Ryoma's voice echoed from above, and a streak of blue sword light pierced the heavens. The fierce sword wind tore through the smoke, scattering the clouds apart, carving a clear "path of emptiness" stretching for several kilometers.
"He dodged the attack just now! Form an encirclement immediately!"
"Earth Release: Colossus of Stone!"
Ōnoki slammed his palms against the ground, and a massive rock golem rose from the earth. The Tsuchikage and the Raikage leaped onto its shoulders, taking position above.
The Colossus roared, raising its stone arms high before swinging them down toward Susanoo.
"Boom!"
Although the Colossus was smaller than Susanoo, its sheer weight disrupted Ryoma's movements midair. Taking advantage of the moment, the lightning surrounding the Fourth Raikage flared once more as he launched a thunderous punch toward Susanoo's brow.
But before the strike could connect, the Colossus was cleaved cleanly in two by a single swing of Susanoo's blade. Faced with the descending edge, Ai's eyes narrowed—he retreated instantly, lightning sparking at his heels.
At the same moment, Rasa gathered a swirling torrent of golden sand, while Yagura began forming a string of seals.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Flood!"
"Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu!"
The golden sand and surging water converged toward Ryoma as he fell through the air. Meanwhile, Ōnoki caught the Raikage and guided him safely back to the ground.
"Boom!"
Susanoo's blade swung in a wide arc, scattering the torrent of sand and water like a violent storm. When the chakra armor finally faded, Ryoma landed back in the center of the battlefield. The four Kage now stood positioned around him—southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast—forming a perfect encirclement.
"Ryoma, you're completely surrounded," Ōnoki declared grimly. "You won't dodge the next attack so easily."
Ryoma glanced around, his calm blue chakra flaring once again. "It really is four against one, huh?"
"Even so, we will win," Ai shouted. "Don't you dare call us dishonorable!"
Yagura's expression was firm, water spiraling across his body. "This isn't about pride. It's about acknowledging your strength through our own resolve."
Ryoma smiled faintly. "Despicable? No… I won't call you that." His tone sharpened, eyes glinting. "But since it's four against one—let's make it interesting."
He formed a hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A burst of smoke erupted around him, and sixteen clones appeared, circling the four Kage.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
The clones split into four groups of four, each team facing one of the Kage directly.
"You think a few shadow clones will scare us?" Rasa said coldly, his face tightening.
"Of course not," Ryoma replied lightly. "I just don't want you to feel outnumbered."
The sixteen clones clasped their hands simultaneously. Their chakra surged—dark, oppressive—and sixteen third-stage Susanoo forms burst forth, towering over the battlefield.
Each Susanoo radiated power equal to Ryoma's own.
Ryoma narrowed his eyes. "Now it's four against one," he said with quiet amusement. "So don't call me unfair."
"After all—you're the Four Kage."
The color drained from their faces as the colossal figures surrounded them. Sweat trickled down their temples—not from exhaustion, but from fear.
"Was this bastard toying with us from the start?" Ai muttered, his voice trembling. For the first time, he understood what his father—the Third Raikage—had felt when facing Ryoma.
A battle without hope. A struggle against inevitability.
"If we can't win… then we can't win," Rasa said quietly, his composure fading.
He finally understood the truth: Ryoma had never been fighting seriously. To him, this was nothing more than a game—a cat playing with its prey.
Ōnoki's earlier talk of "victory" now sounded like a distant joke. Even with all four Kage and the might of their combined armies, it was impossible to defeat this man.
This wasn't a shinobi.
It was a walking calamity.
Just as Rasa attempted to withdraw from the battlefield, four Susanoo clones stomped down in unison. Their immense forms blurred across the night sky like streaks of lightning.
Where they passed, the air distorted and screamed — white vapor trailing like the wake of a falling meteor.
The sheer speed of their movement had already surpassed the limits of normal visual perception. Even the Fourth Raikage, the fastest among them, could no longer track their trajectory.
"You'd better stay right where you are."
Ryoma clasped his hands before his chest, his cold gaze indifferent to the chaos below.
Rasa tried to evade, his gold dust surging defensively — but though he narrowly dodged three strikes, one of the Susanoo clones' blades pierced straight through his abdomen.
The blade's chakra flared violently within him, detonating in a burst of raw destruction.
His blood vaporized in an instant. Then came another explosion — at his chest, his shoulders, his throat — until his entire body was consumed from within.
Rasa stared at his crumbling form in horror, regret twisting his final expression.
Why did I ever choose to oppose him…?
Compromise was nothing shameful in the shinobi world — the First Hokage himself had once relied on sheer might to maintain peace among nations. Why hadn't he done the same?
But no answer came. Ryoma's expression didn't change as he flicked his arm, sending Rasa's mutilated body crashing into the ground — it burst apart into a spray of blood and flesh.
Seeing this, Yagura's face tightened. He quickly leapt backward, hands flashing through seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"
Four water dragons burst upward from beneath Yagura's feet, roaring toward the Susanoo clones with gaping jaws.
"Boom!!"
One of the Susanoo clones effortlessly slashed through the first dragon, shattering it into glittering droplets. The other three clones lunged forward, their massive blue fists crashing down toward the retreating Mizukage.
In desperation, Yagura summoned a massive defensive barrier.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A ten-meter-thick torrent of water rose before him — but it didn't matter. The first punch smashed through it as if it were paper, the shockwave hurling Yagura backward.
The impact numbed his entire body; his organs churned violently, and blood burst from his lips. Still, he forced his body to keep moving, retreating faster, using the rebound of the strike to increase distance.
Fear clawed at his chest, but instinct — the battle-hardened instinct of a veteran shinobi — kept his mind cold and calculating.
He knew stopping meant death.
But against the power of Susanoo, there were limits no human could surpass.
From Ryoma's perspective, his Rinnegan eyes saw everything in crystal clarity — Yagura's movements looked painfully slow, as if time itself had been stretched a hundredfold.
After several exchanges, one Susanoo clone appeared directly above the Mizukage.
The giant sword gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
With a thunderous swing, the blade descended.
A deafening crack followed — and Yagura's body was cleaved cleanly in half from head to toe.
Ryoma exhaled softly. "Two down."
He turned his gaze toward the remaining two Kage, his tone calm, emotionless.
The battlefield fell silent, broken only by the faint hum of Susanoo's chakra and the lingering scent of blood in the air.
...
TN:
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