"Roar!!!"
The Ten-Tails let out another roar, as if gathering strength for this ultimate creation.
The dark sphere within its abyssal maw collapsed inward for a moment, and then, the brightness of the dark purple electric arcs coiling around its surface surged!
It was about to fire!
Time on the entire battlefield seemed to freeze.
The faces of the Allied Shinobi Forces were left with nothing but blankness and numbness in the face of the impending doomsday.
Everyone's gaze was firmly gripped by that world-destroying jade hanging in the sky.
Only The Collector remained, suspended upon his void stone throne.
Takuno's Wood Clone maintained its lazy posture, hand propping up his cheek.
His gaze beneath the mask calmly swept over the black sphere that emitted an aura of world-shattering destruction.
The chakra fluctuations, enough to make Kage-level powerhouses despair, still didn't seem to disturb him.
He even adjusted his crossed legs ever so slightly, as if finding a more comfortable viewing angle.
That posture was cold to the point of being cruel.
He just watched quietly, watching as the world-destroying energy in the Ten-Tails' mouth accumulated to its peak.
Watching the ant-like living beings below struggle in vain before absolute power.
Waiting for that final destructive brilliance to bloom, pushing this "good show" to the climax of annihilation.
In the next moment, the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball erupted, shooting toward Takuno.
Facing that ultimate Tailed Beast Ball that could annihilate all things, the desert battlefield fell into absolute silence.
Under the gaze of ten thousand people, The Collector, leaning on his stone throne, finally made a move.
He remained in that lazy posture, not even lowering the hand supporting his face.
His free right hand rose with extreme casualness, the movement fluid and natural, as if he were merely brushing away a speck of dust before his eyes.
Buzz!
A strange hum that seemed to come from the depths of the soul rang out.
In front of his raised right palm, space rippled like a water surface with a stone thrown in, spreading deep and profound ripples.
Light converged within it, not a blinding explosion of light, but a dim hue that seemed to absorb everything.
A strange "ring" appeared out of thin air.
It was not a physical metal, but more like a strange creation composed of pure energy and deep space.
Indescribable symbols flowed across the ring's body, ancient and mysterious.
It emitted a cold aura that isolated the present world and communicated with an alien realm: the Kakuriyo Komori-no-In!
It was originally one of the divine artifacts manifested by Takuno's Susanoo, and using it directly now naturally posed no problem.
The core of the divine artifact glowed slightly, and the deep, ghostly light formed an entrance that seemed to lead to the infinite void.
It happened to block the path of the world-destroying ultimate Tailed Beast Ball!
Silent and soundless.
There was no world-shaking collision enough to tear the sky as expected, and no blinding light explosion of energy annihilation.
The pure dark energy sphere, with a diameter far exceeding the Ten-Tails' head, condensed the power of the nine Tailed Beasts and a world-destroying will.
The moment it touched that dark ring, it was swallowed by an invisible maw.
Its massive volume and energy, enough to level mountain ranges, sank completely and without hindrance into the deep ghostly light at the center of the ring!
It didn't even stir a single ripple or a single sound.
One second it was a world-destroying torrent of energy, the next second only a strange, slowly subsiding spatial ripple remained above the desert.
Along with the Kakuriyo Komori-no-In quietly floating in front of The Collector's palm.
The entire battlefield fell into a deeper silence than before.
The Allied Shinobi Forces blankly released the hands covering their ears, looking at this inconceivable scene in disbelief.
The death threat that made their very souls tremble... had vanished? Just like that... gone?
"Vanish... vanished?!" a Sand Shinobi muttered, losing his voice.
"What kind of technique is that? That ring..."
The Rock Shinobi beside him widened his eyes, his worldview seemingly completely overturned.
Minato's azure eyes were filled with extreme shock.
Even though his Flying Thunder God Technique could achieve something similar, a Tailed Beast Ball of this size was something he couldn't teleport very far with his current chakra capacity.
So, even if he succeeded in transferring it, the power of the Tailed Beast Ball exploding in the distance would definitely impact their current location.
However, what The Collector used was different; the Tailed Beast Ball seemed to have truly vanished, with not a single sound following.
Ōnoki floated in the air, the wrinkles on his old face stiff from extreme horror.
Dust Release is said to be able to decompose everything into an atomic state, yet it could not "take away" an attack of this scale with such ease.
Much less annihilate a Tailed Beast Ball of this degree...
