The Rampaging Kushina

Kushina's skin kept splitting apart, burning, and peeling away.

In the blink of an eye, her body was completely surrounded by blood-red Tailed Beast Chakra. Even her face was wrapped in the Tailed Beast Cloak, transforming her into a blood-colored half-human, half-beast figure.

"Teacher Jiraiya..."

"Roar!!!"

The blood-colored monster threw back her head and howled. The explosive aura formed from the vast amount of condensed chakra made everyone present feel as though they were suffocating.

Especially Yoru, whom Kushina was staring at intently.

Faced with such terrifying chakra surging straight into the sky, Yoru even felt so suppressed that he could barely breathe.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki..."

Yagura tightened his grip on the pitch-black Hook Ruler and glanced at the condition of the Kirigakure Ninjas around him.

Because of Fukasaku's fury, Senjutsu: Water Cutter had inflicted tremendous damage on the Kirigakure side. Even Yagura had nearly lost half an arm to the slicing attack.

His gaze landed on Yoru. "Can you still fight?"

"The situation isn't good. I've expended too much chakra."

Yoru shook his head. After continuous battles, unleashing Kido #90 at full power, and using Danku once, even with the severalfold energy boost he had gained from Shikai, the chakra within his body was almost completely depleted.

If the battle continued...

"Hm?"

Yoru suddenly looked at Hyōrinmaru in his hand. "You mean using Spirit Power..."

"Boom!!"

A violent gale swept over. Yoru's expression changed slightly, and he vanished from the spot in an instant. The next moment, the ground where he had stood was shattered and torn apart by the terrifying energy. Countless trees were uprooted, and together with the broken stones, they ground countless corpses and chunks of ice into the earth.

Kushina's figure broke through to stand before Yoru in an instant, but after her strike missed, she immediately turned toward Yagura.

The one who had killed Teacher Jiraiya. The one who had caused Konohagakure such heavy losses. The people of Kirigakure...

They all deserved to die!

Kushina opened her mouth wide. An immense amount of chakra particles gathered, then she swallowed them all in one gulp.

"Not good!"

Yagura's expression changed drastically. He immediately used Suiton, and an image of Kushina in Tailed Beast Transformation appeared in the Water Mirror, identical to the real one.

Two Tailed Beast Bombs condensed at the same time.

And were released at the same time!

"My chakra... is exhausted..."

Yagura's face was deathly pale. After using the Water Mirror Technique, the chakra within his body was completely drained, without a single drop remaining.

The Water Mirror Technique could imitate every technique. An exact copy of the enemy would appear in the mirror and could use the same ninjutsu as the opponent, with equal power.

However, using this technique required a massive amount of chakra to maintain. Simulating the Tailed Beast Bomb of a Jinchūriki in Four Tails form had already pushed Yagura to his current limit!

"Boom!!!"

Two enormous black masses of condensed chakra collided violently. Terrifying energy beyond description erupted at that moment, instantly covering all the land within nearly a kilometer in the resulting blast.

At the critical moment, Yoru used Shunpo to appear behind Yagura. He grabbed him and vanished from the range of the energy explosion.

Trees, earth and stone, and the remains of ninja.

Everything on the ground was forcibly annihilated by that energy at that moment.

Just after driving back several Kirigakure Ninjas, Uchiha Fugaku and Shinnosuke regrouped.

But they did not relax in the slightest, because dozens of Kirigakure Ninjas had appeared before them once more. Among their leaders were not only the new Seven Ninja Swordsmen, carrying "Nuibari" and "Hiramekarei," but also a top-tier genius who mastered both Boil Release and Scorch Release!

"That highly corrosive acid mist earlier should have been released by her... Terumi Mei, the prodigy of Kirigakure's Terumi clan?"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's expression was grave. The longer this pursuit continued, the more shocked they became.

Konoha had always held a low assessment of Kirigakure, even placing it on the same level as Sunagakure and at the bottom of the Five Great Nations. Yet the number of geniuses Kirigakure had displayed now had far exceeded Shinnosuke's expectations.

First, Yuki Yoru had emerged out of nowhere and stood alone against an entire force. Now there were so many other geniuses, including one who possessed two bloodline limits!

Whether it was Hozuki Mangetsu, Yurui, or Terumi Mei, who possessed two bloodline limits...

Geniuses of this level would unquestionably become Kage Level powerhouses once they matured!

"Kirigakure's combat strength has completely exceeded our expectations. Could this be the influence brought about by the Blood Mist?"

Shinnosuke muttered inwardly. That "deformed environment of certain failure and self-destruction" that they had regarded with contempt had actually produced so many geniuses, even monstrous ones.

Could this system truly have its merits?

It seemed that after this battle ended, he would have to discuss it with his father...

"Fugaku, take the others and retreat first. I'll hold them back..."

"Boom!!"

Before the people present could continue fighting, the aftershock from the explosion of the Tailed Beast Bomb in the distance had already reached them.

The pressure produced by the enormous energy eruption raised waves of air that blotted out the sky. Countless clouds of dust and shattered stones, along with trees torn up by their roots, flew in every direction, leaving everyone present frozen in place.

"How could this be? Kushina actually entered Tailed Beast Transformation directly?"

"How far has the battle over there progressed for Kushina to do something like this the moment she entered the battlefield?"

Fugaku and Shinnosuke's expressions changed drastically, and the Kirigakure side was no different.

Although Kirigakure did not currently possess a Jinchūriki, it had once possessed Tailed Beasts throughout its history. Thus, they were not unfamiliar with the eruption of this power.

"Damn Konoha! You've even sent a Jinchūriki onto the battlefield?"

"The Sannin Jiraiya and the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki..."

This combination caused the hearts of everyone from Kirigakure present to sink as they began worrying about Yoru and Yagura's condition.

The aftershock of the explosion slowly dispersed.

Yet both Konoha and Kirigakure fell into silence. Although their enemies were right in front of them, their hearts had simultaneously turned toward the distance.

For a moment, the two sides actually became locked in a stalemate. It was not until retreating signal flares appeared on the horizon that the Kirigakure side vanished into the thick mist.

"No, Fugaku. Take the others to Misawa Bridge first. I'm going to look for Kushina!"

Shinnosuke spoke in a deep voice. Fugaku hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "I'll go with you. Kirigakure has retreated, which means Kushina and Lord Jiraiya inflicted heavy losses on them. I'll go with you to find Kushina!"

"All right!"

The two of them quickly headed toward the direction where the Tailed Beast Bomb had erupted, but after taking only a few steps, they both froze in place.

A blood-red figure appeared before them. Behind her, six tails swayed continuously, radiating a terrifying aura that made it difficult to breathe.

"Kushina!"

"Roar!!"