There was no hysterical roar in those words. They simply drifted into everyone's ears, calm and matter-of-fact.
Yet hearing them made their scalps prickle.
In the distance, the battered remnants of the Five Great Nations' allied army, already scared witless, no longer even dared to breathe loudly.
What they had just witnessed was far too shocking.
Princess Tsunade was Konoha's pride, the pinnacle of medical ninjutsu, and the very embodiment of brutal beauty.
And what had happened?
A single punch had sent her flying several kilometers. Now she lay embedded in a crater, her fate unknown.
That was the difference between them.
No amount of numbers could bridge it, nor could any Will of Fire fill it.
It was a chasm called "despair" that separated mortals from gods.
"Bastard..."
Jiraiya stood atop Gamabunta's head, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his flesh.
His trademark white hair whipped wildly in the surge of chakra, and the sage markings on his face turned so red they almost seemed to bleed.
Rage.
Utter rage was burning away his reason.
But he could not lose control.
He was the only one of the Sannin still holding the line. If he lost his footing too, Konoha would truly be finished, and the Shinobi World would be beyond saving.
"Little Jiraiya! Calm down!"
Sage Fukasaku crouched on Jiraiya's right shoulder, genuinely panicked. He slapped Jiraiya's cheek hard with a tiny hand. "There's something wrong with the energy coming off this brat! There wasn't any sign of chakra flowing in that punch. That sonic boom came from physical strength alone!"
"I know!"
Jiraiya gritted his teeth, forcing down the urge to charge in and fight to the death. "His body is invincible, ninjutsu doesn't work, and genjutsu... we were interrupted before we