"Bast…"
A surge of overwhelming power erupted across the plains of Wakanda. Even without seeing it with his own eyes, Senju Haruto could immediately tell who it belonged to.
No one but the Black Panther Goddess herself could unleash power on such a scale.
It also meant that Bast had finally made her decision—she was ready to face him, the Sorcerer Supreme, in battle.
"Interesting."
Haruto narrowed his eyes. Through his Byakugan, his gaze cut through the chaos of the battlefield until it locked onto her.
For Bast, this decision hadn't been easy. She was the divine protector of Wakanda, a goddess of the Egyptian pantheon. Yet the Sorcerer Supreme was the Earth's ultimate guardian, a figure who could stand alongside Odin, Zeus, and even the Almighty Himself.
Especially the Ancient One—her name alone was nearly unchallengeable in Bast's eyes.
Originally, Bast's plan had been to use T'Challa's courage to create an opening. But now, with Kimimaro holding him back and the bone forest keeping the Dora Milaje from reaching their king, that strategy had collapsed. W'Kabi's vibranium war rhinos had been annihilated by Manda.
Pressed to the brink, Bast had finally resolved to intervene directly against Senju Haruto.
As she revealed herself, the sky filled with roiling storm clouds, converging into a colossal black vortex.
Lightning split the heavens. Gale-force winds descended like dragons. From the vortex, nature's wildest fury poured down upon the earth, sweeping through the ranks of Wakanda's enemies. The prisoners from the research facility and the Sound shinobi were flung aside like leaves in a storm.
Thunder roared. The storm twisted into tornadoes, stripping the land bare. Even Wakandan warriors couldn't escape the violent suction and were dragged screaming into the skies.
Bast, for all her divinity, struggled to control such destructive force or to distinguish friend from foe.
Part of it was the immense strain of unleashing her power. Part of it was because she had something far more important to accomplish here.
"T'Challa!"
Her voice thundered across the battlefield as wind and lightning burst from her palms, shattering Kimimaro's bone forest in an instant.
T'Challa dropped from midair, landing hard but steady on the ground. He looked up, and towering above was the colossal image of the Black Panther Goddess.
Through their spiritual link, he knew exactly who had saved him. He bowed his head slightly, his heart swelling with reverence and gratitude.
Thanks to his vibranium suit's unparalleled defense, he had escaped Kimimaro's assault with only some stamina drained.
Kimimaro's eyes sharpened as he saw his prey slip free. Instinctively, he lashed out again—but his kekkei genkai was nothing before Bast's divine might.
Her energy coiled around his waist like a massive whip, and with a single devastating swing, she hurled him straight into the raging tornado.
For a brief moment, Bast and T'Challa locked eyes.
They didn't need words. They understood one another perfectly.
T'Challa inhaled deeply, spreading his arms wide as he let his body relax.
Bast descended like a mass of shadowy black energy, diving toward him. She merged into his vibranium suit, slipping into his very being.
Okoye and the Dora Milaje erupted into cheers at the sight. They could even see a divine aura radiating around their king.
"Haruto."
But T'Challa had no time to revel in their joy. He lifted his proud head, his gaze cutting through the crowd until it landed squarely on Senju Haruto.
When he ran again, he was no longer merely a man—he was a streak of black lightning.
The prisoners. The Sound shinobi. They all tried to block his path.
But these were men who had only consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb. None could compare to a king possessed by Bast herself.
They couldn't even track his movements, let alone stop him.
"Faster. Faster still."
T'Challa's hands swept forward, his body pushing past every limit he had ever known—past even the limits of humanity.
The roar of the wind filled his ears. All enemies, all attacks—they vanished behind him like shadows swallowed by night.
"Haruto!"
He cried out again, his voice shaking the battlefield. By then, he had already slipped through the only opening in the energy barrier.
Now, nothing stood between him and Senju Haruto.
"This punch… is for my father!"
With a primal roar, T'Challa bent his knees, gathering every ounce of strength into his toes. The ground split apart beneath him, cracks racing outward like spiderwebs.
Then he launched himself upward, soaring over thirty meters into the sky. His right fist clenched tight, his body a living bolt of black lightning aimed straight at Haruto.
Speed. Power. Ferocity. Every aspect of him in that moment was flawless.
Haruto raised his head slightly, watching the king hurtle toward him.
From the very start, he had suspected Bast might intervene. He had not, however, expected her to merge entirely with T'Challa.
"If I remember correctly," Haruto thought, "during the Fourth Host of the Celestials' descent, Earth's pantheons waged war against them. Bast's body was destroyed then, leaving only her soul to wander these lands until she became Wakanda's guardian spirit.
And now… it seems she needs a vessel to unleash her true power."
The thought reminded him of lore he had once skimmed in Marvel fanworks.
But whatever the case, Senju Haruto would not abandon Wakanda as his foothold simply because of this twist.
He slowly raised his hand, palm out, ready to meet T'Challa's charge head-on.
"Now!"
At that critical instant, a spectral panther's head materialized behind T'Challa. Ethereal, yet terrifyingly real.
From its glowing eyes, a surge of strange magic burst forth.
It spread outward in a wave, enveloping the entire battlefield.
On the surface, it looked like a protective enchantment.
In truth, it was Bast's trump card—a barrier that, for a short time, severed Senju Haruto's connection with the Vishanti.
It cut him off from the white magic that defined the Sorcerer Supreme.
And the Ancient One, with her temperament, would never have taught him the arts of black magic.
"T'Challa!"
Bast's voice boomed once more, urging him on.
"End this war with a single punch!"