The Collector's methods were already in the realm of gods!
The lightning on Raikage Ay's body forgot to crackle; his mouth was open, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, but he couldn't make a sound.
This could no longer be described as a monster.
Tendo Pain's Rinnegan vibrated violently, the cold purple ripples instantly expanding to the limit!
He had always known The Collector was very, very strong, but he hadn't expected this.
He had already tried to overestimate the other's strength as much as possible, but at this moment, he realized he had still underestimated him...
Just as everyone was immersed in incomprehensible shock.
The Kakuriyo Komori-no-In floating before The Collector's palm vanished without a sound.
Just as it appeared, it was without warning, as if it had never existed.
However, in the next instant!
Buzz!
In the void less than a hundred meters directly above the Ten-Tails' massive body, space distorted and rippled again!
That ring flowing with dark symbols suddenly reappeared like a ghost!
Seeing this dark ring suddenly reappear and float above the Ten-Tails' head.
The hearts of everyone who witnessed this scene felt as if they were being gripped hard by a cold, giant hand!
No need for Nara Shikaku's loud warning, no need for Inoichi's mental link to convey it.
A nearly instinctive sense of horror from the depths of their souls swept through the entire battlefield like a plague!
The pupils of everyone present suddenly contracted to the limit at this moment!
Could it be...?!
The thought had just arisen, not even having time to fully take shape in their minds...
Buzz!
The ghostly light at the core of the Kakuriyo Komori-no-In flared up!
The deep entrance expanded instantly, as if connecting to another dimension of destruction!
Boom!!!
The answer descended in the most cruel, direct, and suffocating way!
That ultimate Tailed Beast Ball, originally enough to level mountains and turn the entire northern desert along with all the living beings on it into basic particles.
That world-destroying black sphere that had just been silently swallowed by the Kakuriyo Komori-no-In.
At this moment, it actually emerged completely, carrying a destructive will even more violent than when it was fired, and at a terrifying speed that was even a notch higher than before.
From that dark ring hanging above the Ten-Tails' head, it shot out with a roar!
The distance was too close!
So close that the Ten-Tails' massive head, which had just been raised, and its blood-red Rinnegan eye, which still held a trace of alarm toward The Collector and confusion over its own attack being swallowed, simply didn't have time to make any evasive or defensive reaction!
So close that the moment the violent energy torrent appeared, it already occupied its entire field of vision!
Puchi, rumble, rumble!!!
Doomsday descended upon its own creator!
The ultimate Tailed Beast Ball, which condensed the endless chakra of the nine Tailed Beasts and the Ten-Tails' own destructive will, slammed with incomparable precision right into the center of the Ten-Tails' raised massive head!
The moment of first contact was not a world-shaking explosion, but a scalp-numbing annihilation!
The indestructible chitinous armor on the Ten-Tails' head, enough to withstand Dust Release, was like butter under a hot knife, vaporizing and disappearing without a sound!
Immediately following, the destructive energy compressed to the extreme inside the Tailed Beast Ball finally erupted like a lit powder keg!
A light so brilliant it could blind eyes instantly swallowed the entire upper half of the Ten-Tails' body!
That was not the light of an ordinary explosion, but the death light of matter being forcibly decomposed and energy being released to the extreme!
A visible shockwave of destruction, mixed with dark purple chakra and a pure energy storm.
Centered on the Ten-Tails' head, it formed a perfect ring, madly spreading and crushing in all directions!
Chila!!!
Space seemed to be torn into countless fine black cracks by this terrifying energy!
The ground was no longer just cracking, but was as if being repeatedly plowed by an invisible giant plow countless times.
Sand was instantly melted by the high temperature into tumbling dark red glass lava, and then blown high into the sky by the following shockwave!
The Allied Shinobi Forces who were slightly closer, even with layers of Earth Release Barriers and defensive Barriers for protection, were still tossed away like leaves in a hurricane, their protective chakra popping like soap bubbles, the sound of bones shattering echoing incessantly.
Further away, the defensive formation constructed by the main force of the Allied Forces was like a sandcastle smashed by a giant wave, collapsing instantly!
Countless Shinobi lay flat on the ground, using all their chakra to adhere to the earth, barely managing not to be swept away by this world-destroying aftershock.
"Aaaah!" Screams were instantly drowned out by the violent sound waves.
"Hold steady!!"
Nara Shikaku's voice roared through the mental link, yet it was filled with a sense of powerlessness.
