"Divine punishment for the world?"
Uchiha Gen smiled faintly. "Then let's make it even more fitting."
"Kyoki, Shizukamaru."
"Here, Master."
With a flash of red light, the pale blade was unsheathed. Kyoki's body swelled, stretching to its full size as it vanished into the storm above.
From below, the Iwagakure–Kusagakure coalition watched in shock as a colossal fire dragon slithered through the thunderclouds, its scales reflecting lightning bolts that split the sky.
Hearts trembled. Even hardened shinobi froze.
Shizukamaru flew into Gen's grip, arcs of electricity dancing across its silver-white blade. The blade resonated with the storm, mirroring the lightning above.
"I'll handle the lightning," Gen said calmly. "You two act freely. But don't underestimate them, Han's Tailed Beast Ball could still threaten us."
"Kyouki, stop playing around. Come back."
"Understood."
Orochimaru and Pakura nodded.
The next moment, Kyouki broke from the clouds, massive wings scattering rain, and the three vaulted onto its back. Pakura sat at the front, Gen at the center, and Orochimaru at the rear.
With Kyouki's full cooperation, Gen guided the lightning within the dragon's body through Shizukamaru. Channeling his spiritual perception to lock onto targets, he swung the blade.
A torrent of blue-white lightning cascaded from the heavens. The storm illuminated the battlefield so brightly it was blinding, and in the span of a breath, hundreds of precise bolts speared down.
The unlucky were those who hadn't already raised their Earth Release defenses.
Lightning is instant, if you hadn't prepared, you had no chance to weave a single seal.
"Ahhh!"
Screams tore the air. In moments, hundreds of shinobi fell convulsing, but none perished.
Not because Kyouki's lightning was mere 'electrotherapy.' Gen had deliberately pulled the killing edge from his strikes.
It was 'divine punishment,' not 'divine slaughter.' If all of them died outright, how would he harvest their souls?
The bolts he called down crippled but rarely killed. Unless a shinobi was already gravely ill or wounded, they would survive but barely.
And leaving them alive had another benefit; it kept the enemy occupied, dragging resources and attention away, which in turn bolstered Konoha and Sunagakure's chances.
Gen restrained himself. Orochimaru and Pakura did not.
Shuryu unleashed a roaring torrent of dragonfire, and with Orochimaru's Wind Release fanning the flames, the inferno grew into a golden-orange sea. Fire cascaded across the battlefield like a descending apocalypse.
They weren't targeting elites. Like Gen, their strikes focused on Genin.
After all, Earth Release defenses from seasoned shinobi would resist the flames. But the Genin? Few could even form proper jutsu in time.
A sea of fire crashed from above. Genin scattered, panic-stricken, but the rocky labyrinth beneath their feet worked against them. Most never escaped. Only those already on the edges of the flames survived; the rest were consumed.
Their screams were different from those struck by lightning, not as many, but far more harrowing. Fire killed slowly. It scorched skin, seared lungs with each breath, and dragged its victims through agony before release.
Cruel, yes. But neither Gen, nor Orochimaru, nor Pakura flinched.
Veterans of countless wars, they had seen every way a person could die. Even a fresh graduate from the Academy was taught to kill without hesitation. This was the shinobi's way, child soldiers forged to carry out missions without falter.
Death was normal. Killing was expected. Even Sakura or Hinata who were among the least violent of Konoha's rookies wouldn't have balked at slaying an enemy if required.
Only the methods shocked them, not the act.
Here, there was no innocence. Only survival.
The first strike shattered enemy morale. Han, the Five-Tails' jinchūriki, roared and transformed. In a heartbeat, the colossal beast appeared, half-horse, half-dolphin, five white tails lashing behind it. Its maw gathered an orb of coalescing chakra, blue laced with purple-black.
Gen's eyes sharpened. He raised Shizukamaru, and the storm answered.
