In an instant, Arima appeared behind Miyadera using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Black lightning surged in his right hand, then formed into a sharp thrust that pierced straight through Miyadera's chest with blinding speed.
Immediately afterward, Arima formed a one-handed seal, and using the Uzumaki clan's Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique, completely sealed the Zero-Tails within Miyadera's body.
The entire sequence, fluid and seamless, was completed in the blink of an eye. On Miyadera's face, there still lingered a smug smile from just moments ago.
But without the immense life force of the Zero-Tails to sustain him, the fatal wound in his chest couldn't heal.
Congested blood began flooding his lungs, forcing him into violent coughing fits. The searing pain radiating from his chest drew beads of sweat from his brow.
Miyadera turned his head in disbelief, catching a glimpse of Arima out of the corner of his eye. He never imagined the tables would turn so abruptly.
Arima calmly pulled his arm from Miyadera's chest and said coldly, "You were too arrogant."
Panicked, Miyadera tried to use the forbidden medical ninjutsu, Regeneration Technique, he had learned from Shinno to heal himself, but to his shock, he discovered he could no longer circulate chakra properly.
Arima stepped forward, watching him writhe on the ground in pain, and shook his head. "After placing the Eight Trigrams Seal, I layered it with a Five Elements Seal.
Even if you try to draw chakra from the Zero-Tails inside you, it'll still be suppressed."
Miyadera felt his life force slipping away, his fury only growing stronger.
With venom in his voice, he growled, "Even if I'm doomed, I'll make sure you don't walk away from this! You want to protect those civilians? Fine! I'll take them with me to the grave!"
Sacrificing his entire lifespan, Miyadera activated the final gate of the Eight Gates, The Gate of Death, using the method passed down by Shinno.
In an instant, crimson flames erupted from his body, and his aura surged to levels tens of times greater than before!
Arima noticed the flames enveloping Miyadera were actually red steam, produced by the evaporation of his blood.
It was his first time witnessing a shinobi fully open the Gate of Death, and the sheer spike in power elevated Miyadera beyond Kage-level strength in an instant.
Meanwhile, back when Arima had lured Miyadera toward the lake, Minato's squad and the Three Kage Alliance forces had also arrived at the floating fortress, though they happened to land on the opposite side of the city.
Upon arrival, Minato's team followed the signals left behind by Arima straight to the prison, where they immediately began the rescue operation.
The Three Kage, meanwhile, conducted a thorough sweep, determined to locate and subdue Miyadera as quickly as possible.
When Miyadera unleashed his Gate of Death, the overwhelming surge of power shook the entire fortress.
Everyone turned toward the source of the energy spike and saw towering columns of red steam rising into the sky.
The three Kage were visibly shaken. Whoever unleashed that power was far beyond even their combined strength. They hesitated.
Given the lack of intel, the Kage couldn't determine what exactly was happening, so they dispatched scouts on explosive clay birds to investigate from above.
From high above the lake, the scouts saw two figures standing opposite each other, one wreathed in crimson flame, the other drifting with the waves.
One of them was quickly identified as the Third Hokage of Konoha; the other, by deduction, was likely the leader of the Sky Ninja, Miyadera.
The information was swiftly relayed back to the Kage. Their reactions were mixed, half delight, half doubt.
They were pleased that the Third Hokage was engaging Miyadera, giving them the chance to establish an aerial barrier to counter Flying Thunder God.
Once both were weakened, the Kage could deliver a fatal strike.
Their concern, however, was that Miyadera's strength far exceeded what the Third Kazekage, Sago, had previously reported.
How did he become this powerful? Could a forbidden technique really elevate him beyond Kage-level in one go?
Exchanging silent signals, the three Kage immediately ordered the barrier squad to center their Anti-Air Formation around Arima's location.
Arima had long sensed the Kage's arrival. He paid little mind to their schemes, Flying Thunder God wasn't his only means of traversing the shinobi world.
His full attention remained on Miyadera.
He noticed the Zero-Tails' seal had been weakened by the Gate of Death, resulting in a bizarre equilibrium between regeneration and destruction in Miyadera's body.
Miyadera's demeanor turned wild and arrogant. He burst into maniacal laughter. "Heaven hasn't forsaken me, Miyadera!"
Realizing the Zero-Tails needed more life energy, he manipulated the tailed beast chakra he had implanted in his followers, draining their life forces completely.
With this massive infusion of vitality, Miyadera returned to his peak condition, while his subordinates, now nothing more than dried husks, collapsed around him.
