TsuchirYu’s death sent shockwaves through Iwagakure’s frontline.
On Konoha’s side, morale soared.
Seizing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Konoha launched a fierce counteroffensive.
The battlefield erupted with flames and deafening war cries.
Yu paid it little mind.
By then, he had already slipped away from Konoha’s advancing forces.
On the system panel, a single destination remained highlighted.
Torisaka Pass.
Several days later…
The outskirts of Torisaka Pass.
A steep canyon stretched before him, sheer cliffs rising on both sides with only a narrow passage cutting through the middle.
It was the perfect choke point for protecting a supply line.
“Lord Yu, we’ve cleared out every Iwa lookout in the outer perimeter.”
A Konoha jōnin bowed respectfully, his voice filled with admiration.
Behind him stood several other elite Konoha shinobi.
Battle-hardened veterans.
Efficient killing machines.
Yet whenever they looked at Yu’s back, there was unmistakable reverence in their eyes.
This young man always appeared calm and unhurried…
Yet he repeatedly accomplished miracles no one else could imagine.
Yu nodded casually.
“Maintain the perimeter.”
“If anything unusual happens, deal with it yourselves.”
“My lord…”
The jōnin hesitated.
“The defenses deeper inside the pass are certain to be formidable.
Shouldn’t we accompany—”
“No.”
A single word.
Calm.
Emotionless.
Yet it silenced every objection.
“…Understood!”
The jōnin lowered his head immediately.
Without another word, Yu blurred into motion.
Like drifting smoke, he vanished into the shadows deep within the canyon.
The remaining Konoha shinobi exchanged helpless smiles.
In the end, they simply carried out his orders.
They knew this much already.
Lord Yu never explained himself.
And he never needed anyone else’s help.
The interior of Torisaka Pass was every bit as heavily guarded as expected.
A sentry every few steps.
Hidden bunkers.
Layer upon layer of traps.
Iwagakure clearly understood just how vital this supply route was.
Unfortunately…
None of it mattered.
Yu moved like a ghost.
Flying Thunder God seals silently leapt from shadow to shadow.
Whenever necessary, Kamui’s intangibility allowed him to phase effortlessly through obstacles.
The Iwa patrols never even realized death had brushed past them.
Soon…
He arrived at the heart of the supply depot.
A gigantic warehouse carved directly into the mountainside.
Elite Iwa shinobi stood guard outside.
Several possessed chakra signatures comparable to jōnin.
Yu didn’t attack head-on.
Instead, he circled to the side of the mountain.
Placing a hand against the rock, he activated the newly acquired earth-style technique.
Solid stone softened beneath his palm as though it were clay.
Without making the slightest sound, a tunnel just large enough for one person formed through the wall.
He stepped inside.
The warehouse’s interior was enormous.
Supplies were stacked into mountains.
Food.
Weapons.
Medicinal herbs.
Explosive tags.
Enough resources to sustain a full-scale war.
The air smelled of saltpeter and cold steel.
Yu swept his eyes over everything without the slightest emotional reaction.
He had only one objective.
The check-in.
Stopping at the center of the warehouse, he spoke inwardly.
“System.
Check in.”
[Ding!
Host has arrived at Check-In Location: Iwagakure Supply Hub — Torisaka Pass!]
[Checking in…]
[Check-In Successful!]
[Congratulations!
You have obtained the Kekkei Tōta: Dust Release (Basic)!]
A profound stream of knowledge flooded into his consciousness.
Earth.
Wind.
Fire.
The perfect fusion of all three chakra natures.
A power beyond Kekkei Genkai.
The supreme realm known as Kekkei Tōta.
Dust Release.
A terrifying ability capable of reducing anything to its molecular state.
Yu closed his eyes, silently experiencing the new power taking root within him.
His Sage Body instinctively circulated chakra.
Its immense vitality and senjutsu chakra resonated unexpectedly well with Dust Release.
Even at its most basic level…
Its destructive power far exceeded his expectations.
“Not bad.”
He murmured softly.
Then—
BOOM!!
Massive boulders slammed down, sealing every entrance to the warehouse.
The surrounding mountain walls split open.
Countless hidden passages appeared.
Dozens of powerful chakra signatures erupted simultaneously.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
A storm of kunai and shuriken rained toward the center of the warehouse, leaving no avenue of escape.
Moments later, scores of Iwa shinobi poured from the hidden tunnels, surrounding Yu from every direction.
Leading them was a scar-faced Iwa jōnin.
His chakra dwarfed that of everyone around him.
He grinned viciously.
“HAHAHAHA!”
“We finally caught the big fish!”
“Konoha’s Ghost!”
His laughter echoed throughout the sealed warehouse.
