"Damn you, brat from Konoha! I'll kill you!" A Suna shinobi, eyes bloodshot with rage after witnessing Pakura and his comrades cut down, roared as he swung his ninja blade and charged at Mitsuki.
Mitsuki calmly parried the strike with Mistcutter. Clearly, anger alone hadn't given that ninja any real strength.
With a single hand seal, Mitsuki released the current of Chidori, channeling it through his blade and directly into the man's body.
Once the enemy was paralyzed, Mitsuki shoved his sword forward, knocking aside the shinobi's blade, then cleanly decapitated him.
"Don't make me out to be some final boss villain, alright?" He gave Mistcutter a sharp flick, sending droplets of blood scattering into the air.
The battle here was already over.
The clash between Sunagakure's Scorch Release user Pakura and Konoha's young prodigy Shimizu Mitsuki had ended—with Mitsuki's overwhelming victory.
Countless eyes on the battlefield bore witness to this fact.
Even now, many Suna shinobi couldn't accept what they had just seen. A mere twelve-year-old kid from Konoha had taken down one of their elite jōnin, the wielder of Scorch Release, in just a few exchanges.
This was Pakura—someone once considered strong enough to be named the Fourth Kazekage after the Third went missing.
And yet… Konoha's geniuses were this absurd?
On the Konoha side, the shock was no less. Until now, the name "Mitsuki" was usually heard alongside Minato.
Most only knew of him as Konoha's number-one prodigy—exceptional in ninjutsu, creator of a powerful Wind Release jutsu, and someone with limitless potential.
But this wasn't just potential. To kill an elite jōnin with a kekkei genkai at this age and walk away unscathed? Give him a few more years, and wouldn't Konoha have another God of Shinobi on its hands?
Leaving aside the shock of ordinary shinobi—
Elsewhere, Minato, still engaged in a fierce fight with Chiyo, couldn't help but feel excitement surge within him when he saw Mitsuki cut down Pakura. At this rate, Konoha could end this war against Suna with minimal losses.
Chiyo, of course, had noticed Pakura's defeat as well. When Mitsuki dragged Pakura underground with an Earth Release technique, she had wanted to rush to his aid.
But Minato immediately saw through her intent, unleashing the Shuriken Shadow Clone.
Thousands of kunai filled the air, forcing both Chiyo and her puppets into his attack range. Helpless, she was forced to use Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu for defense.
That jutsu demanded her full focus, leaving her unable to assist Pakura.
Though Pakura's death left Chiyo bitter with regret, there was no time to mourn.
Her brother Ebizō was still locked in battle against Jiraiya, while she herself was firmly tied down by Minato.
And now that boy was still unscathed, despite killing Pakura. Not only that, but Chiyo could still sense his chakra.
It hadn't decreased at all.
Absurd.
Being monstrously strong at his age was one thing, but to have such a vast chakra reserve on top of it?
Their intelligence had suggested his chakra was above average, but this was way beyond that. That dark-purple fireball he'd unleashed earlier was still hovering in midair!
Had the Senju or Uzumaki clans misplaced one of their children?
Among the Suna forces here, no one remained who could face him head-on.
"It's all up to Rasa's unit now…" Chiyo thought grimly.
Meanwhile, Mitsuki, having finished off Pakura, turned his gaze toward Minato's battlefield.
To him, the plan was simple: kill or capture Chiyo, and the Suna forces would collapse without their commander. Even if the enemy chose to fight to the death, he and Minato together could tear through them like gods of war.
Suna's defeat was only a matter of time.
And yet—Something felt… off.
Deflecting a sudden volley of kunai with Mistcutter, Mitsuki raised his left hand in the shape of a finger-gun and aimed at the attacker.
The Suna shinobi, puzzled by the odd gesture, froze for a few seconds, then—seeing Mitsuki unmoving—assumed the boy was low on chakra.
Relieved, he tried to flee.
But in war, Mitsuki never showed mercy.
If you dared raise your blade against him, then you'd better be ready to die.
At his fingertip, a small Rasengan condensed—just the size of a coin.
"Finger-Gun Rasengan."
Whoosh—!
The spinning sphere shot forth, piercing through the fleeing shinobi's chest and tearing his heart apart.
The man collapsed against a tree, lifeless.
The nearby Suna shinobi, who had thought Mitsuki would be drained after killing Pakura, finally realized the truth—and froze in terror.
The battlefield grew silent around Mitsuki. But deep inside, that uneasy feeling still gnawed at him.
Activating his Six Eyes, he scanned the battlefield. Chiyo was still occupied with Minato. Jiraiya remained tangled with Ebizō. Pakura lay dead.
That left only Rasa, and perhaps the One-Tails' jinchūriki, Bunpuku.
Mitsuki hadn't seen either of them here, but he hadn't been concerned. After all, Suna had enemies besides Konoha. Surely they had left someone to defend their village. Surely Rasa and Bunpuku wouldn't leave to strike Konoha's rear lines…
…Would they?
No. Sunagakure couldn't be that reckless.
Besides, Tsunade was holding the rear encampment. Even if Rasa and the jinchūriki attacked, she could hold them off until reinforcements arrived.
For now, Mitsuki pushed down his unease. He would help Minato take down Chiyo, then they could respond to anything else.
But just as he moved to act—
He froze. A faint sound reached his ears.
He leapt into the treetops and looked toward Konoha's rear encampment.
And there, in the far distance, a massive mushroom cloud was rising into the sky.
The sound he'd just heard—was an explosion.
Even at this distance—over a hundred kilometers away—the sound had reached them. The scale of the blast was unimaginable.
Mitsuki lowered his gaze, sheathing Kubikiribōchō, his breath sinking into his chest.
Cold, suffocating killing intent surged outward from his body.
"Sunagakure…"