At the center of the battlefield.
Despite the devastating barrage of Ceros, the allied forces had been so numerous that more than a thousand ninja still survived.
The Gillians had split them up and surrounded them, leaving them to resist desperately amid the ruins.
In one pocket of fighting.
An elite Iwagakure Jonin was leading his squad in a desperate struggle against three Gillians.
His name was Ishikawa, a veteran Jonin of Iwagakure who specialized in the Earth Release: Hardening Technique and taijutsu.
"Earth Release: Golem Technique!"
Ishikawa slammed both hands onto the ground, pouring chakra into it furiously.
A thick layer of stone armor covered his body, and he grew to five meters tall.
Roaring, he smashed a fist into one Gillian's knee.
Crack!
The shell around the Gillian's knee shattered, and it staggered.
"It worked!" Hope flashed in Ishikawa's eyes. "Their joints are weak points! Attack the joints!"
His squad rallied, unleashing ninjutsu at the Gillians' ankles, knees, and elbows.
But there were too many Gillians.
Whenever one was driven back, another immediately took its place.
They knew neither pain nor fear. They only obeyed the command to kill.
The members of Ishikawa's squad fell one after another.
In the end, he alone remained.
"Aaaah!!!"
Ishikawa's eyes turned bloodshot, his chakra running wild.
He abandoned his defenses, poured all his chakra into his arms, and charged the nearest Gillian.
"Rock Fist Technique: Double Heavy Strike!"
His fists slammed into the Gillian's chest like two meteors.
Boom! Boom!
Two great holes were punched through the Gillian's chest, and its body toppled backward.
But the other two Gillians had already surrounded him.
They raised their feet, ready to stomp down.
Panting heavily, Ishikawa stared at those two enormous feet, a trace of despair flashing in his eyes.
But in the