The violent gale carrying endless sand surged backward! Trees, stones, boulders, and even the charred red willows rooted deep underground were uprooted.
The Wind Style: Infinite Sand Dust Great Breakthrough, when released by the One-Tailed Shukaku, could cover kilometers. Ryusa's modified version, though smaller, instantly devastated everything in its path. Even Ren Uchiha couldn't hold his ground; he was forced back, nearly swept into the sky. He had to drive a kunai deep into the earth, clinging to it like a flag fluttering in a hurricane.
But his right arm—the one he had severed—traversed a hundred meters in the wind within seconds.
By Ren's precise calculation, it flew straight toward the remaining Sand squad currently suppressing Manda.
The Sand ninjas, caught in the edge of Ryusa's own gale, shielded their eyes. None of them expected a charred, glowing limb to come flying out of the storm.
One ninja, sensing danger, blew a Wind Style: Air Current Dance to push the strange object away. However, the Dark Chakra packed into that arm was already undergoing a chain reaction. Following the logic of Fire Style: Chakra Mode, the chakra was burning itself, creating a runaway effect.
The moment the Air Current Dance hit the arm, it didn't blow it away—it provided oxygen and fuel.
The flames expanded, igniting the wind, the ninjas, the chakra in the air, and even Manda herself. The energy swelled to its absolute limit before collapsing into a singularity.
BOOM!!!!!!
A roar far more terrifying than the previous fire dragon shook the world. Ryusa and Ren both turned their heads in shock. The night sky was bleached white, followed by the rising of a colossal, crimson mushroom cloud that seemed to burn a hole straight through the heavens. Deidara himself would have called this "Art."
Ryusa fell to his knees, his face twisted in agony and disbelief. "What... what was that?! DAMN IT! DAMN IT ALL! What have you done, you demon?!"
His subordinates were gone. Out of three hundred men, fewer than ten remained scattered across the battlefield. In the center of the blast, only a massive, purple snake corpse lay motionless.
"Did... I do that?" Ren's face twitched.
By the Sage, he knew how much chakra produced how much boom. He had expected a tactical grenade to break the formation and free Manda. He hadn't expected a tactical nuke.
Why did it burn their chakra too? That's... literally too 'lit'.
Ren let out a long breath and smirked. He was confused about the upgrade, but a win was a win. On the battlefield, life and death were cheap, and he felt no guilt for his enemies.
Ryusa, seeing Ren's smile, snapped. "You wicked Uchi—"
Before he could finish, a massive, scarred purple snake head burst from the ground, jaws open wide. Ryusa felt a chill down his spine and looked back in horror.
Manda?! Why is it here?! Didn't it die in the blast?! The body is still over there!
Manda didn't care about the snacks' confusion. With a sickening crunch, it swallowed Ryusa and a chunk of the earth whole. A few muffled thumps echoed from the snake's throat as Ryusa struggled, but within three minutes, the pressure of the snake's gullet silenced him forever.
Ren had predicted this. Through his Sharingan, he had seen the surge of chakra moving underground—Manda had used the Shedding Skin technique to escape the blast and burrow to safety.
Subtitles flooded Ren's vision:
[You valiantly defeated the Sand Elite Jonin, Ryusa. Obtained skill: Wind Style—Great Vacuum Cannon (B, Proficient).]
[Critical Hit! Skill evolved: Wind Style—Great Vacuum Howitzer (B+, Expert).]
[Your Heartsteel stacks have increased.]
A long list of minor Wind and Earth style skills from the dead ninjas followed, but Ren ignored them. The Great Vacuum Cannon was the only prize worth noting—a long-range wind pulse on par with Danzo's techniques. If combined with his fire style later, it would be devastating.
"Whew..."
Ren collapsed onto the ruins, staring up at the Milky Way. The night wind was cool, and the battlefield was finally silent. His brain, which had been overclocked for hours, finally went blank. He was truly out of chakra.
But then, a familiar hiss filled his ears. The massive shadow of Manda loomed over him, its eyes filled with a predatory, cold light.
"Kid... you actually tried to blow me up too?" Manda hissed, its voice thick with rage. "You even vaporized all my sacrifices..."
Manda lowered its head, its slit pupils shimmering with killing intent as it stared at the paralyzed Ren. "Do you feel you've lived quite long enough?"
Ren looked at the massive snake and let out a dry, defiant chuckle. "Stupid snake. Are you actually thinking of rebelling against your master?"
Manda's face contorted into a very human-like sneer. "And why shouldn't I? You have no chakra left. You can't use that giant fire sword, and you can't even use the regeneration technique Orochimaru taught you!"
The snake opened its maw, a cold draft blowing from its throat. "It's time you learned who the real master is! SSSS!"