An extreme rainbow, like a light of world destruction, descended upon the earth.
The arrow, at the moment it was shot, transformed into a torrent that pierced the heavens and earth, presenting a stark contrast in color to the distant, dark red mountains, seizing everyone's gaze and sweeping everything into a clear, white expanse.
Great sound is silence.
Everyone within a ten-kilometer radius was momentarily deprived of their hearing.
Only the vibrations transmitted by touch remained clear, allowing them to distinctly feel the trembling of the ground beneath their feet.
The shockwave, which spread in just an instant of their collision, was like a natural disaster, shattering large sections of houses within Iwagakure, tall buildings collapsed, railroad tracks were easily distorted, and the already barren mountains crumbled into loose mudslides; people who were fleeing or watching were all involuntarily or voluntarily frozen in place.
"Rumble—"
It was only after a long few seconds, when hearing vaguely returned, that a barely perceptible roar was caught, making their bones seem to creak.
The only thing to be thankful for was that the terrifying, natural-disaster-like power was confined to an extremely tiny point by a equally unimaginable great power.
Straight downwards.
The earth roared.
If the people on the surface merely observed this scene from afar, then the examinees underground, currently taking their exam, had no choice but to experience it with every one of their senses.
Within the mountain caves, which were already karst formations, even after countless reinforcements, the narrow interior of the caves still swayed violently like a pirate ship, and the intense shaking caused stones to rain down throughout the intricate, ant-nest-like grottoes; large sections of the caves were distorted, shattered, and broken by the shock of this attack, and the examinees who were fighting or traveling all looked up in horror.
Although the location of that strike was incredibly far from them, they could still perceive, through the most primal instinct deep within their biological genes, that the blow, whose aftershocks alone were enough to claim their lives, was approaching them at an unimaginable speed.
One hundred meters, two hundred meters, three hundred meters.
The point that rapidly pierced downwards opened into a passage with a diameter exceeding ten meters due to the surging aftershocks; the sheer impact force caused all living beings within the vicinity of this strike to disintegrate into atoms, completely scattering into an unrecognizable mass of debris.
Kakashi and the others, who were confronting Han, also felt this terrifying impact.
Connecting it with the previous message from Sawara, an uncontrollable and terrifying thought immediately arose in their minds.
'Sawara, he wouldn't actually flatten this entire mountain range, would he?!'
Almost as soon as this thought appeared in his mind, Kakashi had no time to worry about any potential attacks from behind; he forcefully pulled Obito and Rin, who were about to lose their footing, and strenuously took a step in one direction.
All of his Lightning Nature Chakra surged through him, allowing him to burst forth with unprecedented speed.
However, even so.
His speed still couldn't surpass that shining white light.
"Roar—!!!"
Han, behind him, let out an indescribable beastly roar, attempting with all his might to resist the spreading aftershocks of this attack.
But Kakashi and the others didn't notice that, just as the white light was about to engulf them, the surfaces of the cards they had always kept on them suddenly revealed deeper patterns hidden beneath.
In a flash.
The figures of the three completely disappeared.
Not just the three of them.
On all the Konoha examinees present, similar light erupted, engulfing their bodies and making them vanish from their original spots.
The next moment.
The white light, piercing through heaven and earth, suddenly penetrated the entire cave.
"Thud—"
After an unknown amount of time.
Han, his body faintly charred, heavily landed on the molten red earth.
Those dark red lines, like threads, covered the deepest soil of this entire Akatsuchi Mountains, and the scorching high temperature caused the entire underground space to reach several hundred degrees Celsius.
If not for the Tailed Beast Chakra cloak still enveloping his body, he would have died with just one breath in such an environment.
After barely regaining consciousness, Han struggled to support himself with the ground and slowly stood up.
At this moment, most of the armor and outer clothing on his body were burnt away, exposing his sturdy upper body.
Clearly, even with the terrifying corrosive properties of the Tailed Beast Chakra cloak, under the terrifying aftershocks just now, it could only barely protect his main body, with no energy left to deal with miscellaneous items.
"Pant, pant…"
Han panted heavily, looking at the surrounding scene with a blank expression, as if he had suddenly fallen from underground into the abyss of hell, his mind completely empty.
