More than a thousand meters away, Blue B took a deep breath, suppressing the churning blood in his chest and the turbulence in his chakra. Just as he was about to issue the order to pursue to the reinforcements that had arrived—
Suddenly!
An unmistakable sense of danger surged from the depths of his heart!
Blue B's head snapped up!
A figure wielding a long staff had leapt to the highest point, and in the next instant, he brought it crashing down toward the gathered Kumogakure forces below—straight at Blue B, who stood at the forefront!
At the moment it descended, a sudden transformation occurred!
The staff, originally only about two meters long, expanded violently with the wind!
Ten meters!
Fifty meters!
One hundred meters!
Two hundred meters!
It grew larger and longer without end, until it became a true pillar reaching the heavens! Like a giant pillar falling from the sky, it slammed down toward the Kumogakure army with catastrophic force!
Where the staff passed, the air was violently forced aside, forming a visible vacuum channel! The ground below, unable to bear the overwhelming pressure, began to collapse layer by layer!
Blue B's pupils shrank as he growled out: "Power—come forth!!!"
Crimson, dark red—until finally turning into a deep, ominous purple-black—tailed beast chakra erupted from his body like a tidal wave! His form instantly broke past human limits, swelling, distorting, and transforming!
In the blink of an eye, a monstrous beast dozens of meters long, grotesque in appearance, with eight massive octopus-like tails and twin horns atop its head, replaced Blue B's original position!
Full Tailed Beast Transformation—Eight-Tails!
In his fully transformed state, the Eight-Tails raised both arms, all eight massive tails whipping upward, like a moving mountain as it met the descending pillar head-on!
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
A heaven-shaking explosion erupted as the colossal, pillar-like Adamantine Staff slammed directly into the Eight-Tails' raised arms and tails!
A terrifying mushroom cloud, mixed with dust, shattered rock, chaotic chakra currents, and shockwaves, shot thousands of meters into the sky!!!
The raging blast surged outward like an apocalyptic tsunami, flattening everything within several kilometers—trees and mountains alike—blasting them into the air!
When the blinding light and smoke finally began to dissipate, a massive crater had formed beneath the Eight-Tails. Yet it still stood there.
Several of the tails used to block the attack had gone limp, and its arms bore clear signs of damage.
But in the end, relying on the near-bug-level defense and immense chakra reserves of a tailed beast, it had forcefully endured that catastrophic strike.
Moments later, Blue B raised his massive head, those feral, violent eyes scanning forward.
But by then, the figures from Konoha—including Higashino Shinichi and Might Duy—had already vanished without a trace, using the chaos and cover created by that earth-shattering blow.
Blue B was about to say something, but his gaze inadvertently swept across his fellow Kumogakure shinobi.
In most of their eyes, there was shock they could not fully conceal.
Even fear.
Seeing this, Blue B's heart trembled.
He knew those looks were not directed at him—but rather at the sudden, overwhelming destructive power they had just witnessed.
But still…
He fell silent for a moment.
Then, slowly, he withdrew from his fully transformed state, returning to human form.
He said nothing.
He simply stood there, staring in the direction Konoha had disappeared.
The night grew deep.
…
At the edge of Konoha's operational zone, Shinichi had just helped the completely exhausted Might Duy regroup with the rest of the Fourth Unit, who had arrived earlier.
The moment they appeared, everyone immediately rushed over.
"Captain!"
"Captain Shinichi! Are you alright?!"
"And Duy—he…"
Shinichi handed Duy over to two teammates for care, raising a hand to signal everyone to calm down.
"You all did well. You remained composed under pressure, executed a decisive retreat, and suffered zero losses."
He glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the dust-covered faces, and gave a slight nod.
"After a brief rest, I will immediately report the details of this encounter to Orochimaru-sama and request commendations for all of you."
Commendations?
Hearing this, the group exchanged looks. Many showed clear confusion—even disbelief.
Their mission had been reconnaissance and sabotage of a Kumogakure supply point.
But not only had they failed to find the supply depot—they had abandoned the objective entirely and retreated all the way back.
And that deserved commendation?
A young chūnin, his face still smeared with dust, couldn't help but speak up in a low voice: "But Captain… we failed the mission. We didn't destroy the Kumogakure supply point…"
"There was no supply point."
Instead, Shinichi smiled faintly.
"That was a trap meticulously set by Kumogakure. They deliberately released false intel about a supply depot to lure us deep in—then planned to surround and eliminate us with superior forces… even deploying a strategic asset like a Jinchūriki."
