"Boom—rumble—"
A massive pillar of lightning descended from the sky without warning, reflected in the eyes of the children, who had not even had time to blink or react. Thunderclaps roared, assaulting everyone's ears and carrying far into the distance until they struck the Barrier at the edge of the clearing, sending ripples spreading across its surface.
In that instant, every face was washed in blue-white light.
"What... happened?"
This time, nearly everyone murmured the same incomprehensible question.
This time, even Second Pillar and Neji Hyuga had no idea what was going on. Neither had expected an attack like this.
How could such a Lightning Release be launched without the slightest warning?
Even under those circumstances just now, it should have been impossible to unleash a Lightning Release of this scale. That lightning pillar, thick enough for three men to wrap their arms around, did not look like something that could have been cast.
At the very least, it was not something that could be brought down without any warning or preparation.
"Crack!"
Just then, as the children had only managed to utter that one sentence, the canopy above their heads suddenly split apart without warning. It snapped cleanly in two and crashed backward with a rustle.
"What's going on?"
"An attack?"
"What happened? Why did it break?"
Feeling a sudden chill above them and finding the space over their heads empty, as though their view had abruptly opened up, the children had no time to marvel at the descending lightning pillar ahead or the lightning snakes already spilling uncontrollably from it. The Genin all looked up, and those who could no longer hold themselves back began shouting in shock and anger.
However, they quickly fell silent.
Their gazes rose, finally settling on the tree trunk that had split in