"Call out--!"
A specially painted missile rose into the air from the rear position.
The projectile is painted with striking yellow and black stripes. It lacks the long, fiery red tail flame typical of conventional rockets.
It spewed short bursts of blue flame, leaving a straight white line in the air.
It plunged straight into the impenetrable array of giant Iron Sand spears above Kazekage's head.
Kazekage stood high in the sky, panting heavily.
His left hand hung limply at his sides, and the throbbing pain in his chest made him break out in a cold sweat.
He watched as the thin iron rod flew towards him.
He let out a dry, mocking laugh through his nose.
These conventional firearms, devoid of Chakra fluctuations, couldn't even break through the thinnest iron spear.
"Boom!"
The missile exploded right in the center of hundreds of giant Iron Sand spears.
There was no earth-shattering roar, no towering Kakkō.
Not even a wisp of smoke rose from it.
The air emitted only a dull "hum," like someone striking a large bronze bell with a cloth-wrapped wooden mallet.
A ring of transparent ripples, visible to the naked eye, centered on the projectile.
It spread wildly in all directions!
High-frequency electromagnetic pulse (EMP).
Transparent ripples swept across the air, even shaking the clouds in the sky, creating a ring of water-like ripples.
Kazekage felt as if a rusty nail had been shoved into his ear and violently stirred.
My eardrums ached. A few drops of cold sweat dripped down my chin onto my tattered clothes.
The ripples penetrated the dense, sun-blocking Iron Sand forest without any obstruction.
The magnetic field in the air was instantly disrupted.
The black iron spear, originally as hard as steel and weighing over ten tons, suddenly stopped in mid-air.
The cold, metallic sheen on the surface flickered twice before going completely dark.
The Kazekage's prized Magnet Release: Iron Sand is essentially controlled by precise magnetic Chakra.
Chakra transformed into magnetic force, tightly squeezing and binding the fine Iron Sand filings together.
But now, the violent interference of the EMP pulse has directly destroyed the magnetic field structure of this airspace.
The magnetism in the Iron Sand was forcibly demagnetized.
"Click."
On the surface of the giant Iron Sand spear closest to the explosion's epicenter, a hair-thick crack appeared.
Then, the crisp sound was like dominoes toppling.
"Splash!"
Hundreds of metal spears, each weighing tens of thousands of tons, disintegrated in mid-air.
There was no external impact. There was no clash of Chakra.
As it fell, it simply scattered into a pile of loose sand.
The sturdy metal weapon collapsed into a sky full of ordinary black sand.
It had just been accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, ready to smash the armored vehicle into a pancake.
Now all that remains is the rustling sound of sand falling in the wind.
Soft and fluffy.
It was like a black rain that had no harmful effect.
Black sand rained down from the sky, landing on the roofs of tanks and armored vehicles.
It makes a soft "fluttering" sound.
Not even a single piece of paint was scratched off the machine gun turret on the roof.
The Iron Sand shot slid helplessly down the sloping composite armor plate, piling up in the sand pits next to the tracks.
This was a devastating move that poured out the last bit of Kazekage's life force.
It turned into a comical mudslide.
In mid-air.
Kazekage's hands remained in the downward pressing position. His fingers were spasming slightly from excessive force.
He felt the taut string in his mind snap.
In the instant the magnetic field became disordered, the massive amount of Chakra lost its target for control.
It rushed back down along the damaged meridians.
This is not a typical Chakra backlash.
This violent force surged through his body, tearing apart his internal organs.
"Wow!"
Kazekage opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of thick, black blood.
Before the blood mist had even dissipated in mid-air, he rolled his eyes upwards, revealing bloodshot whites.
His hands fell limply to his sides.
The Chakra within his body was completely out of control.
It couldn't even maintain the most basic levitation.
He looked like a black bird with a broken wing.
It fell headfirst, plummeting straight down to the ground from a height of 100 meters.
The hot wind whistled in his ears. He couldn't hear anything.
My heart was pounding in my chest like it was going to explode, and the pain from my broken ribs was magnified a hundredfold.
