Chapter 304: Shock on All Fronts
Kaede watched the battlefield, his brows slowly drawing together.
The two Tailed Beasts that had been lifeless moments earlier suddenly began trembling violently.
Rampaging chakra expanded outward without warning.
The air itself distorted under the density of the energy.
Onoki immediately rose higher for a clearer view.
"This doesn’t look right."
Ay reacted instantly. Lightning Release Armor erupted around him with a crackle.
He stepped forward, his enormous frame taking the front position.
"They’re going to... fire Tailed Beast Bombs!"
Kaede remained where he was.
Ahead, Gyuki and Shukaku raised their heads simultaneously.
Blue and red chakra converged rapidly before their mouths.
Dense black-purple spheres formed and expanded ring by ring.
While watching, Kaede’s thoughts shifted to the other battlefields.
The east wasn’t a concern.
With the Flying Thunder God, Minato could redirect attacks like this easily.
Rasa’s large-scale Gold Dust defense in the south couldn’t endure continuous bombardment forever, but the density of Gold Dust was enough to withstand a single Tailed Beast Bomb without catastrophic consequences.
The west was different.
Kaede’s brows lowered further.
Mei’s Lava Style excelled in area attacks and corrosion.
Pakura’s Scorch Release pursued extreme heat and lethal precision.
Both Bloodline Limits were overwhelmingly offensive and offered almost no true defensive ability.
Against the brute force of Tailed Beast Bombs sweeping across the battlefield, those two would have a very difficult time protecting themselves.
Concern immediately rose in Kaede’s chest.
Onoki glanced at Ay.
The old man rubbed his hands together.
He intended to meet the attack directly with Particle Style and break the energy apart.
Ay was already prepared to risk his life as well.
"Both of you, move back."
Kaede interrupted them and stepped to the very edge of the wall.
"I’ll handle it."
His hands came together.
He calculated using Wood Release to pierce upward from below and strike the jaws of Gyuki and Shukaku, forcing their firing angles into the sky.
But just as he prepared to activate the technique, both Tailed Beasts leaped backward without warning.
They hung in midair.
Not only did they avoid Kaede’s predicted attack points, the Tailed Beast Bombs immediately left their mouths.
Two enormous black-purple spheres dragged long trails of light behind them as they flew toward the northern wall.
They were terrifyingly fast, compressing the air into a shrill howl.
Crushing pressure descended over the entire section of wall.
The allied shinobi standing above panicked.
Clang.
Someone dropped a kunai.
Many Genin instinctively ducked their heads.
This simply wasn’t a level of power ordinary shinobi could oppose.
Kaede stepped onto the battlement and jumped.
In midair, his fingers moved through a complicated chain of seals at extraordinary speed.
"Wood Release: Hotei Technique."
The ground before the wall violently overturned.
Hundreds upon hundreds of enormous wooden hands burst upward.
They intertwined and climbed toward the sky, layer after layer intercepting the two incoming Tailed Beast Bombs.
The bombs crashed into the first wooden hands.
A thunderous explosion swallowed every other sound.
The concentrated energy tore through the first layer of Wood Release.
Huge sections carbonized and turned into black ash.
A second layer pushed forward and was immediately crushed.
Then the third.
The fourth.
Wood fragments flew in every direction, striking the wall hard enough to leave pits.
Kaede didn’t stop.
His hands remained together as massive amounts of chakra poured from his body.
More wooden hands continuously erupted underground and wrapped around the Tailed Beast Bombs.
Layer upon layer closed around them.
Soon, an absurdly enormous solid wooden sphere formed in midair.
The forward speed of the Tailed Beast Bombs finally decreased.
But their inertia remained enormous.
The wooden sphere continued pushing toward the wall under crushing pressure.
Fifty meters.
Thirty.
Ten.
The outer bark cracked.
Black-purple light leaked through the seams.
Pressure rolled across the battlements.
Onoki retreated and raised his arms defensively.
Lightning crackled around Ay.
The allied shinobi stood frozen.
Just as the sphere was about to strike the wall, Kaede increased his output.
The two Tailed Beast Bombs, compressed to their limit, finally lost stability and detonated in midair.
White light illuminated the entire night sky and forced everyone to close their eyes.
At almost the same time, enormous explosions sounded from the east, south, and west.
The earth shook violently.
Kaede had no time to care about the other directions.
The wooden sphere directly ahead had disintegrated.
Tons of splintered wood shot toward the wall fast enough to turn the allied shinobi into pincushions.
Kaede changed hand seals again.
A broad, heavy wooden shield rose from the base of the wall and blocked everyone behind it.
A gigantic fanged demon face was carved across its surface.
Wood Release: Wood Expulsion Jutsu.
The violent shockwave and broken timber slammed repeatedly into the demon-faced shield.
The impacts thundered, rapidly covering the thick wood in pits and cracks.
But it endured everything and protected every allied shinobi behind it.
Only after a long while did the noise finally stop.
Smoke and dust slowly dispersed.
Kaede lowered his hands.
The enormous wooden shield sank underground.
Onoki floated in the air, staring at Kaede’s back with his mouth slightly open.
Those had been full-power Tailed Beast Bombs from two Tailed Beasts.
This young man had stood alone at the front and suppressed an attack capable of destroying the entire defensive line.
Not only had he stopped it.
He had controlled the detonation distance so precisely that not one ally was caught in the blast.
Onoki knew what kind of chakra volume and control that required.
It was far beyond ordinary shinobi limits.
The legendary power said to have ended an age of war had just been displayed directly before him.
Ay looked at the massive crater beyond the wall and then back at Kaede.
"How many trump cards are you still hiding?"
For once, genuine astonishment filled the Raikage’s voice.
In that instant earlier, Ay had considered what would happen if he tried to block both attacks himself.
Even with his Lightning Release Armor at maximum output, he would have suffered severe injuries.
Kaede didn’t answer.
He turned toward the smoke rising beneath the night sky.
A very bad feeling settled in his chest.
He was about to call an ANBU and order an immediate status check on the other camps when a frantic rush of air came from behind.
A messenger ninja stumbled onto the wall.
Half his armor was shattered and blood covered his body.
His left arm hung uselessly, clearly broken.
His knees gave out, and he dropped to one knee.
"Kaede-sama."
He lifted his head, voice trembling unmistakably.
"Something terrible happened!"