The sound of wind returned.
Rubble hit the ground.
Flames burned.
Then came the anguished cries of the wounded, rising one after another.
The surviving ninja struggled to raise their heads.
The plain before them had completely vanished.
The central three hundred meters had become a charred expanse.
The ground had collapsed more than ten meters downward, forming a massive hemispherical crater. Every blade of grass and tree had melted away, and not a single intact stone could be found.
Everything within a radius of over five hundred meters that had been swept by the light and heat had been scorched black.
The air continued to warp in the intense heat.
Ash-filled currents of hot air rose into the sky, gathering into a hazy gray cloud high above.
Farther out, broken branches covered the ground.
Fragments of ninja corpses were mixed among the dirt and shattered stones. Some were reduced to half an arm; others had been burned black and carbonized beyond recognition.
A severely injured ninja crawled out of the dirt.
His left arm was gone, and half his face had been burned away by the heat.
Yet he had no time to care about his injuries.
"Where are they?"
"Where is everyone else?"
No one answered.
He turned to look behind him.
Of the dozens of ninja who had gathered there, only a few could still make a sound.
"Didn't they say... we would win?"
Another ninja sat collapsed on the ground, his expression utterly broken.
"Didn't the Hyūga say that Shisui's Susanoo had the upper hand?"
"Didn't they see Lie Yang being controlled by Kotoamatsukami?"
"Why did it turn out like this?"
"Where are the Hyūga?"
"Make the Hyūga come out and explain themselves!"
Still, no one replied.
The few survivors looked around blankly.
The Hyūga ninja