As Uchiha Kaien soared high into the air, the wings of ice extending from his back continued to grow. Stretching over twenty meters wide, the massive wings beat downward, sending a blast of icy force straight into the cavern below.
Directly beneath him was the headquarters of the Jashin Cult.
The cult's outer members had always believed the meeting point with their handlers was nothing more than a secluded rendezvous. Little did they know, right beneath the cave lay the heart of their entire operation.
This setup wasn't random. The cult designed it so the captured children could be sent straight to the altar below as sacrifices—swift, efficient, inhuman.
You thought this was just a casual transaction? The truth is, the real base was right under your feet the whole time.
But those outer members were never meant to know the location of the base. Nor would they ever live long enough to become inner members.
Kaien's massive wings of ice continued to expand with an explosive force. Sonic booms echoed through the valley as the pressure wave from the wings sent the recently-awakened handler flying once more.
This time, his luck ran out.
The wing's flurry of razor-sharp ice feathers pierced him clean through.
He died without another sound.
And that—wasn't even a direct hit.
The mountain valley below, the real target, collapsed with a deafening roar, as if crushed beneath an enormous invisible hand.
Boulders tumbled down, sealing off the area entirely. The whole valley became a forbidden zone.
"So this is power capable of reshaping the land itself… How awe-inspiring," Orochimaru muttered.
"Kagami-senpai, are all Mangekyō Sharingan this powerful?" he added, watching Kaien level the entire stronghold of the cult with a single attack. The sheer force of it—it was terrifying. Even the Tailed Beasts might struggle against something like this.
Uchiha Kagami coughed awkwardly. Compared to Kaien's offensive techniques, his own eye powers felt... unimpressive.
And besides, his abilities weren't exactly suited for open combat.
He couldn't use them against enemies, and obviously couldn't test them on allies. Honestly, it was kind of a headache.
That's why Susanoo was still the better option for battle. Still, he managed to give Orochimaru a somewhat respectable answer. Couldn't let the younger ones think he was completely obsolete.
"Ahem… The Mangekyō Sharingan differs from person to person. Each wielder's eye technique is unique..."
"I see. I didn't realize the Mangekyō Sharingan came with such variety. What a mysterious and powerful kekkei genkai."
Orochimaru's fascination only deepened.
...
While the others spoke, Kaien hadn't stopped moving. With the cult's escape route sealed, it was time to hunt down the rats trapped in the cage.
"Wind."
With that single word, a massive gale erupted in the sky. With a flick of Kaien's hand, the storm crashed downward, engulfing the remains of the cave in a whirlwind of destruction.
Shattered stone flew in every direction. Some of it, guided by Kaien's jutsu, landed deliberately around the mountain base—forming makeshift ramparts that created an enclosed fortress, leaving only the sky open.
Then Kaien beat his wings again.
The icy blades at the tips struck the ground like giant spears, piercing deep into the earth.
Fragile as they looked, the ice now revealed its terrifying cutting power.
From above, Kaien had a perfect view of every single Jashin Cult member.
"Little rats… let's see how well you can dig. If you want to survive, you'd better earn it."
"Water."
Even as the storm still howled above, a new disaster took shape. Thunderclouds had quietly spread across the sky, and then—rain began to fall. First in drops, then in torrents.
But strangely, the downpour only covered the cult members' location. Elsewhere, the stars still shone through a clear night sky.
Kaien stood at the center of the storm, not a drop of water clinging to his robes. Aloof and untouchable. The tips of his icy wings were transforming, feather by feather, into sharpened blades, all pointing downward, ready to strike.
The rain pooled rapidly on the ground, spreading like a flood conjured from nowhere. In an instant, every cult member was caught in its grasp.
The floodwaters surged, drenching the screaming cultists as they cried out for their god—who, of course, never answered. Only one area remained untouched: a patch of open ground where the kidnapped children were being held.
From Kaien's vantage point, he sensed a chakra signature flaring—the strongest one among the cultists, trying desperately to flee toward the children.
Somehow, the man had used a jutsu that allowed him to edge just barely out of range.
Kaien's Mangekyō spun in his eyes.
"Ice Seal."
In a flash, wind and water merged. Everywhere touched by the storm became encased in frost, the ground transforming into an icy graveyard.
The most ornately dressed man—likely the cult's high priest—managed to escape with just his head beyond the frozen zone. He cursed bitterly, furious at his fate.
"This power… it's terrifying. Like a natural disaster. Even the Tailed Beasts might not compare."
"Actually," Orochimaru noted, "his final technique... there's sealing jutsu mixed into that ice. It might really be capable of containing a Tailed Beast."
The high priest's head, the only part of him left unfrozen, was finally consumed by the spreading frost. Silence followed.
...
Uchiha Kagami and Orochimaru landed atop the rocky walls Kaien had erected, peering down at the devastation in awe.
They'd prepared for a brutal fight.
They hadn't expected this.
Meanwhile, Namikaze Minato had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to safely extract all the kidnapped children.
"Well done, Minato," Kagami said, nodding in approval. "We destroyed the Jashin Cult, and more importantly, we saved the children. That makes it all worthwhile."
"I don't have power like Kaien's," Minato said with a sheepish smile. "So I can only do what I can."
But in truth, watching Kaien's massive, natural disaster-level jutsu had lit a fire in him. He wanted to learn techniques like that too. Without something on that scale, how could he fight creatures like the Tailed Beasts?
Especially the Nine-Tails—said to be the strongest, and sealed within Konoha.
Minato realized then and there: he had to start developing large-scale, high-impact techniques.
A shinobi couldn't afford to have such a glaring weakness.
You needed power against both people and monsters. That was the kind of jutsu a future Hokage would need.
"What should we do with the children, Orochimaru-senpai?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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