"Idiots."
Raizen's voice dripped with contempt as the Kaguya warriors charged through the burning ruins toward him. He raised his hands, forming seals so fast they blurred. A blinding white barrier burst into existence around him.
"Dust Release: Primary Realm Disintegration."
A low hum split the air. Then came the roar. A flash of white light surged from his palms and swallowed the charging Kaguya whole. Their faces froze mid-expression—confusion, fear—before their bodies dissolved grain by grain, fading into nothing.
The world went silent except for the sound of the wind rushing through what was left of them.
"Stay back!" a surviving Kaguya shouted, his voice breaking. "That's Amamiya Raizen's secret art! Anything that touches that light—it's erased!"
The line of warriors faltered. None wanted to admit it, but terror showed in every glance.
While they hesitated, Raizen's summoned toad continued its rampage, swinging its massive blade through buildings like paper walls. With no one left to counter it, each swing brought another thunderous collapse. The once-mighty Kaguya settlement—the pride of their clan—was now a graveyard of fire and dust.
From the far side of the village, Kaguya Kuma was still shouting orders, ushering civilians toward an underground refuge. His face was unreadable, but his eyes had already accepted the truth.
A younger warrior ran to him, desperate. "Kuma-sama! Please—you have to fight! If you don't act now, the clan will be wiped out!"
Kuma's reply was cold. "And if I fight? You think I can turn this tide? The Kaguya have lost. The wisest move is retreat. Save who we can."
The young man froze. "Retreat…?"
"The frontlines will collapse when word of this reaches them," Kuma continued. "Once that happens, every Kaguya still fighting out there will die for nothing. I won't waste lives on pride."
"But—!"
"Enough." Kuma's tone sliced through the man's protest. He raised a hand, and from the shadows, nearly a hundred elite Kaguya shinobi appeared—loyal only to him.
"Gather the survivors," Kuma ordered. "Head south, beyond the borders of the Fire Country. Anyone unwilling to flee—leave them. The Kaguya must endure, even if it means abandoning the battlefield."
"Yes, Kuma-sama!"
As his forces dispersed, Kuma looked once more toward the inferno consuming his homeland. His expression hardened. "You've won this war, Raizen," he murmured, "but the Kaguya will not die here."
Without another word, he turned and vanished into the night.
The few remaining Kaguya who witnessed his retreat felt the last threads of hope snap. But they were Kaguya. Their pride wouldn't allow them to crawl away.
If the clan must fall, it would fall fighting.
"Rasengan!"
Raizen charged into the fray like a ghost of blue light. Each time his palm spun, another body crumpled. His movements were brutal and efficient—no wasted energy, no mercy.
Minutes later, he stood surrounded by corpses, breath steady, eyes unreadable.
"The Kaguya clan," he said quietly, "will vanish from the Land of Fire."
He pressed his palms together. His chakra surged, twisting the air. Sage markings spread across his face, and behind him, a golden figure erupted from light—an enormous Buddha, its thousand arms unfolding in silent judgment.
"Sage Art: Welcoming Thousand Fists."
The statue's fists descended in waves. Each impact shattered the ground, reducing the Kaguya warriors to red dust and shattered bones. Their screams rose and vanished beneath the sound of roaring chakra.
Raizen stood in the storm, unmoved.
War didn't reward pity. The moment you flinched, you died—and your people with you.
If he spared them now, the Kaguya would only rise again to burn his clan from existence. So he chose the only mercy war allowed: annihilation.
When the last of the warriors fell, Raizen turned toward the refuge tunnels where the remaining civilians had supposedly fled. He approached slowly, hands glowing with residual chakra.
A single blast shattered the entrance. But instead of screams, there was only silence.
He frowned. "Empty?"
He stepped closer, scanning the ruined shelter. No bodies. No movement. Not even chakra signatures.
"…They're gone," he muttered, realization dawning. "They've already escaped."
A long breath escaped him. "Tch. Figures. I burn their home to the ground and still can't catch them all."
But even that couldn't sour the victory. The damage was done. The Kaguya stronghold was destroyed, forcing their armies to retreat from every front.
Raizen raised his gaze to the burning sky, voice low. "Run while you can. Next time, I'll finish it."
The clay bird descended behind him, wings of ash and light. Raizen leapt onto its back and rose into the air, watching the village crumble beneath him—a kingdom of ghosts devoured by its own pride.
The Warring States roared on, but tonight, one name had already been carved into its history:
Amamiya Raizen. The man who burned the Kaguya.