"The kid is dead!"
The roar of Kaguya Kyōhei shook the battlefield again and again. His speed was no longer mere movement—it was a blur, bones and veins thrumming with violent chakra. The spurs on his palms gleamed like unmatched blades, slicing through the air with lethal precision.
Every swing distorted the very space around him, gusts of wind rippling outward, the center of the battlefield warping under the force.
Amamiya Raizen's eyes narrowed, his jaw tight. Even watching from a distance, the destructive power of Kaguya Kyōhei's assault was enough to make the heart race. Morale among the coalition forces teetered on the edge—if Kaguya Kyōhei landed a decisive strike, the entire front could collapse.
Raizen inhaled sharply. His scarlet-tinged eyes flared as chakra surged along every muscle. In his hands, the familiar blue sphere of spinning energy coalesced into a massive Rasengan.
"Sage Art·Super-Big Ball Rasengan!"
The ball slammed into the bone spurs, tearing through the void with turbulent force. Chakra shot out in violent arcs, and Raizen felt the sting in his arm as the air itself pressed against him. Yet the attack connected—the metal-like spurs twisted and shattered under the Rasengan's crushing power.
"Boy! It's not over yet!" Kaguya Kyōhei bellowed, undeterred by the pain. His twisted arm sprouted countless bone spurs, coiling into a massive, spiraling drill aimed straight at Raizen. Madness gleamed in his eyes: he would kill to prove his strength, no matter the cost.
"Ninfa·Magic Kagami Ice Crystal!"
Raizen countered swiftly, channeling chakra through his palm. The air dropped in temperature instantly, crystallizing into a translucent ice mirror around Kaguya Kyōhei. Raizen ducked behind it, forcing Kaguya Kyōhei's assault to halt.
"This… what is this?" Kaguya Kyōhei growled, fury burning in his eyes. He had heard legends of Bing Dun, but witnessing it firsthand was different. Raizen's grin was sharp.
"Kaguya Kyōhei! You're the first shadow-level powerhouse I've ever made sweat!"
Kaguya Kyōhei surged forward, trying to shatter the ice, but thick snow quickly piled around him, freezing the ground beneath and sapping his momentum. His steps faltered, his body shivering as the icy trap bit deeper.
Raizen's heart pounded—not with fear, but with grim satisfaction. Over the past four years, he had honed Ice Dun to a terrifying peak. Even the mind of a shadow-level ninja could be slowed by this technique.
"Ninfa·Ningxue Mi Kagami!"
He moved through the ice, letting the temperature plunge further until a thick frost layer covered the battlefield. Kaguya Kyōhei's body was no longer entirely under his own control; the golden Buddha chakra lingering in him began to falter.
Raizen stepped closer, pressing a hand onto Kaguya Kyōhei's shoulder. The patriarch struggled, but the chill of the ice was relentless—frost creeping into his eyes, nose, and ears.
"Move me!" Kaguya Kyōhei roared, summoning his remaining chakra. Blood and bone fused into spurs that erupted violently from the frozen ground.
"Bone veins and blood shall rise together!" The battlefield trembled as Kaguya Kyōhei transformed, every bone spur slicing upward like daggers.
But Raizen was ready. Ice shurikens rained from every angle, stabbing toward Kaguya Kyōhei from the frozen Kagami mirrors. The patriarch's form twisted into a blood-red frenzy, but even his might could not entirely escape the frost.
"Boy… you're the first to push me this far!" Kaguya Kyōhei snarled, eyes burning like a wolf's. The patriarch's power surged, blood and chakra fueling his body, yet the ice kept biting.
Raizen grinned, stepping back and feeling the sweet weight of control. His chakra was enough for one final move.
"Ninfa·Absolute Zero!"
Chakra erupted violently from Raizen's feet, radiating outward in a storm of cold. The ice surged, swallowing the battlefield, and wherever Kaguya Kyōhei stepped, an icy world followed. Frost spread over the patriarch's body, solidifying into a flawless prison.
Even Kaguya Kyōhei's furious power could not break free—he was frozen solid, encased in Raizen's absolute cold. The coalition forces, watching in awe, felt hope spark again. The tide of battle had shifted.