A monster?
The monster in the eyes of Akimichi Todo and the others was naturally Arata himself.
Looking at the people in the distance, swallowing nervously, he knew that the Wind Release ninjutsu he had released, after accumulating chakra for several hours and consuming more than half of it, had produced an effect that did not disappoint him.
Just as Uchiha Madara could unleash terrifying power from the B-rank technique Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation, Arata, who now possessed the talent of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, could achieve a similar result.
This entrance effect could be considered perfect.It instantly intimidated everyone present.
But this alone was far from enough.
He had to carve fear into their bones, leaving behind an unforgettable impression for the first time he appeared before the world.
"Humans… are you people from the Ninshū?"
That ancient, hoarse tone entered everyone's ears again.
Aburame Ryoma, who had nearly died from that strike, came back to his senses from fear and subconsciously looked toward the black figure in the rain curtain in the distance.
"..."
No one answered.
Or rather, they were still in shock.
'Ninshū? What Ninshū?'
"Not answering?"
Arata's voice was soft.
He slowly closed his eyes and completely released his mind, attempting to sense the power far above in the night sky.
Even Ōtsutsuki Toneri, when he had no eyes, was able to accomplish such a feat.
Now that Arata possessed both the Byakugan and the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, there was no reason he couldn't do the same.
His spiritual power stretched outward like threads, reaching toward the moon hidden behind the clouds in the night sky.
Until his mental strength was about to reach its limit,
Finally, he felt a faintly familiar power.
Though the connection was extremely thin, its terrifying strength could still be sensed.
It was the Giant Tenseigan, formed from the Byakugan of the surviving Ōtsutsuki descendants, a transformation brought about by quantitative accumulation turning into qualitative change.
At this moment, separated by hundreds of thousands of kilometers, Arata leveraged his bloodline to pry open a sliver of "authority."
Something called "ocular power" began pouring into his body.
The world before his eyes became clearer, and the hidden power within his Byakugan was stirred.
Buzz!!
In an instant, an incomparably terrifying aura erupted from Arata's body.
Everyone looking at him felt overwhelming fear surge toward them, a fear that seemed to originate from their very bones.
It felt like a blade had suddenly been placed against their necks.
Like being licked by a predator at the top of the food chain.
At that moment, everyone instinctively wanted to step back.
Arata slowly opened his eyes.
His thin eyelids lifted, revealing brilliant blue eyes like glass, shining in the darkness as if they had gazed upon this world again after centuries.
His gaze was like a thousand knives stabbing into their bodies, pinning everyone to the spot with a single look!
"So this is such powerful strength…"
Arata lowered his eyelids and looked at his palm, slowly clenching it.
Crack! Crack!
Just prying open a small portion already produced such power?
"Not enough."
He lightly licked his lips and whispered,
"Still not enough."
At the same time, as Arata shifted his attention to familiarize himself with the power,
"Hah! Haa!"
The people who had been frozen in place suddenly seemed to have their restraints released, gasping violently as they struggled to steady their chaotic breathing.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Ryoma finally recovered from that fear, sweat, and rainwater sliding down his trembling throat.
He looked at the distant figure, and beneath his fear, resentment, and unwillingness surged forth.
His blood-covered face twisted in ferocity.
'I can't die. I can't die here!'
He had to survive and report everything that happened here to Lord Danzō!
That terrifying chakra and aura, there was no way such a being was some unknown nobody.
They might truly have released a monster.
A monster that had once been sealed and was now freed.
A monster that had lived for who knew how many years.
If such a creature recovered its full strength, none of them would survive.
They had to act now.
"Todo! Toroi!"
Like a trapped beast making its final struggle, the fear of death dispelled his hesitation.
Ryoma roared hoarsely, "If you don't want to die here, attack while he hasn't recovered his full power! Move!!"
The moment those words were spoken, Akimichi Todo and Toroi also snapped back to reality.
If they didn't act now, it would truly be too late. That terrifying aura was growing stronger and stronger.
Soon, just being glanced at by that monster would make them lose the courage to resist.
So the two previously hostile sides no longer hesitated.
They were ninjas.
People who tied their lives to their belts and licked rust off blades.
They would never surrender without resistance, even if their opponent was a genuine monster!
From the power of that Wind Release earlier, escaping was impossible.
But if they could hold out until Kumogakure or Konoha reinforcements arrived, they might still have a chance to kill this monster!
To oppose a monster meant becoming even more insane than it.
If they were crazier than the monster,
Even if the enemy was a monster, so what?
A madman would bite even a monster.
Anyone could tear off bloody pieces of flesh!
Whoosh!
The air seemed to boil with heat.
Arata raised his lowered eyelids.
A flicker of firelight suddenly appeared in his blue eyes.
What came surging toward him was,
Flames.
Flames spreading like an ocean.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!"
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
In the distance, the Konoha ninja formed hand seals and puffed out scorching flames and violent winds.
Wind fueled the fire, turning it into a sea of flames.
It surged toward Arata like a raging tide, as if to burn him completely to ashes.
BOOM!!
The intense heat distorted the air as it rushed forward.
It was like invisible hands of fire strangling their throats.
Toroi and the Konoha ninja instinctively held their breath.
Their trembling pupils stared into the distance, engraving the scene before them into memory.
A crimson tide of flames surged forward like a massive flood.
The firelight split the battlefield into two separate worlds.
Everything twisted under the scorching inferno.
Within the crimson vortex of fire, everything seemed to burn away.
It felt like stepping into a red dream, where reality became unreal.
Rainwater evaporated instantly into thick vapor.
A dense white mist engulfed the entire area.
"How is it?! What happened?! Did it die?!"
Toroi stared ahead intensely.
The burnt skin on his face had fallen off, exposing red blood vessels beneath, making him look even more monstrous.
But as the mist gradually dispersed, his eyes suddenly widened.
A chill rose in his heart.
In the sea of crimson flames, a distorted figure slowly became clear.
The violent flames rushing toward that figure obediently avoided him.
Arata raised one hand before him, an invisible repulsive force split the flames to both sides.
Even the rain could only slide away from him.
Only the firelight licked his face, illuminating his deep blue eyes like something both divine and demonic.
Repulsive force, an ability shared by both the Rinnegan and the Tenseigan.
"Insects."
Ashes danced around him as he looked at the people in the distance.
His voice was calm, "Your power…is as feeble as your lives."
Buzz!
Blue chakra surged out, wrapping around his body like a flowing robe.
His feet slowly left the ground.
Under the terrified gazes of everyone present, his entire body slowly floated into the air.
At the same time, hundreds of meters away, dozens of figures who had been moving through the shadows suddenly stopped.
The leader raised his head to look at the floating figure in the distance.
His wet white bangs covered his left eye.
The visible right eye narrowed slightly.
"What… is that thing?"