In an instant, endless freezing air frantically condensed. Huge ice pillars gleaming with cold light rose one after another, connecting to form layer upon layer of ice walls that enveloped the pseudo-Nine-Tails.
As the cold light flickered, those ice walls even spread towards the edges of the battlefield, utterly devouring the battlefield within a thousand-meter radius at an unbelievable speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amidst earth-shaking roars, a gargantuan, indescribable ice coffin took shape, completely freezing the pseudo-Nine-Tails and the hundreds of Konoha's Ninjas around it, forming a towering, terrifying iceberg on the battlefield.
Frost!
Freezing air!
Solidification!
This was the Bankai's Thousand Years Ice Prison, far more powerful than the previous Shikai's Six-Point Ice Formation.
In just a moment, it could extend the freezing air, sealing a thousand-meter radius of the battlefield in ice. This was already a fearsome power surpassing the so-called category of Ninjas.
The white ice coffin stood tall once more.
This was an iceberg over a hundred meters high, standing on the battlefield, emanating an aura of extinction and terror.
Within it, the corpses of countless Konoha's Ninjas were also frozen into lifelike ice sculptures, reflecting an eerie light under the sun, evoking an inexplicable, trembling fear.
At this moment, the Konoha's Ninjas who fortunately survived all looked with shattered expressions at the sky-scraping iceberg. Their eyes were blank, their legs weak. Some, out of fear, had obvious wet stains on their trousers.
A Ninja Force of over a thousand people!
In an instant, more than half were frozen solid.
The dead were dead, and the wounded would soon die too. This meant Konoha's frontline combat strength had directly collapsed.
The originally intensely fierce fighting spirit abruptly came to an end. This gave many Konoha's Ninjas a feeling of being in a different world.
'Is war really this simple?'
'Just one person, one sword, can nearly annihilate a thousand-strong Ninja force?'
'Yuki Sora...'
'Is he…'
'A god!??'
"Is this still a power a Ninja can possess?"
Gazing at the ice coffin standing tall against the sky, even Minato felt a heart-palpitating murmur escape his lips.
Simultaneously, this soul-stirring scene also made the Kirigakure's Ninjas, who had been scared back by the Nine-Tails' might, stop in their tracks one by one, standing rigidly in place, their eyes wildly fixed on Sora's back.
"Strong... too strong!"
"Sora-sama, suppressed the Nine-Tails alone, and froze hundreds of Konoha's Ninjas?"
"What kind of combat power is this, it's too outrageous!!!"
"What exactly happened just now? I only saw the sky split open, and then the Nine-Tails was defeated, so cleanly and decisively?"
"Heavens, what use were we even in this battle? Sora-sama alone was clearly enough. He's too strong, too strong..."
"Hasn't this reached the level of combat power of the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara?"
The Kirigakure's Ninjas were almost going crazy. Even though they knew Sora was their own commander, they still couldn't help but feel shock, trembling, fear.
It was a reverence akin to humans looking up at a deity, the worship of mere mortals for a god above the heavens.
Petrification.
Stupefaction.
Terror.
Some Kirigakure's Ninjas even uncontrollably dropped to one knee, their eyes fanatical as they looked at Sora. Countless turbulent and uncalm emotions surged in their hearts, impossible to put into words, and they could only express their feelings in this most humble posture.
One person suppressed a thousand!
One person subdued the Nine-Tails!
How unbelievable!
Let alone the Third Mizukage, even if the so-called Strongest Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, came here, could he really, in that instant, independently destroy this thousand-strong force led by the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki!?
It's probably impossible!
Even the so-called Strongest Hokage might not be able to accomplish such a feat!
But…
Sora did it.
"Sora..."
"He did it?"
Mei's almond-shaped eyes widened round. She looked with utter astonishment at the terrifying ice coffin reaching for the sky.
The cold light flashing in the sky above made her unable to resist sucking in a sharp breath, barely suppressing the shock in her heart.
'Sora is too strong!'
So strong that he repeatedly exceeds the limits of her imagination!
Starting from the fierce battle with Jiraiya, every time Sora made a move, he would barbarically broaden Mei's horizons, making her realize that there actually existed Ninjas this powerful in the world.
'Sora...'
'Could he be the second Senju Hashirama!??'
Suddenly, an utterly insane thought rose in Mei's mind. Then she unexpectedly realized that this thought didn't seem that... Unrealistic.
On the field,
"Oh… still not dead?"
Sora looked at the pseudo-Nine-Tails within the ice coffin, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
From his Reikaku, he could still clearly feel the Chakra on Kushina gradually swelling from a faint state, becoming more and more active.
One could only say that this Uzumaki Clan's physique + Nine-Tails' Chakra was truly a protagonist-level standard cheat.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Suddenly, a series of cracking sounds erupted. Dense cracks quickly appeared on the ice sealing the pseudo-Nine-Tails.
Violent Chakra surged. The Nine-Tails' dim beast eyes were suddenly dyed with a fierce and ruthless light.
"Roar!"
"Adamantine Sealing Chains Formation!!!"
