Ōnoki lowered his hands and floated silently in the sky. The Four-Tails was still in a frenzy. It scooped up another mass of magma and hurled it into the forest.
Boom.
Red-hot magma splashed in every direction, and a Tailed Beast Ball began forming at its mouth.
A faint smile appeared on Ōnoki's face. "Hmph. How naive. Did they think hiding in the forest would keep them safe?"
The Tailed Beast Ball shot from the Four-Tails' mouth toward the forest. Just then, the space before it began to twist. The red sphere, which had been moving like lightning, suddenly slowed as though trapped in a bog.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished without a trace. The Four-Tails roared again, loud enough to shake the heavens. Seemingly enraged by Takigawa's interference, it opened its mouth and began forming a second Tailed Beast Ball.
Takigawa snorted and aimed his Mangekyo Sharingan at the Tailed Beast's mouth. Space twisted, and the Four-Tails' head began to warp with it.
Ōnoki's expression changed instantly. He slammed his hands together, sending a brilliant beam through the forest in front of the Four-Tails. He swept it forward, trying to flush Takigawa out.
The distortion around the Four-Tails' mouth stopped at once. Beside Kannabi Bridge, a vast chasm silently appeared in the forest. Trees and earth alike had been completely disintegrated.
Although the war was being fought in the Land of Grass, Kusagakure had kept its forces withdrawn. Its shinobi were scarcely seen anywhere in the country's forests.
It was how some Small Nations survived. Though Kusagakure was allied with Konoha, joining a Shinobi World War like this would lead only to its destruction.
Sanada appeared silently behind Ōnoki and drew his bow. As if sensing the danger, Ōnoki spun around. A Dark Arrow was already