"Did… did the Seven-Tails die?"
One of the accompanying Takigakure ninja asked in a daze.
What he was witnessing was completely beyond his understanding.
When fighting a tailed beast, weren't ninja supposed to approach carefully, dodge desperately, and seize an opening to apply a sealing technique?
Why did this look like a one-sided beating?
It was completely backwards.
The Seven-Tails looked so miserable that he almost felt sorry for it. Beating up an insect like this… wasn't that a little inhumane?
In reality, however, although Chōmei was being utterly suppressed in terms of momentum and initiative, it hadn't suffered any truly serious injuries—aside from looking rather pitiful.
After all, kicking a tailed beast a few times still couldn't compare to blasting it head-on. In terms of penetration and lethal damage, blunt force simply didn't match something like a Lightning Release technique.
It was the difference between beating someone black and blue versus stabbing them.
Unless the impact reached "hammering an egg" levels, blunt attacks were always inferior to a blade.
Kakashi was just about to explain—
When Hagoromo's warning rang out.
"Stay alert. It's coming!"
What was coming?
The Seven-Tails' concentrated counterattack.
Hagoromo lowered his stance slightly, fully focused on the reaction beneath the water.
There were two common ways a tailed beast used a Tailed Beast Ball.
The first was the standard form—condensing power into a sphere and firing it as a completed projectile.
The second was detonating the Tailed Beast Ball before full compression, exploding it directly at the mouth and expelling the blast forward as a massive shockwave—shorter range, but far wider in coverage.
This time, Chōmei chose the latter.
The result—
Half the lake seemed to leap into the air.
For the spectators, time froze. All that remained was a blinding red-white curtain of light.
This was the true power of a tailed beast.
It was never something to be treated as a harmless creature.
When the glare faded, vast amounts of steam erupted. Thick mist swallowed everything. When the water finally fell back, the lake's surface appeared as though it had been shaved down by an invisible blade.
The Seven-Tails resurfaced once more.
At the same time, Hagoromo released the Earth Release armor surrounding his body.
Because he had evaded in time, he hadn't suffered any damage from that terrifying blow.
And truthfully, even without Earth Release, Sage Mode itself possessed formidable defensive capability.
While Hagoromo couldn't instantly regenerate like the First Hokage—even using senjutsu—the inherent resilience of Sage Mode was real. If he jumped off the waterfall cliff right now, even looking like a suicide attempt, Sage Mode alone would ensure he remained uninjured.
However, a new problem emerged.
Hagoromo had lost his vision.
Everything before his eyes was a red-white haze.
Mixed into the steam were the Seven-Tails' scales—powder capable of stealing eyesight.
Fortunately, Hagoromo was in Sage Mode.
His sensory perception could substitute and compensate for vision. Otherwise, he would have been forced to "open his eyes."
He could clearly sense a massive chakra presence rushing toward him.
At the instant of contact, Hagoromo lunged sideways, narrowly avoiding the Seven-Tails' hooked tail. He then shot both arms forward, gripping the appendage with overwhelming force.
He didn't actually know which part he had grabbed—
Only that it belonged to Chōmei.
Senjutsu chakra surged into his arms.
Hagoromo twisted his body and exerted himself fully.
At this point, these were practically Kirin arms—
And once again, Chōmei was hurled into the air by sheer brute force.
…Why didn't it learn?
At long range, bombardment would have been far more effective. Why insist on close combat?
Still, fighting blind was troublesome.
Hagoromo needed to fix that first.
He formed seals once more.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Two clones appeared beside him.
Now, it was time to test combined ninjutsu under Sage Mode.
He could clearly sense Chōmei's position—there was no risk of missing.
In composite techniques, different chakra natures had primary and auxiliary roles.
So first—
Buffs.
The right clone formed seals first, followed by Hagoromo's main body, then the left clone.
Still airborne and unable to regain full control, the Seven-Tails was struck head-on by Wind Release.
The first clone unleashed a wide-area, high-output A-rank technique.
Wind Release: Tornado Hurricane.
A massive tornado saturated with Wind chakra instantly engulfed Chōmei.
Tornado Hurricane was characterized by its enormous range, long duration, and destructive force. At its core, it could even create a vacuum.
But Hagoromo didn't need that.
After all—
If it went vacuum, how was he supposed to light it?
Next came Hagoromo's own technique—
A self-developed A-rank Fire Release.
Fire Release: Great Flame Dragon Barrage.
Simply put, it was ten Flame Dragon Bullets bundled and fired at once.
A shameless chakra-sink of a technique—normally not Hagoromo's style.
But under Sage Mode?
He stacked chakra into it without restraint.
As much as possible.
As violently as possible.
The Fire Release surged along the Wind Release's path almost instantly, completely engulfing Chōmei.
The intense heat vaporized massive amounts of water, forming a circular wall of white steam around the fiery vortex.
Then—
The final clone completed its technique.
No hand seals required.
Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear.
This time, however, it was a true throwing spear.
Hagoromo hurled it with full force.
Only in Sage Mode—using ultra-dense, highly cohesive chakra—could formless Lightning Release be momentarily solidified like this.
When the Chidori Spear struck the steam layer—
It instantly disintegrated.
Exactly as Hagoromo intended.
The lightning ionized the surrounding air, forming an electrically charged layer around the firestorm.
At the moment the spear collapsed, the composite technique reached completion.
The Fire Release finally detonated at full power.
Electrolysis triggered by the ionized layer split hydrogen and oxygen, igniting the technique further. The intensified Fire Release caused even more vaporization, feeding additional material into the reaction.
A self-amplifying cycle.
Visually, the technique began expanding on its own.
At the eye of the storm, temperatures exceeded one thousand degrees.
The convergence of wind and flame produced a continuous, thunderous roar—like the cry of a divine beast.
As the technique reached its climax, the top of the tornado condensed into a massive, crimson beast's head.
It paused—
Then plunged straight down into the storm's core with unstoppable momentum.
This was the technique's final strike.
From above, the scene looked like someone smashing an object of equal volume onto a circular glass mirror.
Both shattered together.
Though it was clearly a multi-element composite ninjutsu, this was one of Hagoromo's rare techniques where Fire Release was the main focus.
So he named it:
Sage Art: Fire Release — Kirin.
So then—
Was Chōmei grilled?
Or braised?
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