Finally, amidst a heaven-shaking roar, over a dozen chains shimmering with golden light suddenly appeared behind the Nine-Tails, shattering the surrounding ice in whole sections. Then it opened its bloody maw again, struggling to form a Tailed Beast Bomb inside the ice coffin.
Boom!
Boom!
Earth-shattering roars rang.
The shockwave from the Tailed Beast Bomb's explosion directly blasted a passageway inside the ice coffin.
The pseudo-Nine-Tails forcibly escaped through this passageway.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
"This damned Ice Release!"
"Too troublesome!"
The pseudo-Nine-Tails that had barely escaped from the ice coffin instantly shrank into a human form.
The Tailed Beast's Chakra Cloak also transformed into a faint red cloak, draped over Kushina's body.
But that cloak-like faint red glow didn't last long. After just a few seconds, it completely extinguished. Kushina, exhausted, stumbled and fell to her knees on the ground.
Looking up, gazing at the Konoha's Ninjas frozen into sculptures within the giant ice coffin behind her, rage filled Kushina's pale face.
She growled in a low voice, "Damn it, Yuki Sora, you actually... the village's comrades, you..."
"Kushina!"
Minato flickered to her side. He bent down, wanting to help the exhausted Kushina up. But before he could reach out, a sudden change occurred on the field.
Squelch!
A sickening sound rang.
Then a long sword gleaming with cold light pierced through Kushina's back, straight through her heart.
"Huh?"
Before Kushina could even lower her head, a terrible burst of intense pain erupted from her heart, directly crushing her already weary spirit.
She fell straight back, unconscious.
Only then did Minato see that familiar face, which had somehow appeared before him once again.
Before he could feel anger, Minato desperately scooped up Kushina's body and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, disappearing from the spot.
At this moment…
Minato didn't dare to think about anything else. Knowing Kushina's heart was pierced, he just desperately took Kushina away from the battlefield. He knew that if he delayed even one second, Kushina might really die!!!!
This was something he absolutely could not accept!
In an instant,
Konoha's two aces vanished from the battlefield. The surviving Konoha's Ninjas, before they could even react, began to suffer greatly.
The Kirigakure's commanders reacted very quickly. Seeing the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki seemingly down and the Yellow Flash gone, they immediately issued orders to encircle and annihilate.
Suddenly, Kirigakure's Ninjas, fierce as demons, charged recklessly towards the remnants of Konoha's forces.
Under absolute numerical and morale suppression, the outcome of such a battle held little suspense.
Soon, the Konoha's forces collapsed. The Ninjas began to disperse, fleeing frantically in the direction behind them.
The Kirigakure's Ninjas naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity to beat a drowning dog.
They pursued madly, attempting to completely wipe out this Konoha's forces stationed at Tenfu Gorge.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
But the Konoha's Ninjas were elite enough.
Even in a routed state, Jonin still voluntarily stayed behind to cover the retreat, using Wind Release Ninjutsu to stir up wild winds that blew sand and stones everywhere.
Other Konoha's Jonin used Fire Release to create fiery zones, blocking Kirigakure's pursuit.
As for the surviving Konoha's main force, under the cover of these self-sacrificing Jonin, they retreated swiftly.
Afterwards,
Every time the Kirigakure's forces got close, some Konoha's Jonin would voluntarily stay behind, using large-scale destructive Ninjutsu to buy time.
These Ninjas staying behind to cover the retreat were very strong, so the Kirigakure's side naturally didn't dare be careless, relying on numerical superiority to carefully deal with them before continuing the pursuit.
Soon,
A battle line stretching over ten kilometers formed around Tenfu Gorge. At the head were the bedraggled fleeing Konoha's remnants, at the tail the aggressive and menacing pursuing Kirigakure's forces.
"Won..."
"We completely won!"
Mei gazed excitedly at the fleeing in defeat Konoha's forces, unable to resist whispering to herself.
This battle…
Konoha thoroughly lost!
A thousand-strong Ninja Army, six to seven hundred killed by Sora alone.
Even Konoha's two aces, the Yellow Flash and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, were both suppressed.
One could say, Sora alone decided the outcome of this war.
"Kill!"
"Kill all Konoha!"
"Charge!"
"Long live Sora-sama!"
"Long live Sora-sama!"
Within the pursuing Kirigakure's forces, fanatical shouts could be seen everywhere.
Their morale was sky-high. While filled with immense worship and awe for Sora, they also mercilessly brought their swords down upon the fleeing Konoha's Ninjas.
Now, only blood and corpses could soothe the fanatical emotions in their hearts.
At this moment, Sora stood steadfast in the sky above, his gaze calm as he watched the fleeing Konoha's forces.
He did not join the pursuit. Those remaining Konoha's Ninjas were already few, and scattered into the mountains and forests.
Picking them off one by one would be troublesome.
Moreover, because the special challenge mission was to consecutively defeat Minato, Kushina, and Jiraiya, Sora had been wary of Jiraiya's ambush all along.
But even after Kushina was severely wounded, he still hadn't seen Jiraiya appear.
Sora slightly frowned, thinking to himself:
'Then...'
'Where is Jiraiya right now?'