As the Lightning Dragon surged into the clouds, every ninja watching the scene unconsciously swallowed hard.
Lightning Release at this level—this godlike degree of control over lightning—was something they had never seen in their entire lives.
The level of detail in that dragon alone was astonishing. It was practically indistinguishable from a real dragon, nothing like the crude, barely formed dragons that ordinary ninjas struggled to create.
And its power left them completely speechless.
That had been a massive fireball formed by the combined efforts of countless people—yet it was pierced straight through in a single clash!?
With a deafening boom, the Fire Style jutsu that had been split open by the Lightning Dragon scattered violently, flames sweeping outward in all directions.
But it could no longer inflict even the slightest damage on Arata, who stood within the stone walls.
Seeing this, even the few Kage-level fighters present were left utterly speechless.
If it had been them facing such a terrifying fireball, even after pulling out every last trump card they had, the best they could have managed would have been to barely deflect its trajectory and survive.
But Arata had confronted it head-on—and shattered it outright.
The gap between them could only be described as an unbridgeable chasm.
This single exchange made everyone finally understand that Arata's earlier words had not been bluster in the slightest.
This was a genuine Super-Kage–level powerhouse.
Possibly even mid-tier Super-Kage.
For people who had not seen a Super-Kage in decades, the shock was overwhelming—especially when they realized Arata was only nineteen years old.
If he continued to grow, his future achievements might well rival the God of Shinobi himself, Senju Hashirama.
What they did not know was that Arata had just broken through to Super-Kage peak.
Even if he were to face Hashirama at his prime, Arata now truly possessed the strength to fight him head-on.
At this moment, the colossal wave surging across the sea had already closed in on Arata's position.
The allied ninja forces, still reeling from shock, immediately began retreating.
A wave over five hundred meters high—if even brushed by it, even jōnin would lose all combat capability. Aside from the three remaining Kage-level fighters, everyone else fled deeper inland.
Standing atop the crest of the wave, Hōzuki Gengetsu wore an exceptionally grave expression.
Through his sensory perception, he could clearly see Arata inside the stone enclosure.
After unleashing such a terrifying Lightning Dragon, Gengetsu had assumed Arata would at least be somewhat exhausted.
Reality, however, slapped him brutally in the face.
Arata's breathing was calm, his expression relaxed—he was even watching with interest.
That composure alone multiplied the pressure on Gengetsu severalfold.
He could not believe that after using such an overwhelming Lightning Release, Arata could still remain so unruffled.
Even a Super-Kage should have consumed an enormous amount of chakra to perform something like that!
At that moment, Gengetsu realized something chilling.
Perhaps Arata wasn't early Super-Kage at all—
—but mid-tier Super-Kage.
With that thought, his expression darkened further.
He could no longer hold anything back. Otherwise, whether he could even leave this battlefield alive was uncertain.
Gengetsu quickly formed hand seals once more and roared:
"Hydrification Jutsu! Great Shark Bullet Jutsu!"
As his words fell, his entire body liquefied into water, merging completely with the massive wave beneath his feet.
In the next instant, the wave—once shapeless—began to take form. In the blink of an eye, it molded itself into the outline of a colossal shark!
This Great Shark Bullet was different from Kisame's later version.
It directly harnessed a natural tsunami, combined with Gengetsu's Hydrification Jutsu and shaping ability.
While it might lack some refinement compared to Kisame's, its sheer scale more than made up for it.
Previously, the wave relied solely on brute force and drowning the enemy—but now, shaped into a shark, it possessed terrifying piercing power.
Gengetsu's face could be faintly seen within the shark's head—he had fully merged himself into the technique.
Looking at the massive shark head towering over five hundred meters high and blotting out the sky, Arata's expression finally changed.
"So this is the true foundation of Kirigakure… impressive."
As one of the Five Great Nations, Kirigakure had always had relatively little screen time.
Aside from Zabuza's early appearance, most of its ninjas were treated as little more than background characters.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were hyped heavily during the Third Shinobi War, yet were nearly wiped out by Might Duy, a mere genin—though the Eight Gates made that comparison unfair.
Because of this, Kirigakure earned a reputation for being weak, especially since even their Fourth Mizukage had been completely manipulated by Obito.
But now, fighting Kirigakure ninjas on the open sea, Arata finally understood the truth.
This was a nation that could stand apart from the rest of the shinobi world—one no one dared invade lightly.
Hashirama might dominate on land. He could even destroy the Land of Water outright.
But once the battlefield shifted to the sea, even he would find combat far more troublesome.
After all, no one had ever said Hashirama possessed any special abilities in the ocean.
And Kirigakure's shinobi—all masters of Water Style—combined with the unique bloodline of the Hōzuki clan, could unleash power far beyond their nominal rank.
On the sea, Kirigakure was unquestionably stronger than the Land of Lightning—and in no way inferior to the Land of Fire.
Although Arata's praise was quiet, Hōzuki Gengetsu heard it clearly.
A smug smile crept across his face.
"Regretting it now is too late," he said proudly.
"I'll let you witness the might of the overlord of the seas!"
Yet even as he spoke, cold sweat began to form on his face.
He instinctively turned his head.
High above, the Lightning Dragon had not yet dissipated.
After piercing the heavens, it coiled and roamed through the sky, rapidly condensing into a vast thundercloud that covered dozens of kilometers.
Lightning crackled endlessly within it, thunder booming without pause—and raindrops had already begun to fall.
This was Arata's awakened ability: weather control.
Lightning itself was a manifestation of weather. Controlling it was only natural.
And since the Lightning Dragon had been created by Arata, it was effectively an extension of his own body.
If he wished, he could swap places with it instantly—or even merge his physical form into it outright.
Not to mention, Arata still possessed the space-time ability Kamui.
The walls that seemed to surround him had never truly restrained him in the first place.
Suddenly, Arata snapped his fingers.
Then, in a calm voice, he spoke a single word:
"Raigo!"