However, at this very moment, the technique on Rengoku's side had already been completed and released.
Because Rengoku was completely surrounded by raging flames, while he was rapidly falling and smashing toward the ground, he did not hesitate to activate his pupil technique. Boundless, instantly entering that mysterious and unfathomable alternate dimension.
The Iwagakure ninjas who were desperately fleeing suddenly felt an unprecedented, intense sense of unease surge up in their hearts.
It was as if an invisible giant hand had tightly grabbed their hearts, causing their breathing to quicken and their heartbeats to race.
Almost simultaneously, everyone stopped in their tracks and raised their heads to look up at the sky.
The scene that appeared before their eyes made some people instantly gape in shock.
They stood there dumbfounded, as if petrified, completely losing the ability to react; while others, overwhelmed by terror, lost control of their bodies and directly fell to the ground in utter disarray.
Even Han, the battle-hardened Five-Tails jinchuriki who was responsible for leading this force's retreat, had his face filled with extreme horror at this very moment.
"RUN! EVERYONE, GET OUT OF THE WAY, NOW!"
Han tore his throat raw as he screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice becoming abnormally shrill and distorted from sheer panic.
Before he could even finish speaking, he seemed to go completely mad.
Without the slightest regard for appearances, he bolted forward at full speed, the sight of him looking even more terrifying than if he had seen a ghost.
Seeing this, the remaining Iwagakure ninjas finally snapped out of it. One by one, scared out of their wits, wailing and crying for their parents, they fled in all directions, scrambling desperately toward anywhere away from danger.
At this moment, the entire sky seemed to be dyed a blazing crimson, as if the heavens themselves had caught fire.
Unlike ordinary Fire Release ninjutsu, the Fire Release used by Rengoku was formed by Ghost Lantern flames born from the void itself, cleverly fused with Uchiha-style Fire Release.
That horrifying flame, stretching a full five kilometers, instantly exhausted all of the senjutsu chakra within this clone of Rengoku, making its sheer power self-evident.
As the flames raged, the temperature of the surrounding environment skyrocketed.
Every Iwagakure ninja felt their mouths go dry, their tongues parched, as if smoke were about to rise from their throats, while their hair curled uncontrollably under the searing heat.
Every pair of eyes was filled with extreme terror, as though the end of the world had already arrived.
Whoooosh!
Accompanied by a deafening, sky-shaking roar, that unimaginably massive blaze blotted out the sky as it came crashing down violently from above.
Carrying with it a world-destroying, terrifying might, it slammed mercilessly toward the Iwagakure ninjas below.
In an instant, it felt as though the entire world had been swallowed by the raging inferno.
For a time, incomparably shrill screams echoed across the land:
"AHHHHH!"
"HELP!"
"IT WON'T GO OUT!"
"RUN!"
The overlapping shrieks and cries for help wove together into a chilling symphony of death.
The sea of fire was like a ferocious beast, pouncing ruthlessly upon the Iwagakure.
Many of them rolled madly on the ground in an attempt to put out the flames on their bodies, but all of it was in vain.
Others unleashed Water Release techniques, yet those normally powerful jutsu were like a drop in the bucket at this moment, completely unable to withstand the terrifying flames enhanced by senjutsu.
One had to know that flames augmented by senjutsu were not only unimaginably hot, but their burning power was also far beyond imagination.
Anyone who could endure such temperatures for more than ten seconds without dying could be considered an expert, even in a place like Iwagakure where strong fighters were everywhere.
And the scale of the flames Rengoku released this time was simply inconceivable, directly engulfing a massive force of over two thousand people.
The Iwagakure ninjas trapped within this sea of fire had nowhere to escape, able only to watch helplessly as the flames gradually swallowed them whole.
As time passed, more and more Iwagakure ninjas collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony before finally turning into charred, unrecognizable corpses.
At the same time, the surrounding trees were not spared. Under the searing flames, they ignited rapidly.
The fire grew ever more violent, billowing black smoke shooting straight into the sky. The once-lush forest turned into a purgatory-like scene in the blink of an eye.
The hellish scene before them, like a land of blazing inferno, along with the sky-high flames, left the people of Konoha completely stunned.
In their amazement, there was even a hint of fear, "My god, such a huge-scale Fire Release."
"This… the Hokage-sama is so strong…"
"The clan head is awesome…"
"Hahaha! We Uchiha are the strongest!"
"Hokage-sama, long live!"
After their moment of shock, the Konoha side erupted into wild cheers.
Although they could not rush in to finish off the enemy due to the indiscriminate nature of the sea of fire, they were not about to pass up the chance to beat the enemy while they were down.
Some people on the outer edges, who had only been touched by scattered flames, were completely disoriented for a moment.
They fled blindly outward, only to be cut down on the spot by the Konoha ninjas waiting outside.
Up in the sky, Onoki was utterly stunned.
It was as if he had once again recalled the fear of being dominated by Uchiha Madara.
The difference was that back then, Madara had used Susanoo, while Rengoku used Fire Release.
An overwhelming sense of grief and fury surged up in his heart, twisting the old man's face with anguish.
It wasn't that he couldn't accept losses for Iwagakure, but he absolutely could not accept that so many of them had been killed by a single ninjutsu from Rengoku.
What that white thing had said was true. Rengoku really was trying to wipe out Iwagakure in one sweep.
With just one technique, Rengoku had directly killed two thousand of their people, with many more injured as well.
'No, now is not the time to be angry. I have to hurry and bring the remaining people back!'
Below, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Makumi were watching Onoki like hawks, making him afraid to descend at all.
Onoki could only fly toward the front of the retreating force.
When he reached the very front, what he saw were nothing but Iwagakure ninjas who had completely lost their nerve, fleeing in utter panic.
"Everyone, don't panic! If you want to make it back alive, reorganize the formation immediately!"
Only when the Iwagakure ninjas saw Onoki come down did they finally regain a bit of backbone.
Onoki's time in power could be said to be the longest of any Tsuchikage since Iwagakure was founded. His prestige was self-evident.
From the rear, Iwagakure ninjas continued to stagger out of the raging sea of fire in utter panic.
Every single one of them looked miserably disheveled, their clothes torn and charred.
Their hair was burned into tangled curls, their faces covered in soot and exhaustion.
However, if they simply waited here for the rest of those who had yet to escape the sea of fire, then the entire force would inevitably be caught up to and surrounded by the pursuing Konoha ninjas.
[T/N: Still not enough destruction imho. The buildup till now was exhausting, if I don't see Onoki without an arm or a leg I don't think it will justify the plot buildup till now.]
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