The houses created by the Four-Pillar House Technique stretched all the way beyond the compound walls before Ruri finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Everyone, get inside the houses!" Ruri shouted. This method was somewhat crude, far less elegant than Gaara simply blocking all ninjutsu with his sand, but it was the strongest defense he could manage under the circumstances.
Hagane Maemori, having recovered some strength, took over the task of directing. Everyone filed into the houses in an orderly fashion. Only after everyone else was inside did Hagane Masataka help the weakened Hagane Maemori enter.
"Damn this Wood Release! Since when did he know a jutsu like this? But a jutsu of this scale must have consumed a massive amount of chakra! Retreat for now!" Seeing his subordinates' ninjutsu having no effect on the houses, Kubisaki Ichiro decided to withdraw. His goal of draining Ruri's chakra had been accomplished anyway.
If just defending against their ninjutsu had cost him so much chakra, what would they use to resist when Rihee unleashed the forbidden jutsu?
"As we move further away with the connecting houses, this area will become extremely dangerous soon. Those who can use defensive jutsu, don't stop!" Ruri continued building houses. The quality of the Wood Release structures was excellent, but he wasn't certain they could withstand a forbidden jutsu of that level. His only option was to keep building to distance themselves from the epicenter.
Having witnessed Ruri's wholehearted efforts to protect them, the shinobi had fully accepted him as their Kage and followed his orders without hesitation.
"Faster!" Ruri helped up a middle-aged shinobi who had stumbled. In his perception, natural energy was gathering at an alarming rate. The explosion was imminent!
In the next moment, a surge of immense power erupted from Tsuchigumo Rihee, engulfing nearly half of Takigakure and the area where Ruri and the others were. Everything yielded under this oppressive force; even the air swirled into hurricane-like gusts.
The first casualty was a nearby waterfall, a cascade dozens of meters high that was instantly flattened into a lake!
Feeling the sheer power, Ruri's heart sank. The blast radius had likely enveloped many civilian residences and buildings within the village. Even after quelling the coup, it would take a long time for the village to recover.
The shinobi with Ruri in the wooden houses were all veterans who had survived the era of war. Knowing they might not escape unscathed, they instantly reacted, adjusting their stances to minimize the impact. Combined with the buffer provided by the wooden houses and their prepared defensive jutsu, they absorbed most of the shockwave. Even so, many suffered broken bones and dislocated internal organs from the forbidden technique's force.
It's time to end this. Once the冲击 subsided, Ruri used a Wind Style technique to clear away the debris. He himself was largely unharmed, though his chakra was severely depleted. Nevertheless, his remaining reserves were sufficient.
According to his senses, Kubisaki Ichiro and the elite Kubisaki shinobi were gathered with Rihee at the center of the blast zone, having taken shelter from the energy wave. This presented Ruri with the perfect opportunity to eliminate them all at once.
The turbulent weather caused by the massive flow of natural energy was something Ruri could use. He formed a rapid series of hand seals, his chakra flowing as he manipulated the dark, churning clouds above. Bolts of lightning began to crackle and grow within them!
"Lightning Style: Kirin!"
In an instant, electricity arced from the void, and thunder exploded, lighting up the sky as if it were daytime!
How could Ruri, possessing the Lightning affinity, not have striven to develop an ultimate Lightning Style technique like the Kirin? This was the first time he had used it successfully since its development, and he was fueled by fury. Its power was in no way inferior to Sasuke's in the original story!
Lacking the Sharingan, Ruri couldn't perfectly control the lightning's path. He had to place the Truth-Seeking Ball in front of him to block the stray bolts that came his way. Ironically, these零星 strikes made him look like a thunder god descended to earth, holding lightning in his hands!
Under Ruri's guidance, the earth-shattering bolt of lightning descended from the heavens. The Kirin's thunder annihilated the lingering natural energy, causing it to dissipate as quickly as snow under a blazing sun!
Then, it struck directly at the center of the blast zone where Rihee and the Kubisaki shinobi were gathered. The outcome was a foregone conclusion. Unless they had an even more powerful technique to block it, survival was impossible!
"What kind of jutsu is this? Divine punishment?" The Takigakure shinobi around Ruri looked at each other in shock, unable to contain their exclamations. The more timid ones trembled, some even forgetting the pain of their internal injuries! This strike from nature itself was unbelievable. In terms of pure power, it was on par with the earlier forbidden jutsu, but its sheer spectacle was even more震撼!
After a brief rest, Ruri led the group back towards the village. On the way, Hagane Maemori and Hagane Masataka, unable to contain their curiosity and wanting to check for survivors, went to inspect the site where the Kirin had landed.
"Is that charred, massive thing... the lizard?" Hagane Maemori gasped. No large summoning creature had ever been killed in the shinobi world before, as they were automatically reverse-summoned to safety upon receiving fatal injuries. This demonstrated just how incredibly fast that lightning strike was—too fast for the summoning technique to react!
The模糊, human-shaped form atop the giant charred corpse was likely Kubisaki Ichiro. Thinking how he had been arrogantly attacking them just minutes ago, only to end up like this, Hagane Masataka couldn't help but sigh. The Takikage's power was several levels beyond theirs!
"Kubisaki Jirō... Kubisaki Saburō... Kubisaki Shirō..." Hagane Maemori counted. All the elite shinobi of the Kubisaki Clan lay there, charred black and almost unrecognizable. It seemed the once-powerful Kubisaki Clan, who had dominated regions with their giant lizards and received respectful treatment from small countries, had been wiped out.
"Wait! Tsuchigumo Rihee isn't here!" Hagane Masataka noticed something was wrong. All the Kubisaki members were present, but the Tsuchigumo Clan leader, the one who had forced them to cower狼狈ly in the wooden houses, was missing!
"He survived?" Ruri was slightly surprised, but it wasn't a major concern. This was his first time using the Kirin, and his final step of guiding the lightning wasn't yet perfected, so the power hadn't reached its maximum. As the leader of the Tsuchigumo Clan, who could utilize natural energy, surviving the blow wasn't entirely unexpected. However, taking a direct hit like that, even if he wasn't dead, he was certainly crippled.
"Back to the village, quickly! Seeing the commotion here, the Fūma Clan in the village will probably make a move against Kakuzu." Ruri had left Kakuzu in the village precisely for this reason—to draw away some of the enemy shinobi and to prevent any desperate survivors from harming the villagers.
"Understood!" everyone responded in unison. Though most were still injured, their anger hadn't diminished. They needed to repay the humiliation suffered during their imprisonment. With such a powerful Takikage leading them, what was there to fear? The Fūma shinobi still in the village were the perfect outlet for their fury!
The subsequent events proceeded smoothly. When Ruri led the group back into the village, the remaining Fūma shinobi, who had been lying low, were stunned. They had assumed the Takikage and the others would perish under the Tsuchigumo Clan's forbidden jutsu!
The Takigakure forces immediately fanned out, overwhelming the Fūma shinobi with numbers. Ruri easily defeated the Fūma Clan leader. Understanding the disparity in power, the Fūma shinobi surrendered outright.
The only setback was that Kakuzu was injured, and his injuries were severe.