"It's amazing. A technique similar to the Eight Inner Gates? So what, A, do you think I'm using my full power now?" Ryoha showed no signs of nervousness, instead mocking A's ignorance.
"What?" A was surprised and lost color. Could it be that Ryoha hadn't used his full strength until now? Upon a careful look, A found Ryoha standing effortlessly in the void, causing A's heart to sink. Just how strong was this bastard?
"I was worried that you were too weak just now and would be destroyed by the Black Gaia Force in an instant. I've tried to control the power of the Black Gaia Force to the lowest level possible. Since you've all worked so hard, I don't feel like holding back anymore. Black Gaia Force, compression."
Indeed, just now, Ryoha intentionally suppressed the power it possessed. The Black Gaia Force concentrated all the energy into one point and then continued to compress it. After compressing it to the extreme, it was released. But now, Ryoha simply gathered the dark chakra containing the power of darkness into a ball and released it without continuous compression, let alone compressing it to the extreme.
However, even in this situation, it could compete with A and the hundreds of Jounin's combined technique. Now, seeing A and the others using various secret techniques to boost their strength in a short time, Ryoha started compressing the Black Gaia Force while continuously outputting the power of darkness.
For a while, the two energy balls began to expand continuously. The hidden power distorted the surrounding space. Anyone or anything that approached these two energy balls would be crushed by the residual energy shockwave.
However, the deadlock was broken. Ryoha easily released the fully powered version of the Black Gaia Force. The power of A and their joint technique, Thunder God's Furious Wrath, could no longer keep up. They were quickly forced to retreat by the Black Gaia Force.
Moreover, after the Black Gaia Force was compressed to the extreme, the color changed once again. It turned into a massive energy ball with a deep red center and dark outer layer, resembling a giant dark-red energy ball surrounded by darkness.
After a while, the Black Gaia Force suddenly became even larger. Slowly, it actually absorbed the Thunder God's Furious Wrath, as if it wanted to devour and annihilate it. A and the others were almost at their limit, unable to fight back. They could only watch as their combined Lightning Release technique was devoured by Ryoha's Black Gaia Energy, disappearing into the darkness and becoming nourishment for the darkness.
"Disappear." Ryoha sneered, and the Black Gaia Force exploded suddenly, turning into a rising black-red column of light that spread continuously. Anything covered by the light column, be it the earth or the sky, was forcibly destroyed. It was like several hydrogen bombs detonating at once, and the huge mushroom cloud had obscured the vision of everyone nearby.
When everything was over, the only thing left was the billowing smoke and a deep crater on the ground. The affected area was extremely vast, and it couldn't even be described as a mere crater. It was like a gigantic artificial basin. The Sand Village, where Gaara and the others lived, had been completely destroyed.
This was because the Black Gaia Force had exploded in the air at a relatively high distance from the ground. If it had exploded and impacted the ground directly, the damage to the earth and the nearby environment would have been even broader and greater. Even the nearby Kumogakure would have been destroyed by the shockwaves from the explosion.
"It was quite a good fight, especially combining the Lightning Release technique with the final move, that was impressive. It deepened my understanding of the Shadow Clone technique and I gained a few useful techniques. So, as a token of gratitude, I won't kill you all this time."
"Since you all joined forces to hunt me down, I naturally have to play this game with you properly. It's not fun to defeat you all in one go; the game should end after reaching a high CHAOS level, that's when it's the most interesting."
Ryoha was sure that at the last moment, A, disregarding injuries and consequences, used a more powerful technique than the one he had used to boost his strength in a short time. The aftermath was even greater than the Eight Inner Gates, forcibly enhancing his strength and unleashing his strongest defensive Lightning Release technique. Combined with the fact that Ryoha intentionally let the Black Gaia Force explode in the air, the damage they suffered was minimized.
Among the hundreds of Jounin, at least fifty survived, and over twenty were killed. The twenty or so who survived were heavily injured, and it's unknown if they could be healed. A, on the other hand, lost too much blood, suffered severe injuries, and collapsed on the ground after using the technique.
"What a terrifying man." One of the survivors, a woman named Yugito, the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails, marveled at Ryoha's overwhelming strength. After all, when it came to chakra, Jinchuriki had a lot, and being both a Jounin and proficient in Lightning Release, she naturally participated. As she looked at Ryoha, overwhelmingly powerful in the sky, she remembered Byakko and Haku who had saved her life back then.
At that time, she already thought she was narrow-minded. Haku, such a young girl, had surprisingly fearsome strength. Even A might not necessarily be her match. But when she saw Ryoha, she was even more horrified. Indeed, one mountain is higher than another, and among the strong, there's always someone stronger. This man was truly formidable.
Just after Ryoha left the Kumogakure, in less than half a month, the one-man battle of Ryoha against A, the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, and over a hundred Jounin in the Kumogakure Canyon had spread throughout the entire Ninja World. This included Ryoha's overwhelmingly defeating everyone and destroying the entire canyon with a single strike.
This made Ryoha, who was already well-known in the Ninja World after supposedly "killing" Jiraiya, now even more famous and unparalleled in his glory. A single person entering the territory of the Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Countries, the Land of Lightning, and achieving such a great feat left everyone astonished. Moreover, Ryoha had not been injured at all from beginning to end.
Compared to this, Sasuke, who had activated the Mangekyo Sharingan, was extremely arrogant, and yet ended up escaping back to the Akatsuki after boasting about the Akatsuki's might. He didn't even bring back a single thing, and if it weren't for Tobi persevering in finding medical ninjas to save the Taka Team, they would have been completely wiped out.