there and faced it head-on. For a brief moment, Shinku's heart nearly stopped, just before the beam collided with Ryuma. An enormous explosion echoed throughout the battlefield. The force of the attack pushed Ryuma backward, tearing apart the ground beneath him and carving deep trenches through the village streets as buildings collapsed one after another while he was driven through them. However, what stunned Shinku the most was not the destruction; it was the fact that Ryuma was actually stopping it. The boy was resisting the attack. The Nine-Tails' beam was not simply sweeping through the village unchecked. Instead, Ryuma was acting like a wall standing in its path.
The destruction was largely confined to the area directly behind him. Several houses were destroyed, and nearby structures suffered collateral damage, but compared to what the attack should have done, the damage was astonishingly limited. Had that beam continued unopposed, entire sections of the village could have been erased; instead, Ryuma had absorbed the brunt of it himself. The surrounding shinobi stared in disbelief. Some rubbed their eyes as if doubting what they had just witnessed, while others simply stood frozen. Even among the chaos of the battlefield, the sight was unbelievable.
Eventually, the crimson beam disappeared, leaving dust and debris to fill the entire area. For a moment, nobody could see what had happened to Ryuma. Shinku clenched his fists just as the dust cloud exploded outward, revealing a figure emerging from within. It was Ryuma, completely intact. Apart from his damaged clothing and a few superficial signs of the struggle, he appeared largely unharmed. Seeing that sight, Shinku could only stare.
Earlier, he had already experienced Ryuma's strength firsthand when the boy had casually forced him aside, but even then, he had never imagined Ryuma was this powerful. He was powerful enough to take a direct attack from the Nine-Tails, remain standing afterward, and emerge with little more than damaged clothes. For a moment, Shinku found himself speechless. Around him, the other shinobi weren't much better, with many of them looking at Ryuma as though they were seeing something impossible.
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