BOOM!
The explosion of a Rasengan tore through the battlefield.
In a flash, Kanon sent Tsunade flying backward. Simultaneously, A and Onoki closed in, their fists swinging in tandem.
"Damn Uchiha!" A roared in frustration as his fist passed right through Kanon's head.
"Raikage-sama!" Mei Terumī shouted a warning, but it was too late.
"Sage Art: Snake Dragon Hand."
An invisible punch slammed into the Raikage's face. Onoki and A were sent tumbling back, their bodies smashing into the ground.
"Stone Golem!" Onoki bellowed, and a massive titan made of rock rose from the earth. "Crush her!"
As the fist descended, Kanon didn't even flinch. She watched calmly as the Golem raised its massive limb to strike her down.
Kanon simply threw a punch. Having mastered the Eight Inner Gates to their absolute limit, her physical strength had reached a level that inspired nothing but awe. Now, bolstered by her Sage Mode form, her single punch carried the weight of over ten thousand pounds, shattering the Golem into dust in an instant.
"Combining the taijutsu of the Eight Inner Gates with Sage Mode to amplify physical strength dozens of times over... quite an impressive idea," Madara observed from the sidelines, his eyes filled with genuine appreciation. "Even more remarkable is her ability to enter Sage Mode instantly. In my memory, only Hashirama could do that."
"You brat..." Onoki growled, his expression grim as he took in Kanon's indifferent face.
"Old man Onoki, this is only the beginning."
With those words, Kanon vanished. When she reappeared, she had flickered directly to where A and Onoki had been sent flying.
"Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!"
BOOM!
The azure spheres detonated. Onoki and A cried out in agony as they were blasted toward Tsunade, carving two deep trenches into the earth as they skidded.
"It's not enough... not nearly enough! Is this all you've got? Can you still dance, Five Kage?"
"This girl..." Madara muttered, somewhat helpless against the arrogance of his own descendant.
Kanon gave the Five Kage no room to breathe. Around them, hundreds of Kanon's Shadow Clones materialized, surrounding everyone instantly.
"Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan Multi-Series!" the hundreds of clones shouted in unison.
"Move!" Gaara roared, using his sand to lift the Five Kage into the air just as countless explosions erupted below.
Energy surged, nearly warping the surrounding space. The power was so terrifying that had Gaara not acted in time, the entire group would have been annihilated by that single move.
"Tsunade! Look out!" Onoki barked. Tsunade gasped as she saw the real Kanon; a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken was already spinning in her hand, aimed directly at her.
"Hokage, you're getting senile in your old age. You should have kept your eye on my original body," Kanon said flatly. "Sage Art: Rasenshuriken."
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" Onoki pressed his hands together, and a white conical beam struck the Rasenshuriken, detonating it.
The resulting hurricane-force winds sent the Five Kage stumbling back. But in the next heartbeat, Kanon took a step forward and submerged her body into the Flower Realm.
Sensing Kanon's chakra and presence vanish instantly, everyone grew tense. Gaara, in particular, scanned their surroundings frantically.
"Above us!" Onoki screamed.
Everyone braced for an attack. But it was already too late. From above the Five Kage, a rose-colored vortex opened. What emerged was not Kanon.
"Oh no! Is this a genius's battle IQ?!"
"What?!" The Raikage's expression was one of pure shock.
They had expected Kanon to launch a sneak attack from the dimension herself and had prepared accordingly. However, what fell from the Flower Realm was a Sage Art: Rasenshuriken, screaming with natural energy and spinning at high velocity!
Their counterattack hit nothing but air, and at this range, there was no way to defend.
BOOM!
The Rasenshuriken detonated before it even reached them. Energy poured out, and a terrifying shockwave rippled through the air. The Five Kage were slammed into the ground like five high-speed cannonballs, creating five massive craters in the dirt.
At that moment, Onoki, the most battle-hardened among them, finally understood what Kanon was doing and why she had detonated the Rasenshuriken prematurely.
"What is she planning..." Onoki murmured. The Five Kage were pinned in the craters, unable to move.
"In that case, I shall perform this technique personally."
