"Crack-boom!"
As Shihōin Naraku's raised foot came down, deafening thunder rumbled across the sky, rolling toward the ground.
Thunder?
Was it going to rain?
Countless ninja standing in formation looked up at the sky in unison. Clearly drawn by the peals of thunder, they no longer had time to argue.
For a moment, the increasingly heated arguments were abruptly drowned out by the ever-louder thunderclaps.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dazzling black-and-red lightning suddenly slashed through the air. The sky seemed torn apart by the sudden flashes, giving off a ripping sound as though it could no longer bear the strain.
At the same time, an oppressive force arose out of nowhere and came crushing down from behind the Allied Shinobi Forces.
The ninja whose attention had been drawn by the strange sounds overhead immediately felt the terrifying pressure. They gritted their teeth, struggling to support their swaying bodies and their minds, which were on the verge of collapse.
They whipped around!
Shihōin Naraku!
Only then did everyone realize in shock that the Supreme Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, Shihōin Naraku, had appeared behind their ranks at some unknown point.
And the terrifying pressure that even the hundred-thousand-strong Allied Shinobi Forces could not withstand came from none other than Shihōin Naraku.
Invisible pressure poured from Naraku, surging toward all the ninja with the force of mountains toppling and seas overturning.
"Wh-what is this?"
"Pure killing intent? No, it isn't!"
"I-I can't hold on much longer!"
"Is the commander angry?"
Countless ninja clenched their teeth and held on, struggling not to collapse beneath that invisible pressure.
But as they endured, that absolute pressure born of spirit and force of will continued to intensify little by little.
As though it meant to crush them completely.
In the eyes of the hundred thousand members