The moment the blade struck—
The heat stored within Zanka no Tachi erupted.
Not flames.
Not sparks.
But temperature itself.
The metal bracer on A's arm lasted less than a heartbeat.
Crack.
It exploded apart.
Then the inferno followed.
Fire surged along the blade's edge and detonated outward, swallowing A whole and blasting him across the battlefield. His body carved a blackened trench through the earth for hundreds of meters, incinerating several charging Cloud shinobi into drifting ash before finally skidding to a halt.
The earth smoked.
The air warped.
And for a split second—
Silence.
Not Enough
On the fortress wall, Uchiha Jin frowned.
That wasn't ideal.
In theory, the Eastern Sun Blade should concentrate all its heat at a single microscopic point—erasing anything it touched.
Instead, the bracer had stalled the strike for an instant.
That instant caused the compressed heat to erupt outward rather than pierce through.
One was annihilation at a point.
The other was devastation across an area.
Very different outcomes.
He'd need to refine that.
Shaken Resolve
"Raikage-sama!!!"
Cloud shinobi cried out in panic.
The sight had shattered their composure.
The Raikage—
Their symbol of invincibility—
Blown away in a single exchange?
Impossible.
Unacceptable.
But war doesn't wait for disbelief.
A dark-skinned Cloud commander roared:
"Medical squad! Retrieve the Raikage!"
"The rest—continue the charge!"
"Remember our objective!"
"We must take Kikyo Mountain!"
The hesitation broke.
They surged forward again.
If they failed here—
There would be no road home.
A Glimpse of Madness
Jin watched the renewed charge and smiled faintly.
So this was the feeling.
The battlefield bending around you.
The tide hinging on your steps.
"Fire Release—Great Fire Annihilation!"
He inhaled—
And unleashed an ocean.
A wall of flame roared across the field, swallowing air and earth alike.
Heat distorted the horizon.
Front-line Cloud shinobi felt their throats dry instantly, lungs burning before the fire even touched them.
"Water Style unit—counter it!"
A senior Cloud jōnin reacted quickly.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Dozens followed.
Streams collided with flame.
Steam exploded skyward.
It took wave after wave of Water Release before Jin's firestorm was finally neutralized.
In terms of pure Fire Release output—
Even legends would pause.
Into the Storm
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!"
Multiple dragon-shaped fireballs tore through the lingering steam.
Then Jin moved.
He didn't advance.
He appeared.
Engulfed in blazing chakra, his speed peaked. Blade and fist moved in rhythm.
Every swing dropped a shinobi.
Every step left scorched earth.
No one lasted a single exchange.
Flash of Lightning
"Lightning Release: Thunder Illusion Pillar!"
A blinding burst detonated in front of him.
His vision went white.
Instantly—
Blades whistled toward him.
Even blinded, Jin twisted aside on instinct.
When his sight returned, a Cloud jōnin was already upon him—chakra-coated sword humming with lightning.
The man was skilled.
Cloud-style kenjutsu refined to lethal precision.
Jin's three-tomoe Sharingan spun.
Sharingan (Dōjutsu)
The world slowed.
Every movement revealed its flaw.
When the next strike fell—
Jin stepped inside the arc.
His hand passed through lightning.
And seized the man's throat.
He lifted him one-handed.
"You want to dance too?"
Flames erupted.
Within seconds, the jōnin became charcoal.
Jin flung the corpse upward, intercepting incoming kunai.
Thunder Returns
"Damn you!"
A roar like a stormcloud splitting open.
Lightning flashed beside him.
A fist crashed into Jin's guard—
BOOM.
He was hurled skyward.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Arrow!"
"Lightning Release: Black Panther!"
"Lightning Release: Roaring Thunder!"
Now that Jin was airborne—
Cloud shinobi unleashed everything.
Lightning streaked upward.
Explosive-tagged kunai followed.
He spun midair.
"Fire Release: Flame Commandment—Flame Pillar!"
A spiraling inferno burst outward, forming a blazing tornado that swallowed the incoming assault.
Lightning dissolved.
Explosives detonated harmlessly in flame.
The Raikage Rises
Below—
A stood again.
Burns scarred his body.
One arm gone from the elbow down.
But lightning still surged around him.
His gaze was colder now.
"Five battalions remain with me."
"We pin him here."
"The rest—flank and take the fortress!"
Orders spread instantly.
Hundreds surrounded Jin.
The remaining forces split and rushed toward the fortress walls.
Fire Wall
Jin landed.
"Fire Release: Blazing Rampart!"
A massive wall of fire erupted outward from his position, spreading laterally like a tidal wave and cutting off much of the advancing Cloud force.
But A charged through the edge of flame.
He could not ignore him.
And this time—
Cloud shinobi fought smarter.
They attacked without regard for collateral damage.
Lightning jutsu.
Projectile weapons.
Explosives.
They fired through A's position freely—trusting his durability to withstand the crossfire.
It forced Jin to divide attention.
To defend.
To adapt.
And slowly—
The Cloud shinobi on the flanks found a weakness.
They breached the Blazing Rampart.
More and more poured past.
Toward Kikyo Mountain Fortress.
The tide—
Was beginning to split.
And this battle was far from over.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> [email protected]/warewolvesTL(replace@ with a)