When Gyūki said this, B could only stop rapping.
"I don't know, but it's dangerous!"
A pair of eyes — the Eight-Tails own massive, instinctive eyes — stared dead toward Konoha's camp. From there… Gyūki felt a breath strong enough to threaten his very life.
At the same time, on Konoha's side, the moment the Tailed Beast Bomb came roaring closer, every ninja felt despair tightening their chests.
"It's over…"
Under the overwhelming might of a Bijūdama, they were like ants. No resistance. No escape. All they could do was watch as the Tailed Beast Bomb raced toward them—
At that moment, Shiki's voice echoed through the air like a command from the heavens.
"Lion Might — Meteor Slash!"
— — — — — —
A sword light that seemed to split heaven and earth itself tore across the battlefield.
In that instant, there was only that sword.
"Ugh!"
The gigantic black sphere suddenly paused in midair — frozen by the sheer killing intent behind that slash.
Then a glowing white line appeared along its center.
A heartbeat later...
The Tailed Beast Bomb was cut cleanly in half.
"Boom!! Rumble!!!"
The two split halves crashed down on both sides of Konoha's camp, exploding in catastrophic bursts. Trees vaporized, earth split, shockwaves roared—
But except for the hurricane-like blast of wind, not a single Konoha ninja was harmed.
"Nani!!!?"
On Cloud's side, even the Third Raikage was stunned.
Was this a joke?
The Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb — cut open?
"Lord Raikage! It's not wrong! That is Shiki's sword technique! Back in the Second Ninja War, he used that very blade to split a Bijūdama!"
One of the Raikage's deputies snapped out of his shock and immediately relayed everything he knew.
"Hmph!"
Truth be told, the Third Raikage really hadn't expected Shiki to be capable of slicing apart a Tailed Beast Bomb.
But with war already upon them… what was he supposed to do, turn around and go home?
"Don't panic!" the Raikage barked. "That Golden Lion is just one man! We have thousands! What's there to fear!?"
His roar snapped Cloud's shinobi out of their daze.
"That's right! Cloud is invincible!"
"No matter how strong the Golden Lion is — he's still alone!"
"Defeat Konoha!!"
Their morale surged once more.
Meanwhile, in Konoha's camp, Shiki calmly lowered his blade, sliding it back into its sheath.
"Lord Shiki!"
The Ino–Shika–Cho trio immediately rushed to him, faces full of awe.
For a moment, they had truly believed they were dead.
And yet… Shiki's strength now far surpassed even what he showed during the Second Ninja World War.
"Assemble! We're going to see whether Cloud's reckless idiots are done delivering themselves to their graves!"
"Yes!"
With Shikaku's call, all combat-capable shinobi gathered. Medical ninja remained behind, while the rest charged toward the battlefield under Shiki's lead.
"Why are you here?"
Shiki sighed helplessly as he noticed Kurenai following at his side.
"Shiki-nii, I want to help you too!"
Kurenai's expression was serious.
Even if she could die on the battlefield — Yuhi Kurenai refused to be a useless vase.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Facing her determined stare, Shiki paused… then smiled softly.
He originally meant to scold her.
Instead, he found himself appreciating her resolve.
"Fine. But after the fighting starts — avoid the frontlines as much as you can. I'm not asking you to kill enemies. Just survive."
After all, Shiki would be facing an enemy like the Third Raikage himself. Having Kurenai near him wasn't exactly comforting.
"Uh-huh!"
She nodded seriously.
— — —
"Are you the Golden Lion? Hmph! Just a brat!"
When Cloud and Konoha were only a hundred meters apart, both armies stopped simultaneously.
On Cloud's side, the Third Raikage stared at Shiki with open contempt.
He had heard the stories, sure… but no way was he going to acknowledge Shiki's strength now.
Being looked down on like that didn't bother Shiki at all.
He simply eyed the Raikage for a moment, then grinned.
"Old man, have you finished planting your fields at home? Running all the way out here to fight? Go back and farm before you die on the battlefield."
Cloud shinobi were built on reckless pride — fighting and insulting people were basically traditions.
"You—!!"
A, son of the Third Raikage, clenched his fists in fury. He would've charged straight at Shiki if not for his father holding him back.
"Sharp-tongued brat! Later, i will show you the true might of Cloud!"
Shiki didn't seem bothered.
He scanned Cloud's forces and couldn't help raising his eyebrows.
Compared to Konoha's roughly two thousand shinobi, Cloud had brought six thousand.
Understandable — Konoha had other fronts to supply.
But still…
Six thousand vs two thousand.
Just looking at it made one's scalp tingle.
"That's a lot of people," Shiki muttered.
"Annoying."
The Third Raikage burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! My six thousand Cloud shinobi are enough to crush your entire army!"
"In that case…"
Shiki shifted one foot forward and placed a hand lightly on his sword hilt.
The Raikage's words didn't shake him in the slightest.
In Shiki's eyes… a crimson light flashed.
"Let me start — by cutting you in half."
"Huh?"
The Third Raikage frowned. Cut him in half?
Was this brat serious?
He was about to retort when...
A pressure unlike anything the battlefield had ever felt before exploded outward.
"BOOOOM!!!"
Lightning tore across the sky.
Centered on Shiki, a massive wave of Conqueror's Haki swept through the battlefield, surging straight toward Cloud's forces.
"What is this!?"
Cloud shinobi staggered back in horror.
Aside from the Raikage, A, B, Yugito, and a handful of elite jonin—
Everyone else collapsed.
Falling one after another like toppled dominos.
"L-Look at the sky!! It's cracking!!!"
"Is this really power a human can possess!?"
"This… this is the Golden Lion!"
Above them, the sky itself appeared split — distorted by the sheer force of Shiki's will.
Even Konoha's shinobi felt the pressure… but since Shiki wasn't targeting them, they only trembled instead of collapsing.
In the ninja world, strength spoke louder than anything.
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