Previously, Minato's team had infiltrated the prison quietly, hoping to rescue the captives without drawing attention.
But the enormous shockwave from Miyadera's transformation alerted the Sky Ninja. While inspecting the fortress, they stumbled upon Minato's team.
Swarming Sky Ninja launched a pincer attack, overwhelming the rescuers. Minato's squad barely managed to escort the innocent civilians out of the prison when suddenly, every pursuing Sky Ninja dropped dead, reduced to dry corpses.
Though the scene was grim and eerie, it lifted the pressure on Minato's team at a critical moment.
They quickly moved the civilians onto Giant Birds and began evacuating the floating city.
While Miyadera was healing, Arima continued monitoring Minato's side. Once he confirmed the civilians were safely evacuated, he finally relaxed.
Miyadera, now fully healed, flexed his limbs and reveled in the immense power surging through him.
Noting that Arima hadn't attacked him during his recovery, he sneered, "Worried about those civilians, are you?
But in a world this vast, how many people can you protect? Those pathetic lives are like autumn grass, burn it to ash, and it'll grow back next year!"
Arima said nothing. To him, Miyadera was too extreme, they stood at opposite ends of belief. Dialogue was pointless.
Miyadera saw Arima's silence and continued, "You know, I could destroy half of Roran with a single blow. Look at the ants you try to protect, they only drag you down."
Arima replied coolly, "You sure talk a lot. Something wrong with your body?"
Miyadera's face stiffened. "So what if there is? It won't stop me from wiping you and your fleas off the map!"
His gaze flicked toward where the three Kage were watching.
Arima shook his head. He could tell Miyadera's strength was all flash and no substance. His body was like a bamboo basket, no matter how much water you pour in, it'll always leak out.
Miyadera suddenly closed the gap between them, throwing a heavy kick aimed at Arima's head.
With the Gate of Death open, his short-distance speed nearly rivaled that of the Flying Thunder God, a fact that caught Arima off guard.
Arima gathered chakra into his arms and met the blow head-on. Using his masterful control, he dispersed most of the impact and used the residual force to put distance between them.
Miyadera was frustrated that even an attack at fifty percent power hadn't harmed Arima. The memory of Shinnō's dying curse surfaced in his mind, aggravating his fury.
At this point, Arima simply needed to keep Miyadera's focus on him. The man wasn't a direct threat, unless he turned his attention to the civilians.
Then, Arima wasn't confident he could protect everyone in time.
Frustrated, Miyadera unleashed his trump card. The Forbidden Jutsu, Divine Fist of Hypermutation.
He condensed the Zero-Tails' chakra into countless gravel-sized chakra spheres and launched them at Arima.
In response to the wide-area assault, Arima immediately performed Wood Style: Ranking Shield Technique.
He slammed his hands into the water, and a massive wooden shield, shaped like a demonic face with jagged fangs, rose from beneath the surface.
It successfully blocked the chakra spheres, though its surface became riddled with holes.
Miyadera teleported before the shield and shattered it completely with a single bone crushing fist.
Arima was surprised. He hadn't expected those chakra spheres to pack such power.
His grandfather had once used this very technique to defend against Madara's Armored Susano'o during the battle at the Valley of the End.
Seeing the impressive result of his strike, Miyadera poured even more chakra into his next Divine Fist of Hypermutation, firing another wave.
Recognizing the increased power, Arima bit his thumb and rapidly formed the hand seals, then summoned the Fivefold Rashomon!
Instantly, five towering demonic gates erupted between the two of them like sentinels from the underworld.
The barrage of chakra spheres struck the gates in a flash, triggering a massive explosion.
Whitewater surged skyward, lakewater blasting into the air before crashing back down like a waterfall.
As the waters settled, the Rashomon had vanished, Arima now stood guarded by Susano'o.
From afar, the Three Kage watched the clash in stunned silence.
In terms of offensive power, only Onoki's Dust Release could rival the Divine Fist.
As for defense, only the Third Kazekage's Multi-Layered Iron Sand Shield could match the Ranking Shield technique.
They exchanged glances, an unspoken truth heavy in their hearts, their plan to assassinate the Third Hokage, Arima, was beginning to feel increasingly hopeless.
Arima looked at the remnants of his Fivefold Rashōmon, reduced to nothing by a single strike, and how even its aftershock had forced him to activate Susano'o. He nodded in approval.
"Impressive. You've come this far."
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