“After Commander TsuchirYu was assassinated, we knew Konoha would send its strongest operative for another decapitation strike.”
“The Tsuchikage-sama predicted your next target would be our supply line.”
He pointed directly at Yu.
“Torisaka Pass will be your grave!”
“We’ve prepared a perfect trap!”
“Three hundred Iwa shinobi!”
“And five Special Jōnin!”
“Let’s see how you escape this!”
The surrounding Iwa forces laughed cruelly.
To them…
Yu was already trapped.
Their confidence wasn’t unfounded.
Meticulous planning.
Overwhelming numbers.
Elite reinforcements recalled from the front after TsuchirYu’s death.
Enough to kill anyone beneath Kage level.
Yu slowly surveyed the encirclement.
Three hundred shinobi.
Five Special Jōnin.
Quite an impressive force.
Unfortunately…
“A perfect trap?”
He repeated softly.
A faint smile appeared.
“It seems…”
“You know nothing about true power.”
The scar-faced shinobi frowned.
An inexplicable unease crept into his heart.
The boy was far too calm.
Not forced composure.
Indifference.
As though everyone present…
Was beneath his notice.
“Enough with the bluffing!”
“Kill him!”
“Turn him into minced meat!”
At the commander’s roar, dozens of shinobi responded at once.
Brilliant chakra illuminated the warehouse.
Earth Release.
Fire Release.
Wind Release.
One ninjutsu after another began to take shape.
Yu slowly brought his hands together.
The Sage Body erupted to its limit.
Immense natural energy surged into him.
At the same time…
The newly acquired Dust Release awakened.
Earth.
Wind.
Fire.
Perfectly fused.
“W-What…”
The scar-faced jōnin’s pupils shrank violently.
An indescribable terror washed over him.
This wasn’t merely powerful chakra.
It was…
Pure annihilation.
“Dust Release…”
Yu spoke quietly.
Yet every Iwa shinobi heard him.
“Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.”
Bzzzzz—
A gigantic translucent cube materialized around him.
Then…
It expanded outward at terrifying speed.
Far faster.
Far larger.
Than anyone expected.
In the blink of an eye…
More than half the warehouse—and nearly a hundred charging Iwa shinobi—were engulfed within the transparent barrier.
“What is that?!”
“My body…
I can’t move!”
“AAAAAHHHH!!”
Panic erupted.
Inside the cube…
An irresistible force began tearing everything apart.
Their bodies.
Their weapons.
The ground beneath their feet.
Even the ninjutsu they had just unleashed.
Everything dissolved before their eyes.
There was no explosion.
No thunderous blast.
Only…
Silent annihilation.
The scar-faced commander stood barely outside the cube’s edge.
Its boundary brushed his left arm.
In an instant…
Half his arm disappeared.
Not severed.
Erased.
Pain exploded through him.
So did absolute terror.
“Retreat!”
“RETREAT!!”
He screamed until his voice cracked.
Too late.
At Yu’s command, the cube’s disintegration intensified.
The trapped Iwa shinobi…
The enormous stockpiles of military supplies…
Everything inside…
Was reduced to its most fundamental particles within moments.
Nothing remained.
Only an enormous, unnaturally empty space.
As though that section of reality had simply been deleted from existence.
Every surviving Iwa shinobi froze.
Nearly a hundred comrades…
Including elite chūnin…
Even a Special Jōnin…
Gone.
Without leaving behind a single trace.
What kind of jutsu was this?
Could such power even belong to a human?
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Every remaining Iwa shinobi—including the scar-faced commander clutching his missing arm—looked at Yu as though he were a god of destruction.
Their cruel smiles had vanished long ago.
Only fear remained.
Bone-deep.
Absolute.
“Run!”
Someone finally screamed.
Then the entire force collapsed.
The surviving Iwa shinobi threw away their weapons and fled toward every opening they could find, scrambling over one another in desperate panic.
Their formation completely disintegrated.
Yu stood quietly at the edge of the vast empty crater left by Dust Release.
He made no move to pursue them.
Instead…
He simply watched their retreating backs.
One man.
One army.
After today…
Those words would become an unforgettable nightmare for every Iwa shinobi who survived.
Yu lowered his gaze to his own hands.
The power of Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique had exceeded even his expectations.
Especially after combining it with senjutsu chakra.
And this was only…
The basic level.
If it reached Advanced…
Or even Perfect Mastery…
He dismissed the thought.
Turning toward the untouched section of the warehouse, he walked deeper inside.
Most of the remaining supplies were useless to him.
But some things were worth bringing back to Konoha.
Blank storage scrolls.
High-grade chakra metal.
Those, at least, wouldn’t go to waste.
His footsteps echoed softly across the perfectly smooth floor—the surface left behind by Dust Release’s flawless erasure.