'Did the plan fail?'
'But what exactly is this…?'
He, who had just been in an absolute advantage, was now somewhat unable to comprehend.
What kind of immense power could have flattened their elaborate arrangements, along with this entire mountain range, into such a state?
The intricate caves, originally arranged like an ant's nest, had now vanished.
He lifted his head, and could even see the sky, covered by rising charred smoke, far above.
A vast, dome-like hole had been opened above his head.
And he, like a frog in a well, stood on this molten red earth.
"Oh?"
"There's still one survivor?"
Almost at the instant he heard that flippant remark, Han abruptly turned his head towards the direction from which the voice came.
Then, he saw a slender young man, smiling gently, standing calmly in mid-air, looking down at him like a god from above.
Han cried out purely by instinct.
"Who?!"
However, when he looked up and his vision reflected the face of the man opposite him, his entire body suddenly stiffened in place.
"Thud."
The man in the sky landed lightly on the ground, walking step by step towards him, his expression still gentle and polite, but his voice carried a hint of surprise:
"It's truly been a long time since I've heard that question."
His azure eyes reflected the young man whose skin and muscles were rapidly regenerating under the influence of Tailed Beast Chakra, and he humbly said:
"Then allow me to introduce myself."
"My name is Sawara Kiri."
" A Konoha Jonin."
Even though his vision reflected the face of the man opposite him, a face he had seen countless times and had been warned about countless times by his elders, he already had a sense of what was coming.
However, after hearing the other party's self-introduction, Han's body still involuntarily began to tremble.
He suddenly realized that he might not be as brave as he had imagined.
Especially when facing a man he absolutely could not defeat.
One by one, the warnings he had heard countless times flashed through his mind subconsciously.
'The strongest in the Ninja World.'
'If encountered, immediately abandon the mission; the Village will not pursue.'
'Second God of Shinobi.'
'Never confront directly.'
But all those countless warnings, at this moment, became useless.
Because the other party had actively appeared here.
He had nowhere to run.
Amidst his prolonged breathing, deep within Han's heart, his will gradually firmed.
Whether it was the recklessness of a newborn calf or a fledgling unaware of an eagle's height, it would be rare for a fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth to truly lack that heroic spirit of believing they too could be invincible under heaven.
Ever since he had become the Village's new Jinchuriki with overwhelming superiority through Iwagakure's careful selection process, Han had never again encountered an opponent among his peers.
Whether it was Kakashi or Killer Bee, everyone was insignificant before the terrifying power of a Tailed Beast.
'Since that's the case…'
'Then even if the person opposite is Sawara Kiri, what is there to be afraid of?'
Whether it was self-encouragement or arrogance born of desperation.
At this moment, Han fiercely clenched his fists, crushing all weakness.
"I will not—"
"Be afraid of you!!"
The roar, erupting from this bravery, suddenly echoed in the deep well-like underground cavern, sending out circles of reverberating sound.
Almost the instant his words fell, Han, having resolved to abandon everything, was completely enveloped by rampant Tailed Beast Chakra.
Three-Tails! Four-Tails! Five Tails!
A full Five Tails extended out from the Tailed Beast Chakra cloak behind him in an instant.
His entire body turned a deep dark red, and his face faintly showed the same protruding muzzle as the Five Tails, Kokuo.
"Roar!!!"
Accompanied by that furious roar.
The Five Tails' body slammed onto the ground with a 'bang', and like a true beast, its four limbs suddenly exerted force.
The next moment.
The steaming air, enveloped by super high temperatures, was suddenly completely pierced by a straight vacuum channel.
The extreme speed of the four-limbed launch instantly elevated Han's speed to an unprecedented level; whether it was the fluid-like dark red Chakra on his body or the Five Tails behind him, they were all pulled straight in that instant, his entire body seeming to lengthen by a section, transforming into a rapidly shooting stream.
His target was directly towards Sawara Kiri.
The slender man opposite remained motionless; the powerful Chakra boosted Han's physical abilities countless times at this moment.
Whether it was strength, speed, or neural response.
All were dozens of times their usual level!
'What about Sawara Kiri?!'
