On this battlefield, ravaged by the fires of war, the wind howled and yellow sand filled the sky. Haotian stood amid the devastation, Chakra surging through him like a mighty river, churning and rushing wildly. An unprecedented sense of immense power flooded his entire body like a raging tide. Every inch of his skin and every one of his meridians trembled faintly, as if they might unleash world-shattering energy at any moment.
Haotian's hands flashed before him, forming Hand Seals so quickly that they were almost impossible to follow with the naked eye. Only a blur of afterimages remained. As he moved, a suffocating wave of energy filled the air, like the oppressive, heavy pressure before a storm, plunging everything around him into dead silence.
The Iwa Ninja nearby sensed the terrifying pressure. Their faces instantly turned as pale as paper, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably. They clutched their weapons so tightly their knuckles turned white. Every one of them stood on guard, as if facing a demon from the depths of hell.
Kari's expression grew grave, as though a layer of frost had settled over him. He stared fixedly at Haotian, his eyes flashing with unprecedented wariness and panic. In that moment, he realized that this seemingly young boy was hundreds, even thousands, of times more dangerous than he had first imagined.
I can't let him finish this technique! If he succeeds, we're all going to die! Kari screamed inwardly. He knew he had to act first and snuff out this enormous potential threat before Haotian could complete his ninjutsu.
"Die!" Kari suddenly roared, his voice like thunderclap, making the air around them hum. The Chakra Blade in his hand gleamed with icy light. He became a black blur and lunged at Haotian like a frenzied beast, moving so fast that he kicked up a gale and sent sand and stones scattering across the ground.
The price... I'll pay the price... Haotian murmured. His voice was quiet, but full of resolve. A trace of resignation crossed his eyes. He knew that using this forbidden technique would inflict immeasurable damage on his body. But he couldn't afford to worry about that now. To protect his impulsive but precious companion Obito, and to give everyone a chance to survive, he had to stake everything—even his life.
"Nuclear Style: Incandescence!" Haotian roared with all his strength. In an instant, a blinding white light burst from his body, as if a slumbering sun had suddenly awakened. It shot skyward like a pillar of light connecting heaven and earth.
The beam was far brighter than the blazing midday sun, its glare so intense it made people's eyes ache and impossible to look at directly. Its heat was a thousand times more scorching than the flames of hell, as though it held infinite destructive power and would devour the entire world without mercy.
Everything in the beam's path changed in an instant. The moment the light touched the towering trees, they turned to wisps of ash without the slightest chance to resist, vanishing into the air. The solid earth melted under the scorching heat like ice, becoming boiling magma that roiled and bubbled. The air, unable to withstand the dreadful heat, cracked and popped as if space itself were groaning in pain.
The Iwa Ninja who were too slow to dodge were caught in the white light. They didn't even have time to scream before the heat vaporized their bodies, leaving nothing behind—not even a single bone.
The moment Kari saw the white light erupt, terror surged through him. Without hesitation, he poured all his Chakra into Steel Release, driving its power to the limit. In an instant, thick, impenetrably hard steel armor covered his body, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen like an unbreakable iron barrier.
But before the world-destroying White Hot Light, even steel was as helpless as flimsy paper. The moment the light touched the armor, it began to melt with a sizzling sound. Then the heat vaporized it, leaving not a trace.
Kari's body was gradually swallowed by the white light. He felt an irresistible heat and force tearing him apart and melting him away, bit by bit. He let out a desperate, anguished howl, his voice filled with fear and unwillingness. In the end, he vanished completely into the light, as if he had never existed in this world at all.
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