"Hah!"
A ring of blade energy swept outward, far fiercer than the previous one.
The air screamed as it was sliced apart. Wherever the blade energy passed, rocks split, river water surged backward, and sand and dust scattered.
The Shadow Clones in the front ranks were cut down like wheat, bursting into white smoke one after another.
Pop, pop, pop, pop-
Dense clouds of white smoke erupted, instantly obscuring the view.
But under cover of the smoke, over a hundred of Naruto Uzumaki's Shadow Clones had already swarmed in through the blade energy's blind spots, above Kinshiki Otsutsuki's head and beneath his feet.
They leaped down from the air, charged across the ground, and sprang from the rocky walls on either side, engulfing Kinshiki like a golden tide.
Kinshiki roared, drawing a short axe from the red ring behind his back with his left hand. Still gripping his naginata in his right, he began hacking wildly with both weapons.
Every strike burst three or four Shadow Clones, but there were too many of them. For every one he destroyed, two more lunged at him.
A fist slammed into his back, a foot struck the back of his knee, some wrapped themselves around his arms, and others clung to his legs.
Though Kinshiki possessed boundless strength, with dozens of Shadow Clones clinging to him at once, his movements inevitably slowed.
And at that very moment, Naruto Uzumaki's real body shot silently out of the white smoke filling the air.
Both hands clenched into fists, his Cross-Shaped Eyes fixed on the spot over Kinshiki's heart from behind, he shot toward his target like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"Take this!"
Just as he was about to land his blow, a pale hand reached in from the side, firmly blocking his fist's