None of the ninja present had time to think. Their bodies instinctively fled in every direction, desperate to avoid the fatal strike.
Rumble!!
Deafening explosions rang through the sky. The ice dragon shattered the instant it struck the ground, becoming countless tiny ice crystals dancing through the air.
Amid the chaos, Gekkō Raito raised his right hand expressionlessly and traced a small circle in the air with his finger.
As though they had received military orders, the scattered ice crystals instantly condensed into countless razor-sharp Ice Release Shuriken. With a casual sweep of Raito's crossed hands, they let out piercing whistles as they cut through the air.
The densely packed ice shuriken shot indiscriminately in every direction like a torrential downpour, each gleaming with a chilling light.
It was an all-directional attack that made no distinction between friend and foe. Yet strangely, the ice blades flying toward Raito himself stopped automatically a few inches from his nose, as though they had minds of their own.
Immediately afterward, those ice blades abruptly reversed direction and hurtled toward the Raikage's group even faster.
At that life-or-death moment, the Raikage and the others moved in perfect unison, swiftly drawing kunai from their ninja tool pouches and using every ounce of strength to block the overwhelming barrage of Ice Shuriken.
Watching them, Raito's lips curved into a mocking smile.
He paid no heed to their resistance, merely pressing one hand toward the ground without touching it as his gaze gradually sharpened.
A heart-stopping surge of chakra began gathering furiously in his palm. No one could guess what he intended to do next.
The Ten-Tails' violent chakra suddenly erupted, and the "Great Sage" system in his mind simultaneously began operating at tremendous speed.
This time, Raito truly held nothing back. He intended to unleash his