No — perhaps it could be one of the invaders from beyond the gate.
The information from above described the invaders from beyond the gate as massive in size, but the gate had only appeared moments ago. They couldn't possibly know very much.
It was entirely possible that, aside from those massive beasts, there were also infiltrators who looked just like humans!
Uchiha Madara didn't spare them another glance, calmly scanning his surroundings.
"An island nation, huh."
He furrowed his brow, less than satisfied with the country he'd been randomly assigned to.
This nation's land area was far too small — barely enough for him alone. And on top of that, he'd sensed Minato Namikaze's chakra.
But there was no time to fly to another country now.
Uchiha Madara raised his head. His cold Sharingan fixed on the gate looming overhead — the symbol of this mission's objective.
At that moment, the gate swung open.
"BOOM—"
"GROAAAR!"
A dragon's roar split the sky. From within the gate, a Western black dragon — standing hundreds of meters tall — burst forth, spiraling through the air!
On the ground below, the evacuating crowds that had already been on edge erupted in chaos at the sight of the massive dragon in the sky.
"AAAH! The monster — it's come out of that gate!"
"Black dragon! A black dragon from Western mythology — symbol of destruction and ruin!"
"Hurry, hurry up! People ahead, get inside the shelter! That's a BLACK DRAGON!"
"We can't keep doing this — if we keep standing in line we'll all die! RUN! RUN somewhere safe!"
"."
One scream after another turned what had been a relatively orderly queue into total chaos. Those behind surged forward. Those in front, shoved out, scrambled back into the crush in terror.
Some fled into nearby buildings — compared to fighting the crowd for a spot in the shelter, the buildings felt safer.
Then there were those on the ground, minds completely seized by fear. They panicked, dropping to all fours — they didn't even know why they were doing it. At this point, thinking was beyond them.
They just followed their body's instincts, doing things that would have seemed utterly pointless to them under normal circumstances. It was the only way to feel even a shred of safety.
The black dragon in the sky was just the beginning. One after another, beasts of all kinds — varied in appearance but massive in size — poured out of the gate, crashing to the earth below.
The ground cratered on impact. The buildings around them disintegrated. The civilians inside died with them. The earth cracked like a spider's web in every direction.
Once they'd landed, they roared and set to destroying the surrounding buildings with wild excitement. When they spotted humans, their beast-pupils blazed with killing intent.
And each time a human fell before them, that killing intent instantly transformed into satisfaction.
Even the prepared military units and soldiers on the ground — armed with guns and artillery — opened fire on the monsters. But it was as if nothing was happening. Their overwhelming defenses meant most attacks didn't even break the skin.
Even when some ammunition managed to wound them, they showed zero reaction. No perception of pain whatsoever. They kept right on destroying the buildings around them, hunting down humans with ferocity.
And while they were occupied with the monsters surrounding them, the black dragon circling overhead seemed to notice them. It beat its wings and dove toward their position.
When it drew near enough, its massive jaws erupted with searing flames — and in an instant, their bodies were reduced to charred husks, crumpled to the ground.
The gap between them was simply too vast. Human weapons could only do so much damage. But the monsters' attacks were utterly lethal to fragile human bodies.
"I have to say, I'm starting to wonder if this is even a fight we can be part of."
Fujimi Academy — Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had appeared at some point, watched the battle in the distance, saying with a bitter smile.
She'd thought there would at least be some invaders on their level, or even weaker — they could earn points by hunting those, like the Frost Giant battle before.
But now, staring at those hulking monsters laying waste to the city — the kind that looked straight out of a tokusatsu show — Utaha had to admit: this was beyond them.
"Not even one grunt, huh."
Umaru muttered dejectedly, clearly having never imagined this scenario.
"Saeko, you…"
Utaha's gaze turned to Saeko Busujima. Her eyes held a question.
After all, Umaru and herself were only support. Saeko Busujima was the main damage dealer on their team — the one who clashed with the enemy head-on.
In other words, Saeko's position was the most dangerous.
So Saeko's thoughts on this mattered a great deal.
If she too believed this was a fight beyond their current capabilities, then the best thing for them to do this time was simply watch.
But if Saeko had the will to fight — then naturally, they'd lend a hand.
After all, if the one in the most danger wasn't afraid, what did the two supports have to fear?
Even in the worst case, they had time to use the shuttle talisman to leave.
"I want to give it a try."
Saeko Busujima gripped the hilt of the sword at her waist, saying firmly to Umaru and Utaha.
As a swordsman — facing even the strongest enemy — one must have the courage to draw steel.
Upon hearing Saeko's words, Utaha and Umaru raised no objections. They were just support, after all.
And besides — they weren't about to give up on this mission.
Minato Namikaze, after the black dragon appeared, left a Flying Thunder God kunai for Saeko and the others before vanishing.
But Uchiha Madara…
The three of them turned their gazes toward the horizon — where a colossal figure, wreathed in blue flames, stood towering between heaven and earth.
Uchiha Madara folded his arms across his chest, seated in the chest of the Susanoo, gazing down with disdain at the endless tide of monsters pouring toward him.
"Do you… also wish to dance?"
"BOOM!"
The radiant blade swept out toward the monsters drawing near — a wave of destruction that bisected everything in its path, cutting beast after beast clean in half.
"Boring battle."
"Let's end this quickly."
Uchiha Madara pressed his palms together. The next instant — with a series of smoke plumes — hundreds of massive, fully-armored Susanoo, all wreathed in blue flames, rose from the earth like giants awakening.
They began to hunt the monsters surrounding them.
Minato Namikaze,穿梭 through the city rescuing survivors, caught sight of this scene and let out a helpless laugh.
It seemed there was no room for him to act in this battle after all.
Though truthfully, he wasn't particularly fond of facing enemies with defenses this strong either.
Lighthouse Nation.
"What a pain. What an absolute pain."
"Tell me there's some chat group member who actually got assigned to Lighthouse by random roll, right?"
———
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