Minister Honest jolted awake under the overwhelming pressure filling the skies.
The heavens above the Imperial Capital had turned pitch-black. A colossal lightning dragon, stretching tens of thousands of meters, coiled within the clouds like a divine judgment hanging overhead. Even daylight had been completely swallowed.
"I—I'm going to die…" the Minister sobbed, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Desperate, he lunged toward the trembling young Emperor on the throne.
"Your Majesty! Use it—now!" he screamed hoarsely.
"The Protector of the Nation—Shikoutazer! Only one of the Imperial Bloodline can awaken it!"
The Emperor stared upward at the vast dragon blotting out the sky, despair flooding his face.
"Can… can it really stop that monster?"
"It can!" the Minister roared frantically. "It's the Empire's supreme weapon—power rivaling the gods themselves!"
Clenching his fists, the Emperor forced himself to speak.
"In the name of the Empire's legitimate ruler—
Awaken! Shikoutazer!"
---
The earth shook violently.
From behind the Imperial Palace, the mountain itself exploded outward.
A colossal mechanical titan—hundreds of meters tall—rose into the sky, its steel body bristling with cannons and armored plating. This was the Empire's ultimate foundation.
High above, Uchiha Tobirama floated calmly, hands in his pockets.
"So this is your strongest Teigu," he said coldly.
Shikoutazer's chest glowed crimson.
"Purge Mode—Full Power!"
A massive energy beam tore through the air, blasting straight toward Tobirama.
At the same time, General Budo roared, hurling his compressed lightning spear skyward with all his remaining strength.
Two ultimate attacks—one red, one blue—collided toward the lone figure in the sky.
Tobirama's expression did not change.
"If you call this hope," he said quietly,
"then watch as I crush it."
He lifted one hand.
"Fall."
---
The lightning dragon moved.
With a thunderous roar that shook the entire capital, black lightning poured down like a collapsing heaven.
The energy beam from Shikoutazer vanished instantly—swallowed without resistance.
Budo's lightning spear shattered the moment it made contact.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"No… impossible—!"
The dragon's claw descended.
In a single instant, Budo and his Teigu were erased, reduced to drifting ash.
The dragon did not stop.
It slammed into Shikoutazer.
Steel twisted. Armor melted. The titan's core destabilized.
Seconds later, the Empire's supreme weapon exploded, collapsing into flaming wreckage across the palace ruins.
Silence followed.
The strongest general—dead.
The strongest Teigu—destroyed.
Above the ruins, Tobirama stood untouched, gazing down with utter indifference.
Minister Honest collapsed, his spirit completely broken.
"A… a demon…" he whispered, crawling and begging incoherently.
Tobirama raised his hand—
And then—
Ice surged outward.
The temperature plummeted as glaciers spread across the shattered palace grounds, suppressing the lingering heat of destruction.
Laughter rang out—sharp, exhilarated.
"Magnificent… absolutely magnificent!"
From the frozen ruins, Esdeath advanced, leading the Jaegers atop rising ice steps.
She ignored the Minister. Ignored the fallen general.
Her ice-blue eyes were fixed solely on Tobirama.
"So it was you," she said, voice trembling with excitement.
"The one who crushed the Empire's might with a single strike."
She raised her blade, pointing it toward the sky.
"Come," Esdeath declared, unwavering.
"Show me the power that stands at the peak of this world."
——————Author——————
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