Suddenly, the rock giant began to collapse.
Onoki and the others retreated toward the remaining Iwa-nin, while Han leaped in front of Kaito alone. Kaito could sense the fearlessness in his heart—along with something else… confidence.
He chuckled. "Haha, so your plans are finally in motion?"
"That kind of confidence…" His smirk widened. "It seems you truly believe you can destroy me."
Kaito didn't bother figuring out their plan. After all—wasn't it more fun this way?
"Don't underestimate Iwagakure!"
Han roared as a dark red shroud of Tailed Beast Chakra engulfed him.
"Steam Armor!"
"Boil Release: Unparalleled Might!"
A thick white mist instantly enveloped him, enhancing his speed and strength severalfold. In a blur, he appeared before Kaito, throwing a powerful punch at Susanoo.
"Heh, what a waste of time."
Kaito shook his head.
Han's fist collided with Susanoo's ethereal armor. However, Susanoo, reinforced with Sage Chakra, was far beyond the level Han could hope to break. Instead, the force of the impact rebounded viciously.
"Gah!"
Han groaned as pain shot through his fist. Even with the Tailed Beast's chakra enhancing his body, his arm suffered damage from the sheer recoil.
"Get lost."
With a casual motion, Susanoo swung its arm, delivering a devastating punch that sent Han flying. He crashed into a massive rock, shattering it into rubble before getting buried beneath the debris.
Taking this opportunity, Kaito turned his gaze toward Onoki and the others.
They were busy preparing for something—perhaps a final, desperate attack. When Onoki noticed Kaito looking at him, his expression tensed, his muscles coiled as if ready to launch his move the moment Kaito made any sudden motion.
From the rubble, Han staggered to his feet, his body battered yet still standing.
Kaito barely spared him a glance. "So Onoki's plan is to use you as a distraction while they prepare some kind of trump card."
He let out a quiet laugh. "How foolish."
At this stage, there wasn't a single shinobi in the world who could match him. Iwagakure certainly didn't have some hidden ace that could shatter Susanoo's defenses. In fact, he wasn't even using half of his full strength yet—Susanoo wasn't even in its complete form.
Han clenched his fists, his fury boiling over. "Bastard!"
His body suddenly underwent another transformation, and in an instant, he fully released the Five-Tails!
Without hesitation, the massive beast began condensing a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"How predictable."
Kaito sighed, unimpressed. He had seen this attack far too many times.
In a flash, he and Susanoo appeared beside the Five-Tails. At the same time, Susanoo evolved into its fourth form, now possessing fully formed legs. Without giving the beast a chance to react, Susanoo's massive fist crashed into its skull.
The unstable Tailed Beast Bomb scattered, dissipating harmlessly into the air.
"Raaagh!"
The Five-Tails howled in agony as its massive frame collapsed. It tried to rise again, but before it could, Susanoo's enormous palm slammed down onto its head.
Suddenly, the beast began to struggle violently as an intense suction force surged from Susanoo's palm. The very core of its chakra—the Tailed Beast's source—was being extracted!
Kaito smirked. "I'll let Onoki finish whatever he's planning…"
"But in the meantime, I'll be taking the Five-Tails."
The extraction process intensified, causing both the beast and Han to wail in pain. As the source chakra was drained away, the Five-Tails' form rapidly shrank. Han, now completely spent, collapsed unconscious.
Kaito exhaled, feeling the surge of power. "Done."
He smirked, stepping away from Han's unmoving form. "And that leaves only four more to go."
Suddenly—
Rumble!
The ground beneath him trembled violently.
Kaito's eyes snapped toward Onoki and the Iwa-nin. A massive chakra fluctuation surged in their direction.
Beneath them, an enormous mass of earth and rock slowly rose from the ground. The sheer scale of it was overwhelming—large enough to engulf several kilometers.
"So that's their plan," Kaito murmured, intrigued.
Onoki was using his Earth Release to condense an enormous boulder. Then, with the Light-Weight Rock Technique, they were making it float.
And next…
Kaito grinned. "They'll use the Heavy-Weight Rock Technique to send it crashing down on me."
By artificially creating a meteorite, they were mimicking the very technique Madara Uchiha had once used to devastate the battlefield.
"Not bad."
Kaito acknowledged their ingenuity. It was a clever use of their combined abilities.
But ultimately…
He shook his head. "If you think this is enough to stop me, you're still far too weak."
His smirk widened as his chakra surged. "Now, let me show you…"
"The true power of a god!"