"Bang!"
A dull, loud thud.
The Kazekage slammed heavily onto a sand dune in front of the Konoha armored forces.
Yellow sand splashed up more than three meters high.
He smashed a deep hole in the sand and rolled twice using the momentum.
The blood-stained white robe was covered in sand, turning a dirty, earthy yellow.
The sound of bones breaking is crisp and clear.
The left leg was bent in the opposite direction and split in two. The white bone fragments pierced through the fabric and were exposed to the scorching air.
Kazekage lay on his back at the bottom of the pit.
Blood and foam kept gushing from his mouth.
He had no strength left to even turn over.
Inside the command vehicle.
Hiruzen Sarutobi knelt on the iron floor. His shoulders were numb from the pressure of the camera, and the base of the camera had chafed his skin.
He stared at the monitor screen and gasped.
The cold air got stuck in his throat, causing him to cough repeatedly.
That was the Kazekage's ultimate move.
It was rendered useless by a piece of iron that didn't even produce a spark.
Just how many unreasonable things are hidden within this steel army?
The Uchiha officer removed his hand from the launch button.
His palms were sweaty. He wiped them haphazardly on the legs of his black tactical trousers.
"This electromagnetic bomb is fucking awesome," he muttered under his breath, his voice trembling slightly.
He turned around, picked up the military water bottle next to him, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip of cold water to calm his nerves.
Water dripped from the corner of his mouth onto his bulletproof vest.
The army continued its thunderous roar.
The bulldozers ahead bypassed the sand dune that had created the deep crater and continued rolling towards the gate of Sunagakure.
The tracks kicked up black sand from the ground, churning it into the mud.
Shu Shiraishi pushed open the heavy iron door of the command vehicle.
A hot wind carrying sand and dust rushed towards me, whipping up the hem of my trench coat.
He stepped down the iron steps from the command vehicle.
The military boots crunched as they stepped on the sand, which was compacted by the tracks.
He didn't bring any guards. The mech guards remained on standby.
Shu Shiraishi walked alone towards the sandpit where Kazekage had fallen.
The sunlight was completely obscured by the black smoke, leaving the sandy ground in a dim, yellowish hue.
The air was filled with the smell of ozone and burnt sand.
Bottom of the pit.
Kazekage lay in the scorching sand.
He struggled to turn his neck, and his cervical vertebrae made a cracking sound.
Vision is blurred.
The yellow sand in front of me was all blurry and shimmering.
He saw a pair of black military boots standing on the edge of the ditch.
A few pebbles and semi-dry mud were stuck in the anti-slip treads on the sole of the boot.
The black trench coat cast a cold, hard shadow above his eyes.
Kazekage used up his last bit of strength.
The intact hand gripped the scalding sand, its nails curling and bleeding.
He tried to prop himself up on one side.
The elbow just started to bear the force.
With a "crack," his right arm dislocated.
He fell back into the sandpit, kicking up a cloud of sand.
He was gasping for breath, his lungs were leaking air. His face was covered in snot, tears, and blood.
He looked at the man standing by the pit.
Shu Shiraishi stood at the edge of the sandpit.
Looking down from their vantage point, they surveyed the once invincible Kazekage.
There was no mockery. There were no long speeches from the victors.
He just stared at it silently, like he was looking at a pile of industrial waste about to rot.
Kazekage coughed up blood. Blood froth dripped from the corner of his mouth into the sand.
"Monster..."
He forced out two croaked words.
A deep despair etched itself onto the old man's face.
Shu Shiraishi didn't respond.
He didn't even explain how the bomb worked.
He raised his right hand, which was wearing a black leather glove.
The thumb rests against the tsuba (guard) of the straight sword at the waist.
Push it upwards.
"Creak."
The dry, metallic sound of metal rubbing together was exceptionally clear amidst the howling sandstorm.
The straight knife was pulled out half an inch.
The cold glint of the blade was not obscured by the dim, flying sand.
Passing through the murky air at the bottom of the pit.
It was reflected directly in Kazekage's despairing eyes.