The enemy ninja charged straight at Amamiya Raizen.
He smirked—a lazy, mocking curve of the lips—then twisted his body, chakra snapping through his limbs like a drawn bowstring.
Boom!
His kick tore through the air, the shockwave blasting forward like a cannon shot. The first attacker didn't even have time to scream before he was sent flying, crashing into the dirt with bone-crunching force.
"W–What a monster…!"
The Morishita clan shinobi froze, staring wide-eyed at Raizen.
"What are you idiots doing?! Attack!"
Their commander's roar snapped them out of it. Gripping their kunai, they rushed in again, teeth bared in fear and pride.
Raizen snorted. "Fine. Line up and die, then."
In the blink of an eye, his body became a blur of black motion—chakra surging, wind shrieking against his skin. His punches cracked like detonations, sparks flying from the friction in the air.
Each strike sent a ninja flying like a rag doll.
Each scream was cut short by the next impact.
Within seconds, half the formation lay crumpled in the mud.
The Morishita commander's face twisted. He was a veteran of a hundred battles, but even he felt the hair rise on his neck.
"That speed… that strength… that's beyond human taijutsu!"
He didn't understand. Raizen's power wasn't just from opening the Fifth Gate—his training in Sage Mode had honed his chakra control to a razor's edge. Every muscle, every drop of energy was weaponized. His body was a storm caged in flesh.
Even the Fifth Gate in his hands hit like someone else's Sixth—or worse.
The commander snapped his fingers. "Jōnin, with me! Kill him!"
A squad of elite shinobi leapt forward, their blades gleaming.
Raizen didn't even look back. His senses, sharpened by natural energy, caught every heartbeat behind him.
The moment they entered range—he vanished.
"Wha—!?"
One Jōnin felt breath on his ear.
"Die."
Raizen's whisper was soft. Almost kind.
Then his head exploded into red mist.
The others froze in horror as the corpse collapsed at their leader's feet.
"He… he killed Mu You…"
The surviving Jōnin's eyes went bloodshot. Tears streaked red down his cheeks as he screamed and lunged forward.
Raizen's expression didn't change. "Then follow him."
Another flash.
A kunai buried deep in the man's chest.
He stared down at it, confused—then fell, twitching, eyes empty.
The commander's composure shattered. "All of you—use ninjutsu! Kill him!"
Every remaining Morishita ninja backed away, forming a circle. Dozens of hands clapped together in unison, chakra flaring through the valley as fireballs, wind blades, and water bullets tore through the air.
Raizen exhaled, and the air itself seemed to tighten.
"You've got numbers… fine. I'll stop holding back."
Crimson markings spread around his eyes, his aura deepening—calm and terrifying. Sage Mode.
"Senjutsu: Welcome of the Thousand Hands."
The ground trembled.
Golden light burst from beneath his feet, expanding outward like sunrise.
A colossal Buddha loomed behind him, radiant and divine, its countless arms unfolding like the wings of a celestial beast. The Morishita ninja—mere specks before its glow—could only stare in despair.
"The Morishita Clan," Raizen said quietly, "will pay the price for their greed."
The Buddha's fists descended.
Each blow tore through jutsu and stone alike. The valley convulsed under the storm of golden strikes.
Screams were swallowed by thunder.
By the time silence returned, the valley had collapsed into ruin.
No one from the Morishita stood.
Raizen stood in the center of the crater, his breath steady, eyes cold. Behind him, the golden Buddha's gaze fell upon the last survivor—the trembling commander, knees buckling, a dark stain spreading beneath him.
Raizen tilted his head. "Your turn, trash."
The Buddha's shadow engulfed him.