Takigawa leaned against a massive boulder pierced through by a golden sand spear, its surface covered in spiderweb-like cracks. He panted violently, each breath like swallowing a red-hot blade. The tearing pain in his chest reminded him that he could no longer keep fighting.

The light of the setting sun was about to be swallowed by darkness.

Two days and one night of continuous battle had pushed him past his limits.

Even if nothing could change the outcome of Suna's victory, they would make sure Suna paid dearly for it.

On the cold sand lay the scattered severed limbs of Ame ninjas.

Behind the cover of the rocks, the heavily injured Ame ninjas groaned in suppressed agony.

A young Ame ninja's abdomen had been sliced open by a wind blade, his intestines spilling out. With hands caked in sand and blood, he futilely tried to push them back in. He convulsed in pain, his eyes unfocused.

There were countless Ame ninjas like him.

The Suna ninjas were not much better off.

Although they could still remain standing, they had already lost many comrades.

This last desperate counterattack by the dying Ame ninjas was truly troublesome.

Rasa was entangled with Hanzō, his face grim. He had thought wiping out these Ame ninjas would be easy, but the losses had exceeded his expectations.

The remaining Ame ninjas, clinging to their last breaths, hid behind cover. In front of them, the Suna ninjas, like hyenas smelling blood on the prairie, regrouped into a surrounding circle.

Even after suffering heavy casualties, Suna's forces still held an overwhelming numerical advantage.

"Ahhh!!"

The encircling Suna ninjas simultaneously formed hand seals. Their roars echoed across the desert.

Chakra surged wildly.

In an instant, countless gusts of wind rose up before them.

The winds converged in the air, gathering into a massive tornado.

The tornado advanced toward the Ame ninjas hiding behind the rocks, carrying a terrifying force that could crush everything in its path, shrieking deafeningly.

Wherever it passed, gravel was effortlessly swept up and ground to dust. The air itself was violently sucked away, forming a powerful vacuum vortex.

Even a kunai caught inside would be shattered under the immense pressure.

Behind the rocks, the Ame ninjas couldn't even lift their hands to form seals.

In that moment, despair reached its peak.

They could only watch helplessly as the tornado loomed over them, blotting out the sky.

Takigawa glanced at his comrades around him, their young faces frozen in hopelessness.

A deep sense of powerlessness gripped him.

He was not afraid of death. As he had once told his comrades, he should have died long ago.

What he felt was guilt, unwillingness, he could not protect his comrades.

He was too weak.

"It's over…"

A one-armed Ame ninja muttered, closing his eyes and giving up resistance.

"Hanzō-sama… I'm sorry…"

The young ninja with his guts spilled out let the light fade completely from his eyes.

"I… don't regret it…"

"I wonder how he's doing…"

The tornado shredded the boulders hiding the Ame ninjas.

Just as it was about to close in further, an icy, bone-piercing chill suddenly descended without warning. A visible, ice-blue frost spread through the air. Before the stunned eyes of the Suna ninjas, the tornado froze solid.

It became a motionless ice sculpture. A small, thin figure stood atop the frozen tornado.

The last ray of daylight slid across his forehead, illuminating the Ame forehead protector he wore.

[Killing Intent detected]

[Multiple sources: +3000 points each]

[Total accumulated: 450,000 points]

[Energy transferred to Sukuna]

[Development progress: 94.7%]

"Shiratori!"

"It's Shiratori!"

Takigawa stared blankly at the figure standing atop the ice sculpture. Around him came the cries of Ame ninjas, voices of shock and joy mixed.

But he felt no joy at all.

Why?

Why did he have to wake up at this moment?

Why did he, upon waking, still choose to step onto the battlefield?

Didn't he know…?

No!

He was painfully aware, Shiratori knew exactly how dangerous this battlefield was. But he wasn't afraid!

Shiratori slightly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over each wounded Ame ninja behind him.

His voice rang out, clear and resolute, carrying to every Ame ninja's ears and resounding across the battlefield:

"I told you, I will protect everyone."

"I will fight side by side with everyone."

"I will not abandon a single comrade."

"Now it's time for me to fulfill that promise."

His words were like heavy hammers, striking hard at every Ame ninja's heart.

[Affection detected]

[Multiple sources: +8000 points each]

[Total accumulated: 616,000 points]

[Curse Growth - Love: 93.5%]

Tear tracks washed over the bloodstained faces of the Ame ninjas. They looked at Shiratori's figure, their eyes, once filled with despair, now seemed to have a blazing spark thrown into them.

A scorching heat surged into their heads, and they felt… warmth. Their bodies were warming up, and their chakra was gradually returning.

"Protect our comrades!"

"Protect Ame!"

The ninjas let out roar after roar, voices tearing from their throats.

They forgot their pain, forgot their wounds, and charged recklessly at the Suna ninjas.

The roars echoed across the battlefield. Even Ame ninjas who were so badly injured they shouldn't have been able to stand suddenly erupted with astonishing chakra, their pupils burning with a madness that would consume everything.

At the same time, the Suna ninjas stared in shock at these opponents who seemed to have crawled back from the depths of hell.

Even as enemies, they could not help but respect their foes' indomitable will.

Countless Suna ninjas turned their eyes toward Shiratori.

Not a single one underestimated this ninja.

They leaped in unison, sealing off all of his escape routes. All kinds of jutsu roared toward him at the center.

[Killing Intent detected]

[Multiple sources: +2000 points each]

[Total accumulated: 130,000 points]

[Energy transferred to Sukuna]

[Development progress: 96%]

Shiratori's figure looked especially small in the face of the dazzling array of ninja techniques.

Just as the ninjutsu was about to engulf him, a sudden change occurred.

A thick black mist began to pour out from the ring on his hand.

The mist completely wrapped around him.

