The serpent monsters—once ferocious and utterly indifferent to ninjutsu—now showed absolute terror in their cold, slit pupils.
"SSSS—!!!"
They let out shrill, panicked hisses, as if encountering a natural predator. No longer caring about the "prey" right in front of them, they abruptly turned and fled. Their massive tails lashed wildly against the ground, propelling them even faster than before, scrambling toward the sea like defeated curs.
The beach—moments ago a hellscape of slaughter and screams—fell into sudden, unnatural silence.
Only Might Guy, still wrapped in surging blue vapor, remained frozen in a forward-charging stance. His clenched fist hung midair, his face filled with shock and confusion.
"W… what?!"
That decisive strike—into which he had poured everything, even prepared to stake his life—
He hadn't even thrown it yet… and the enemies had already run away?
The abrupt reversal left Guy with the suffocating frustration of punching empty air. He nearly lost his breath, and the blue vapor around his body rippled violently for a moment.
Kakashi was just as stunned. His Sharingan rotated slowly as he scanned the now-calm sea, a deeper question forming in his mind:
These monsters—whose defenses were so abnormal they nearly ignored all ninjutsu—
Why were they this afraid of the Eight Gates?
Was Guy's pressure really that overwhelming?
"Trying to escape? Too late."
Just as the serpent monsters plunged desperately into the sea and everyone was still reeling, a cold, authoritative voice rang out—clear and unmistakable—like a decree descending from the heavens, echoing in every ear.
The instant the voice fell—
SHOO! SHOO! SHOO!
Brilliant blue beams of light, like spears of judgment, shot straight down from the clouds without warning!
They locked onto the serpent monsters that had just submerged and hadn't yet escaped.
The beams were so fast they surpassed visual perception, piercing directly into the blood-tainted sea.
"SSSS—!!!"
From beneath the surface came even more horrific shrieks—filled with extreme agony and terror—but they lasted less than a second before cutting off completely.
Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone present, the ten serpent monsters—creatures that had driven the shinobi to despair—slowly floated back up.
Their massive bodies bore perfectly smooth, mirror-like holes, punched straight through them.
There was not the slightest trace of life remaining.
Silence.
A deathly silence smothered the entire beach.
Everyone stood dumbfounded, minds completely blank.
That… what kind of attack was that?!
Such terrifying power?!
The monsters they couldn't even injure—no matter what they tried—had been instantly annihilated, like paper before a blade!
The sheer contrast left the survivors dazed, as if reality itself had become unreliable.
"Who's there?!"
"Show yourself!!"
"Which senior intervened?! Thank you for saving us!"
Someone finally reacted, shouting toward the sky while forcing down their fear, eyes darting around in search of the one who had attacked.
But the sky was clear and blue. Clouds drifted lazily by.
Aside from the lingering, spine-chilling energy residue, there was no sign of anyone at all.
This method—overwhelming force, followed by complete concealment—cast an even darker shadow over the shinobi who had just escaped death.
Kakashi supported the weakened Guy, his Sharingan slowly sweeping the sky. His expression was grim as he spoke in a low voice only the two could hear:
"This power… this style of action…"
"Could it be what the Heavenly Screen mentioned—the Land of Iron Samurai Elite Guard?"
It was the only explanation he could think of that matched such mystery, strength, and a power system seemingly different from chakra.
Leaning against Kakashi, Guy's face was pale, his breathing uneven. He forced a wry smile.
"I hope… they don't mean us any harm. I definitely… can't open the Seventh Gate again."
Although closing the Gate of Wonder in time prevented total bodily collapse, the backlash still left his muscles and chakra pathways feeling torn apart. For now, his combat strength had dropped to a fraction of normal.
Just as everyone remained uneasy over the mysterious intervention—
Blue light rippled across the sea once more.
The ten floating corpses were suddenly lifted by an invisible force, rising slowly from the water.
Only then did everyone see clearly—
The blue glow came from small, palm-sized flying blades, sleek and minimalist in design, with no visible hilts.
They moved as if alive, precisely "attaching" themselves to the corpses and suspending them in midair.
"Look! Up there—there's someone!"
A sharp-eyed Kirigakure ninja suddenly pointed skyward.
Everyone followed his finger.
At some unknown moment, a figure had appeared—hovering silently in the air.
The person was fully encased in a streamlined suit of full-body armor, shimmering with metallic gold and crimson hues. The design was ornate yet powerfully imposing, completely concealing their form.
The helmet revealed no face—only two faint, emotionless lights where the eyes should be.
Sunlight reflected off the armor in dazzling brilliance, making the figure look like a god descending from the heavens—or perhaps… a machine.
"He's… flying?!"
"How is that possible?!"
"Is it that armor?!"
Fear, awe, and uncertainty spread once more among the survivors.
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