Dark stardust slowly fell, like fragments of the night sky torn apart and plummeting to the earth.
The Raikage stood on the cracked, scorched earth, his heavy breathing echoing in his chest, each breath bringing a burning pain. His Lightning Release Armor had long since dimmed, and the once violent blue-white electrical arcs were now just a few sporadic points, flickering unsteadily like candles in the wind.
He looked up, staring intently at the approaching "Great Spiraling Ring of ".
He had lost, completely and utterly.
Menma's power far exceeded his expectations; the destructive energy contained within that dark sphere, the sense of danger, even surpassed that day when the Eight-Tails went berserk. But this time, there was no sealing squad, no support; only he stood alone beneath the shadow of death.
If he took this blow head-on… he would surely die.
The Raikage's fists clenched. He had long since been prepared to die for his village—as the Raikage, dying on the battlefield was an honor.
But… he couldn't fall so meaninglessly!
Menma's existence transcended personal grievances. A madman who could casually unleash Ninjutsu of this caliber was a fatal threat to the entire Ninja World. If he died here, Kumogakure would lose its Kage, and his death would bring no benefit to the village.
Now… was not the time to die!
Determination flashed in the Raikage's eyes. He might be reckless, but he was certainly not foolish. A proud warrior could face death directly, but a reckless sacrifice would only allow the enemy to succeed.
"Boom—!"
The storm suppressing him finally dissipated. The Raikage's legs pushed off with a sudden force, and the ground beneath him collapsed with a roar.
He squeezed the remaining Chakra to its limit, and his Lightning Release Armor once again erupted with dazzling lightning. Although far from its peak, it was enough to turn him into a bolt of lightning—to escape the center of destruction.
His figure sliced through the scorched air, breaking out of the giant crater's range. The Raikage did not look back.
Staying alive was the wisest choice now.
— — — — — —
"Hey, hey, is this for real…? Destroying the entire Konoha? Isn't that a bit much?"
Darui's voice carried his characteristic laziness, a strained bitter smile on his lips. He looked around; the Konoha Shinobi were already in chaos—the sealing squad was desperately forming hand signs, the Anbu were on high alert, and the Third Hokage's face was ashen.
His joke didn't loosen anyone's expression in the slightest.
Tsk… completely useless.
Darui's smile gradually stiffened, and he subconsciously turned his gaze to C beside him. As Kumogakure's most excellent sensory Shinobi, C's judgment was more important than any comfort at this moment.
However—C's expression made Darui's heart sink sharply.
That usually calm face was now covered in cold sweat, his pupils trembled slightly, and even his breathing became rapid. It was safe to say Darui had never seen C look so distraught before.
"No… it's no good!" C's voice was almost squeezed through his teeth. "Lord Raikage is still in that forest! The Chakra of that Ninjutsu—it's already comparable to a Tailed Beast's!"
A Tailed Beast… Darui's throat went dry. He looked up at the sky; that dark "star" was slowly falling, and the surrounding air twisted into a bizarre vortex.
"Where did that monster… even come from?"
C's fists were clenched tightly. As the Raikage's guard and right-hand man, his mission should have been to protect his Kage's safety, but at this moment, he could only stand there, watching destruction descend. A sense of powerlessness coiled around his heart like a venomous snake, almost suffocating him.
"Hey."
Suddenly, a hand clapped heavily on C's shoulder. Darui's voice was still lazy, but his gaze was unusually firm.
"Although I'm really sorry, boss…" He paused. "But rushing in to help now would just be a pointless death."
C turned sharply, meeting Darui's calm gaze. "Believe in him," Darui smiled, though the smile was a bit strained. "He's the Raikage, after all."
The man who single-handedly supported Kumogakure and inherited the name "A."
C's breathing gradually stabilized. He took a deep breath and slowly nodded, trying to relax. Yes… as people who could entrust their backs to each other, on the battlefield, trusting comrades was the most fundamental thing.
Then, a transparent red barrier rose from the ground, like a translucent crimson crystal, enveloping the entire Konoha.
