Raiga Kurosuki led the two Chūnin to the center of the explosion — where a massive crater, dozens of meters wide, had been blasted into the earth.
But when Raiga reached the edge of the pit, he froze. At the center of the crater floated three shimmering spheres of golden water.
"What is that?" one of the Chūnin asked in confusion.
A bad feeling crept into Raiga's chest.
"Be careful. That brat isn't so easy to deal with," he warned grimly, his instincts screaming that the explosion might not have killed Yoruha after all.
"That's impossible! With an explosion like that, even a Kage wouldn't survive!" the two Chūnin exclaimed, disbelief written all over their faces.
After all, they had placed thousands of explosive tags throughout the area. Even a Kage-level shinobi would have trouble surviving that blast.
Raiga drew his Thunderswords, saying nothing, his gaze fixed on the glowing spheres at the center of the crater.
For a while, nothing happened. Then, unable to hold back any longer, Raiga launched an attack.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Strike!"
Crackle!
Zzzzt...
Crossing his twin blades, Raiga sent a surge of blue lightning racing through them. The arcs grew thicker, condensing into a beam as wide as his arm before lashing toward one of the glowing spheres.
The lightning struck with power enough to pulverize stone—yet the moment it touched the water sphere, it was completely absorbed.
The golden sphere swallowed the lightning whole, as though it were a black hole, leaving no trace of the energy that had just been unleashed.
Raiga and the two Chūnin stared, stunned.
"Wh-What the hell is that thing?"
"A monster... it has to be!"
"Raiga-sama's Lightning Release just got absorbed! What even is that?" the two Chūnin shouted in panic.
Raiga's expression hardened; realization flickered across his face.
He glared around the blasted wasteland. "Brat, stop hiding. I know this is your doing."
"Show yourself!"
Rage burned in his voice. Yoruha had survived—his carefully prepared death trap hadn't worked. And now, to top it off, Yoruha was mocking him with this spectacle.
The scorched battlefield fell silent again. The stillness felt suffocating, as if unseen eyes were watching from the shadows.
The feeling was unbearable. Raiga was used to being the hunter, not the hunted.
"Damn it... stubborn brat. Even a deathtrap can't kill you—what kind of monster are you?" Raiga muttered through gritted teeth.
"Raiga-sama, you don't really think that kid survived that explosion, do you? Don't joke around," one of the Chūnin said nervously.
Just imagining that Yoruha might still be alive sent chills down their spines.
If he could live through an explosion like that, what kind of terrifying monster was he?
They were only Chūnin; even together, they had no confidence they could defeat Yoruha. Having observed him for days under Raiga's orders, they knew all too well how dangerous he was.
Ignoring them, Raiga stared at the three golden spheres.
"If you won't come out," he growled, "then I'll drag you out myself."
He unleashed another technique. "Lightning Release: Lightning Fang!"
At once, the air above him thickened with crackling energy. Bolts of blue lightning gathered into dozens of writhing arcs that shot outward in every direction.
Crack!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Lightning ravaged everything around them, obliterating what little remained. The sheer destructive power was overwhelming—proof of the Lightning Blades' might.
"This is the power of the Thunderswords! Hahaha! Raiga-sama's going all out now! Even if that brat survived the explosion, he's finished!"
The two Chūnin shouted excitedly, watching the apocalyptic storm unfold.
Moments ago, they'd feared Yoruha might still live. Now, seeing Raiga's full power unleashed, they felt certain—no one could survive this.
After all, Raiga Kurosuki had once been one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a former elite Jōnin. There was no way a mere kid could defeat him.
The lightning storm continued to rage, the blades spitting arcs of thunderous light in every direction.
And yet—Yoruha still didn't appear.
Instead, the three golden water spheres began to peel away, as though their surface was cracking.
Crack.
The sound of glass shattering made Raiga stop. His eyes fixed on the center of the crater.
The golden film flaked off, revealing the figures inside.
When Raiga saw the face within one of the spheres, he froze.
"She—she's still alive? That girl's still alive? What kind of sick joke is this?"
"It's one thing if that brat survived—but why is she alive too? I plastered her with over twenty explosive tags! That should've blown her to pieces!"
"Impossible... how can this be?"
Raiga's eyes widened in disbelief as the truth sank in: the one inside the sphere was Sakura.
And she was unharmed.
The last of the golden layer fell away, revealing her completely—without so much as a scratch on her body.
It was inconceivable. He'd seen her covered in explosive tags; she should have been vaporized.
"There's no way... no way! This must be a genjutsu! That brat's illusion technique!"
Raiga's hands trembled. He couldn't accept it. "Those tags were stuck directly to her! He couldn't have removed them all in time—impossible!"
His understanding of the world was collapsing.
Crack!
The water sphere around Sakura shattered completely—followed by the other two beside her.
Sakura blinked in shock, her mind blank. For a moment, she thought she was dead.
She had even regretted dragging Yoruha down with her.
But as she flexed her hand, a sharp pain jolted through her fingers—real pain.
"This isn't a dream... I'm alive. I actually survived... All those explosive tags went off, and I'm still alive."
Her eyes darted around frantically.
"Wait—Yoruha... where is he? What happened to Yoruha?"