"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!"
Senju Haruto slammed his palms together, channeling chakra straight into the ground beneath his feet.
Rumble—!
A thunderous roar shook the land as the earth itself began to tremble violently.
Rasa, Kakashi, Yamato, and the Sunagakure jōnin who had followed hurriedly stepped back.
Beneath Haruto's feet, the ground began to detach from its surroundings, rising upward.
In just a few breaths, Haruto was standing on the edge of a sheer cliff, looming high above Rasa and the others.
Yamato inhaled sharply, a chill running down his spine—he had a vague idea of what Haruto was about to do.
"You… changed the terrain?"
Rasa's eyes widened as he looked to either side.
But the massive wall of earth Haruto had raised was so vast that its edges weren't even visible from Rasa's vantage point.
"In this entire world, who besides Senju Haruto could pull off a jutsu this outrageous…?"
Rasa gathered gold dust beneath his feet and used his Magnet Release to lift himself into the air, taking in Haruto's creation from above.
Even if the terrain had been used to his advantage, the sheer scale of this was staggering.
How much chakra would something like this even take?
"…The Sage of Six Paths…"
Rasa's throat worked as the thought flashed through his mind, unbidden, linking Haruto to that legendary figure.
At the same time, a new question arose:
Why was Haruto suddenly using Earth Release to create an entire mountain range? What was his goal?
"Yamato, could you pull off something like this?" Kakashi asked over his shoulder.
Wood Release might be a kekkei genkai, but its principle was a fusion of Earth and Water Release.
Kakashi knew that aside from his Wood Release, Yamato's strongest affinities were Earth and Water—and with his sizable chakra reserves, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder.
But Yamato didn't even need to think—he shook his head immediately.
"I can use Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart, but… on this scale? I can't even come close."
He wasn't being modest. Even if he poured all his chakra into it, the largest rampart Yamato could create would be maybe one-fifth the size of the one Haruto had just raised.
And Haruto… didn't even look tired. Not a bead of sweat on his forehead.
It was as if he'd just used an ordinary jutsu to reshape the very terrain of Sunagakure.
On the cliff face, Haruto had deliberately left a massive depression in the rock.
As someone who also wielded Wood Release, Haruto was naturally proficient in both Water and Earth Release.
And remembering what Haruto had said at the council meeting earlier…
Yamato suddenly realized exactly what jutsu Haruto was preparing next.
But…
Was this even possible?
"Haruto's chakra… could it really be endless?"
Yamato sucked in a sharp breath and turned to Kakashi.
"I know what he's going to do."
"Oh?"
In truth, Kakashi had already suspected—but it sounded too unbelievable to say out loud.
He was going to create an artificial waterfall right here in the arid, water-starved lands of Sunagakure.
"But…" Yamato's mouth hung open, his face a picture of shock.
To him, this was nothing short of a miracle.
"True… and what's even more unbelievable…" Kakashi's voice was quiet, "is that none of us think Haruto can't do it."
He even lifted his headband, revealing the Sharingan hidden in darkness.
He already knew Haruto's plan, but there was no doubt in his heart—Haruto wasn't bluffing.
"…But if that's the case—"
Yamato's eyes suddenly went wide as the realization hit him.
He spun around and shouted to the gathered shinobi,
"Fall back! Now!"
But the jōnin of Sunagakure didn't understand what Haruto was doing, and Yamato's warning seemed completely out of place to them.
High above, Rasa hovered in the air, watching Haruto's every move with unblinking eyes, afraid to miss even a moment.
By now, he was holding his breath.
"That's… Water Release?"
In an instant, Rasa recognized the hand signs Haruto was forming. They belonged to Water Release.
A storm churned in his mind as Haruto's earlier words surfaced in his memory.
The two connected naturally—
This man…
He was actually going to use Water Release… to make a waterfall?
As Rasa stared in disbelief, Haruto finished the final seal.
"Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique!"
With a thunderous shout, a massive torrent exploded from beneath Haruto's feet, surging into the depression he had carved earlier and spilling downward.
The sight was so overwhelming that everyone present sucked in a cold breath.
If his earlier Earth Release had been amplified by the terrain of Sunagakure—
This time, there was no water source at all. Haruto had created a colossal waterfall from nothing, relying solely on his overwhelming chakra.
Rasa could only gape.
As the Kazekage of Sunagakure, he had seen much in his lifetime.
But this? Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined it—
A roaring waterfall, born in the heart of their barren desert village.
Just how absurd was this man's chakra?
"Could he… be a jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails?"
Rasa's voice trembled as his mind raced.
It made sense—like Gaara, Haruto might be a jinchūriki, explaining the vast, almost limitless chakra reserves needed for such a Water Release.
The torrent roared down the cliff, rushing straight toward the gathered Suna shinobi.
"Wood Release: Domed Wall of Trees!"
Yamato reacted instantly, weaving seals to raise a massive wall of interwoven wooden vines to shield them from the oncoming flood.
But even with almost all his chakra expended, Yamato couldn't fully hold it back.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Kakashi quickly added his own barrier to support Yamato.
Behind them, the Suna shinobi finally grasped the danger and began using their own defensive jutsu to prevent the flood from sweeping through the village.
Only now did Rasa join the effort, hastily molding chakra to unleash his Magnet Release, trapping the raging torrent within walls of golden sand.
"Damn…"
Even as he fought the flood, Rasa's eyes couldn't help but drift back to Haruto.
"Just… what kind of man is he?"
Two jutsu—only two—and Haruto had reshaped the very geography of Sunagakure.
And still, Rasa couldn't see the slightest sign of fatigue in him.
This man… still had plenty left in the tank.
Haruto looked up, meeting Rasa's gaze with a faint smile.
Then he brought his hands together once more.
Clap!
"Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees!"