The Tailed Beast Ball was the most destructive technique possessed by the tailed beasts themselves. It was formed by compressing chakra in a two-to-eight ratio—two parts the user's chakra, eight parts the tailed beast's chakra.
A jinchūriki, once they reached a certain level of control, could also unleash this terrifying power.
Crimson and azure chakra surged endlessly into Kyusei's palm.
A massive black sphere began to take shape in midair.
Almost everyone below stared up in horror at that enormous black orb suspended above them.
If an attack of this level were to fall—
Kusagakure would be erased from the map.
"W-Wait!"
"Please, listen to us!"
Someone below desperately tried to plead on behalf of the Grass Village.
Kyusei didn't hear a single word.
"Go explain it to the Sage of Six Paths."
In Kyusei's eyes, these people were nothing but filth—
trash, vermin, parasites.
The violently surging chakra suddenly began to compress inward.
In the blink of an eye, the gigantic Tailed Beast Ball collapsed into a sphere no larger than a billiard ball, resting quietly in Kyusei's palm.
His gaze was icy.
With a simple flick of his wrist, the black sphere dropped toward the ground.
At the same instant, Kyusei vanished from the area, carrying Uzumaki Mika with him.
The moment he left—
Blinding white light swallowed everything.
Wind.
Color.
Sound.
All of it was consumed by that absolute radiance.
The world fell silent.
The world turned white.
Before that billiard-ball-sized Tailed Beast Ball, everything was fragile. Everything was meaningless.
Pure white light expanded outward from the hospital marked with a red cross, spreading endlessly.
Some tried to flee.
Some tried to scream.
But their legs felt as if they were filled with molten lead, frozen in place.
They opened their mouths to beg—but even their voices were devoured by that angelic white radiance. No matter how they screamed or pleaded, they looked no different from clowns in a silent film.
The white light seemed to advance slowly—
Yet in an instant, it engulfed Kusagakure entirely.
And it kept spreading.
How long passed, no one knew.
Then, the white vanished.
And was replaced by searing red.
BOOM——!!!
A thunderous explosion tore through heaven and earth, as if the land itself were being flipped upside down.
Endless forests were annihilated.
Even the mountain beside Kusagakure was reduced to nothingness.
A subterranean lake erupted to the surface, geysering upward as scorching shockwaves swept across the land.
Countless lives were reduced to ash in that single strike.
Kyusei's slightly long hair whipped wildly in the blast as he shielded Uzumaki Mika tightly in his arms.
Mika clung to him, covering her ears, eyes squeezed shut.
She could feel it—how much chakra that small black sphere in his hand had truly contained.
She had believed her life would end in that hell called Kusagakure.
Finding Kyusei-sama through the resonance of the Kagura Mind's Eye was already a miracle beyond anything she dared hope for.
She didn't dare ask for more.
—
Dozens of kilometers away, Sarutobi Hiruzen stared grimly at the colossal explosion rising into the sky, uncertainty flashing through his eyes.
That power… that was Kyusei's.
Had he encountered an enemy so troublesome that such a Tailed Beast Ball was necessary?
Without hesitation, Hiruzen ordered Orochimaru to continue wiping out the remaining Iwa forces.
Then, gripping his Adamantine Staff, he rushed toward the source of the explosion.
Flocks of terrified birds scattered in every direction.
Hiruzen's heart grew heavier with every step.
When he finally arrived—
He was stunned speechless.
Before him lay a colossal crater, dozens of kilometers wide and over ten kilometers deep.
Groundwater had already begun flooding in, slowly filling the abyss. It wouldn't be long before this place became a vast lake.
Kyusei had… leveled Kusagakure?
Hiruzen knew exactly where this had once been.
Which meant the fate of Kusagakure was obvious.
He understood Kyusei's temperament well.
The boy might be mischievous, but unless his bottom line was crossed, his tolerance was astonishingly high.
So what had Kusagakure done—
To provoke him into such rage, in such a short time?
"Old man…"
Kyusei's voice sounded from behind him.
Hiruzen turned around.
The Nine-Tails Mode had already faded. A tall, red-haired youth stood there.
What caught Hiruzen's eye was the barefoot red-haired girl wrapped in a bedsheet, shrinking behind Kyusei.
"Kyusei," Hiruzen asked gravely,
"what happened?"
This matter could be handled in two very different ways.
At worst—
Kyusei was a bloodthirsty monster who annihilated Kusagakure in a fit of rage.
At best—
Kusagakure attempted to meddle with the Nine-Tails, refused all warnings, and was regrettably sent to meet the Sage of Six Paths.
After hearing Kyusei's explanation, Hiruzen finally understood the truth.
He looked at the trembling girl behind Kyusei, sympathy surfacing in his eyes.
During the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha had been forced into four-front combat, committing every soldier it had.
And in that moment of weakness, the Land of Water, Lightning, and Earth had joined forces to destroy Uzushiogakure—Konoha's brother nation.
Hiruzen had always carried guilt over that.
Now, seeing an Uzumaki survivor treated like this…
It was no wonder Kyusei had erased Kusagakure in fury.
And Hiruzen knew—Kyusei wasn't just any Uzumaki.
Uzumaki Kyusei was the grandson of Uzumaki Yukimura, the clan head.
The rightful young clan leader.
He had the right to protect his people.
"F-Fire Lord… Hokage-sama…"
Freshly freed from hell, Uzumaki Mika bowed hurriedly when she learned the identity of the old man before her.
Hiruzen immediately helped her up—and noticed the dense bite marks covering her body.
They were horrifying.
Enough to make one's scalp crawl.
Even Hiruzen, who had seen countless atrocities, felt a chill at the sight—
the contrast between the girl's delicate features and the brutality carved into her skin.
Sensing his gaze, Mika tightened the bedsheet around herself and retreated behind Kyusei again.
"Old man, after this war ends, I want—"
Before Kyusei could finish, Hiruzen interrupted him.
"The Uzumaki clan should be rebuilt."
Kyusei froze—then smiled.
A genuine smile.
"Old man… thanks."
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