Makiya hid underground, with a large area of magma scorching around him. The fluid absorbed much of the impact. Once the vibrations stopped, Makiya emerged from the ground and looked around, but saw no sign of Han.
The originally uneven surface of the earth had become extremely flat, with a giant semi-circular crater embedded in the ground. Groundwater continued to bubble up and gather at the bottom of the crater; perhaps in a short while, a lake would form here.
Makiya looked into the distance and saw several figures emerging one after another from the opposite side of the crater. Judging by their attire, they appeared to be the Explosion Corps of the Hidden Stone.
So, where was Han?
Suddenly, the earth shook again. Makiya pressed his hands to the ground and felt carefully, finding that the source of the vibration was getting closer and closer to him.
"Not good!"
His golden flames spread like wings as he soared into the air, a massive amount of chakra gushing out to condense into a shield of fire beneath him.
A giant white head burst from the ground beneath him, smashing through Makiya's flame shield with a single strike. Four sharp, protruding horns tore through the fire, goring Makiya and sending him flying.
"Did we succeed?"
The ground collapsed as a pure white beast, a fusion of a dolphin and a horse, climbed onto the surface. Kokuo, the Five-Tails, stepped upon the earth.
"No, I didn't feel a physical impact. He must have used the flames to push himself away," Kokuo and Han conversed within their mind.
"Then hit him again!"
The massive body began to accelerate. Compared to it, the remaining cliffs in the distance looked like small dirt mounds. Kokuo's four hooves crushed the earth as it charged with monumental momentum.
Makiya stabilized his body and looked up just in time to see a silly roe deer-like beast charging at him, its sharp horns reflecting a keen light.
"Don't think you're the only one who can grow large!"
Makiya clapped his hands together, and terrifying chakra transformed into a sky full of flames. Under his supreme control, it condensed into a spine, ribs, and arms... A golden skeletal giant, approximately fifty meters tall, rose from the ground. It gripped the air with both hands, and all the flames on its body surged into its palms, forming a thirty-meter-long blade. Compared to the maximum scale of his Sun-Piercing Blade, this blade's edge was even more solid, appearing almost physical.
Makiya jumped onto the giant's head. A steady stream of chakra turned into flames and flowed into the giant beneath him. The flame giant, like a samurai, gripped the sword with both hands and slashed forward.
This was a ninjutsu he had condensed by mimicking Susanoo. This was his first time using it today, and several of his bones were even dislocated. If this move couldn't take down Kokuo, he would turn tail and run.
After two consecutive battles, he felt exhausted.
"Hmph, flashy but useless."
Kokuo snorted coldly. Looking at the flame giant that was a head shorter than itself, its gaze was unfriendly. Its speed increased once more as the horns and the long blade crossed paths.
Clang!
A massive horn was sliced clean off, and golden flames, like maggots on a bone, clung to Kokuo's head, burning furiously.
Makiya wasn't doing much better. The beast possessed raw, brute strength; its hard head pierced straight through the flame giant's chest, breaking all the ribs and cracking the spine. The immense force surged through his body, causing blood to spill from the corner of his mouth.
As the giants wrestled, the mountains and rivers suffered. The pain triggered the beast's ferocity. The two massive beings collided repeatedly, causing the earth to crack once more.
Kokuo, possessed of strange strength, endured the searing pain of the fire and tore the giant into pieces.
A living creature's kinetic function was superior to a ninjutsu. Kokuo was like a maddened wild horse; after goring the giant, its front hooves dug into the ground as it launched another assault.
Makiya quickly leaped into the air, sidestepping Kokuo's impact. The flame skeleton slowly dissipated, and the remaining flames condensed into wings, carrying him higher and higher, away from the battlefield.
Kokuo hesitated for a moment, abandoning the idea of releasing a Tailed Beast Bomb from a distance.
Setting aside whether the 'cannon hitting a mosquito' approach would even strike the target, the opponent possessed a fire ninjutsu that could be released instantly and at extreme speeds. It feared the Tailed Beast Bomb would explode in its own mouth.
Standing high in the sky and looking down at the ground, Makiya felt a sour ache in his eyes. The constantly spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan began to undergo a strange change. His ocular power seemed to break through a certain threshold, drawing chakra through the Sharingan to release it, causing pitch-black bones to manifest around him.
"This is..."
Makiya looked up in surprise. These were not bones he had manually condensed through flame control; everything was natural, as if his ocular power knew exactly what to do, drawing chakra to condense automatically.
The Sharingan shone brilliantly. Having accumulated an excessive amount of ocular power over time, Makiya's eyes seemed to have undergone an atavism process under the surface. It wasn't until the change was completed just now that he was able to release a technique that usually could only be mastered after awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Wait...
He suddenly remembered that the original series never stated one must unlock the Mangekyo to master Susanoo. Indra was a prime example, but since that guy's status was so special, Makiya hadn't even thought in that direction.
