As Fugaku's voice fell, a colossal blue half-giant manifested out of thin air before the Uchiha ranks.
The Susanoo towered above the battlefield, armored and armed with a massive blade. Lightning crackled along its frame while flames coiled around its limbs. Its presence alone drove the storm clouds apart, as though even the heavens refused to stand above it.
"In front of the Uchiha," Fugaku's voice rang out,
"what is a tailed beast worth?"
There was no hesitation in him now.
No restraint.
He stood not as a former clan head bound by politics, but as a man who had seized true power.
The Raikage's eyes widened.
"Impossible… Fugaku… Mangekyō Sharingan? And Susanoo?"
Shock rippled through the Hidden Cloud ranks.
Whispers spread.
"That's Susanoo…?"
"It's larger than the legends…"
"How much have the Uchiha been hiding?"
Even veteran shinobi felt unease creeping in.
Across the field, Uchiha Xuanjing and the others stared at Fugaku's back with blazing admiration.
One day—
They would reach that level.
With Shuoye Uchiha leading them, that future no longer felt distant.
On the opposite side, Yugito studied the faint black sheen coating Susanoo's surface.
That strange layer—like hardened energy—flickered across its armor.
"What is that defense?"
She had never seen such reinforcement.
It was neither ordinary chakra nor conventional barrier.
But she knew one thing.
It would not fall easily.
The ground trembled.
Susanoo stepped forward.
Each footfall echoed like rolling thunder.
Its massive palm opened, black flames gathering along its surface, radiating suffocating heat.
Fugaku raised the giant blade.
Three consecutive assaults from Yugito were blocked cleanly, shockwaves ripping across the earth and fracturing stone.
Then—
Susanoo surged forward.
Its armored shoulder slammed into a rocky outcrop, shattering it into fragments.
Yugito narrowed her eyes.
"So you're that sturdy?"
"Let's see how long you last."
Chakra exploded outward from her form. The Two-Tails lunged again, claws tearing through the air.
The impact struck.
The force penetrated even through the hardened coating of Susanoo.
A low groan reverberated from within the giant frame.
Yugito's eyes flashed.
"There's an opening!"
Her confidence surged.
She locked onto Susanoo and formed seals rapidly.
"Two-Tails… Tailed Beast Ball!"
A massive sphere of condensed chakra formed in her jaws.
White light.
Compressed destruction.
She fired.
The projectile tore across the battlefield and detonated on impact.
The explosion swallowed everything.
The ground collapsed inward. Shockwaves blasted outward in violent rings. Dust and debris consumed the battlefield.
When the smoke began to clear—
A hill was gone.
In its place stood a massive crater, over ten meters wide, its base fractured with jagged fissures.
Darui wiped sweat from his brow.
"What… was that?"
Even compared to their earlier techniques, this was on another level.
At the center of the crater—
Susanoo knelt on one knee.
Its chest was charred black.
Damage was visible.
But Fugaku's expression remained steady.
"So this," he murmured,
"is the full extent of a tailed beast's power?"
His gaze sharpened.
"Then it's my turn."
The air tightened.
"Kill."
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