"Sage Art—Lightning Style—Kirin!"
When the Kirin in the sky truly took shape, the earth itself began to tremble. The stunned and helpless Takigakure Ninja knew only to bow down in worship!
"What's happening outside?" The Takigakure villagers sheltering underground looked at one another. Tremors of this magnitude were clearly no ordinary earthquake. If it truly was an earthquake, not a single one of them underground would survive!
Fear rose in every villager's heart. Their faces went deathly pale, and their legs turned weak!
"Everyone, please stay calm. Takigakure isn't located on an earthquake belt. This should only be the aftermath of the battle aboveground, and it will settle down soon!" Among those sheltering with the villagers were Ninja Academy students and several teachers. The one who shouted those words was a Chunin instructor.
"I am Lord Takikage's disciple. I'll stay with everyone, and I will never abandon any of you!" Masashige also stepped forward to make his presence known. His identity reassured the villagers greatly. Perhaps Takikage did not care about their lives, but surely he would protect his own disciple, right? Even if there really was an earthquake, rescue efforts would be carried out with all haste afterward. With him here, they felt far safer!
"We'll stand in front of everyone! We may only be students, but we're reserve ninjas too!" The one who delivered that hot-blooded declaration was the thick-browed, big-eyed Takayama Akito. Perhaps that was simply a thick-browed man's defining trait!
"Retreat! Retreat! Everyone, get back into the fortress!" The Sky Ninja leader shouted like a madman. Such terrifying Lightning Style ninjutsu could not be confronted head-on. Without the fortress to shield them, those exposed in the air could only be charred to ashes!
"So this is the ultimate meaning of Lightning Style..." Fuma Kazama, who had