"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Ōnoki's furious roar shook the battlefield.
The pale gray attack condensed once more, even more solid than before, pressing down toward Shun.
The ultimate moves of the four Kage-level ninjas were unleashed simultaneously. Terrifying energy fluctuations warped the air, and subtle cracks appeared in the space surrounding the battlefield, threatening to completely annihilate the heavily injured Shun.
Kurotsuchi closed her eyes in despair, tears streaming down her cheeks, her heart filled only with endless regret.
If she had not insisted on staying, Shun might still have had a way out.
"Hahaha! Shun, you were defeated in the end!"
Ōnoki's eyes were filled with the satisfaction of revenge.
As he watched his attack about to engulf its target, a ferocious smile appeared on his aged face.
"Kurotsuchi, Grandpa will save you now!"
Nagato curved his lips into a satisfied arc, and a flicker of excitement at having surpassed Shun flashed in his Rinnegan.
"The peak of the Ninja World is mine after all."
But just then, the figure of "Shun" that everyone had locked onto suddenly began to blur.
"Hmm? This is..."
Nagato was the first to sense that something was wrong. His Rinnegan quickly scanned the figure, only to find that its Chakra fluctuations were growing weaker and weaker, showing no sign of resistance whatsoever.
"A clone?"
Ōnoki's smile instantly froze on his face, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He abruptly turned his head, looking around. He unleashed his full Chakra, trying to capture the true aura.
Rasa's and A's attacks also stopped abruptly. The blue lightning and golden sand blades hung in mid-air. They looked at the gradually transparent figure, their faces full of astonishment.
"That's right, it was just a clone."
A cold and authoritative voice suddenly rang out from above the battlefield, like a clap of thunder.
Everyone looked up sharply, only to see a golden pillar of Chakra descending from the sky, landing beside the deep crater in the center of the battlefield.
As the smoke and dust cleared, the true body of Shun slowly appeared.
He wore an intact black trench coat, his Mangekyo Sharingan glowed blood-red, and the pressure emanating from him was several times stronger than that of the previous clone, causing even the four Kage-level ninjas to feel suffocated.
He had been hiding in a spatial rift at the edge of the battlefield, using the ocular jutsu of his Mangekyo Sharingan to block all Chakra detection, silently observing this "grand play" that had been planned by him and Nagato but disrupted by Ōnoki's rage.
"How is that possible? Your clone actually possessed such strength?" Nagato's voice trembled slightly.
His Rinnegan was locked onto Shun's true body, his heart filled with shock.
The clone that had fiercely fought him and withstood the Dust Release earlier had Chakra intensity and combat skills indistinguishable from his peak state.
Ōnoki's face instantly turned pale, the satisfaction in his heart replaced by endless fear. "You... you were watching the whole time?"
Thinking of his recent frenzy and shouting, and his obsession with the "controlled" Kurotsuchi, he felt only absurdity and deep apprehension now.
Kurotsuchi suddenly opened her eyes. Seeing Shun's completely unharmed figure, her eyes instantly burst forth with the light of ecstasy. "Shun! You're alright!"
Shun turned his head to look at Kurotsuchi. The coldness in his eyes instantly faded, replaced by a trace of tenderness. "I told you I would protect you."
Immediately after, his gaze returned to the four Kage-level ninjas, his expression becoming incomparably cold, and the golden Chakra around him surged.
A thousand-meter-tall Susanoo instantly materialized, wielding a golden Chakra longsword and radiating an aura of world-ending destruction.
"The game is over."
Shun's voice was devoid of emotion.
Controlling the golden Susanoo, the longsword swept out fiercely.
The golden slash rushed forth, slashing toward Nagato, Ōnoki, Rasa, and A.
Nagato reacted the fastest, quickly activating Shinra Tensei to form a defensive barrier. But the slash was too powerful this time, the pale purple barrier was instantly shattered.
Nagato's body was struck by the residual slash, sending him crashing heavily into the ground. He spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face ashen.
Ōnoki tried to use Dust Release for defense, but he found that the oppressive aura of the golden Susanoo made the circulation of his Chakra sluggish.
He could only barely activate Earth Release: Earth Style Wall, but as soon as the rock wall formed, it was pulverized by the golden slash.
As Ōnoki's body was grazed by the slash, his left arm instantly became bloody, and he was sent flying backward.
Rasa's gold dust quickly gathered into a shield, but it was torn apart by the slash as if it were paper. The gold dust instantly shattered, and Rasa's body was jolted backward repeatedly, blood spilling from his mouth.
A pushed his Lightning Chakra to the extreme, attempting to dodge using speed, but he found that the golden slash covered the entire battlefield.
He was hit head-on by the slash. His Lightning Chakra shield instantly shattered, and his body flew backward, crashing heavily onto the ground. He struggled to get up but found that the Lightning Chakra within his body was completely chaotic.
With just one strike, all four Kage-level ninjas were severely wounded and lost their ability to fight.
Shun controlled the golden Susanoo, slowly walking toward the four of them. The longsword pointed at the ground, the immense pressure stripping the four of them of even the courage to look up.
"Shun... you won... I still couldn't surpass you."
Nagato lay on the ground, blood continuously spilling from his mouth, his eyes filled with unwillingness and respect.
Ōnoki looked at Shun, then at Kurotsuchi beside him. The obsession in his eyes finally vanished, replaced by endless regret and helplessness. "Kurotsuchi, Grandpa was wrong."
He finally understood that Kurotsuchi had genuinely chosen to stay by Shun's side. His stubbornness and rage had not only failed to save his granddaughter but had also driven himself into a desperate situation.
Rasa and A, meanwhile, looked utterly defeated. They knew they had been completely vanquished this time.
The standing of Sunagakure and Kumogakure would likely plummet due to this failure.
Shun looked down at the four, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. "Did you think your strength could shake me?"
"I will spare your lives today. Go back and tell your villages to surrender to the Land of Water within three days. Otherwise, I will personally lead the army to flatten your villages."
After speaking, he retracted his Susanoo, walked over to Kurotsuchi, and pulled her into his embrace.
Kurotsuchi tightly wrapped her arms around Shun's waist, her face filled with a happy smile. "Shun, let's go home."
"Alright, let's go home."
Shun held Kurotsuchi as golden Chakra erupted around him, transforming into a streak of light that flew toward the Royal Palace of the Land of Water.
Left behind were the four heavily wounded Kage-level ninjas and a devastated battlefield.
They watched Shun's retreating figure, their hearts filled with complex emotions: unwillingness, fear, respect, and a trace of confusion about the future.
The structure of the Ninja World had completely changed in this moment.
The name Shun would be etched like a monument into the heart of every person.