The mist slowly dissipated.
The mushroom cloud towering into the heavens began to collapse and spread. High-altitude currents tore the gray-white column of smoke into wisps that gradually merged with the distant horizon, leaving only a murky, gloomy sky.
The lingering ring of steam over the sea continued to spread slowly outward, but its force steadily weakened until it finally dissolved into the azure waters.
Tianyi slowly descended from high above, coming down over the island.
The island had changed beyond recognition.
The once lush, dense forest-its thick ancient trees, low shrubs, and tangled vines-had vanished entirely.
From above, the entire island looked as though it had been coated in gray paint. Its surface was bare, with nothing but exposed rock and shattered clods of earth.
The uprooted tree roots had been burned into charcoal by the intense heat and lay scattered among the rubble, their edges coated in black ash, their shapes twisted like withered bones.
Rubble lay everywhere.
Large pieces, small pieces, sharp pieces, rounded pieces-rubble covered every inch of the island.
A layer of gray-white powder coated the stones, a texture left by exposure to extreme heat. The slightest touch broke them into finer grains that scattered like dust.
Far out at sea, masses of white fish carcasses surfaced.
Thousands of fish floated belly-up, covering the sea as far as the eye could see in overlapping layers, bobbing gently with the slow waves.
Debris also floated on the water-broken timber, shattered ninja tools, and half-burned clothing.
Among the white fish carcasses, several scraps of black robes patterned with red clouds stood out. Even more pieces of the Kirigakure Ninja's standard uniforms drifted among them. It was impossible to tell what had belonged to whom.
Black shadows remained on the island's ground.
They densely covered its surface. Some