Night had deepened, but peace shattered below. Across the grassland, a ragged column of Iwa shinobi sprinted through darkness, murderous intent radiating off them in suffocating waves.
A scream tore the air.
Taiseki's heart lurched. He whipped around, grimacing as one of his men tumbled into a concealed pit, impaled on jagged metal spikes jutting from the bottom.
"Watch your step," he growled, his expression darkening. "Seiran must have seeded this path with traps. Stay alert, and you'll survive."
Under normal circumstances, avoiding basic traps would be trivial. But pitch-black night, zero visibility, and hours of relentless pursuit had hollowed out his men—physically and mentally. A single moment of carelessness meant death.
The Iwa shinobi crept carefully around the trapped area and pushed forward.
Another scream erupted.
Seiran had anticipated the detour. A new trap waited right in their path.
Taiseki gritted his teeth. The darkness was absolute—they couldn't see their own hands.
"You! You! And you!" he barked, pointing sharply at three shinobi. "Scout ahead. Report back."
They couldn't waste more time here, or Seiran would escape.
The scouts crept forward cautiously. For a moment, all seemed clear—then one stepped on empty air and plunged into a concealed hole.
No spikes this time. Scalding molten metal filled the pit, masked by a specialized cover that concealed the heat signature.
The men screamed, flailing as liquid metal slowly consumed them.
Taiseki felt ice slide down his spine. Their dying cries echoed through the dark, spreading suffocating dread among the remaining Iwa shinobi.
Hours of pursuit. They hadn't even grazed the hem of his clothes. And already, so many lay dead or dying.
Taiseki took a sharp breath and whispered to the only sensor ninja remaining.
"How far?"
The sensor's expression twisted strangely. "He... hasn't moved. It seems he's waiting for us."
Taiseki's teeth creaked. "Is he mocking us? Laying traps and refusing to run? The absolute arrogance..."
A wild thought struck the sensor: Maybe I'm only alive because Seiran deliberately spared me—using me to lead them straight to him?
It couldn't be. Right?
Taiseki took another sharp breath, sweeping his gaze across the remaining shinobi.
"I know many of you are scared," he said, voice low and intense. "But we're being toyed with by a single young Hyuga shinobi. Do you understand what that means?"
"If he lives to grow up, Iwagakure will never know peace. Your families, your friends—they're waiting back home. Will you let them suffer because of momentary cowardice?"
"The sniper attacks have stopped. He used Shadow Clones. Now he's resorting to traps. This proves he's reaching his limit! Push just a little harder, and we will kill him!"
"And when we do, I'll personally present his head to Lord Ōnoki!"
His impassioned words worked. The demoralized shinobi stiffened, their eyes hardening with renewed resolve.
"Move!"
After sacrificing another dozen Iwa shinobi to Seiran's trap belt, Taiseki's remaining forces finally broke through.
The sky was beginning to lighten. Dawn was coming.
"Keep moving!" Taiseki shouted hoarsely. "That Hyuga brat is at his limit! Kill him, and I'll see you're all rewarded!"
He would have preferred to engage Seiran alone, but the boy's ghostly tactics filled him with profound dread. Solo, he wasn't confident.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning streaked past, grazing his shoulder and striking the shinobi behind him.
Taiseki's eyes went cold. Seiran's sniper shots had dropped significantly in frequency. His chakra had to be nearly depleted.
Once they surrounded him, the outcome was inevitable.
In the distance, Seiran panted heavily, stuffing military ration pills into his mouth. He raised his massive silver sniper rifle and fired another shot behind him.
Taiseki was right—Seiran was indeed approaching his limit. But not finished yet.
He'd slowed his attacks because he was channeling his remaining chakra into his Electromagnetic Furnace. Not for traps. For the ability that granted him the most experience points in his current state.
[Electromagnetic EXP: 19,832/20,000]
Just a little more. Just a little closer, and I can reach Level 4.
He gritted his teeth, squeezing every last drop of power from his body.
The distant sky turned pale, fish-belly white.
Dawn was imminent.
Taiseki suddenly noticed Seiran had stopped moving. The boy stood with his back to a cliff edge.
"Hahaha! Nowhere to run!"
"Did you pick the wrong escape route?"
"Is this the mistake someone with the Byakugan is supposed to make?"
Ecstasy surged through Taiseki. With a cliff at his back, Seiran's fate was sealed.
The Iwa shinobi seemed inspired as well. Joy flashed in their eyes as they squeezed out the last of their stamina, staggering toward him.
They closed to within a hundred meters.
Taiseki propped himself up with a tree branch, panting like a dog dragged from water. His clothes were soaked through with sweat.
He turned around.
The original force of over two hundred Iwa shinobi was now fewer than a hundred—all injured and disheveled.
"You little beast," Taiseki sneered, slowly approaching Seiran's back. "Why didn't you run? Hahaha! Finally, I've got you."
Then he froze.
Seiran's face didn't hold the terror Taiseki expected. The boy stared calmly at the distant sky.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't you think the sunrise is beautiful?" Seiran asked softly.
"Beautiful? Don't make me laugh!"
"Still enjoying the sunrise?" Taiseki sneered, closing in. "Yes. Your last one."
A scream erupted behind him.
Taiseki froze. When he turned, his smirk vanished instantly.
Pitch-black fluid erupted from beneath the Iwa shinobi's feet, stretching like demonic tentacles from hell. It devoured them madly.
They ran screaming, but the black tentacles morphed into razor-sharp thorns, shredding them to pieces.
Screams. Blood. Mutilated stumps.
One horrific image after another hammered against Taiseki's nerves, draining his strength as if someone had pulled his bones from his body.
"Who... who the hell are you?" he murmured, trembling.
"You said it yourself, didn't you?" Seiran chuckled. "Minato Namikaze."
"Speaking of which, I should thank you," Seiran continued. "If not for your pressure, I wouldn't have broken through so quickly."
"Breakthrough?"
Taiseki whipped around.
A silver coin appeared in Seiran's palm, tossed high into the air. It flipped over and over, the world seeming to slow to a crawl.
Taiseki's eyes widened in horror. He scrambled to retreat.
Too late.
The coin fell. Seiran's fingertips danced with electric light as he flexed his fingers gently.
"Magnet Release: Railgun Zero."
The coin erupted with terrifying power, transforming into blinding white light.
A deafening rumble followed.
Taiseki vanished. The screaming Iwa shinobi vanished.
Only a deep ravine remained, stretching from Seiran's feet to the horizon.
The sun peeked over the horizon, golden light spilling across the cliff. It illuminated Seiran's back and the unfathomable chasm before him.