Watching the stubborn Chōmei, Kazuyama Gekkō let out a hearty laugh and slammed his hands forward. Countless crystals formed out of thin air, instantly transforming into a barrage of crystal blades.
"Let's see how many eyes you've got!"
"Go!"
There were no fancy techniques—just pure crystal shaped into weapons. But with Senjutsu chakra fueling it, the speed and quantity of the crystallization were downright overwhelming. If Chōmei's charge was like a falling meteor, then Kazuyama unleashed an entire meteor shower. A sky full of crystal blades swallowed the enemy completely.
"Hmph! Trying to find a blind spot in my field of vision?"
"Dream on!"
"Susanoo!"
Even though his full-body form had been destroyed earlier, Muren Uchiha still summoned Susanoo. After all, Susanoo was the strongest ability granted by the Mangekyō Sharingan, supreme in both offense and defense. Dōjutsu might have blind spots, but Susanoo could make up for them.
To conserve chakra and stamina, however, he only manifested the skeletal form this time.
Seeing this, Kazuyama Gekkō flashed a sinister grin.
"Hehehe…"
"Crystal Release: Positron Cannon!"
In the next moment, a beam of blinding light erupted nearby. A stream of energy, as thick as an arm, shot forward and struck Susanoo squarely in the back.
"BOOM!"
The freshly formed Susanoo shattered instantly without resistance.
"Damn it!"
With his defense broken, Muren Uchiha's expression changed drastically. Without Susanoo's protection, the storm of blades was already closing in.
"Defend! Keep defending!"
"Crystal Release: String of Glory!"
Kazuyama Gekkō understood one thing clearly: when the enemy is weak, you finish them. With the defense already broken—apart from Chōmei, who was trapped by the dōjutsu—Kazuyama unleashed a jaw-dropping offensive burst. Crystal blades and light beams rained down at once, forcing Muren into a desperate situation.
"Fire Release: Blazing Prison!"
Left with no other option, Muren Uchiha activated a defensive jutsu. It couldn't fully block the assaults, but he only needed a single instant. As the flames surged upward, he released the dōjutsu. Chōmei's massive body crashed hard into the ground.
Kazuyama's attacks struck fully, and flame or not—under overwhelming power, fire could only be smothered.
"BOOM!"
A violent impact sent dust flying everywhere.
Kazuyama Gekkō simply spat in disdain.
"Fast reflexes, I'll give you that. You stopped resisting and used your dōjutsu to eject yourself out of the attack range."
"I have to admit—every Mangekyō Sharingan has its own unique ability, and your pair really is impressive."
As he spoke, Kazuyama turned, eyes locked straight onto his opponent. Beyond enhancing attacks, Senjutsu energy also granted formidable sensory capabilities. As long as Muren stayed within his perception range, Kazuyama could track his movements instantly.
"Hmph. So that's the sensory power of Senjutsu."
"You really are our greatest obstacle."
Reappearing within Kazuyama's sight, Muren Uchiha's expression grew even more serious. Even for him, Sage Mode of this caliber was difficult to counter—defeating Kazuyama was out of the question.
For a moment, the idea of retreat crossed his mind.
"What? Thinking of running?"
"Isn't it a little late for that?"
"Even if you return to Konoha now, those non-human soldiers of yours have probably already been wiped out."
"Thinking you alone can kidnap Gaara? That's a bit unrealistic, isn't it?"
Kazuyama smiled as he spoke. Bringing Muren out of the village had been a deliberate move to sabotage the plan at its root.
Sure enough, Muren's heart sank at Kazuyama's words.
But suddenly, he laughed.
That laughter made Kazuyama pause.
"You really think that's all we've prepared?"
"Oh? My sensory barrier covers all of Konoha. I doubt you have any trump cards left."
Muren Uchiha kept smiling without explaining, but his eyes began to spin—clearly, whatever "backup plan" he mentioned had something to do with him.
"BOOM!!"
A faint tremor rippled through the ground. It was small, but Kazuyama immediately sensed it. And if it was this weak here, then somewhere else, the shaking had to be much stronger.
"Kazuyama Gekkō, I acknowledge your strength."
"But never underestimate your enemy—especially the Uchiha Clan!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Come fight!"
After laughing, Muren once again wrapped himself in Susanoo and charged toward Kazuyama. Something about this felt wrong to Kazuyama.
At the same moment, in Konohagakure—
"BOOM!"
Massive tremors erupted from all directions around the village.
"What's going on?"
Minato Namikaze and Hyūga Hiashi had just finished off two soldiers. Even though those soldiers were created using various abilities, they couldn't withstand Minato's relentless attacks. They were now reduced to scattered fragments.
But the sudden rumbling drew Minato's attention. From a high vantage point, he surveyed the surroundings—and what he saw sent shock through him.
Towering stone walls had appeared around Konohagakure, growing rapidly. If these walls collapsed, Minato estimated, they could bury the entire village.
"Looks like Muren ran into trouble, forcing him to use his backup plan."
"But this certainly puts Konoha in a dangerous spot."
Black Zetsu observed from the shadows.
This was the contingency plan he and Muren had prepared. If the attack didn't go smoothly, they would activate the seals buried around the village.
The seals consisted of two stages. The first activated Earth Release, creating the massive stone walls. The second was detonation—once the walls grew large enough, the preset trap would trigger.
The explosion would topple the walls, and they were positioned to fall directly toward Konohagakure.
Once such massive walls collapsed, the village would be completely crushed.
"It seems we need to wait a bit longer for the walls to reach their critical size."
"In that case—"
"Ninja Art: Spore Technique!"
Black Zetsu wasn't alone—White Zetsu stood beside him. The Spore Technique was White Zetsu's specialty.
As White Zetsu's cells dispersed, nothing remained except to wait for the spores to mature.
With this technique supporting the plan, the stone walls would surely reach critical mass in time.