Boom!
Torrential rain poured down, thunder splitting the sky.
Everyone present, including Toroi, stared at the flames that split apart in the distance—and at the figure walking out of the fire.
Cold sweat slowly seeped from their foreheads.
What kind of jutsu is that?
Some kind of unknown kekkei genkai?
At the same time, far away, Hyūga Kumokawa raised his hand.
Blue chakra surged forth, wrapping around his body like a robe fluttering in the wind.
That gentle force lifted his body, slowly causing him to float into the air.
Immediately afterward, two black chakra orbs condensed, circling around Kumokawa's wrists.
The "orbs" condensed by the Tenseigan were not the same as the Truth-Seeking Orbs that could only be used after fusing with the Ten Tails.
In fact, their function was closer to the black receivers of the Rinnegan.
But when Kumokawa tried to condense a third orb, suddenly, that already fragile connection was severed.
He lost his sense of the Tenseigan on the moon, unable to draw upon its ocular power any longer.
"So quick to react, huh?"
Blue eyes calm and unshaken, Kumokawa thought:
Looks like the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon isn't completely extinct after all.
Right now, Ōtsutsuki Toneri should be only three or four years old, just like Naruto.
If it were only him, it would be impossible to cut off the connection so quickly.
Which meant—there would only be this one chance to borrow power from that Tenseigan.
Realizing this, Kumokawa suppressed both greed and unease in his heart.
He lifted his gaze toward the dozens of unfamiliar presences approaching from afar.
Finally, they're here.
With this amount of ocular power, it should be enough… to present the final act of this play.
Buzz! Buzz!
The roar of giant shuriken cutting through the rain split the air with piercing shrieks.
Eight massive shuriken spun toward Kumokawa, intent on shredding him apart.
"Magnet Release: Twin-Edged Sparrow Bee!"
Brilliant sparks erupted before him, bursting and scattering in the dim rain-soaked night. In mere seconds, dozens of exchanges clashed.
A desperate struggle.
Toroi had gone insane—completely disregarding chakra consumption, unleashing everything to kill him.
He even advanced straight toward Kumokawa, his bloodied face twisted into a feral snarl.
But Almighty Push was not irresistible. The caster would also bear part of the rebound force.
Just like when Pain's Deva Path fought the berserk Six-Tails Naruto, if something couldn't be repelled, it would rebound upon the caster and blow them away.
Kumokawa now felt that same heavy backlash.
"Magnet Release shinobi… Toroi, is it?"
Kumokawa thrust out his hand.
Several dull impacts resounded—the encircling shuriken were blown back by his repulsion.
Bang! Bang!
When Toroi tried to control them again, Kumokawa's figure suddenly vanished from sight.
The target disappeared from his vision.
"Above!!"
The shout of Akimichi Doto came from behind. Toroi's pupils shrank as he instinctively raised his head.
But before he could even react, immense force crushed down from above.
Boom!
It was as if an iron wall slammed upon him, forcing Toroi to his knees. His kneecaps cracked with a chilling snap.
"That emblem on your forehead…"
Rainwater slid from his hood.
Kumokawa looked down upon Toroi's forehead protector, his brilliant eyes shining brighter than the moon above.
"Tell me," his voice rasped, low and cold, "does the Shinobi Sect still exist?"
On his knees, humiliated and in agony, Toroi felt the oppressive gaze from above.
Shame, rage, and fear consumed him.
"Still not talking?"
Kumokawa's tone remained indifferent, flat as still water.
Crack! Crack!
"Ahhh!!!"
Bones splintered with sickening pops. Troy collapsed on all fours, screaming.
Desperation overcame him as he cried out:
"N-no! It doesn't exist! The Shinobi Sect is only a legend!!"
"Legend?" Kumokawa murmured to himself. "Ninja still exist… but the Shinobi Sect created by Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo has vanished?"
Ōtsutsuki… Hagoromo?! Shinobi Sect?!
What did that mean?!
Toroi's eyes shook violently, an unthinkable suspicion flashing through his mind.
He struggled to look up at the figure above.
Amidst storm and rain, that figure stood like jagged black cliffs—unyielding, unbreakable.
Even the mightiest waves crashing upon it would only shatter.
His pride as a shinobi of kekkei genkai blood felt laughable before this monster.
Like fish flailing against stone, his fangs and claws only led to despair.
Sensing something, Kumokawa turned his gaze afar.
While he had been dealing with Toroi, the Konoha group had fled together.
A wise choice.
Floating in midair, Kumokawa did not pursue. Instead, he looked toward the rustling woods to the side.
Amidst the noise of countless footsteps, dozens of muscular shinobi burst forth.
"That's…"
"Lord Toroi!"
The stationed Kumogakure shinobi at the border of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Lightning had arrived—only to be met with this terrifying, bizarre sight.
But their reaction was swift. Signal flares shot into the sky, illuminating the rain-dark night. Their shadows multiplied across the ground.
In mere breaths, the entire area was encircled. No room for escape, not even wings could get out.
The Cloud shinobi's combat discipline was high. In moments, a tight blockade was formed, awaiting their commander's order.
"Run!!"
Toroi's agonized roar froze them in shock.
Run? But it's only one man—who needs to run?!
"He's a monster! A monster sealed here! His power is—"
Before Toroi could finish, Kumokawa's eyelids lowered slightly.
Boom!
Toroi's limbs twisted grotesquely as he slammed into the ground, eyes bloodshot to the brink of bursting.
His face pressed into the earth, warped in agony beyond words.
The Cloud shinobi paled. A few hot-headed ones charged forward.
"Release Lord Toroi!!"
Kumokawa sighed. "So noisy."
Bang!!
Like a human-shaped blood bag bursting open, Toroi exploded in a shower of crimson, flesh and fluids spraying across the ground.
"Damn you!!" The Cloud shinobi roared, issuing the order: "Attack! Kill him!!"
Finally, Kumokawa raised his head toward the charging enemy.
Lifting his arm gently, the two chakra orbs spun faster and faster before him.
A silver ring appeared—flawless, perfect.
Facing the incoming jutsu, Kumokawa whispered softly:
"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion."
The indifferent decree unleashed a terrifying maelstrom.
Boom!!
A deafening roar tore through the rain.
The shockwave split the ground itself, his hood blown back to reveal deep azure eyes glowing like the abyss.
Far away, upon a tree kilometers away, a black-and-white figure emerged from the trunk.
"No… no way! Who is that?!"
For all its millennia of knowledge, Black Zetsu stared in horror. Fear chilled its very soul.
Who is that man?! How can such power exist in the shinobi world?!
"Don't just stand there! Run!!" White Zetsu, even more terrified, immediately burrowed underground, fleeing without hesitation.
At the same time, in another direction, the battered Konoha group was fleeing.
At the rear, the "Hyūga Kumokawa" among them suddenly stopped. He turned toward the unnoticed shadows nearby.
"Heh… so you're Hyūga Kumokawa. I've heard much about you."
A bandaged figure emerged, eyes gleaming with greed as he stared at Kumokawa's Byakugan.
"I was tailing that Magnet Release shinobi, but… the Byakugan seems just as good."