The Lava Giant rose, its shattered foot rapidly repairing itself.
Hiromi stood atop the head of the Lava Giant, looking down at the crater containing only fragments and bloodstains, narrowing his eyes.
'Has Black Zetsu finally entered the fray...'
Obito was not dead, but he was already gone. Black Zetsu would never allow anyone to know that he possessed the ability to forcibly control someone by covering them. Therefore, from this moment on, Obito was nothing more than the consciousness of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—Black Zetsu.
Forcing the mastermind behind the scenes into the open could be considered quite a harvest.
What followed next was...
Hiromi looked up, his cold gaze landing on Deidara, who was atop a clay bird in the sky.
He thought Deidara would flee, but to his surprise, Deidara stared at him with burning eyes, pulled out a handful of clay, and stuffed it into the mouth on his chest. His expression was excited, even crazed, his eyes filled with a longing for art.
A terrifying amount of Chakra was condensing and compressing on his body. No matter how the Chakra struggled, it was constantly being compressed, compressed, and compressed again.
Seeing this, Hiromi narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly.
While Jiraiya and the others looked toward the sky in terror, the ground erupted, and magma surged.
The next second, ten-meter-tall volcanoes erupted all around them, surrounding them.
Fukasaku and Shima's pupils constricted, realizing Hiromi's terrifying, madman-like plan—he intended to use the opponent's attack to blow everyone up.
Madman!
"Jiraiya! Run!" The two shouted hurriedly.
Cold sweat poured down Jiraiya's face.
How could he not see it?
But in his Sage Mode, within the group of ten-meter volcanoes surrounding them, he could clearly feel something terrifying brewing, which seemed to be vaguely connected to the hundred-meter Lava Giant beneath Hiromi's feet.
Crossing through the magma was already a struggle against a natural disaster. Now, having to guard against the terror brewing in the volcanoes while also staying alert for Hiromi made it no easy task. But he didn't intend to just resign himself to his fate.
He charged out. Yet, even in Sage Mode, he was far slower than the dazed Kazuto, Shizuka, and the others nearby. They seemed to be launched away, shooting out directly.
The moment they were about to touch the volcanic magma, the magma opened up a two-meter-wide hole, allowing them to pass through smoothly and vanish.
Jiraiya sensed the source of the Chakra that had launched them away, it was... Hiromi!
At this moment, Hiromi withdrew his gaze, locking eyes with Jiraiya. He revealed a smile and whispered, "Bansho Ten'in."
In an instant, a terrifying gravitational force erupted from him.
Not only Jiraiya, but even Chiyo, Kankuro, and the others nearby, who were terrified, were sucked toward him.
Beneath Hiromi, a ten-meter-tall volcano erupted.
BOOM!!!
Chiyo and the others were like moths to a flame, filled with despair.
Omoi was terrified to the point of desperation. "Gyuki-sama!"
In an instant, eight tentacles and a bull's head erupted from his body. The sixty-meter-tall Gyuki appeared, gripping the ground tightly, and also grabbing Jiraiya, Chiyo, and the others, resisting this terrifying gravitational force. At the same time, one of its tentacles grabbed Samui's waist.
"Samui-sama! Live on!"
In an instant, a terrifying power surged from Omoi, and he threw her away against the astonishing gravitational pull. Although her survival upon landing was uncertain, it was at least better than staying here where there was no chance of survival.
Omoi let out a slight sigh of relief. The only thing left was how he himself would escape.
But...
He gave a bitter smile.
At this moment, Hiromi's cold voice sounded. "Why do you all like playing the same trick in front of me?"
Gyuki's expression changed drastically, and Omoi was terrified.
Below Samui, who was shooting through the air, the ten-meter volcano was raging violently.
The next second, a ten-meter-tall Lava Giant appeared and, like hitting a volleyball, gave a violent swat.
BAM!
A loud, dull thud mixed with the sound of bones shattering throughout her body.
Samui was sent flying back like a ragdoll, entering the volcano.
