Not One Soul Left in Kumogakure Today

Arata could use his left eye again.

After forging bonds with Arakawa and Mount Suzuka, his own power had grown immensely.

Kusa's sacrifice, followed by the terrible news about Hotaru, had been the "key" that unlocked the eye he had sealed away.

He still could not fully control Stray's trajectory, and using such an ocular technique consumed an enormous amount of chakra. But none of those drawbacks could obscure its terrifying destructive power.

The barrier maintained by a hundred people shattered. The entrance to Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, was obliterated, and every Kumogakure shinobi stationed there vanished with it.

Not a single scream rang out.

Not a single possession remained.

An endless silence swallowed the entire area. In the distance, some Kumogakure shinobi who had regained their senses tried to make a sound. But when they saw the ruins strewn across the ground, every word caught in their throats. They had nowhere to release it, and no idea how.

Arata had no intention of giving Kumogakure a moment to recover. He strode straight toward the village.

After all, the Fourth Raikage had given no warning when he raided Arata's village.

For someone long renowned as the Raikage, sneaking out at night to attack Arata's subordinates had been quite the show of strength.

The devastation had terrified the ordinary Kumogakure shinobi, but even the squad leaders and elites among them stared numbly at the scar that would forever mark their village's humiliation.

The same thought raged through their minds:

Did he even exist in the same world as them?

"Move!"

"All of you, move!"

"You're Kumogakure shinobi! The finest shinobi in the world!"

"For Lord Fourth Raikage! For Kumogakure! Give everything you've got and kill the invader!"

A hoarse shout, thick with outrage and defiance, broke through