As he shot forward, boundless heroic spirit surged within him.
'Even if it's a god, I will personally kill them for you to see!'
With heroic spirit surging, Han felt as if all the power within his body converged in that instant, and he wholeheartedly unleashed the strongest attack of his life.
"Rumble—!"
A muffled explosion suddenly filled the entire underground space.
The mere reverberating sound caused the surrounding charred rock walls to crack.
However, Han's eyes, obscured by the Tailed Beast Chakra cloak, widened abruptly as if he had seen something incredible.
Sawara Kiri's body still stood calmly in place, just as before.
His giant claw, which covered the opponent's entire body, suddenly froze at a distance of one meter in front of the opponent.
The power capable of pulverizing rock was nowhere to be found.
Faintly, he seemed to be able to perceive with his naked eye the trembling 'distance' between himself and Sawara Kiri.
"Your courage is commendable."
Just as he was in a daze, he heard Sawara Kiri suddenly speak.
He extended his hand, touching his palm to the giant claw that covered his vision.
However, even so, there was still a distance between the two that was imperceptible to the naked eye—this was the reaction of "Limitless" applied to its most exquisite degree.
Sawara Kiri's years had not been wasted.
Yet, this light movement of his made Han feel even more humiliated.
'I can touch it, I can touch it…'
'Why?!'
Under this intense and violent thought, Han suddenly unleashed the Tailed Beast Chakra within his body without reservation.
As this dark Chakra surged wildly, his body also rapidly underwent complete Tailed Beast transformation.
Sawara Kiri had no intention of acknowledging his small movements, only continuing to speak unhurriedly:
"It's just a shame."
"Courage that doesn't match one's strength is always called recklessness."
"Ahhhhhh—!!"
A frantic roar erupted from the porcelain-white Kokuo's mouth, its massive body seemingly pressing against a mirror, pushing with all its might towards Sawara Kiri.
But unfortunately, no matter how it struggled, it was meaningless.
"Boom!"
A colossal body, over a hundred meters in length, was sent flying with a mere gentle push from this tiny man, like a bowling ball, creating a long gully on the molten earth before crashing directly into the depths of the charred rock wall.
Before it could suffer a second blow, the enraged Kokuo, climbing out from the depths of the rock wall, already opened its massive maw, pointing towards the opponent.
The black and white Chakras, symbolizing Yin and Yang, merged into a single spherical mass, which was then abruptly spat out towards him.
A temperature even more scorching than the rising currents deep within the earth suddenly carved an even larger trajectory along the previous gully.
However, the man standing there merely waved his hand casually.
"Bang—!"
Kokuo's full-power Biju Bomb was swatted away as if brushing off dust, exploding into a dazzling light.
Not to mention Han, even Kokuo the Five Tails, having lived for a thousand years as a Tailed Beast, had never witnessed such a scene in its entire life, its eyes widening in disbelief.
Before it could react, the figure opposite had already shot out from its original spot with incredible speed.
Heavy footsteps kicked up dust, and before Kokuo could even discern the direction, it saw the figure, shooting like a black line, already rushing before it, its long leg raised high like a bowstring drawn taut into a semicircle.
"Thud!"
An unimaginable force erupted, striking its jaw like a heavy hammer on a drum, causing its massive body, of immeasurable weight, to float upward by more than ten meters as lightly as a feather.
Immediately after, Sawara Kiri's foot stomped hard in mid-air, creating a visible ring of air like water ripples, and he punched it in the abdomen.
Both his fists and feet were covered in a deep black layer.
With just two strikes, its body, entirely composed of Chakra, shattered into large pieces like rubble.
Kokuo, as a Tailed Beast, felt a sensation called pain for the first time in a long while.
The liquid gushing from various places made it unable to distinguish whether it was saliva or fragments of its own Chakra tissue.
Finally, Sawara Kiri, leaping to the highest point, clasped his hands together, his body spinning like a top, and slammed a heavy blow onto its head.
"Bang—"
The incredibly massive Tailed Beast body sank heavily into the deepest part of the molten earth, revealing a large hollow.
From beginning to end, it didn't even get a chance to use its most proficient Boil Release.
Utter domination.