From within the black mist, a gigantic claw reached out.

Psshht!

The razor-sharp claw instantly pierced through the body of a Suna ninja who had approached him.

Like a broken doll, the ninja was casually flung onto the sand by Rika.

The next moment, Rika's massive body fully emerged from the black mist.

The ninjutsu landed on her gigantic body, leaving not the slightest mark.

A shrill roar tore across the entire battlefield.

She instantly locked onto the Suna ninjas surrounding Shiratori. Her claws swept wildly toward them.

In an instant, blood and flesh flew before his eyes.

"What is this…"

"A monster…"

"What… what is that?!"

The Suna ninjas stared up at the colossal figure above, their pupils contracting sharply.

[Fear detected]

[Multiple sources: +3000 points each]

[Total accumulated: 30,000 points]

[Energy transferred to Hanami]

[Development progress: 90.05%]

"Ahhh!"

Rika rampaged through the Suna ninjas. Any ninja close to her was shredded by her claws.

Screams echoed through the skies.

"Kill him!"

"As long as we kill him, it'll be over!"

"That monster, he's the one who summoned it!"

[Killing Intent detected]

[Multiple sources: +5000 points each]

[Total accumulated: 130,000 points]

[Energy transferred to Sukuna]

[Development progress: 97.3%]

The Suna ninjas swarmed toward Shiratori.

At the same time, four purple vortexes appeared around him.

Come!

Cursed spirits!

Shiratori roared furiously in his mind.

Space twisted around the vortexes, and a malice so dense it was almost tangible erupted from within them.

From one vortex emerged Jogo, with a whole miniature volcano erupting on his head. Seeing the humans charging toward him, his entire being radiated an icy killing intent.

"Disgusting humans…"

In his single eye burned a violent flame, and his voice rumbled like a roar from the depths of the earth.

"So annoying, so annoying!"

"Just die already!"

He bellowed in rage, and stomped his foot.

Boom!

Centered on him, the surrounding sand instantly turned into boiling lava within a radius of several dozen meters.

Caught off guard, the Suna ninjas fell into the lava, their screams echoing as they turned to charcoal before they could even struggle.

[Fear detected: +3000 points]

In front of Shiratori, a hand covered in stitching reached out from a vortex.

"How nice~"

"You've come again~"

Mahito stretched lazily, his hand casually landing on the arm of an oncoming Suna ninja.

With an innocent yet cruel smile on his face, the Suna ninja's body instantly warped and twisted like soft clay.

The unrecognizable monster let out a furious roar toward its former comrades and lunged at them.

Seeing this, he let out a delighted laugh.

He slowly turned his head toward a Suna ninja trying to launch a sneak attack from the side.

"Ah!"

[Fear detected: +3000 points]

[Rage detected: +3000 points]

On Shiratori's left and right, Choso and Smallpox Deity stood silently in place.

Choso's face was stern, his gaze unnervingly calm. Looking at the enemies before him, he merely raised his hand slightly, and a dazzling red light burst from his fingertips.

The red light flashed past, instantly piercing through the Suna ninjas' bodies.

[Fear detected: +3000 points]

A massive eyeball faced the Suna ninjas.

It had no limbs, only a single pupil floating in midair.

"Die!"

"Monster!"

The Suna ninjas roared angrily, thrusting their kunai and short blades toward the eye.

[Killing Intent detected: +4000 points]

[Killing Intent detected: +3000 points]

One second, two seconds… three seconds!

"Ahhh!"

Just as the kunai were about to pierce the eyeball, the weapons slipped from the Suna ninjas' hands.

Ear-piercing screams ripped through the air as their bodies began to rot from the inside.

Countless tentacles emerged from the giant pupil, slithering like venomous snakes toward the Suna ninjas on the battlefield.

The Suna ninjas' morale collapsed in an instant.

Fear spread like wildfire among them.

Rika let out a deafening roar, her serpent-like arms sweeping and pounding wildly.

Large groups of Suna ninjas were smashed into pulp with ease.

Jogo's furious roar echoed across the battlefield. The volcano atop his head erupted violently. Like a torrential waterfall, a flood of molten lava surged toward the Suna ninjas.

The battlefield around him became a hell of lava, the stench of charred flesh filling the air.

In contrast to the battlefield's grim atmosphere, Mahito happily darted across the field.

His goal was not simply to kill, but to play to his heart's content.

Dodging attacks with ease, he instantly closed in on a Suna ninja.

"Hello~"

He reached out his hand. Under the Suna ninja's terrified gaze, he gave a sweet smile.

The fear on the ninja's face froze instantly as his body began to twist and warp uncontrollably. In just a single second, a living human had been twisted into a grotesque ball of flesh.

The monster lost all reason and leaped toward its former comrades, tearing into their flesh with mutated fangs.

Mahito clapped his hands, laughing with innocent glee.

[Total accumulated: 135,000 points]

[Energy transferred to Hanami]

[Development progress: 91.4%]

[Total accumulated: 60,000 points]

[Energy transferred to Jogo]

[Development progress: 55.1%]

[Total accumulated: 20,000 points]

[Energy transferred to Sukuna]

[Development progress: 97.5%]

[Total accumulated: 180,000 points]

[Energy transferred to Mahito]

[Development progress: 67.7%]

Choso stood beside Shiratori, unmoving as a mountain, loosing bolt after bolt of blood arrows swift as lightning from his hands.

The savage cursed spirits rampaged across the battlefield.

The sands were stained a deep crimson.

Night had completely fallen.

"Rasa, it seems the outcome isn't as predetermined as you thought…"

Hanzō swung his scythe down hard, sparks flying as it clashed with the sand gold.

Rasa's expression was dark and grim.

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30 Advance chapters!

Currently at the latest available chapter!