Kanon's hands blurred through seals. A ribcage materialized around her, a Susanoo infused with natural energy. Because it resonated with her own Sage Art, this technique would not harm her. This method of negating side effects was something she had researched alongside the Great White Snake Sage, Tagorihime, and Ichishimahime. To Kanon, everyone in the Ryūchi Cave was a person, her family.
"Sage Art: White Rage Technique!"
A pink dragon erupted from Kanon's mouth, clutching a black orb in its claws. The dragon began to spiral violently around the orb.
"Not good!" Onoki shouted. He didn't recognize the jutsu, but he knew it was lethal.
BOOM!
The dragon bit through the black orb. A blinding flash of light and a soul-piercing sound erupted. The Five Kage screamed in agony; the technique caused excruciating pain to both their hearing and their physical bodies. Simultaneously, the air vibrations paralyzed their senses, the perfect tool for dealing with multiple opponents at once.
"Isn't it a bit too cold? Let's turn up the heat." Kanon wore a morbid smile, her seals finishing in an instant.
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
Terrifying flames ignited everything in the vicinity. Under the combined influence of the White Rage Technique and the Majestic Destroyer Flame, the Five Kage screamed as they reached their breaking point.
"Truly impressive, Kanon," Madara remarked. For a moment, he actually felt the urge to fight her himself. But what grown man would pick a fight with a young girl? Despite his battle-hungry nature, he wouldn't strike his own junior, especially the only Uchiha descendant since his birth who truly understood him. Perhaps she understood him even better than Hashirama. Looking at Kanon's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Madara was reminded of Izuna.
Onoki looked around. Everyone else had collapsed. The blinding light in the sky made the world look as bright as day. The screeching sound threatened to burst his eardrums, compounded by the air vibrations and the searing heat of the flames.
In this desperate situation, Onoki's consciousness began to fade. The thought of giving up even crossed his mind, but then his eyes fell upon a stone beside him, and his thoughts drifted to the past.
When he was a boy, the previous Tsuchikage had always made him polish stones, telling him that this was "will."
That's right. This was the Will of Stone belonging to Iwagakure. Now, Onoki finally reclaimed that stone, the Will of Stone.
"Making excuses... is not this old man's style..."
Seeing Onoki stand up, Kanon was actually a bit surprised. Under the effects of the White Rage Technique, almost no one could endure the sensory chaos unless they were a Reanimated body or someone possessed by sheer madness.
"Oh? Moving through sheer grit and will while under the White Rage Technique?"
"Old man Tsuchikage... even though you're up there in years, I'm starting to admire you more and more!"
Kanon sat inside her Susano'o with her legs crossed, looking down at Onoki with disdain.
"As expected, the backbone of the Five Kage is that brat Onoki," Madara nodded slightly. To him, Onoki's struggle was merely humorous.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" A white light flared, instantly destroying the black orb of the White Rage Technique.
At that moment, the Dust Release beam swept toward Kanon. She flicked her hand lightly, and a beam of white light shot out to meet it, a Dust Release jutsu identical to Onoki's.
The blinding light and noise vanished, and the others finally came to their senses. Seeing Onoki holding the Dust Release aloft, they saw the definition of an old warhorse still capable of the gallop.
"What do you mean 'up in years'? You brat, who hasn't even reached adulthood, shouldn't look down on the Five Kage!"
"That phrase again?" Kanon sat within her rose-red Susanoo, looking at the Five Kage with an indifferent gaze.
"That's right. Making excuses for failure is not what I do!"
Seeing the other four Kage awaken, Onoki nodded slightly. "Are you awake? Good! Now, the counterattack begins!"
Kanon smiled faintly as she watched the Five Kage regain their momentum.
"Hmph. Not bad for the oldest one there; you've got some skill. But as for being my enemy... you're still a long way off."
"You bastard!" Tsunade gritted her teeth, staring at Kanon inside the Susanoo. Having such a person as an enemy was the most painful price Konoha had ever paid. Tsunade felt it most acutely now, a faint hint of regret rising in her heart. Why hadn't she killed Kanon to eliminate the future threat back when the girl first defected from the village?