Chaotic thoughts flashed through Maozuki Kōgo's mind. He looked at Uchiha Kenji, who still had a calm face, and said with a pause:
"I feel that Kenji may not be that simple. The attack obviously missed—so why is he still so calm?"
Kōgo raised his eyes toward the sky.
What he saw almost made his eyes pop out.
With the canyon as the center, it looked as if an invisible giant hand was rapidly spinning up the thunderclouds that had gathered above.
They formed a giant vortex, like a funnel.
A series of ferocious lightning snakes danced in the sky, becoming more and more aggressive.
The increasingly oppressive atmosphere gave people the feeling that a devastating storm was coming.
He vaguely guessed that Kenji had intentionally missed the previous attack and was now preparing a more powerful one, using the basin as a trap.
He couldn't say it out loud!
Kōgo clenched his fists tightly. He knew that whatever Kenji was preparing would be monstrous in scale.
Otherwise, Kenji wouldn't have stayed motionless under pressure.
His heart pounded in his chest. His nerves were close to snapping.
Why was Kenji still standing so calmly… as if nothing had happened?
What a terrifying state of mind.
"Brat, are you out of tricks?" growled Aikawa, leader of the Kumo-nin.
"Maybe you're out of chakra. If not, then it's our turn!"
Seeing Kenji unmoved, Aikawa's face darkened.
"Surround him! I don't believe he can still cause a commotion. Kill him!" he roared.
Dozens of Cloud Ninjas jumped into action.
The lightning and fireball techniques earlier had humiliated them.
Now that Kenji had supposedly depleted his chakra, it was the perfect moment for revenge.
300 meters. 200.
100. 70. 50. 30…
Kenji silently calculated the distance.
He could feel the chakra in his body resonating with the thunderclouds above.
Even he was slightly overwhelmed by the sheer power of the thunder he had amassed.
"Go to hell, you smug little punk!" yelled one Kumo-nin who arrived first.
But dozens more were closing in from all sides, chasing what they thought was an easy kill.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Spear!"
"Lightning Release: Earth Walk!"
"Thunder Style: Thrust!"
Roars echoed across the battlefield.
Dazzling bolts of lightning shot toward Kenji like deadly spears.
Seeing Kenji seemingly motionless, Shizune couldn't contain herself and dashed forward in a panic.
"We're here! Everyone, reinforce the barrier! Or we're all dead!" roared Kōgo.
The Konoha-nin were stunned.
At that moment, Kenji's body sparked with electricity and vanished like a ghost.
"It's the Lightning Style: Instant Body Technique!" someone with keen eyes shouted.
Aikawa's expression tensed. He looked up at the small hill ahead—and froze.
What he saw shattered his nerves.
"God no—SOMETHING'S WRONG! RETREAT NOW!" he bellowed.
From the clouds above, he felt something… something that terrified him.
He finally understood why Kenji had just stood there without reacting.
It was all a trap!
"You can't escape," Kenji said calmly, standing on the hill.
"My chakra really is running low. That's why I needed an attack wide enough, fast enough, and powerful enough to kill you all in one strike.
So I thought... why not borrow the power of the sky itself?"
Lightning surged across his body.
Above, thunderclouds twisted violently.
From within them, a massive Lightning Kirin emerged—crackling with terrifying power.
"Goodbye, adorably foolish Cloud Ninja."
As Kenji pressed his right hand downward, the Kirin roared.
BOOM!
The lightning crashed from the heavens like divine punishment.
The Kumo-nin never had time to react.
BOOM!!!
A brilliant explosion lit up the sky. The blast was as powerful as a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The entire canyon was swallowed in lightning.
Trees and stone were vaporized on impact.
The flash pierced the heavens themselves.
Minutes passed before silence returned.
The once vast canyon was gone.
All that remained was a scorched, leveled wasteland of blackened earth.
The trees were ash.
The rocks were gone.
Even the hills had been razed flat.
As for the Cloud Ninjas?
There were no bodies.
Some lucky ones who had taken cover or defended themselves might escape with a limb—or just a scar.
The Konoha Ninjas stood frozen, trembling.
"Am I… dreaming?"
"If there hadn't been that cave, we would've all died."
"What cave?! There is no cave here! If it weren't for Kōgo-senpai noticing the signs and reinforcing the barrier, we'd be corpses!"
"Even a barrier strong enough to withstand two days of enemy assault was torn apart instantly. That Lightning Style… that was the most terrifying jutsu I've ever seen."
Everyone was in shock.
Even though Kenji had clearly targeted only the Kumo-nin, the Konoha-nin were still filled with fear.
The sight of the lightning-burned corpses, or what was left of them, sent cold shivers through their bodies.
Suddenly, two figures burst out from the ruined ground.
Aikawa and Kirabi.
They looked a bit battered but mostly unharmed.
Some Cloud Ninjas who had stayed by their side—away from the frontline—had also survived.
In total, only seven remained.
Compared to the dozens they came with, this was a crushing loss.
"Those who kill will be killed. Don't they deserve it?" Kenji said with a smile.
That gentle smile sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Very good," Aikawa said coldly, his face dark.
"I may have fallen for your trap once—but never again."
"After using three such powerful jutsu, even with your monstrous chakra, you must be almost empty."
"I want to see what else you can do now!"
"If I catch you… I'll crush every bone in your body. You'll learn how terrifying the Cloud Ninja truly are