Over the storming seas of the G-18 Fortress Zone, countless warships and rebel vessels clashed in chaos. Cannonfire boomed across the horizon, but under the shockwaves of five sage-level warriors unleashing their full might, the ocean itself had gone mad. Mountains of water roared skyward, the tides twisted into spiraling whirlpools, and even the very fabric of space rippled with violent distortion.
In this hellish battleground, friend and foe alike had long abandoned reason. Everyone—soldiers, mercenaries, and wanderers—fled in every direction, driven only by the instinct to survive.
Within half an hour, the once-mighty fortress had been reduced to rubble. What little land still broke the surface was nothing more than shattered fragments of stone, trembling atop the surging waves.
"Fufufu! Souta Kiryuu, you stubborn fool! You can't fly, can you? Then drown beneath the sea you've enraged!"
Lady Shinra—known among shinobi as the Crimson Matriarch—hovered upon a raging thundercloud beast. Her pink hair whipped wildly in the gale; her crown torn away, her eyes glowed with bloodlust. She swung her massive spirit blade, Emperor's Fang, again and again, unleashing arcs of swordlight that carved through the air toward Souta's crumbling foothold.
Elsewhere in the storm, the Beast Lord Raigon found himself locked in a furious clash against Akatsuru the Red-Haired, whose killing intent burned hotter than fire itself. That brutal duel forced Souta and the grizzled Iron Fist Garpura into an unspoken alliance. Together, the two veterans turned their combined fury toward Lady Shinra.
It drove her insane with rage.
Once, long ago, she had been a beauty whose laughter could charm gods and demons alike. She and Souta had even sailed under the same banner, comrades in a wilder, younger age. And now this decrepit relic dared to side with a shinobi general—one sworn to the very empire she loathed—to strike her down.
If he wanted war, then so be it.
Originally, Lady Shinra had come only to ensure that the Beast Clan and the Dragon Scourge could safely retreat. But after being struck by Souta's quake-infused blows and Garpura's hammering fists, her fury ignited beyond control.
"Souta Kiryuu! You should never have stepped into this war!"
White light blazed from Souta's fist—divine energy mixed with the tremor power of his Heavenbreaker Seal. His strike shattered Shinra's cascading blades of energy, buying himself another breath upon the fragile rock beneath his feet.
But it was only a matter of time before the island beneath him was torn apart completely, swallowed by the storming sea.
"Souta! You've fallen so far you now fight beside the Shinobi Alliance? You and that red-haired brat are disgraces to the title of 'Great Lords!'" Lady Shinra's laughter was cold and venomous. "And Garpura… you're the very one who helped slay our old captain!"
Her words cut deep. Once, she and Souta had both served under Roxen the Mad, the tyrant who sought to rule every sea and land. Souta had never respected Roxen, but after the legendary Battle of the Divine Valley, he'd severed all ties, abandoning that old dream for good.
Since then, he'd stood beside kings and heroes alike—even raising the son of the man he once fought. Now he fought side-by-side with Garpura himself, their fists hammering against the chaos.
If Roxen were still alive to see this—to see his most trusted warrior allied with the very men who had destroyed him—he'd curse himself for not killing Souta when he'd had the chance.
"I don't need your judgment," Souta growled. "I've carried my own sins long enough."
Iron Fist Garpura burst into laughter, stepping upon the air with blinding speed. "We're all too old for speeches! Let's settle this with our fists!"
He lunged, his colossal hand crashing toward Lady Shinra like a meteor.
"Mad dog!" she roared. "Your own son betrayed you and joined the rebels! You're no better than the filth you hunt!"
Her massive arm darkened as she wrapped it in obsidian chakra armor, meeting his strike head-on.
"CLANG!"
The heavens trembled as their fists collided, sending waves of spatial distortion radiating outward. Garpura's raw strength met Shinra's fortified defense, and the thundercloud beast beneath her—Zeusra—snarled in agony as it struggled to withstand the impact.
The beast's form wavered, retreating hundreds of meters through the air, while Garpura himself was hurled backward, smashing into a floating rock fragment that crumbled beneath him. With a snort, he stepped back onto thin air, holding his position high above the storm.
On the flagship Moby Whale, the fire-wielding shinobi Aceku stared in horror as Souta's last foothold began to disintegrate beneath him. "We have to go back! He's not safe out there!" he shouted, ordering the crew to turn the ship into the raging current.
Beside him, Marco the Undying—whose blue flames could heal nearly any wound—nodded grimly. "The sea's calmed just enough. If we move now, we might reach him in time."
Unlike Garpura or Akatsuru, Souta was no longer able to walk the air. The chakra strain of his Heavenbreaker power had ravaged his body; even activating it once was a risk.
While the rest of the fleets fled for their lives, the massive white whale vessel fought its way against the storm—its hull groaning under the pressure—as it returned toward the ruined fortress.
Souta glanced back and frowned as he saw it. "Fools… what are they doing…"
"Fufufu! Looks like your precious disciples can't bear to see you sink beneath the sea!" Lady Shinra laughed, her voice echoing across the storm. "Then let's give them a farewell worth remembering!"
She raised both arms toward the heavens. "Divine Soul Art—Tenma: The Celestial Wrath of Raijin!"
A thousand soul-lights burst from her palms, merging with the roiling clouds above. Thunder roared as the sky took on a will of its own, the lightning alive and screaming with hunger. Purple and silver bolts cascaded down toward the Moby Whale, striking at Souta's men like living serpents.
Unable to wound Souta himself, she turned her fury upon those dearest to him.
"You dare!" Souta's roar shook the world. Strike him if you must—but not his sons.
Ignoring the agony tearing through his body, he hurled himself into the air, his massive blade Cloudsplitter swinging with enough force to bend the heavens. The handle bent under the pressure as he unleashed the quake's full might.
The shockwave—a blinding wall of power—raced toward Lady Shinra.
"NO! Mother!!"
Zeusra screamed as space itself cracked apart. Its cloud-body split under the force, torn to ribbons by the seismic blast.
Lady Shinra's armored skin cracked like porcelain, crimson blood bursting forth as she fell screaming from the sky.
"Prometheus!" she shrieked.
The orb of flame bound to her spirit swelled into a massive firestorm, catching her before she hit the sea. The air reeked of ozone and ash as she glared upward, trembling with rage.
"Souta Kiryuu!!"
Even as she stabilized herself, she poured more of her soul's power into the shattered thundercloud. It twisted, grew darker, and came alive once more—Zeusra reborn, its lightning black and unholy, flickering with impossible energy.
Meanwhile, Souta's final foothold disintegrated. The shockwaves from his own attack had destroyed even the ground beneath him. Forcing his battered body to move, he leapt through the air toward his ship, chakra crackling weakly under his feet.
Marco and Aceku flew out to meet him, deflecting the furious lightning that rained down upon them. Souta's face was pale, his breath ragged—the toll of his power tearing through him.
He had fought Raigon and Shinra for too long. His body was collapsing, the damage now far beyond what even his monstrous resilience could endure.
Hidden among the drifting warships, the Holy General Masen, who had been watching in silence, narrowed his eyes.
At last, he saw it—
The perfect chance to end both Souta Kiryuu and Aceku in one strike.