章節 97: Chapter 97: Pride and Fall: The Giant Hand of Golden Chains Descends from the Sky

Tanaka remained silent after the last attack.

The Third Kazekage seemed to be analyzing him, waiting for his actions before making a move. He must have realized that a direct attack would be pointless — not as long as that spherical barrier around Tanaka existed.

A tension formed as the two remained silent, less than 100 meters apart, in mid-air.

In Tanaka's mind, he reflected on various things, one of them being the confrontation with the Kazekage. However, he was still able to keep part of his focus on the battle.

'Very well, I have no reason to prolong this fight.' He came to this conclusion.

Until then, he intended to delay the inevitable in order to improve during the battle. However, unfortunately, the Third Kazekage did not prove to be a worthy opponent — not one capable of providing him with a real challenge.

"Very well," Tanaka said aloud. "Third Kazekage, what are the chances that you take your people and go back to where you came from?"

The Third Kazekage immediately replied calmly, "Zero."

"I see." Tanaka sighed, but soon his eyes closed and opened again, activating his Kinzokugan. In an instant, his domain of powers expanded, even the range of his Psychokinesis doubled. In a cold, emotionless voice, Tanaka said, "You've made your choice."

When he heard Tanaka's voice, the Third Kazekage felt the hairs on his body stand up like never before. A bad premonition clouded his mind.

'What is this? What is this terrifying feeling?'

Soon, he understood.

From the air, more than 50 golden chain tips appeared as if they had come from a different dimension. The chains made metallic dragging sounds as they began to move.

Each of these chains carried a threatening aura that made him break out in a cold sweat.

The iron sand surrounding him began to spin in a dome-like shape as he moved backward, trying to create distance, but behind him, golden chains appeared, heading toward him, forcing him to ascend into the sky, only to see golden chains appear high above as well.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Metallic sounds echoed as one chain struck another, but they didn't clash; it was as if, upon colliding, they redirected themselves in a favorable direction, heading toward the Third Kazekage.

Flying and dodging at high speed, using as much chakra as he could to move as fast as possible while trying to prevent the golden chains from reaching him, he lost control of the iron sand when it came into contact with the golden chains.

This continued for a few minutes until the Third Kazekage, who had been giving his all, felt his chakra depleting at an alarming rate, making him feel closer to his end than ever before.

Now he began to understand where that strange feeling had come from. It turns out that what the Uzumaki boy asked him was actually an act of mercy, giving him a chance to leave this war alive. But how could he do that? His pride wouldn't allow him to retreat, especially when they had formed an alliance against Konoha.

Perhaps the Cloud Village would be fine even if they lost this war, but what about them? After all, the Sand Village was very close to Konoha, with only the River Country between them. Much like the Stone Country, where only the Grass Country separates Konoha from the Stone Village.

'I can't lose – much less die here!' He clenched his fists, skillfully dodging the chains. One of them grazed his arm, and if not for the layer of iron sand surrounding his body, he would have suffered the same fate as the protective barrier that disintegrated upon contact with the adamantine sealing chains...

But then, he saw something strange. Or more precisely, something disturbing.

High in the sky, the golden chains that were chasing him met. However, it wasn't just a brief encounter before they resumed the chase; instead, they began to merge, intertwining with one another with terrifying sounds of metal clashing. In just a few moments, a gigantic fist made of interwoven golden chains had formed.

If it were anyone else, they would be cursing at this moment. And although the Third Kazekage remained indifferent, the reality was that he was far from calm. His heart raced faster than ever, and his hands were sweating, proving just how nervous he was in this situation.

After all, it was relatively easy to keep fleeing from the golden chains compared to a giant fist the size of a mountain.

From the ground, all the iron particles began to rise. The Third Kazekage knew that if he wanted to survive this, he would need to create something on a similar scale to defend himself. And even if he wasn't crushed to death by this enormous fist, deep down, he knew that the moment it struck him, his powers would be sealed, and he would only be left to await his end.

"Whoom!!"

"Rumble!!"

Even Mito and the Third Mizukage felt threatened and distanced themselves further from the area, fearing they would be caught in the impact of this attack.

"Damn it, that kid is insane!" exclaimed the Mizukage.

Now, he felt relieved to be facing Mito and not that Uzumaki boy.

At this point, he felt that not even the title 'Red Devil of Uzushio' justified his power.

'Will the Third Kazekage survive?' The Mizukage knew that if the Third Kazekage also fell, it would be nearly impossible for them to win this war.

In fact, in his mind, he had already begun to consider surrender, thinking about their losses and ways to compensate Konoha as the losing side.

The moment seemed to last an eternity and, at the same time, occurred in the blink of an eye. In a fraction of a second, the giant fist collided with the dark shield, crushing the air as if it were made of paper.

"BOOOOM!"

A thunderous crash reverberated. The ground shook, and the air vibrated, making everyone nearby feel as though the world was being turned upside down.

"God, not again!!!"

Various cries of despair echoed. Many ninjas fell, injured. Others weren't so lucky and were targeted by enemies who took advantage of the chaos to strike critical, even fatal, blows.

At the epicenter of the storm, the Kazekage was in a desperate situation.

"Bleugh!"

Vomiting blood, with cuts opening on his outstretched arms as he tried to withstand the crushing weight of the attack, the Kazekage felt his mind clouding, as if a black veil was covering his vision.

"I won't fall here!" Screaming, with blood flowing from his mouth, he pushed out even more chakra, forcing the iron sand to bear the weight of the attack that relentlessly pressed down on him.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Layer after layer of the Kazekage's defense shattered. Blood dripped from his mouth and body as he was crushed by the immense pressure exerted upon him.

"Nooo!" For the first time in his life, the Third Kazekage panicked. Fear was visible on his face as the last layer of his defense broke and the giant hand made of chains descended upon his body.