The moment the golden Buddha struck, the Kaguya's confidence shattered like brittle bone.
They'd come to win this war. To prove that bloodline alone could dominate the world. But ever since Amamiya Raizen entered the battlefield, there was no "war" anymore — just a slaughter where one man dictated the flow of life and death.
Wherever Raizen went, the ground turned red.
Dozens of Kaguya shinobi were already dead within minutes. The rest trembled as the air shook with the impact of another divine strike — the golden fist of the colossal Buddha crashing down, turning proud warriors into stains on the earth.
"This… this isn't human power!" someone screamed.
The Kaguya watched in horror as every glowing imprint of the golden fist flattened their kin. They had faced monstrous power before, but seeing it again—realizing it belonged to one man—suffocated the last courage in their hearts.
"Die!"
Raizen's voice cracked like thunder. The Buddha's palm descended, crushing another squad into pulp.
Screams echoed and were swallowed by the sound of bones snapping. Each Kaguya who charged him was erased in seconds, until the ground around Raizen was a crater of blood and dust.
From the ridge, Kaguya Tani wiped the sweat running down his temple. He stared at Raizen's towering chakra form, realizing the battle had slipped out of his control.
That kid was supposed to be just another young clan leader. Ambitious, sure — but mortal.
And yet, with the Flying Thunder God and that golden monster born of chakra, Raizen had crossed into something terrifying. Tani could no longer see a teenager. Only a force.
"He has to die," Tani hissed under his breath, eyes narrowing to slits. "No matter the cost."
He raised his voice. "Everyone, attack together! He's the Amamiya Patriarch! Kill him, and victory is ours!"
Several Kaguya around him roared, drawing long, whip-like bones from their arms.
"Dance of the Northern Mountain!"
They swung the bone whips, chakra flaring wild and violent as they leapt toward Raizen.
Raizen snorted. "Idiots."
The golden Buddha behind him blazed brighter, its hands folding into a thousand fists. The air itself rumbled as he unleashed them all at once. The impact cracked the ground like glass, collapsing the earth in a circle of devastation.
Dozens of Kaguya screamed before being crushed into unrecognizable meat.
"Keep pushing! Surround him!" Tani's orders cut through the chaos.
More Kaguya obeyed — three hundred survivors of a once-thousand-strong force — now driven by fear and desperation. A hundred surrounded Raizen, throwing themselves into death's mouth with grim resolve.
Their combined assault shook the Buddha's form. For the first time, the golden figure wavered, its luminous frame flickering. Those who had awakened their clan's cursed bones drove their power to the limit, detonating their own chakra to take Raizen with them.
The Buddha shattered in a burst of light.
"Now! Kill him!"
The Kaguya charged through the smoke, screaming their war cry.
Raizen's eyes went cold. "Fine. Let's finish this."
He pressed his palms together — a blinding white cone of chakra spun to life between them.
"Dust Release: Primary World Rebirth!"
The world turned white.
A shimmering barrier enveloped everything in front of him, swallowing thirty Kaguya before they could even scream. Their bodies dissolved into dust, erased from existence itself.
When the light faded, there was nothing left. Not even ash.
Kaguya Tani's face twisted. "As long as that man lives, we'll never win! All units — focus everything on him!"
The Kaguya hesitated. Fear clung to their bones. But Tani's command was law. For clan and pride, they charged again — straight into oblivion.
Raizen exhaled sharply. The dust release had torn through a third of his chakra. His lungs burned, his vision dimmed around the edges.
"This pace won't hold," he muttered.
He glanced across the battlefield — and saw the tide shifting. With most Kaguya turning to attack him, the Hanabira Clan had seized the moment. Their patriarch rallied his soldiers, driving them forward to retake the frontlines.
The Kaguya's earlier advantage was gone.
"Any moment now," Raizen whispered, half to himself. "They should be here."
He was right.
At that exact moment, banners bearing the Amamiya crest appeared on the distant ridge. His clan had arrived — not through miracles, but through sheer grit. They'd seized the abandoned Kaguya camp, regrouped, and were now cutting into the Kaguya rear like a knife through flesh.
"Lord Tani!" a bloodied scout stumbled toward him, face pale. "It's bad — the Amamiya have flanked us from behind!"
"What!?" Tani froze, his pupils narrowing.
He turned toward Raizen, who stood in the middle of the storm like an executioner, and ground his teeth.
"All Kaguya! Forget the Hanabira! Focus everything on Amamiya Raizen! Bring me his head!"
The scout grabbed his arm, desperate. "You're mad! The Amamiya are behind us — if we stay, we'll be surrounded! We'll lose everyone!"
"Shut up!"
Tani's arm moved in a blur. A bone spear shot from his palm, piercing the man's chest. Blood splattered across the mud.
Tani glared at the horrified faces of his warriors. "Anyone who retreats dies where he stands!"
The Kaguya hesitated — then screamed as they charged again, torn between fear of their commander and the monster waiting in the light.
The golden battlefield burned on.