The pitch-black skeleton was about twenty meters tall, much shorter than the flame giant, but Makiya could command it with great fluidity, as if he were moving his own arms.
On the ground, Kokuo looked up.
"What kind of ninjutsu is that?" Han asked in his mind.
"That is Susanoo. As I thought, his eyes are special," Kokuo replied. The familiar figure caused its violent temper to cool down significantly, as it suddenly recalled a certain blue giant from its memories.
It was many years ago on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. It had been curled up in the forest, sleeping soundly, when a colossal giant suddenly descended from the sky. The giant grabbed it and gave it two massive slaps across the face.
Atop the giant's head, a man named Madara looked it up and down. With a face full of disdain, he tossed it aside, muttering as he turned to leave that if he'd known, he would have just gone looking for the Nine-Tails directly.
Madara's figure overlapped with Makiya's. Although Makiya's Susanoo was nowhere near as massive as Madara's, Makiya could fly. Kokuo knew that if they continued to fight, it would gain no advantage, and there was even a chance Han might die here.
"Han, let's withdraw," Kokuo said.
Han looked stubborn: "No, we can't withdraw."
Boom!
A flaming blade descended from the sky. Han and Kokuo were startled and quickly dodged the golden flames, while Tailed Beast chakra continuously covered their bodies to insulate them from the heat.
Han fell silent. Man and beast had already shared their hearts; he and Kokuo were one, and he could clearly feel the sharp pain from the broken horn. His heart softened, and he spoke somberly: "Sigh, Kokuo, let's withdraw."
"Good."
Kokuo took its broken horn in its mouth, gave Makiya one last look, turned around, and swiftly retreated without looking back. Shortly after, it deactivated the Tailed Beast Transformation, and a weakened Han fell into the forest.
"Report the intelligence to the Tsuchikage," Han said immediately upon landing, before he had even stabilized himself. "A powerhouse of this caliber has appeared on the Hidden Leaf's front lines. Once their subsequent reinforcements arrive, we won't be able to break through the defense line for a long time. We need Roshi!"
The supporting Explosion Corps gathered around Han. They looked at each other upon hearing Han's words. The Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, had conflicting views with the Tsuchikage; he loathed war and longed for freedom, and had always planned to travel abroad. The Tsuchikage would likely have to spend quite a lot of effort to convince him.
The news still had to be sent. In any case, it was the Tsuchikage who would have the headache. The Explosion Corps immediately took action, keeping an eye on the black skeleton in the sky while following Han as they retreated. The base previously established by Mahiru certainly couldn't be used anymore; a new one needed to be activated.
Watching Kokuo leave, Makiya also breathed a sigh of relief. The pitch-black bones dissipated, and he flapped his flaming wings to leave the battlefield.
His chakra was almost completely depleted. This was the first time since obtaining his golden finger that he had consumed so much. To put it simply, the mysterious space only had three people and one egg; that 'egg' hadn't provided much energy yet, so there was an urgent need to strengthen it.
"Three Makiyas are still too few after all. When will someone new arrive..."
Makiya found Hamaki Mimura and the others, retracted his flames, and slowly landed. While observing from high above earlier, he had noticed that the battle's impact range was extremely vast, even affecting the secondary defense line established by the Hidden Leaf. Fortunately, it was only some fallen trees, which were very quick to clear.
Makiya followed Hamaki Mimura into the defense line and moved into a private resting room under the respectful gazes of the others.
His chakra consumption was too great; he only wanted to have a huge meal. Hamaki Mimura, upon hearing this, took it upon himself to handle the task. Before long, various types of meat were delivered to Makiya.
"Is this much okay? Does the base have enough stock?"
"Please be at ease, Lord Makiya. Some of this was just hunted outside. The quantity is sufficient and it is absolutely fresh."
"That's good then."
Makiya opened his stomach and ate for three hours straight. He felt as though he had consumed at least two bears; his hungry stomach was like a bottomless pit, and his powerful digestive capacity converted the food into energy almost instantly.
His lower abdomen bulged slightly, and the cells throughout his body thirstily absorbed energy. His body felt warm, and his chakra was rapidly recovering.
He would rest for a bit and then eat another meal later.
At the same time, one of Hamaki Mimura's subordinates acted as a messenger, swiftly delivering the front-line intelligence to the reinforcement army led by Jiraiya.
With Makiya overseeing the front, Hamaki Mimura and his group were very at peace. They organized the various facilities of the secondary defense line, waiting for Lord Jiraiya's army to arrive.
A day later, Jiraiya led the army to the front line. His first words made Makiya's heart sink.
"Has Minato sent any word to you?"
"...No."
[Support the story with Reviews, Power Stones, and Comments—they mean a lot and keep me going! 30+ chapters waiting on patreon.com/elite_reads]