"Samui-sama!!!" Omoi went mad, his eyes splitting, his throat cracking as he let out a hoarse, furious roar.
That cowardly boy who suffered from persecution mania was, at this moment, enraged to the point of tearing his hair out, wanting only to rush up and kill.
Fortunately, Gyuki tightly restrained Omoi, preventing him from losing his composure and leading everyone to their deaths.
While Gyuki was sending Samui out, Chiyo also began to take action. She unfurled a scroll for a non-combat puppet, revealing a crude yet massive flying puppet.
"Kankuro, Jiraiya!"
Gyuki understood immediately. Filled with hatred for Hiromi in its eyes, it could die, but it would never let Hiromi off so easily. It immediately placed Kankuro and Jiraiya onto the puppet, then hurled it straight upwards.
But just as it made its move, a flash of orange light streaked past, and the flying puppet, much like their hope, was instantly destroyed.
Chiyo's face turned deathly pale.
She... had no other options left.
But even if she died, she would not let the enemy have it easy.
After she learned that Konoha had such a tyrant, Hiromi, she had begun researching poisons resistant to high temperatures. Years of research would finally bloom at this moment.
Jiraiya shouted, "Use the Toad Duet!"
Now that Kazuto was not here, no one could stop this genjutsu.
Fukasaku and Shima immediately puffed up their throats. The next second, a terrifying croaking sound rang out.
Even though the target was not Gyuki or Chiyo, it still left them with splitting headaches, as if they were in another world. And this terrifying power also gave them a glimmer of hope.
If the aftermath was this intense, what would happen to Hiromi, who was facing it head-on?
They did not dare to hope they could kill Hiromi, they only prayed to escape.
However, there was not the slightest movement within that volcano. It was as if this croaking sound did not affect him in the slightest. The hope in their hearts began to crack.
At this moment, Deidara in the sky had turned into a pitch-black sphere, containing terrifying, volatile energy that sent shivers down one's spine.
The next second, it landed on the ground.
Crack!
The black sphere cracked, emitting a streak of blinding white light.
The terrifying energy, compressed to the limit, seemed to have found an outlet.
The cracks spread rapidly. Soon, the entire black sphere was covered in cracks, the white light grew even more blinding, and the energy became even more volatile.
Jiraiya, Chiyo, and the others widened their eyes, their pupils shrinking to pinpricks, their faces filled with despair.
From within that black sphere, an excited, crazed shout could be heard.
"Katsu!"
In an instant, the blinding white light covered the entire world.
Trees, stones, soil... everything was covered and swallowed by the destructive white light.
Jiraiya, Kankuro, Gyuki... were also swallowed up.
Within it, however, some people took the opportunity to make certain small moves.
For instance, Obito used Kamui to sever one of Gyuki's tails before instantly fleeing.
Or Chiyo covering herself in black powder.
All of this was, in an instant, covered by the white light.
A radius of ten kilometers was completely swallowed up.
—
A dozen kilometers away.
Kazuto, Shizuka, Gaara, Temari, and Karin, who had been repelled by Hiromi's Shinra Tensei, were about to crash and die upon landing when Gaara gathered sand as soft as cotton candy to catch everyone.
The next moment, everything in front of them was covered by the white light. The terrifying aura of destruction, accompanied by a wave of heat, washed over them, leaving them stunned.
The next second, Shizuka's eyes turned blood-red.
"Hiromi!!!"
She charged forward with a crazed expression.
Kazuto's heart trembled, but he quickly steeled himself—he only needed to sacrifice his right eye to erase the concept of Hiromi's death.
Thus, he hurriedly grabbed Shizuka. Just as Kazuto wanted to persuade Shizuka, telling her that he had a way to resurrect Hiromi, he sensed the massive, crazed ocular power surging within Shizuka's eyes.
Kazuto was dumbfounded. Gaara and Temari were also stunned. They had not expected to witness the awakening of a Mangekyo once again.