The Real Battlefield

Susanoo's massive body did not even need to struggle deliberately. With a slight movement of Uchiha Ran's will, Susanoo simply drove forward with a bull-headed charge.

The enclosing prison of stone pillars shattered and collapsed inch by inch like rotten wood.

Huge chunks of rock crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

The Wind Release ninjutsu, sharp enough to cut through iron like mud, collided with that blade. After an ear-splitting crash, they were violently deflected, shattered, and dispersed into chaotic gusts of air!

Other than creating some noise and negligible ripples of energy, they were utterly useless!

"H-How could this happen?!"

"Our ninjutsu... was completely useless?!"

"What the hell is that thing?!"

The Sand ninja were completely dumbfounded, their faces filled with disbelief and shock.

Scarface witnessed it all firsthand. His face went pale as paper, his lips trembled, and he could not even shout an order.

The experience and tactics he had always taken pride in seemed so pale and laughable before such an absolute gap in power.

He understood now. The power this Uchiha had awakened was simply beyond anything people of their level could comprehend! It belonged to an entirely different realm!

It was like when the Allied Shinobi Forces saw Susanoo clash head-on with the Wood Release: Wooden Golem during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Even though he was already in his thirties, he could not muster the slightest bit of fighting spirit.

"It seems you've run out of tricks."

Uchiha Ran's cold voice came through Susanoo, carrying undisguised mockery.

His scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan swept across the Sand ninja below, who stood frozen and utterly devoid of fighting spirit, as though he were looking at a flock of lambs awaiting slaughter.

As chakra poured into it, the red Susanoo grew even taller and slowly raised the skeletal giant fist that had just smashed out a massive crater.

A destructive surge of energy warped and made the surrounding air tremble!

"Now, I'll give you two choices. One, kneel and surrender. Two, I'll give you a one-way ticket to the Pure Land."

The patterns in Uchiha Ran's Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly as his cold gaze locked onto the densest cluster of Sand ninja, as well as the scarred Jonin still roaring as he tried to organize a counterattack.

The words "In your dreams" were forcibly caught in the scarred Jonin's throat, as though an invisible hand had seized him by the neck.

He could only watch as the scarlet giant fist that blocked out the sky slowly rose, gathering destructive power so terrifying it seemed capable of freezing his soul.

He wanted to raise his hand and give the order to "scatter" or "defend," but his arm weighed a thousand pounds, and only meaningless choking sounds came from his throat.

"N-No...!"

A young Sand ninja broke down. His kunai fell to the ground, and with a thud, he dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead desperately against the scorching sand as his body shook like a sieve.

"I surrender! Don't kill me! Please!"

His cries opened the floodgates.

"Thud!" "Thud!"

Like wheat cut down in a field, one Sand ninja after another lost all will to resist, threw down their weapons, and slammed their knees into the sand.

The Sand ninja formation instantly collapsed. Only a few who had been frightened senseless remained standing stiffly in place, along with the ten surviving Jonin.

Such as the scarred Jonin!

He was a Jonin, the commander of this force, an elite of Sunagakure!

He could die. He could be crushed to pieces. But he absolutely could not die kneeling like a coward! This was the last scrap of his insignificant dignity.

"Foolish pride."

The instant those words fell, the enormous skeletal fist hovering in midair came crashing down, carrying a terrifying shriek that tore through the air!

Meanwhile, outside the canyon, Uchiha Tetsuka was swearing nonstop.

"Inasui, are you done yet? Is this barrier really that hard to break? Didn't you say you interned with the Barrier Team? This is what you got out of that internship!"

"Will you shut up already? If you're so capable, why don't you do it yourself?!"

"Although this sealing barrier formula is simple, even inferior to the Four Violet Flames Formation, it's my first time seeing it. Of course I need time!"

"More time? Can't you hear the explosions going off inside?!"

"Wait any longer, and who knows whether the captain can hold out until we get there!"

"Who would've thought those Sand ninja were actually targeting our captain? He just happened to go in there. If I'd known, I should've gone instead."

"That's a good thing. If there's activity inside, it means things are fine. If there were no activity, that's when we'd need to worry."

Time seemed to stretch infinitely in that moment, yet also compress to its limit.

"Done!"

Uchiha Daosui suddenly slapped the ground. The barrier runes before him, which had been glimmering faintly, seemed to have their source cut off. They instantly dimmed, crumbled apart, and finally dispersed completely into wisps of green smoke.

"Quick, move the rubble! Captain Ran might not be able to hold on!"

"You think I need you to tell me that? Quit dawdling!"

Uchiha Tetsuka had long been burning with impatience. He was the first to rush toward the mountain of massive rubble, forming hand seals at lightning speed as chakra flooded into his arms.

"Earth Release: Rock-Stealing Staff!"

He growled as he tried to pry loose the rocks' foundation, but it was useless.

"Don't act recklessly. These boulders blocking the path weigh at least a hundred tons. Let's use Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation together!"

The Chunin captain, an experienced leader, immediately stopped Tetsuka from forcing the issue.

"Everyone who knows this Earth Release ninjutsu, listen for my command! Form seals!"

"Yes!"

Three Chunin answered in unison and swiftly spread out. Four pairs of hands slammed down onto the ground at once, chakra pouring endlessly into the earth.

"One! Two! Three!"

"Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation!"

"Rise—!!!"

Rumble—!!!

The Earth Release ninjutsu jointly performed by the four Chunin was not overwhelmingly powerful, but it was enough.

The enormous pile of rubble blocking the canyon entrance, formed by explosions and Wind Release, began to shake violently and emit a low, heavy groan.

The ground rolled and heaved like a waking beast, forcibly lifting the multi-ton boulders, shoving them aside, and sending them rolling in both directions!

The grinding and collisions of rubble produced deafening thunder, while the rising dust swept outward like a sandstorm.

An irregular opening, barely wide enough for several people to pass through side by side, was forcibly torn open amid the grayish-yellow dust!

"Captain Ran, hold on!"

Uchiha Tetsuka was frantic. He did not even wait for the dust to clear before ducking and charging through the gap first!

Inasui and the other Chunin followed close behind, each with a grim expression, kunai gripped tightly in hand and chakra ready to erupt, prepared for the brutally fierce battle and rescue they expected to find.

Yet when they rushed into the canyon, the thick stench of blood and gunpowder mixed with a burnt smell that nearly choked them senseless.

The sight before them struck everyone like lightning. They froze in place, their minds blank!

Because the moment they entered, they saw corpses scattered across half the canyon.

The interior of the canyon had already become an Asura-like slaughterhouse!