Darui clenched his fist, pouring every ounce of focus into the strike, and drove it into the Susanoo that encased Senju Haruto.
He knew his strength still fell short of the Third Raikage.
His mastery of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode was nowhere near the Fourth Raikage's.
But—
With the Tsuchikage's Added-Weight Rock Jutsu reinforcing him, Darui could feel the crushing weight behind this punch.
Break!
In his heart, a beast-like roar thundered as he hurled all his hope into that single blow. With the earth's weight augmenting his strike, in this instant he felt as though he wielded power surpassing even the Fourth Raikage's.
If this couldn't pierce Haruto's Susanoo—then there was truly no hope left.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode…"
Haruto's voice was calm as his eyes swept across Darui's determined face.
In truth, Haruto wasn't surprised in the least. For a Raikage to wield Lightning Chakra Mode was only natural. In the future he remembered, Darui, as the Fifth Raikage, had indeed shown this very ability. That he had mastered it a little earlier now was hardly unexpected.
But—
If Darui thought this level of Lightning Chakra Mode, even paired with Ōnoki's Added-Weight Rock Jutsu, could break through Susanoo's defense…
How naïve.
Rumble—!
Thunder exploded as Darui's strike slammed into Susanoo's side. The force reverberated through the air, echoing in Haruto's ears.
But beyond the noise—nothing.
No damage. No crack. Not even a flicker.
"What… how can this be…"
Darui's eyes widened in disbelief, his body trembling. This was the combined might of himself and the Third Tsuchikage—and it had achieved nothing.
"…Still no good."
Ōnoki's voice was heavy. Susanoo's towering form dragged his mind back to that day—the day Uchiha Madara had stood above them all. That same attitude. That same suffocating pressure. That same despair.
Powerless. Helpless. Hopeless.
The emotions he thought he had already overcome began to claw at his chest once more. It wasn't so simple to "find oneself" again.
"No way…! Even the combined strike of Lord Tsuchikage and the Raikage couldn't scratch him? Just how strong is this guy's defense?!"
Kurotsuchi's voice cracked, her eyes wide.
Up close, Senju Haruto was young—not much older than she was. Handsome, even. But the power he wielded was crushing, absolute.
"Kurotsuchi, go!"
Kitsuchi slammed his hands into the ground.
The earth roared in answer, surging upward. The entire chamber shook violently. The ceiling and walls crumbled in on themselves, collapsing until the space was laid bare to the open air.
Within seconds, the floor beneath them had risen nearly twenty meters.
Kurotsuchi spun, startled, realizing what her father was doing. Raising the earth wasn't to attack Haruto—it was to give her a chance to flee, beyond reach of pursuit.
Seeing her hesitate, frozen in place, Kitsuchi barked sharply:
"Well? What are you waiting for? Go!"
When Darui first moved, Kitsuchi had still clung to a shred of hope. But now—after seeing both Darui and Ōnoki fail together—what chance did they have of stopping Senju Haruto?
None.
The tide had already turned.
If Kurotsuchi didn't leave now, she might never leave alive.
Kitsuchi thought, too, of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's son. After traveling to Konoha, he had never returned. Alive or dead—no one knew. As a father, Kitsuchi could not bear to see his daughter share the same fate.
Omoi and Karui stood in sharp contrast.
They were no elites—once disciples of Killer B, their strength barely reached the level of elite chūnin. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have been qualified to attend a Five Kage Summit at all.
But times had changed. Kumogakure lacked new blood. And though their strength was modest, their will was iron.
Better to die on their feet than live on their knees.
So as Darui struck, both of them drew their blades. Omoi's slashed sideways, Karui's came down in a vertical arc—both aimed at Haruto's Susanoo.
Clang!
The sound rang heavy as their blades struck.
And shattered.
The weapons splintered in their hands, unable even to withstand the rebound force.
They staggered back, hands bleeding, stunned.
"Can't even hold your weapons properly," Haruto's voice rumbled low. "Shall I teach you how to breathe next?"
A surge of chakra flared from his body—raw, primal, unshaped.
Against the likes of Omoi and Karui, he didn't need to swing Susanoo's blade. He didn't need ninjutsu.
Pure chakra pressure alone blasted them off their feet.
Crash!
They were hurled back, spitting blood, and slammed into the ground dozens of meters away.
Kitsuchi blinked, struggling to comprehend what had just happened.
But he had no time to puzzle it out.
"You really think you can spare the thought to worry about others right now?"
Haruto ignored Darui and Ōnoki, his gaze fixing sharply on Kitsuchi.
Sand surged upward on either side of him, towering six or seven meters high in an instant. Two more walls of sand rose from front and back, forming a massive square cage that slammed shut around him.
"Kitsuchi!"
Ōnoki's eyes flew wide. He had steeled himself for the worst—but he still couldn't bear to watch Kitsuchi fall like this.
"Father!"
Kurotsuchi's cry was shrill with panic.
"Earth Style: Golem Technique!"
Ōnoki's hands clapped together. From the ground, a massive stone golem erupted, throwing its bulk between Kitsuchi and the closing walls of sand.
"Not bad."
Haruto's tone almost carried approval.
Almost.
But the sand walls converged and fused, reshaping into a towering pyramid.
"But useless."
In the next breath, Haruto infused the construct with the power of the One-Tail. A sealing formula spread across its surface, locking it tight.
The seal wouldn't kill Kitsuchi. It wouldn't even knock him unconscious.
But left too long inside, he would die all the same.
Kurotsuchi's heart lurched. In an instant, all thoughts of fleeing fled her mind.
She flung hand seals together desperately, unleashing earth-style jutsu one after another. But none could even scratch the sealing pyramid.
"Damn it…"
Ōnoki's breath hissed through his teeth. He abandoned Darui's side and flew to his granddaughter, throwing his own power against the seal.
"And that," Haruto said softly, turning back, "leaves you alone."
His eyes locked onto Darui. Susanoo's colossal blade lifted in unison with his gaze—ready to fall.