A Calm Retreat

Azure Reef Island had been thoroughly transformed into a burning hell. Thick smoke billowed from the harbor, and flames reaching into the sky illuminated half the night. The wreckage of destroyed warships continued to explode with muffled booms. The garrison camp was even more horrific: charred corpses, melted and warped ninja tools, and ground vitrified by the extreme heat of Scorch Release were everywhere. The air was thick with the pungent stench of burning and death.

Shaye and Pakura, two powerful figures who had both surpassed ordinary Elite Jonin and touched the threshold of Kage-level strength, had fully displayed their destructive power in this carefully planned surprise attack.

For the Kaguya Clan, who excelled at close-quarters combat with bone blades, Pakura's Scorch Release was simply a nightmare that completely countered them. Their famed Shikotsumyaku was as brittle as dead branches before the extreme heat that warped the air. Kaguya ninja who tried to close in often lost all moisture to the terrifying heat wave before getting within ten meters of Pakura, turning to charcoal. Even their hard bones became brittle and shattered. Under the savage slashes of Gundam's gigantic anti-ship blade wrapped in Wind Release, the Kaguya Clan chief could only barely protect himself with endlessly rising forests of bone. Covered in blood and utterly wretched, he had no time to concern himself with anything else.

Gundam's destructive power against fixed facilities and fleets was even more unparalleled. Its enormous size, terrifying strength, and precise fire coverage turned coastal defenses, warehouses, docks, and other targets into ruins in a matter of moments. Shuriken, kunai, and even heavy crossbow bolts thrown by surviving Hidden Mist Village ninja could only throw off a few sparks when they struck its high-strength alloy armor, unable to leave even the slightest scratch.

What drove the