First to appear was light.
A searing white that devoured all other colors.
A blazing white that transcended the limits of vision, enough to burn the eyes.
It illuminated almost the entire Land of the Moon, and more than half of the dark sky.
That pure radiance pierced through the leaden clouds, casting the entire battlefield below into a deathly pallor! The bleak earth, drenched by water release, along with the mud, bodies, and the Hidden Cloud ninjas, instantly lost all detail under this light, transforming into a stark, white flatness!
Then, the impact, belatedly, arrived, descending with terrifying force!
Boom!!
A white "giant tree" landed on the ground, "rooting" downwards, and visible arcs of lightning violently spread across the earth! The ground, like a fragile biscuit, was mercilessly torn apart by this horrifying power.
Soil and rock were instantly ripped away, pulverized, reduced to fine dust. A massive circular crater formed amidst the roar. The lightning rods, deeply embedded in the ground, shattered inch by inch under the shockwave.
Puddles were utterly vaporized. The terrified, desperate Hidden Cloud ninjas, trying to hide and flee, were reduced to ashes and dust before they could even let out a scream. The rain and even the air in this entire area were instantly expelled, creating a momentary vacuum!
The next moment, the indescribably violent impact exploded like a torrent, fiercely throwing back the Konoha ninjas who were desperately fleeing the area!
Bang! Bang bang!
The last few Konoha ninjas, struck by the impact from behind, were slammed against trees and the ground, their vision instantly blacking out.
But soon, as the blinding glare finally began to recede, as the monstrous roar that threatened to shake out their internal organs slowly faded into a continuous buzzing in their ears...
"Cough cough! Cough!"
The Konoha ninjas clutched their throbbing, dazed heads, staggering and swaying as they got to their feet. A suffocating smell of burning filled their nostrils, mixed with a bizarre scent of roasted meat.
However, when they looked up, their expressions simultaneously turned blank.
"..."
The blinding white light was receding. First they saw fire, the lingering glow of flames covering their vision, then thick smoke like a curtain, rising from within that light.
After the light receded, darkness fell once more, but in the scorching, oppressive darkness, terrified, bewildered gazes were distorted by the high temperature.
This battlefield in the Land of the Moon had been completely transformed.
Absolute scorched blackness became the sole dominant color of the earth.
It was as if an invisible giant hand had left a massive and grotesque circular brand on the ground, leaving only a colossal crater.
Soil? It had long turned into a mixture of pulverized dust and charcoal, covering every inch of ground as far as the eye could see. Raindrops fell upon it, instantly evaporating and rising as "sizzling" mist.
Puddles? Long gone without a trace, even the last wisps of steam instantly dispersed, replaced by cracked, hardened, scorched earth, like the wrinkles on a devil's skin.
The densely thrown lightning rods, like charred black withered wood, were crookedly stuck in the scorched earth, melted and twisted into unidentifiable lumps of iron by the high temperature. A few surviving tips still emitted a faint reddish glow.
As for the Hidden Cloud ninjas...
Crack! Crunch!
A black arm stretched out from the hardened earth, then the ground began to bulge outwards, and a figure slowly pushed aside a stone slab and crawled out from underground.
"Cough cough! Cough! Ugh!"
Samui's entire body was scorched black with severe burns; one could even smell a strange scent of roasted meat. Every violent cough brought a burning, stinging pain. Her head was wracked with intense, radiating pain, and she couldn't help but collapse to the ground, retching.
A moment later, she struggled to prop up her upper body, her pupils straining to focus through the dense smoke and dust, trying to discern her surroundings.
Then, she saw it: Matatabi, the Two-Tails.
The once majestic Tailed Beast, a symbol of wild power, was now sprawled beside her, battered and miserable, with small crackling electrical arcs still clinging to its body. Its massive form, once covered in beautiful fur that flowed and burned like blue flames, now showed large patches of charred, carbonized devastation. A massive, hideous scorched gash traversed more than half of its shoulder and back, revealing clearly the white, "bone-like" structures beneath.
"..."
Samui's chaotic brain gradually cleared. She instantly understood that the Two-Tails had shielded her at the last moment, saving her life. She stared blankly at her surroundings, a chilling horror descending upon her heart.
The Hidden Cloud ninjas closest to the explosion's epicenter had been completely vaporized, leaving only unrecognizable outlines of ash on the ground.
Those slightly further away presented even more horrific forms. Their entire bodies were charred black, their moisture completely evaporated, their bodies extremely twisted and shrunken, their skin clinging tightly to their carbonized bones, like dried corpses excessively baked by intense heat.
Some still maintained their postures from their dying moments of escape, a statue-like, tense style, preserving their vivid actions, incredibly eerie and terrifying. Their headbands or equipment had completely melted and deformed, fusing with their charred bodies, forming sickeningly shiny clumps. Black smoke struggled to rise in the rain.
The shattered remnants of mud walls lay scorched and half-buried in the earth.
"Ahhh! Ah!"
Scattered, short screams and groans, filled with pain, despair, and terror, echoed across the battlefield. These were the lucky Hidden Cloud ninjas who had escaped to the outskirts, affected but not instantly vaporized.
Some rolled on the ground, clutching arms burned by high temperatures, their skin entirely carbonized and peeled off; others curled up, their abdomens pierced by flying metal or scorching debris...
More lay on the ground, their eyes vacant and hollow, only the soiled pants from incontinence proving they were still alive.
"..."
The entire battlefield in the Land of the Moon, both the surviving Hidden Cloud ninjas and the allied Konoha ninjas, at this moment, fell into an eerie, deathly stillness and trembling.
This great force of nature, wielded by a human, had completely annihilated the main combat power of the Hidden Cloud.
"Atsui..."
As if remembering something, a barely audible call escaped Samui's chapped lips, her gaze sweeping across the terrifying, death-ridden, scorched earth.
But soon, she saw that familiar sword, that sword almost completely melted, and her hollow pupils began to tremble.
"NO!!!" Samui's shriek was piercing, as if weeping blood.
Her rationality, her composure, her pride, were utterly crushed at this moment by this pure and terrifying power.
And simultaneously, as if sensing her despair and rage, the Two-Tails, still sprawled on the ground, also lifted its head, once again letting out an ear-splitting, hateful, and tyrannical roar.
"ROAR!!"
Its slitted vertical pupils, narrowed to a line, stared fixedly at the two figures above.
No, rather, it stared at the figure with spread wings, looking down upon it.
HYUGA Kawa!!!