The next instant.
Their surroundings instantly shifted into a twisted, shattered void. Violent turbulence surged around them, and an enormous vortex tore through the entire expanse, fine cracks covering the black-and-white spatial barriers.
The netherworld aura constantly churning around Minato Namikaze instantly subsided at the abrupt change in their surroundings.
Ōnoki stared at his crumbling, disintegrating Dust Release, his eyes filled with shock.
My Dust Release... was crushed?????
At that moment, Ōnoki began to wonder whether he had fallen under a genjutsu.
As its wielder, Ōnoki naturally understood the power of Dust Release better than anyone.
It was the power of dark matter annihilation, an intangible force that broke down all tangible things into chakra for him to command.
And now... an intangible force had been crushed...
Crushed!!!
Riiip!!
As the space shifted, the arm of green flames moved slightly, and the surrounding space seemed to tear open. A figure completely enveloped in green flames emerged.
Appearing along with it was a pair of eyes... that Ōnoki knew exceedingly well.
The instant he recognized those eyes, Ōnoki's clenched fists began to tremble.
He was the Tsuchikage, the strongest in Iwagakure, and even in the Shinobi World, he ranked among the very best.
His life could almost be called a complete legend.
He was confident he could fight almost anyone in the Shinobi World, with an excellent chance of winning.
But...
But...
There was one person...
Who had been the sole exception throughout his growth...
That was a fear buried in the deepest recesses of his heart.
It was also a fear he could not forget, even with his mastery of Dust Release, the Shinobi World's one and only kekkei tōta.
He knew that even though he had mastered a kekkei tōta and possessed the power to annihilate everything, before that