Arima watched in shock as his own summoning, the Five-Fold Rashōmon, failed to withstand the full-force blow of Miyadera's attack.
He immediately changed tactics, opting to confront Miyadera head-on with taijutsu instead. He had to buy enough time for the civilians to retreat.
Relying on his Mangekyo Sharingan, Arima barely managed to keep up with Miyadera's Dead Gate-enhanced movements.
Even when his defenses faltered, his ocular jutsu could still slow Miyadera's attacks just enough to keep his own offensive rhythm intact.
Still, Arima felt frustrated, many of his abilities were of limited use against an ultra-speed taijutsu user like Miyadera.
The moon hung high as night began to fade, pale light creeping into the sky. The two had been locked in battle through most of the night.
Now they stood still, facing each other on the surface of a lake.
When Arima saw Minato Namikaze and the others return, he understood the civilians had been successfully evacuated. He no longer needed to hold back.
At the same time, the Barrier Corps completed their aerial restriction barrier.
From now on, Arima's use of the Flying Thunder God Technique would be noticeably hindered. In battles between high-level shinobi, even a minor delay could prove fatal.
The Three Kage observed the slowed pace of the battle, guessing that both combatants had exhausted much of their stamina during the relentless close-quarters exchange.
Compared to Arima, Miyadera was clearly in worse shape, struggling even to maintain his secret technique.
Sensing the moment was ripe, the Three Kage ordered their elite shinobi to move in and surround the battlefield.
Arima and Miyadera both noticed the incoming reinforcements.
Arima, however, remained completely unfazed. Despite the earlier intensity, he still had plenty left in reserve.
Miyadera, in contrast, felt a deep unease. The life force he had absorbed from his subordinates was nearly depleted. He was struggling to maintain the Dead Gate's immense chakra drain.
As the enemy shinobi rushed toward him, Miyadera had a sudden, sinister idea, one that served both his survival and his advantage.
In a flash, he appeared before an elite Jonin and struck with lightning speed. The ninja couldn't react in time and was knocked unconscious in a single blow.
Miyadera extended the Zero-Tails' tendrils into the man's abdomen, quickly absorbing his strength and chakra. In just a few seconds, the shinobi disintegrated into dust.
Seeing how effective the technique was, Miyadera immediately moved on to others, using the same brutal method again and again. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the allied shinobi had already lost over a dozen elites.
Alarmed, the Three Kage quickly called the remaining shinobi to form a tighter formation around them.
They hadn't expected Miyadera to be able to replenish his strength mid-battle, many of their best had already fallen.
Arima watched coldly as Miyadera siphoned life from their enemies.
The Hidden Villages had always operated in a cutthroat world of competition, kill or be killed. Even Arima, known for his kindness, had no intention of saving his enemies.
The Third Kazekage scattered his Iron Sand in a wide radius around their position. If Miyadera touched any of it, Sahaku could sense it instantly.
Seeing his prey gather close together, Miyadera knew it would be far harder to pick them off now.
One misstep could lead to him being overwhelmed. So, he unleashed his full power. Countless chakra spheres, each the size of gravel, rained down like a storm.
Kazekage, already familiar with the jutsu's devastating force, immediately deployed his Absolute Iron Sand Defense. But even that wasn't enough to fully withstand Miyadera's onslaught.
The remaining shinobi, seeing that the Iron Sand was insufficient, combined their efforts and cast Earth Style: Multi Mud Wall.
In an instant, an immense wall, several kilometers wide and over a hundred meters tall, rose to block the barrage. The chakra spheres were finally stopped.
Arima nodded in quiet approval, impressed by the cooperative might of their Earth Style users.
He suddenly thought recruiting Earth users to help build towns wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.
Miyadera, realizing he couldn't breach the barrier or pick off more targets, turned his attention to those still watching from atop the fortress, Minato Namikaze and his group.
They had remained not out of negligence, but because they wanted to witness this historic battle of the Four Kage firsthand.
Now that the civilians had been safely escorted to Roran, they stayed behind to watch.
Alongside Minato were Arata and Kushina.
Seeing Miyadera's gaze shift toward them, Arima tensed. With Flying Thunder God now hindered, he had to be wary of Miyadera's bloodlust.
Miyadera launched himself into the air using the Flying Technique, heading straight for Yuna and the others.
From that distance, Arima couldn't intercept him in time, so he clasped his hands and entered Sage Mode. A mystical facial pattern appeared across his face.
Miyadera soared through the sky like a crimson streak, rage and bloodlust trailing behind him. In just a few breaths, he was nearly upon Yuna and the rest.
Just as he was about to strike, massive arms shot out from behind him and smacked him hard out of the air, sending him crashing violently into the ground.
Yuna was stunned, Miyadera's speed had been far too fast to react to. But sensing mortal danger, Arata's Sharingan awakened on its own, three tomoe spinning to life.
Minato, feeling the Flying Thunder God severely restrained, steeled himself, ready to lay down his life to protect his comrades if needed.
Fortunately, Arima had already unleashed his strongest Wood Style technique, Sage Art: Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands, pulling them all out of peril.
Everyone boarded the giant wooden bird and landed on the head of the Avalokiteśvara statue.
It was their first time standing atop the towering construct. The vast lake below looked like a mere puddle.
The breathtaking view and sheer scale filled them with awe, washing away the earlier terror of Miyadera's sudden assault.
Yuna looked at her father's face, the enigmatic Sage markings etched upon it, then glanced down at the colossal statue below.
Her heart surged with ambition, she would master Sage Mode, no matter what!
Arata, too, was captivated by his father's Sage techniques.
He remembered Arima's promise, once he reached the rank of Jonin, his father would teach him the jutsu. The thought filled him with even greater anticipation for the future.
Miyadera, seeing the massive statue for the first time, was stunned.
Despite having fought Arima for so long, Arima still had this much power left in reserve. His strength was like the depths of the ocean, unfathomable.
Everyone else was just as shocked. For many, it was their first time witnessing this technique. The overwhelming pressure was beyond words.
The Three Kage had heard tales of this terrifying jutsu before, but they had dismissed it as Konoha propaganda, a morale booster for the new Konoha-Kumogakure alliance.
But now they realized: the rumors hadn't been exaggerated at all. Unfortunately for them, it might already be too late.
Standing atop the statue, Arima looked down at their stunned faces, calm as ever.
After all, he had used this very jutsu to suppress the battlefield back during the Konoha-Kumogakure conflict.
Realizing the danger, Miyadera turned and fled toward the desert. The Three Kage alliance, too, decided it was time to retreat.
But Arima saw through their plan and said lightly, "Trying to leave without paying the appearance fee?"
He pressed his hands together and controlled the entire True Several Thousand Hands statue, unleashing Avatar of the Buddha.
Thousands of colossal arms rained down on the battlefield like divine punishment.
The enemy tried to retreat, but the sheer number of arms left them no space to evade, they were forced into defense.
The relentless barrage of strikes drastically altered the terrain below.
When the assault finally ended, only the Three Kage and Miyadera remained standing, and all of them were severely injured.
Had Arima not restrained the technique's killing power, very few would have survived at all.
Arima was done holding back. He didn't want another massive war to break out across the shinobi world.
The best way to prevent it was to capture the elite forces of every village in one strike. This would make the Konoha-Kumogakure unification of the ninja world far smoother.
Looking down at the moaning shinobi, Arima felt a twinge of guilt, but his expression remained calm and steady.
He murmured, "For the sake of peace in the shinobi world, I'll have to ask you all… to take a trip to Konoha."
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