"Four Red Yang Formation—!"
The Third Hokage's three Shadow Clones stood at the three corners of Konoha, forming hand signs in conjunction with the sealing squad. Chakra transformed into a tangible barrier, and the sealing runes emitted a scorching glow. This was a defensive barrier that only four Kage-level Shinobi could perform, and now, the Third Hokage was forcefully maintaining it with the Shadow Clone Jutsu, at the cost of rapidly depleting Chakra.
But even so—that dark stardust ultimately fell.
"All units, prepare!"
…The world lost its sound in that instant.
"Boom— — — — — — — — ! ! ! ! !"
Immediately after, a destructive white light erupted.
Initially, it was just a dazzling, blinding light, then it suddenly expanded like a collapsing supernova, turning into a pure white wave that devoured everything. The shockwave spread at a terrifying speed; wherever it passed, the earth was torn apart and lifted like fragile paper, and ancient towering trees carbonized in a thousandth of a second, then vaporized without a trace. Distant mountains twisted and collapsed in the high heat, rocks melted into crimson magma, only to be blown away by the shockwave as a sky full of fiery rain.
The clouds in the sky were completely ripped open, revealing a blood-red sunset behind them; even the firmament was pierced by this single blow.
The crimson barrier of the Four Red Yang Formation trembled violently, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface. The Konoha Shinobi inside the barrier looked up, their pupils reflecting the scene of destruction outside—
The forest was disappearing.
Not burning, not collapsing, but being erased from the plane of existence. In the area swept by the white light, all matter decomposed into its most primitive dust, then was swept high into the sky by the storm, turning into an ash-snow that blotted out the sun.
A trace of blood spilled from the Third Hokage's lips; the backlash from the barrier made his internal organs feel as if they were being scorched by fire. But he didn't let go, his aged fingers desperately maintaining the hand signs.
Hold on… you must hold on…!
Outside the barrier, the world was ending.
Inside the barrier, humans held their breath, gazing at the—apocalypse—just inches away.
— — — — — —
A constant ringing in his ears, the Third Hokage's vision was swallowed by a chaotic darkness. He knelt on the ground, sweat trickling down his aged cheeks, creating tiny indentations in the scorched earth. His Chakra-depleted body was like an emptied vessel; every muscle, every bone, was protesting sharply.
Can't fall yet… not yet…
The ringing in his ears gradually faded, replaced by blurred shouts—"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama! Medical team! Quickly!"
The voices came from far and near, as if through a thick pane of glass. He felt someone supporting his arm, which slightly eased his taut nerves.
"I… I'm fine."
He tried to stand but staggered, forced to rely on his subordinates' support. The green light of medical Ninjutsu covered his body, and cool Chakra seeped into his parched meridians like a stream, the burning pain gradually subsiding. The darkness before his eyes began to shatter, color blocks piecing together in his vision, like a faded ink painting slowly taking shape.
The first thing that came into view was Konoha—the village still stood.
Residential buildings, the Hokage Rock, familiar streets… everything was intact. The crimson barrier of the Four Red Yang Formation had dissipated, but its sacrifice had brought the most precious result: Konoha had survived.
The Third Hokage let out a long breath, but before this relief could fully settle in his heart, he instinctively turned his head—and then froze.
"…Oh, heavens."
A dry whisper escaped his throat, like a rusty knife scraping his windpipe.
Beyond Konoha's destroyed gates was a completely different world.
The once lush forests, winding dirt roads, rolling hills—all had vanished. In their place was a giant crater over several kilometers in diameter, with a cross-section tens of meters deep, its exposed rock layers at the edges showing vitrified crystals from high-temperature melting.
The bottom of the crater was scorched black, with no wreckage, no fragments, only dust.
Further away, the end of the destruction merged with the horizon, as if the edge of the world had been violently severed. A pungent, scorched smell permeated the air, mixed with a strange ozone scent, causing a faint stinging sensation when inhaled into the lungs.
A gust of wind blew, kicking up fine ash from the bottom of the crater, like a black snow.
More like an act of God than a trace of battle.