The golden lightning had only just vanished when a massive amount of steam began to burst outward from Akashō at the center.
Han and Orochimaru, who were closest to Akashō, had barely stabilized themselves in the turbulent airflow when they were blasted back into the air again by the steam produced from Akashō's transformation.
"Steam!?"
Han felt the scorching heat spreading across his entire body, his heart filled with shock.
Does this guy control a power similar to mine?
No—this steam contains an immeasurable level of heat!
On the other side, Orochimaru quickly adjusted his posture to land steadily, but in the next instant, he realized something was wrong with the burning sensation on his body.
Glancing at his arm, he discovered that a large patch of skin had already been burned away.
Suddenly, the superheated steam dispersed, and what came into view for Orochimaru and Han in midair was an expanding white hemisphere.
"Why does this thing look kind of familiar…"
"BOOM!!!"
A blinding white light shot into the sky, forcing the thousands present to shut their eyes instantly. Amid the deafening explosion, the land within several hundred meters of Akashō's position began to shatter and collapse.
Countless shinobi within the blast radius didn't even have time to scream before being reduced to ashes.
In just a few seconds, a mushroom cloud hundreds of meters tall rose from the ground.
This was the controllable massive explosion produced during the transformation of the Colossal Titan—its power rivaled that of a miniature atomic bomb!
The next moment, the mushroom cloud was torn apart from within as a massive figure burst out.
"ROAR!!!"
Before the shockwaves of the explosion had even fully dissipated, the surviving shinobi—those who hadn't been directly caught in the blast—lay collapsed on the ground, their ears still ringing when they heard a roar that seemed capable of shattering the heavens.
Looking up, they saw it—a sixty-meter-tall, crimson-skinned Colossal Titan.
"Monster…"
Nara Shikaku crawled out from Akimichi Chōza's arms. Staring at the massive figure in the distance, his lips trembled as he unconsciously muttered.
"Chōza! Chōza, are you okay!?"
A companion's voice came from behind. Shikaku turned around to see Yamanaka Inoichi anxiously supporting Akimichi Chōza.
Chōza was kneeling on the ground, drenched in sweat, his expression twisted in agony.
As Shikaku's gaze moved upward, he realized that Chōza's back had already been torn into a bloody mess.
"Chōza!?"
Shikaku's eyes widened.
Of course—earlier, it was Akimichi Chōza who had pulled the two of them into his arms, using his own back to shield them from the explosion. Otherwise, how could the two of them—standing at the very front of the Konoha forces—have possibly survived unscathed?
"I… I'm fine…"
Chōza gritted his teeth and shook his head.
"Damn it!!"
For once, Shikaku was truly enraged. His bloodshot eyes locked onto the Colossal Titan's position.
"Where are Orochimaru and Han!?"
His thoughts were in complete chaos. He couldn't understand how an ordinary human could transform into a giant even larger than a tailed beast.
Looking around at both sides' shinobi forces, aside from the hundreds who had been obliterated in the explosion, there were also hundreds more injured to varying degrees.
As for the rest—those who weren't wounded—they stood there frozen, faces filled with shock and terror.
Faced with such a monster, all they felt was helplessness.
"We can't beat it… just give up…"
"That kind of monster… it's basically on the level of the legendary Nine-Tails…"
"No, no—I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
"God of Destruction… God of Destruction…"
"I don't care if I'm labeled a traitor—I'm not fighting something like that!"
"Run! Hurry and run!!"
Countless shinobi stood rooted to the spot as their weapons slipped from their hands. More collapsed into despair, while others fled in panic.
Watching the shinobi completely lose their will to fight, Shikaku clenched his teeth.
This… was the intimidation of the God of Destruction.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand their thinking. In a situation like this, even if they still had the will to fight, it would be meaningless.
A body of such immense size held far greater psychological impact on the battlefield than any Kage-level shinobi. Leaving aside actual strength, the sheer inertia and force generated by that massive body alone—perhaps only Orochimaru and Han had any hope of withstanding it.
Meanwhile, Akashō was inside the nape of the Colossal Titan, eyes closed. Yet he could clearly see everything from a sixty-meter vantage point.
He raised his arm, clenched his fist, and looked down at the shinobi below—tiny as ants.
So this… is the perspective of the Colossal Titan.
It's practically like being a god!
"Heh."
Under the terrified gazes of countless shinobi, the Colossal Titan curled its lips into a grin, then stepped toward the Iwagakure shinobi in the distance.
"AHHH!!!"
Amid the screams of dozens of shinobi, as if they had fallen straight into hell, Akashō felt a sticky sensation beneath his foot—like stepping on filth.
"Bastard!!!"
Suddenly, a red figure enveloped in white steam shot over from the distance—it was Han, who had been blown away by the explosion.
So he didn't die… figures. He's Kage-level, and a jinchūriki at that. If he'd been killed by a single explosion, that would've been too boring.
"Steam Rush!!"
With a furious roar, Han leapt up, his entire body transforming into something like a charging locomotive as he slammed into Akashō's massive calf.
But when the steam cleared, Akashō still stood firmly in place—not having moved even a single step.
"What!?"
Half of Han's body was embedded in Akashō's calf muscle, yet to Akashō now, it felt no more than a toothpick prick—completely insignificant.
Before Han could pull himself free, Akashō lifted his leg and violently shook it.
Under the force of that massive inertia, Han—covered in Akashō's blood—was flung hundreds of meters away, vanishing without a trace.