BOOM!
The world split apart when the Tailed Beast Bomb slammed into the Revolving Heaven. The Hyūga's defensive sphere spun at insane speed, chakra screaming as it met the concentrated power of a bijū. The impact created a shockwave that tore through air and earth alike—then, against all odds, the beast bomb rebounded.
The massive orb of destruction shot backward like a meteor, straight into the Hyūga coalition's rear lines.
"Wha—"
Several Hyūga shinobi screamed in terror, realizing too late what was about to happen.
A flash.
Then silence.
The explosion swallowed everything. Within seconds, a crater over a hundred meters wide replaced the allied formation—where once thousands had stood, there was now only smoke, dust, and scorched flesh.
"Damn it!"
Hyūga Tennin's voice cracked with fury. His Byakugan focused on the monstrous silhouette ahead—Three Tails, cloaked in a spectral armor of crimson energy. The fusion of tailed beast and Susanoo was nothing short of blasphemy.
Even Tennin, for all his confidence, could feel it: survival was possible, victory wasn't guaranteed.
That thing's a fortress wearing chakra skin, he thought bitterly. And Amamiya Raizen hasn't even moved yet…
"Form up!" Tennin barked. "He's just one man. Focus every jutsu on the same point! We're eight thousand strong—tear down that defense!"
The scattered Hyūga regrouped, terror giving way to grim duty. Earth Style users slammed their palms to the ground, raising barriers and traps to slow the bijū's advance. Fire and Wind users formed hand seals in tandem, filling the air with roaring streams of flame. Lightning users charged their chakra, spearing the crimson shell with bolts of blue.
For a moment, even Raizen felt the pressure.
Inside the beast's chakra cloak, Raizen squinted through the storm of jutsu. His body vibrated with the force of impact; the crimson energy flared violently around him.
So this is what eight thousand people's teamwork looks like, he mused. Guess even a monster can feel the sting when humanity stops panicking long enough to aim straight.
But fear was a luxury he'd long abandoned.
"Amaterasu."
His voice was low, almost calm.
The world turned black.
Flames without light—fire that devoured light itself—bloomed from Raizen's gaze. Under his control, they twisted into serpentine dragons of shadow.
"Flame Control."
The dragons lunged, cutting through the ranks like ink spreading through water. Wherever they touched, bodies turned to ash.
The Hyūga coalition faltered, formation breaking under the horror of the black fire.
"Hold the line!" Tennin shouted.
But the Three Tails broke free from the quagmire, roaring as it crushed earth and bone alike. The ground shattered under its claws. Earth Style users tried to restrain it again—but the Amaterasu flames were already spreading.
"AAAAHHH!"
Their screams echoed as the black fire consumed them, merging the tailed beast's rampage with living hell.
From eight thousand, the coalition dropped to six. In mere minutes, more than a thousand Hyūga shinobi were gone—nothing left but armor fragments and shadows on the soil.
"Hyūga-sama!" shouted a messenger from behind. "The Konoha Allied Forces have begun attacking Qishui Gorge!"
Tennin's head snapped around. Smoke rose in the distance; the thunder of battle rolled through the gorge.
"Damn it… the main road's guarded by only three thousand men," he muttered. "They can't hold against five thousand from Konoha."
He clenched his teeth. "Hibiscus! Take a thousand shinobi and reinforce Qishui Gorge. Drive them back!"
"But my lord!" Hibiscus protested. "If we pull out now, the tailed beast will tear through us!"
"I know!" Tennin snapped. "But if Konoha takes the gorge, our supply lines are gone. Crush their vanguard, force Raizen to retreat, and this front will stabilize!"
"…Yes, sir."
Hibiscus Rentarō bowed deeply, then began rallying his forces, disappearing into the smoke with a thousand Hyūga warriors.
Raizen's eyes narrowed as he noticed the movement.
Encircle Wei to rescue Zhao, huh? Classic strategy, he thought. Trying to bait me into chasing them… not bad.
He smirked. "But even if you pull troops away, I still win. Once this force is gone, your clan's finished."
Raizen's hands flashed through seals. A burst of smoke followed—and three shadow clones appeared beside him.
"Perfect time to test something I've been meaning to try."
Each clone's expression hardened as their eyes shifted—the same eternal Mangekyō spirals blooming in unison. Crimson chakra surged, and within seconds, three new Susanoo rose beside the Three Tails, towering figures wreathed in blood-red light.
The Hyūga coalition froze, disbelief written across their faces.
"How… how can he manifest four Susanoo?!"
Their fear was palpable. Even Tennin's breath hitched.
Raizen spread his arms wide. "Witness it. The power of a man who clawed his way up from nothing."
He roared—
and the battlefield erupted.
The Three Tails charged, claws ripping through the defensive lines, while the Susanoo swung their blades in sweeping arcs. The ground quaked, the air screamed. Hundreds of Hyūga were erased in a single breath of violence.
"Fall back!" Tennin shouted, charging forward with his Gentle Fist blazing. His palms struck one of the spectral giants, chakra detonating through its armor. The Susanoo staggered—just for a moment.
But it wasn't enough.
Raizen's eye twitched. "Burn."
One of the Susanoo's blades ignited with black flame. The swing came fast as a lightning strike.
"Hyūga Tennin!"
The world flashed white as the blade came down.