"What… what kind of monster is that…?"
Obito Hachishaku stared upward at the colossal shadow blotting out the misty sky, his voice trembling despite himself.
"Don't just stand there—save Hebiichigo first!" Oniyuzu Ichirota shouted as he retreated toward the memorial stele.
He had been too close to the creature. After witnessing what happened to Hebiichigo, instinct screamed at him to pull back.
"Shizuma! What do we do?!"
As the enormous beast advanced, Buntan Kurosuki felt despair creep into her chest. Her legs felt heavy, her grip on Kiba weakening.
Only now—only when facing something truly overwhelming—did they realize how naïve they had been.
They were children playing at revolution.
Shizuma glanced once at the Nue, then abruptly turned and sprinted toward Sumire Kakei.
"Hold it off!" he shouted. "I'll kill the caster—once she's dead, the monster will vanish!"
"…What?"
The others were stunned.
They were retreating with everything they had, while Shizuma charged straight past the monster.
By the time Obito reached Hebiichigo, she was already barely alive.
The Nue loomed above them like a natural disaster. Against something like this, flesh and bone meant nothing.
"Hebiichigo! Don't die!" Obito cried, clutching her. "We were supposed to witness the Land of Water's new glory together!"
"Get out of there!" Ichirota shouted. "It's coming back!"
The remaining swordsmen regrouped, faces pale, as the Nue's attention briefly shifted to Shizuma's retreating figure.
Then—
A massive claw descended.
Hebiichigo was seized and flung upward, vanishing into the Nue's open maw.
"STOP!!"
Obito screamed and charged, Kubikiribōchō raised high.
"Split up!" Ichirota ordered.
Buntan slammed both Kiba blades into the ground.
Lightning erupted.
Crackling currents raced across the earth, surging up the Nue's forelegs and crawling over its massive body.
"It worked?!" Buntan gasped, hope flashing across her face.
Then the lightning vanished.
Absorbed.
The Nue swelled further, chakra roaring within it.
It turned its gaze to Obito.
Obito sprinted straight at its legs, leaping upward and swinging Kubikiribōchō with everything he had.
Bang!
Metal struck flesh.
Obito twisted midair, slashing again and again, pouring his rage into the beast's limb.
A crack formed—
Then the Nue simply changed tactics.
Its claw came down like a hammer.
Obito was smashed into the ground.
Before the Nue could finish him, Ichirota arrived, dragging Bakutō: Shibuki behind him.
He cleaved the ground.
Explosive tags detonated in rapid succession.
Rumble—!!
Fire and shockwaves tore across the battlefield.
Ichirota had timed it carefully—too early, and Obito would've died in the blast.
The Nue roared in fury.
Smoke rolled outward as Ichirota rushed in again, attempting to split the earth beneath the creature.
At the same time, Buntan sprinted around to the Nue's rear, lightning once more screaming from Kiba.
Bolts struck its back again and again.
Still no effect.
But she refused to believe it was meaningless.
Ichirota raised Shibuki once more. To unleash its full power, he had to get close.
He dashed toward the Nue's hind legs.
That was when the snake head on the Nue's tail noticed him.
It struck.
Ichirota barely avoided the first bite, slamming explosive tags into the ground and using the blast to launch himself into the air.
He saw Buntan harassing the Nue from behind.
Now.
He raised Shibuki high, aiming for the monster's back—
And froze.
The Nue was growing again.
Before Ichirota could strike, the Nue expanded violently, smashing him aside with raw force.
The snake's head followed.
WHAM—!!
The tail struck him midair.
Even with Shibuki raised defensively, the blow shattered his guard.
Ichirota was flung away like a broken doll.
Before his body hit the ground, a massive surge of water swept through the battlefield, carrying him to the edge of the mist.
Kagura caught him.
"Hey! Stay with me!" Kagura shouted. "Oniyuzu Ichirota—answer me!"
Ichirota's eyes fluttered open.
His breathing was shallow. Broken.
"…Run…" he whispered. "…away…"
His body went limp.
Oniyuzu Ichirota died.
Nearby, Obito Hachishaku lay crushed beneath the Nue's foot.
Four members of the newly formed Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were already dead.
"…Is this war?" Kagura murmured.
His gaze snapped toward the distance.
Shizuma was relentlessly pressing Sumire, Samehada roaring with hunger as it devoured chakra. Sumire could only defend with kunai, retreating step by step.
That girl—
Boruto's… important person.
Without hesitation, Kagura turned and sprinted toward them.
Behind him, Buntan stood alone, still attacking the Nue.
Her chakra was nearly gone.
When she finally stopped, panting, she realized—
She was the last one left.
The Nue slowly turned its head.
Its crimson eyes locked onto her.
Her body froze.
Kiba slipped from her fingers and fell uselessly to the ground.
Without the chakra, it was nothing more than metal.
Strangely, the Nue didn't kill her.
It turned away.
After all, it had already fed well—thanks to her lightning.
Its gaze lifted skyward.
High above, hidden among reflections, someone watched.
"…So you noticed after all," Deepa muttered.
Carbon condensed silently around him, diamond-hard and nearly invisible.
"Should I kill you now… or later?"
The Nue roared in response.
Deepa smiled faintly.
"Fine. I'll play along for a bit."
Black cubes launched downward at impossible speed.
Bang—bang—bang!
The carbon struck the snake's head squarely.
The Nue howled in pain, the battlefield shaking as a new player finally stepped onto the stage.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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