An overwhelming mass of Yin–Yang – attribute Tailed Beast chakra — mixed in a precise 2:8 ratio —rapidly condensed and compressed inside the dark cannon barrel.
Kumo's chakra-based technology embedded within the artillery platform precisely regulated the state of the Tailed Beast chakra, ensuring that not even the slightest instability or loss of control occurred during the high-speed compression process.
When the chakra was finally pressurized to its absolute limit, it burst forth from the cannon's muzzle like a beast breaking free of its restraints.
In an instant, a pitch-black, ultra-compressed Tailed Beast Ball shell tore through the sky like lightning, dragging a blazing orange-red tail flame behind it as it rapidly expanded mid-flight.
In the very next second, it split and dispersed into dozens of standard-sized Tailed Beast Balls, precisely blanketing nearly all of Konoha's pre-secured strategic positions.
Witnessing the sheer ferocity of their attack, countless Kumo ninja couldn't suppress their excitement, cheering as they marveled at how Kumogakure had finally turned the tables—now even chasing Konoha down.
That, in truth, was exactly the goal of Kumogakure's high command.
The Third Raikage's death — schemed and executed by Ōnoki — had dealt an enormous blow to the village.
This offensive against Konoha was partly driven by long-coveted interest in the Land of Fire's abundant resources — but more importantly, it was about securing a victory, one that could prove to the people of the Land of Lightning that Kumogakure was still strong.
Konoha, the strongest village in the shinobi world, victor of the previous two Great Ninja Wars was the perfect target, especially now that it was engaged in multiple fronts.
Yet beneath the apocalyptic barrage raining from the sky, the expressions of the Konoha ninja on the ground were entirely different from those of their Kumo counterparts.
For the sake of caution, the mission detail that Mitsuki would intercept the Tailed Beast Ball bombardment had not been disseminated to the frontline forces.
Konoha ninja possessed exemplary discipline; they would never abandon their duties simply because an enemy attack was beyond their ability to counter.
And so, despite the terror of imminent death gripping their hearts, they executed Inoichi Yamanaka's commands with flawless precision.
Mitsuki stood atop a towering boulder, gazing at the sky completely filled with Tailed Beast Ball projectiles.
Slowly, he drew Mistcutter from the leather scabbard on his back and held the blade horizontally before him.
Below, Shisui felt his scalp go numb at the sight of the barrage and shouted upward,
"Mitsuki! With this many… are you sure you can handle it?!"
The original plan hadn't accounted for Kumo firing this many Tailed Beast Balls simultaneously.
Ruri glanced at Shisui and replied calmly,
"If he says he can do it, then it'll be fine."
She wasn't worried in the slightest. Even if the Tailed Beast Balls detonated, she could instantly pull Mitsuki into Shadow Space. As for the rest of Konoha's forces… she frankly didn't care.
"Just like Ruri said, Shisui—leave it to me."
With those words, Mitsuki slashed upward against the wind, his blade cutting through the air as he pushed Full Counter to its absolute limit for the very first time.
He intended to reflect everything in one sweep.
An invisible domain exploded outward from Mitsuki's body — its range unprecedented.
A power not belonging to this world imposed rules that reversed causality itself.
The moment the Tailed Beast Balls — long recognized as natural disasters incarnate — made contact with the invisible domain of Full Counter, a chain reaction occurred.
Crack—crack—
A sound like massive mechanisms shattering echoed across tens of kilometers of battlefield.
In the eyes of every Konoha and Kumo ninja alike, the Tailed Beast Balls — synonymous with annihilation — froze midair for a split second.
Those strange sounds were the violent explosions of air being compressed and expelled by overwhelming mass.
Then—
As if they had seen a ghost—
The countless Tailed Beast Balls blanketing the sky, enough to scour the entire battlefield clean, were all returned by the unseen hand of some god.
The orange-red tail flames ripped through the heavens once more.
Under double acceleration, the reflected Tailed Beast Balls shot back even faster than before.
"Something's wrong!"
"Hey—this direction's wrong, isn't it?!"
"They're coming straight at us!!"
On the opposite side of the battlefield, countless ninja lay hidden throughout the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, waiting for Killer B-sama's dispersal bombardment to annihilate Konoha so they could sweep in and harvest the survivors.
But now—
What were these joke-like Tailed Beast Balls occupying half the sky?
Those questions would die with them.
At the farthest edge, Killer B stared at the returning barrage in stunned disbelief, his mouth hanging wide open.
Below, the artillery operators were equally dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what had happened in those few seconds.
Killer B didn't even have time for rap lyrics as he shouted urgently,
"Can we intercept them?!"
Of course not.
He knew the answer himself.
That single compressed Tailed Beast Ball firing had already consumed nearly eighty percent of the Eight-Tails' chakra reserves. In previous wars, they'd only fired a handful of standard rounds.
This time, because Konoha's formation was so tightly packed, they'd gone all in—
Only to lose catastrophically.
A Kumo ninja beneath the cannon murmured blankly,
"…It's over."
And on the battlefield—
Before the horrified eyes of the Cloud forces—
The day of destruction arrived.
Explosions and extreme heat had always been the most efficient tools for killing living beings.
Amid thunderous detonations that shook the entire battlefield, the earth tore apart like fragile parchment beneath an overwhelming crimson energy wave.
Grotesque fissures spread instantly in all directions like open wounds.
Towering mountains snapped cleanly in half under the chakra shockwaves, crumbling into countless fragments that were swept away by a massive circular blast, rolling outward like a raging flood.
Everything in its path was pulverized.
The explosions lasted several full minutes.
Because the Sage of Six Paths had distributed chakra unevenly among the Tailed Beasts, the power of their Tailed Beast Balls varied.
This devastation — driven by the Eight-Tails — was far more powerful than the chain explosions Mitsuki had once unleashed using the Three-Tails, Isobu.
Now—
The area once occupied by the Kumo ninja army had been completely reduced to scorched wasteland, residual heat still radiating from the ground.
At the epicenter, intense temperatures warped the air itself, and solid rock had melted into glass-like formations.
Jagged debris stood everywhere, smeared with chunks of flesh and bone—crimson blood entwined with bleached white skeletons.
A scene so horrific it could only be described as hell on earth.
Such an outcome wasn't achieved by Full Counter alone.
The Six Eyes played a decisive role.
That pair of eyes granted Mitsuki limitless possibilities—his mind operating at insane speed as he recalculated the reflection trajectories of dozens of Tailed Beast Balls in real time.
What had required an entire Kumo ninja team to compute, Mitsuki accomplished alone, grasping every battlefield variable effortlessly.
Every Tailed Beast Ball was reflected with pinpoint accuracy—more precise even than Killer B's artillery calculations.
This single counterattack had effectively sealed Konoha's victory.
From here on, Konoha's forces only needed to hunt down the survivors and reap battlefield merit.
Mitsuki leapt down from the boulder and said to Shisui,
"You and Ruri keep an eye on the frontal battlefield. Don't pursue too deeply—focus on eliminating the remaining Kumo ninja."
Shisui nodded.
"Understood."
Ruri, who rarely refused Mitsuki's orders, nodded as well — but still asked out of habit,
"Then what are you going to do?"
Mitsuki turned his gaze toward the distance.
"As for me?"
"Of course—capture the king first."