Ōnoki's pupils contracted.
He held up the first meteorite with both hands. Most of his chakra was already spent, his bones creaked, and blood seeped from the corners of his mouth, his nostrils, and the corners of his eyes.
Gritting his teeth, he mustered the last of his strength and tried to maintain the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique.
But the second meteorite slammed squarely into the first.
Boom!
A deafening crash shook the earth and mountains.
Ōnoki plummeted like a kite with its string cut, spewing mouthfuls of blood.
Rasa's enormous iron sand hands were already riddled with cracks under the crushing weight of the first meteorite.
The impact of the second shattered them completely, sending iron sand raining down.
It's over...
Those final words flashed through Ōnoki's mind.
Rumble!
The two meteorites crashed into the ground, one atop the other, throwing up clouds of dust.
The earth trembled. The shock wave hurled the castle's ruined walls into the air, sending rubble flying in every direction like cannonballs.
Dust filled the air, blotting out the sky and sun.
Everyone present was stunned.
Mei Terumi and Tsunade had sensed something was wrong the instant the first meteorite fell. By now, they had already retreated several hundred meters with their respective bodyguards.
The dust gradually cleared.
Amid the ruins, Ōnoki was pinned beneath the edge of the first meteorite, his body buried under rubble. Bloody froth spilled from his mouth, and he barely clung to life.
Rasa lay collapsed nearby as well.
Mifune struggled out of a heap of rubble. His armor was shattered, his helmet was nowhere to be found, his gray-white hair hung in disarray, and his face was covered in dust and bloody scratches.
Because Ōnoki and Rasa had borne most of the impact, and he had not been at