"Think about it. If our Fourth Unit hadn't taken this mission, if we hadn't been vigilant enough to detect something was wrong and decisively retreat in advance, what would the outcome have been if it were any other squad lacking even slightly in experience or strength?"
Hearing this, the expressions of the group gradually changed, fear lingering in the aftermath alongside dawning realization.
Seeing that, Shinichi continued: "They might have been wiped out entirely. They might have been captured and tortured for intelligence about the village, bringing enormous losses to Konoha. But now, we exposed this trap and successfully escaped before the enemy's main force could fully encircle us. Not only did we preserve our own strength, we also verified that the intelligence was false and prevented other units from walking into the same deadly trap. Isn't that a major accomplishment?"
At that moment, another older Special Jōnin on the team glanced at the battered state of Might Duy and the marks of battle covering Shinichi's body, still sounding somewhat hesitant as he spoke: "But Captain… even if this does count as merit, the reason we managed to see through the trap and retreat safely was because of you and Duy…"
"Our Fourth Unit is one whole. There is no 'you' and 'me' here—only 'us'!"
Shinichi interrupted him once again, his gaze sweeping across every member present.
"I gave the retreat order. Even if something had happened to me and Duy-senpai, you still would've brought the intelligence back. You still would've reported everything that happened today in full. You would've made sure the village learned what kind of trap Kumogakure had prepared and what kind of force they deployed. Every single one of you fulfilled my orders as captain perfectly."
"So this merit belongs to everyone."
Shinichi deliberately emphasized that "we are one," intentionally strengthening the shared identity of the "Fourth Unit" while blurring and collectivizing what should have been his personal achievement.
Psychologically, this gave every member the illusion of equality, acceptance, and irreplaceability.
Yes.
An illusion.
But politics was often built upon carefully maintained illusions. In order to protect the honor and interests of this "whole," they would become even more proactive in defending Shinichi—the captain who had given them that shared identity.
"Th-this…"
A few team members still seemed like they wanted to say something, but when they met Captain Shinichi's calm eyes, they ultimately swallowed their words.
Silence lingered for several seconds.
Then, someone quietly nodded.
Then a second.
A third.
Countless more.
No one spoke again.
Seeing this, Shinichi gave a slight nod and withdrew his gaze.
"Rest for five minutes. Then we move."
"Yes, sir."
As soon as the words fell, Shinichi began channeling medical chakra, combining it with basic massage techniques to ease the severe muscle overload and burning pain in the chakra pathways suffered by Might Duy after opening the Seventh Gate.
At the same time, his mind calmly continued calculating.
During these past days, he had already used his actions to repeatedly declare one truth to everyone under his command:
When danger appears, the captain goes first.
When it's time to retreat, the captain covers the rear.
Shinichi had been doing his best to shape himself into that kind of charismatic leader—someone who could give his subordinates a sense of security, belonging, and even conviction.
He wanted to become the soul and backbone of the unit.
To make people willing to follow him.
To make them admire him.
To make every team member believe they were following a captain worthy of entrusting their lives to.
But was inspiration through charisma and responsibility alone truly enough?
Perhaps for some people, yes.
But for most people, it wasn't.
Shinichi understood this clearly. Ninja were tools first and foremost—blades wielded by others. They had families to support, ambitions to pursue, and desires for resources and advancement.
So after demonstrating the responsibility and charisma expected of a leader, the next thing he implemented was a clear and efficient system of shared rewards and merit-based incentives to bind the team together.
And with it came a promise—
This glory… I will never keep it to myself!
Charisma attracted people and united them, making them willing to follow!
Shared rewards and tangible benefits bound people together and motivated them, giving them reasons to stay!
Only by combining the two could one forge a truly loyal and efficient inner circle—one with both conviction and practical motivation.
His Fourth Unit was gradually being shaped into exactly that kind of force.
And he, Higashino Shinichi, was both the banner they rallied behind and the one who guaranteed their future.
Through them, he would also make more people understand one thing:
If you follow me, Higashino Shinichi, your efforts will be seen.
Your sacrifices will be rewarded.
Your safety will be prioritized.
And glory—belongs to all of us.
Ever since the day Shinichi figured out how his personal system panel truly operated, he had understood one thing clearly:
If he wanted to continue growing stronger, then he needed more and more people to sincerely admire him.
To worship him.
And eventually—to believe in him.
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