Against the aftershocks of an attack at this level, any tactical command appeared pale.
Smoke filled the air, obscuring the core of the battlefield.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the core of the light and explosion, on that world-destroying beast hit head-on by its own ultimate power.
The light faded, and the dust slowly settled.
An unimaginably huge crater replaced the Ten-Tails' previous position.
From the center of the crater came a heart-wrenching hiss of extreme pain.
The Ten-Tails' massive body hadn't disappeared, but its upper half was a wretched sight!
That hideous head was nearly one-third blown away!
Dark purple blood like lava and chaotic chakra flows oozed from the break, the massive wound a charred black mess.
Residual energy arcs were still jumping and burning wildly at the edges.
The blood-red Rinnegan eye on its forehead, symbolizing the Ten-Tails' will, was now covered in spiderweb-like cracks, its light dimmed to the extreme.
It looked as if it could go out at any time, revealing an unprecedented biological instinct of pain and... weakness!
Its ten massive tails, like heavenly pillars, hung limply at the edge of the crater, twitching incessantly.
Every twitch caused a slight tremor in the earth, bringing up clouds of dust.
Its massive body twisted and rolled with difficulty in the crater, letting out dull, painful howls.
Every movement caused the wounds to burst open, spilling more dark purple "blood," which hissed as it corroded the molten sand.
The destructive power recoiling upon itself had brought about a terrifying trauma far exceeding the sum of all the Allied Forces' attacks!
The entire battlefield fell into a frozen silence even deeper than before.
The Allied Shinobi forgot to breathe, forgot their fear, forgot to cheer.
They just stared blankly at the world-destroying beast struggling and wailing in the crater.
Where was the world-destroying might from just now? Where was the sense of oppression that reigned over all living things?
At this moment, the Ten-Tails looked more like a prehistoric beast that had been heavily wounded and was on the verge of death.
"This... this is returning it in kind..." Ōnoki floated in the air, his old face pale as he muttered to himself.
The methods shown by The Collector had completely exceeded his understanding of Ninjutsu.
"Nicely done! You damn monster!"
Raikage Ay spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, looking at the struggling Ten-Tails in the crater, a fierce light erupting in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Tendo Pain, suspended high in the sky, had his orange hair dancing wildly in the chaotic airflow.
His cold Rinnegan clearly captured the Ten-Tails' state on the verge of collapse and the fatal cracks on the blood eye on its forehead.
Nagato's will tried frantically to connect through the black rods, but only felt a chaotic mess of violent pain and... unprecedented weakness!
A bone-chilling coldness, mixed with the anger of the plan being completely out of control and a trace of something even he hadn't noticed...
Fear of The Collector's inconceivable power instantly flooded his mind.
And in the next moment, he seemed to feel that the Ten-Tails' resistance toward him had weakened, and even from the thoughts sent back by the Ten-Tails...
It was filled with an emotion of fear...
This world-destroying tool, in which he had placed his greatest expectations... was afraid!
Pain...
A burning pain that surpassed a thousand years of sealing tore at the Ten-Tails' core of will.
It was not the itching attacks from the ants, but something from itself, from that strongest Tailed Beast Ball that condensed its destructive will and should have annihilated everything!
The chaotic pain washed over its chaotic and tyrannical will, and every remaining sensory organ was screaming.
Why?
It wanted to swallow that existence emitting an aura of the same source; it felt like a missing part of its body was stirring, making it both loathing and longing.
It had poured out all its power to fire that strike enough to level mountains and rivers, wanting to turn that eyesore of an existence along with the stone beneath it into nothingness!
That was its dignity as the Ancestor of chakra, its ultimate venting of hatred toward this world!
But... what happened?
Its light of destruction vanished, silently.
As if it had been thrown into a bottomless abyss.
Then, that abyss split open right above its own head, and the light it had poured out, which belonged to it and destroyed itself, was smashed back exactly as it was!
Annihilation! Collapse!
The chitinous armor turned into void dust the moment it touched that black light.
The violent energy impacted its core, tore its torso, and shattered its high-held head.
Beyond the pain was an unprecedented absurdity and coldness.
Its massive body rolled and twitched in the lava pit, every friction bringing new tearing pain.
Its crack-filled, light-dimmed Rinnegan eye struggled to capture the scene in the sky.
That figure... still leaned lazily on that cold stone throne that had appeared out of thin air.