Thunder split the heavens. A ten-meter-wide column of lightning screamed downward, so intense the very air vibrated.
But Kitsuchi and the Iwagakure veterans were ready. Their hands slammed into the ground, channeling chakra. The very hills convulsed, surging upward, forming a gargantuan rock giant that enveloped the Five-Tails like a shield.
BOOM!
The lightning obliterated the giant, shards raining everywhere, but the bijū remained unscathed.
Shuryu didn't need an order. With a sweep of its wings, it ascended at blinding speed, shrinking its body mid-flight to lessen its target. It wanted no part of a Tailed Beast Ball.
A house-sized orb of chakra erupted from Han's maw, blasting upward.
BOOOOM!
The explosion dwarfed thunder itself. The shockwave rolled outward like a tidal wave, light so blinding even seasoned shinobi shielded their eyes.
When the glare faded, both armies craned their necks, breath held.
And then... rolling thunderclouds returned, swelling across the sky.
Konoha erupted in cheers. Sunagakure joined them, though unease tinged their relief. Another prodigy like Minato Namikaze had emerged from Konoha. Different in style, equally terrifying.
For the Iwagakure–Kusagakure coalition, the sight crushed what remained of their morale. To survive such a blast was inhuman.
"Damn it," Kitsuchi spat, jaw tight. "Release the jutsu and attack immediately!"
He had no choice. Han couldn't fire another Tailed Beast Ball so soon; his control was too shallow. Force it, and the Five-Tails might break free entirely. Even as the Tsuchikage's son, Kitsuchi couldn't shoulder that disaster.
They abandoned their labyrinth fortress, scattering into smaller formations, aiming to entangle the enemy directly.
Still, Gen, Kyouki, Orochimaru, and Pakura rained down terror. Thunder, fire, and wind cut their numbers, two hundred more fell before they closed the distance.
The coalition had no air defense. It was like infantry being bombed from above, helpless until they reached melee.
By the time they finally clashed with Konoha and Sunagakure, nearly five hundred shinobi were already lost. One quarter of their strength, gone before steel even met steel.
Fatigue compounded the disadvantage. Many had sprinted desperately to escape the storm, burning energy they would need in close combat.
The battle lines collided. Encircled and battered, Iwagakure and Kusagakure's coalition immediately found themselves at a disadvantage.
If Gen hadn't engaged the enemy elites directly, the coalition would have collapsed outright.
He sent Orochimaru and Pakura down to join the ground fight, while he turned to harvest the 'corn.'
The 'corn' were the wounded left behind by his lightning strikes. Unable to charge, they lay scattered, writhing ready to become sacrifices.
Gen descended among them, expression calm, eyes cold. He wove signs, unleashing a wide-reaching Genjutsu, not Nirvana Abyss, but another fear-inducing illusion. Their souls and lifespans were ripped free, drawn into his body as pale clusters of light.
Nearby injured shinobi looked on in horror, crawling desperately away.
But there was no escape.
Gen harvested quickly, without cruelty. He didn't torture them; he simply ended them swiftly. That was the only respect he gave. Because in their place, no shinobi would ever have spared him.
When the last cornfield was cleared, he returned to the front.
Orochimaru, as always, sought out Han, testing himself against the jinchūriki.
Kitsuchi found himself locked against both Baki and Pakura. One against two, yet holding firm, even pressing them back.
Gen noted it coldly. Last time, Kitsuchi had stolen his harvest by bringing reinforcements. This time, Gen intended to collect his due with interest.
After this war, he knew Konoha would recall him. The high council would never allow him and Orochimaru to interfere with the Cloud or Rock front just like they did in Mist front.
Without his deputy commander post, soul-harvesting wouldn't be as simple.
Why let Shinnosuke Sarutobi reap the benefits, again and again?
His gaze slid over the battlefield. Kyouki dove to support Pakura, both to pin Kitsuchi and to ensure her safety. Gen himself turned toward the nearest jōnin.
His next target.