Anyone who met its gaze felt a chill run down their spine.
"What is this..."
In the distance, Kakashi and Jiraiya, who had been secretly watching the battle, were both stunned.
Might Guy couldn't help giving a thumbs-up.
"That kid's got guts! Faced with a monster that huge, he's keeping his cool without even breaking a sweat. He's got real promise!"
Beside him, Jiraiya clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Exactly. I've taught plenty of students, but he's the first with nerves like that. If he gets into trouble, I'll go save him."
Kakashi, meanwhile, stared at the gun in Uchiha Sora's hands.
"That thing... It doesn't look like any of the others. And those yellow bullets seem different from the ones he used before!"
As the Copy Ninja, Kakashi had the Sharingan, so he was the one watching Uchiha Sora most closely.
He had also witnessed the entire sequence: the revolver, the AK-47, and the Gatling Gun.
He'd realized that Uchiha Sora seemed to have all kinds of weapons, in all sorts of varieties.
Could the Sharingan really awaken weapons? And so many of them, at that?
For a moment, Kakashi was completely baffled. He could tell Uchiha Sora was no ordinary person.
Asuma's expression was grave.
"We've more or less dealt with things on our side. We've rescued everyone who needed rescuing, and most of Sunagakure's experts have been taken care of."
"Should we go help him?"
Kurenai shook her head.
"Best not. That kid warned me just now to stay far away. It looks like he's about to unleash some kind of big move!"
Sure enough, as everyone hesitated, Uchiha Sora suddenly turned around and shouted, his voice amplified with chakra.
"Everyone! Get away from me! I'm growing mushrooms!"
His words made everyone's scalp tingle.
They didn't understand what he meant, but they weren't stupid. One by one, they instinctively backed away.
Even the people locked in the climactic battle on the rooftops froze.
"What? What are mushrooms? Sora, what's that guy up to? He's always been strange, even as a kid, tinkering with all sorts of weird things."
"But I've never heard of mushrooms!"
Itachi Uchiha's eyes widened. He felt that his little brother was a complete oddball.
Beside him, Deidara's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Mushrooms! I have a feeling this has something to do with art!"
"Exactly! I can smell it—I can smell the scent of art!"
Deidara's eyes were wide as he immediately started charging toward Uchiha Sora.
"Don't rush!"
Itachi Uchiha grabbed him.
"Didn't you hear him? We need to get farther away!"
Deidara froze, the light in his eyes burning even brighter.
"Right! Art needs to be viewed from the best angle! You're right!"
With that, the two of them hurried away, not even daring to cross the battlefield.
Watching them, Orochimaru was completely baffled.
"What's going on? Why do I keep feeling like that kid, Uchiha Sora, is making something dangerous? I think I just saw a flash of blue light!"
"Could he have another trump card?"
Orochimaru was getting scared. Uchiha Sora had caught him off guard last time, and the experience had left him with a lingering fear.
He wanted to run, too, but they were already halfway through the fight. They couldn't just call a time-out, could they?
"Hey, old man, how about we move somewhere open to fight?"
Nearby, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the pale blue bullet in Uchiha Sora's hand, feeling a sense of dread.
To be honest, he'd seen what Uchiha Sora could do.
That palm-sized thing had exploded with the force of dozens of Explosive Tags stacked together.
That thing the size of a melon seed, once fired, had the speed and penetrative power of dozens of Kunai!
So what could Uchiha Sora have brought out this time to use against a Tailed Beast?
Mushrooms?
Could it be some kind of genjutsu?
As he wondered, Orochimaru proposed moving first, and Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced down below.
This was the heart of Konoha. It would obviously be best not to fight here.
So he gave a cold snort.
"Fine!"
The two of them quickly retreated, vanishing from where they stood in a pair of blurs.
But their eyes remained fixed on Uchiha Sora.
It wasn't just them. Nearly everyone in Konoha was watching.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio looked utterly grim.
"Uh... Is he about to unleash some huge move? How are we supposed to get away?"
Shikamaru was sweating profusely. He was panicking.
Choji was so scared that snot was running from his nose.
"Damn! Uchiha Sora, couldn't you clear the area before unleashing your big move? How are the old, weak, sick, and disabled supposed to get out of here?"
Ino sucked in a sharp breath.
"Sora... What is he trying to do? He wouldn't really disregard even us, would he?"
Hinata was among the crowd, her gaze resolute.
"He won't!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiraiya and Kakashi hurried over.
"Don't panic! Get out of here, quickly. I have a feeling Sora's up to no good!"
Everyone nodded, and they were led away.
In no time, the area was cleared.
Only Uchiha Sora and the enormous Shukaku remained.
"Heh! The time has come. Looks like it's time to show you what modern shock and awe really means!"
With everyone gone, Uchiha Sora finally placed his finger on the trigger.
He'd also prepared an escape route: the Shadow Clone Technique.
At the start of the battle, Uchiha Sora had already learned the Shadow Clone Technique through the Sharingan.
The one who'd entered the fight earlier had been only his clone.
His real body was now hidden in a clump of grass outside the village.
He was controlling the clone with all his might.
At that moment, Shukaku let out a sudden roar. Looking down at the tiny Uchiha Sora, he opened his mouth and lunged to swallow him without hesitation.
In Shukaku's eyes, Uchiha Sora was nothing but a bug he could crush at any moment!
But in the next instant, Uchiha Sora pulled the trigger.
In front of everyone, the nuclear-powered bullet tore through the air!
It was so fast that, in the blink of an eye, it had struck Shukaku inside the mouth!
The faint blue glow was swallowed by the gaping maw, seemingly powerless.
But the moment the warhead landed, the reaction began!
The separated atomic nuclei collided with other atoms, causing their nuclei to collapse and triggering a chain reaction.
In an instant, terrifying energy surged into existence.
A beam of white light shot upward like a bolt of lightning tearing through the darkness.
It ripped the darkness apart!
The next second, the light didn't fade. It only grew brighter.
It was as if a single lightning bolt had multiplied into thousands, until the sky seemed to be filled with a sea of lightning.
The deafening boom came a moment later.
Before you continue