World-Destroying Thunder

At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, fierce winds howled along the frontier, and a murderous atmosphere filled every inch of the air.

"Byakugan! Activate!"

Hizashi Hyuga formed hand seals, the veins around his eyes bulging violently.

He poured every ounce of Chakra within his body into his eyes, stretching his field of vision to its absolute limit.

His Byakugan's vision pierced through the dense forest and crossed the rolling mountains, gradually bringing the scene dozens of kilometers away into focus.

"Found them!"

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Hizashi's forehead. He turned toward Ren, who stood beside him in a black Divine Robe, his voice trembling.

"Clan Head Ren, thirty-five kilometers directly ahead, I've detected the Cloud Ninja army's encampment!"

"They number around three thousand. Their Chakra signatures are extremely concentrated."

"Fourth Raikage A is right in the center of their formation. They've stopped their forced march and are forming a defensive formation in place."

Hearing Hizashi's coordinate report, Ren nodded.

"Good. The Hyuga clan's Byakugan is the finest reconnaissance weapon in the Shinobi World."

Ren drew the short blade at his waist, its edge gleaming coldly beneath the dim sky.

He turned around to face the forty-three Uchiha Shrine elites who had long since readied themselves behind him.

"Shrine, heed my command!"

Ren issued his order in a booming voice.

"Target: the Cloud encampment thirty-five kilometers straight ahead!"

"Wipe them completely off this land!"

"Understood!!!"

Nanami Uchiha, Tekka Uchiha, and more than a dozen other Shrine captains roared in unison as over forty pairs of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun.

The group had no intention of engaging in close combat.

The forty-three Shrine elites quickly spread out, forming more than ten perfect formations in groups of four.

"Temple Formation, activate!"

Accompanied by a thunderous shout from Nanami and the others, more than a dozen Shrine squads formed hand seals simultaneously.

The earth shook violently as more than ten incomparably thick pillars of blue Chakra shot into the sky and pierced the heavens.

Everyone unleashed their combat strength without reservation.

The Shrine captains, who had undergone the baptism of the Bloodline Tempering Elixir and long since reached the Kage Level or Half-Step Kage Level, drove the Chakra within their bodies to its limit.

The Chakra of more than forty people perfectly merged and resonated under the formation's effect, creating a terrifying energy storm powerful enough to make heaven and earth change color.

Hizashi Hyuga and several dozen elites of the Hyuga Branch Family stood to the side,

but the berserk waves of Chakra forced them to retreat again and again. They raised their arms in front of themselves, their faces filled with shock.

"Good heavens... This Chakra is several times more terrifying than it was in Konoha last night."

Hizashi widened his Byakugan as he stared at the more than ten pillars of light reaching into the heavens, his voice trembling.

"Combination Ninjutsu: Lightning Cloud Summoning!"

Within the Temple Formation, Nanami rapidly changed hand seals,

leading all the Shrine disciples in casting the strategic-level ninjutsu that Ren had personally improved.

The traditional Lightning Cloud Summoning

required Water Release and Fire Release ninjutsu to be released and collide in midair.

It used water vapor to create lightning clouds, which was not only time-consuming but also extremely easy for enemies to interrupt.

But now, with the massive Chakra of the Temple Formation—comparable to that of a Tailed Beast—they had no need to shape the ninjutsu at all.

The dozen-plus squads directly transformed the water- and fire-attribute Chakra within their bodies, refined to the utmost purity,

into visible torrents of energy and violently blasted them into the ten-thousand-meter-high sky.

The extremely cold and extremely hot Chakra collided and tore at each other madly in the sky!

Heaven and earth changed color!

The sky, which had merely been somewhat overcast,

was completely covered by a thick layer of dark clouds within a few short seconds.

The enormous lightning clouds blotted out the sky and sun as they spread frenziedly from the Uchiha position toward the Cloud encampment thirty-five kilometers away.

Gale-force winds rose. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. Countless thick blue bolts of lightning rolled and roared through the pitch-black clouds, filling the air with deafening thunder.

At the same time, thirty-five kilometers away, inside the Cloud encampment.

Several thousand elite Cloud Ninja were stationed on the plains of a canyon.

The Raikage had issued defensive orders, but most of the Cloud Ninja wore little tension on their faces.

In their eyes, Kumogakure was the strongest military power among the Five Great Shinobi Villages. A mere Uchiha Family, no matter how much it flailed about, was nothing more than an insect trying to shake a tree.

At the center of the encampment, the Cloud Jonin Karu sat on a boulder, holding a wineskin and taking a deep gulp of strong liquor.

"Hic—"

Karu belched, wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, and mocked the companion beside him:

"Raikage-sama is really too cautious. He actually had us form a defensive formation here."

"The higher-ups in Konoha are all a bunch of spineless weaklings. That brat called Uchiha Ren is probably only putting on a show in the village to fool the civilians."

Several Cloud Ninja beside him burst into laughter as well.

"Exactly. Even if you gave them ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare leave Konoha and clash head-on with our Cloud army."

"When Raikage-sama runs out of patience, we'll march straight into Konoha, twist that Ren's head off and kick it around like a ball, then dig out all of their Uchiha Sharingan!"

The Cloud Ninja shouted recklessly, treating the war entirely as a leisurely hunting expedition.

Just as they relaxed their vigilance, believing this to be nothing more than a political game to pressure the border,

"Th... what is that?!"

On a high tower at the edge of the encampment,

a Cloud scout responsible for keeping watch suddenly let out a shriek.

He pointed toward the distant horizon,

and Karu and the others rose impatiently to their feet, looking in the direction indicated by the scout.

At that sight, the smiles vanished from every Cloud Ninja's face.

On the horizon thirty-five kilometers away,

more than ten enormous pillars of blue Chakra shot into the sky, violently churning the wind and clouds.

Immediately afterward, the black clouds blotting out the sky and sun surged toward the Cloud encampment overhead at a terrifying speed that defied reason.

Heaven and earth fell completely dark. Night descended ahead of schedule.

Berserk thunder rolled through the clouds. The destructive pressure made every Cloud Ninja in the encampment's scalp prickle and their breathing stop.

"Wh... what level of Chakra is this?!"

The wineskin in Karu's hand fell to the ground with a smack. Strong liquor spilled everywhere, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Enemy attack! It's an enemy attack!"

Shrill alarm bells echoed frenziedly throughout the Cloud encampment.

Fourth Raikage A transformed into a streak of blue lightning and rushed out of the command tent.

When he raised his head and saw the terrifying lightning clouds that had already gathered overhead, lightning flashing and thunder roaring within them, the Raikage, who had never feared heaven or earth, underwent a dramatic change of expression.

"Not good!"

Raikage A's eyes reddened as Lightning Release Chakra erupted wildly from his body. With a single glance, he saw through the true nature of the lightning clouds.

"This is a natural lightning cloud created with an enormous amount of Chakra. Those Uchiha lunatics intend to use natural lightning to launch a devastating attack."