Boom!!! Rumble!!!
The massive body of the brawny man flew out dozens of meters, crashing through buildings along the way, kicking up a long dragon of dust… a spectacular scene.
The people who came with him scattered in all directions, launching their attacks simultaneously.
A Kusagakure's Shinobi raised a crescent-shaped blade, holding it horizontally in front of himself, aiming it at the boy.
After finishing a hand seal with his left hand, he lowered his head and gently blew onto the blade, exhaling a gentle breath.
The breath, after passing over the blade, instantly turned sharp and violent, transforming into countless, densely packed wind blades that whipped and cut savagely.
A Kumogakure's Shinobi, holding a sword in his right hand, formed a hand seal with his left, causing lightning to erupt along the sword's length.
Another Amegakure's Shinobi threw two kunai, then formed hand seals.
Flames burst forth behind the kunai, like rocket propulsion, granting them extreme speed. They shot toward the boy like a line of fire, arriving before him in the blink of an eye.
The remaining Shinobi also displayed their unique skills, aiming to take down the boy in one round.
Lightning, flames, wind blades, water dragons, falling rocks, sharp swords, kunai... A dense barrage of attacks sealed off all possible dodging space in the surroundings, crashing down toward the boy like a tidal wave.
Yet, facing such a desperate situation, the boy smiled. Behind him, a dazzling light began to shine.
"Do you know what a Railgun is?"
The sky-blotting attacks had already filled his field of vision, but the boy was still uttering words that made no sense to everyone.
They didn't laugh, nor were they puzzled; they didn't even feel anything.
Because they were accustomed to seeing death.
No one could survive such a combined assault… this boy was no exception.
Though he wasn't dead yet, in the minds of these people, he was already a corpse.
Holding such thoughts, the light behind the boy grew increasingly dazzling, forcing everyone to instinctively shield their eyes.
Boom!
A blinding beam shot forth, tearing through wind blades, extinguishing flames, slaying water dragons, shattering lightning, smashing falling rocks, melting weapons, annihilating flesh... The brilliant beam of light tore across the sky, illuminating the horizon.
That beam of destruction, as thick as a basketball, despite being fired from below upward, merely from the wind it stirred up, destroyed countless buildings.
It all happened in a flash.
The Railgun's beam flashed and was gone in an instant.
But the scene of destruction it left behind made it hard for people to regain their senses for a long time.
The hundred-meter-long street was torn apart down the middle by the wind raised by this single beam.
Fortunately, the war had already been raging for a while.
Though not everyone had fled to the shelters, the areas near the battlefield had long been empty.
Otherwise, this single shot would have resulted in countless casualties.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!
A dozen or so figures landed beside the boy from mid-air.
They stared at the torn-apart street, their faces filled with shock and awe.
"Go back and guard the gate. I alone am enough here," The boy said nonchalantly.
Everyone looked at the boy and the tall, imposing battle vehicle behind him, unable to help but swallow hard.
"Senki-sama, being alone might be..."
"There won't be any accidents here. The main battlefield is more difficult; they need you more there."
The boy… no, he is Ryuji.
Ryuji didn't know the enemy's location.
But since he guessed their goal was to break through the Sunagakure's gate from the inside, waiting on the inevitable path to the gate would surely lead to an encounter with them.
Ryuji commanded the Sunagakure's Shinobi who came to reinforce him, "I am a Jonin. I now order you to immediately return and reinforce the gate's defense."
Hearing this serious order, the Sunagakure's Shinobi said no more and promptly departed to carry out the command.
"You shouldn't have let them leave."
Gari stood atop a pile of rubble, looking over. Seeing Ryuji's gaze turn toward him, he continued, "That weapon behind you is indeed powerful, but it only caught us off guard. With preparation, we won't suffer such losses so easily again."
Although he hadn't paid much attention when charging over earlier, Gari had still noticed.
From the moment this weapon lit up to when it fired the beam, it took several seconds.
Though he hadn't counted the exact seconds, that amount of time was enough for them to evade in advance. Such a cumbersome weapon could never keep up with a Shinobi's speed.
"You can try."
Ryuji spoke with a faint smile, but his eyes roamed, observing the enemy's situation.
Counting the burly Iwagakure's Shinobi who had rushed back, eight people remained, surrounding him in extremely dispersed positions.
Hearing this, Gari fell silent.
Though they were now wary of the high-powered weapon, they didn't know what other tricks the opponent might have.
After all, that vehicle was so large; it should be able to carry many weapons.
Ryuji's calm expression and tone made him wary.
However, dragging things out further would be disadvantageous for them.
"...This brat is bluffing." After a moment of deep thought, Gari said, "Toroi, Narita, you two and I will draw fire from the front. The rest attack from behind. Whether targeting the person or that vehicle, take out at least one first."
"Yes!"
This time, no one objected.
As Gari's order was given, everyone moved simultaneously.
Gari and Narita… the tall, slender Kusagakure's Shinobi wielding the curved blade.
They charged out in a file, side by side, heading straight for Ryuji from the front.
Toroi took out a scroll, retrieved three large shuriken from it, and hurled them at Ryuji.
The rest scattered, attacking from the left and right, even attempting to circle around to the rear.
"I say, you people..."
Ryuji dug at his ear, acting completely unconcerned. "Though I am weak, discussing tactics right in front of me… you really look down on me too much!"
No one paid attention to this 'sarcastic' remark.
The three large shuriken flew over Gari and Narita, whistling shrilly as they approached.
Ryuji gave a light smile, raised his right hand, and three Chakra Threads spread out, connecting to the shuriken.
Then, with a pull and a twist-
The shuriken abruptly changed direction, drawing a semicircle in the air before shooting toward the others at high speed.
Three Shinobi hadn't expected an attack from behind. Caught off guard, they were cut in half at the waist. The shuriken, their momentum undiminished, continued slicing toward two others.
"Look out!"
A belated warning saved the remaining two... The burly Iwagakure's Shinobi once again used the Rock Fist Technique, using his massive stone arm to bat away the shuriken.
The other Kumogakure's Shinobi agilely jumped, avoiding the fatal blow.
However, the crisis wasn't over.
The batted-away shuriken, the dodged shuriken... They were pulled back by the Chakra Threads, returning at bizarre angles for a killing strike.
Having just escaped danger, the two who thought they were safe had just let out a sigh of relief and completely failed to anticipate this returning attack.
It seemed these two were also about to meet a waist-cutting fate.
Gari and Narita desperately charged toward Ryuji, hoping to reach and kill him before their companions were bisected.
Meanwhile, Toroi formed hand seals.
Instantly, the three large shuriken seemed to attract each other like magnets, abruptly stopping mid-air before clumping together with a clang.
Clang!
The three large shuriken fell heavily to the ground.
Gari and Narita also closed in to melee range.
Ryuji snorted coldly, swung his right hand, and the three clumped-together large shuriken shot toward the two like cannonballs.