Chapter 154: Overwhelming Strength.

"Fire Release: Intense Flare!"

As Tōshirō's cheeks puffed, he exhaled forcefully.

A mass of concentrated chakra, invisible to the naked eye, passed through his two interlocked index fingers, transforming into a thin line of flames that surged toward the Sand Shinobi opposite him.

The slender line of fire rapidly began to expand after passing through his fingers, growing larger.

Within just a few meters, it transformed into a sea of flames that covered the entire area, engulfing the large group of Sand Shinobi within its fiery grasp.

Though it couldn't compare to the original Madara's ability to envelop an entire army in flames with a single jutsu, Tōshirō's Fire Release was still astonishingly powerful. The orange-red waves of fire surged forward, covering nearly a hundred-meter fan-shaped area in front of him.

"It's over!"

"We're dead for sure!"

"Damn it! Is the gap this wide?"

Facing Tōshirō's powerful and wide-ranging Fire Release jutsu, most of the Sand Shinobi were terrified, their faces pale with fear.

For a moment, they had no idea how to defend themselves! Some even thought their death was imminent...

With such a vast attack range, escaping the sea of flames seemed impossible in such a short time.

As for countering it with Wind Release jutsu, what a joke—did they want to die quicker?

Even the Jonin on the battlefield broke into a cold sweat and felt the veins on their foreheads swell, realizing that even they might not survive if they couldn't respond properly to such a powerful Fire Release.

"Everyone, defend with Water Release…"

"Use any defensive techniques you have!"

Fortunately, at critical moments, there's always someone who can turn the tide. With Yekura's loud shout, these confused Sand Shinobi were brought back to reality.

Additionally, to counter Konoha's Fire Release jutsus, some of the Sand Shinobi had trained in Water Release as their secondary attribute.

Especially the Jonin on the battlefield!

Even the Chunin had their own methods to defend against Fire Release.

"Water Release: Water Barrier!"

"Water Release: Water Wave!"

"Water Release: Water Bullet!"

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

Various jutsus were cast by the Sand Shinobi who had regained their composure to defend against Tōshirō's attack.

At such a critical moment, they couldn't worry about whether the jutsu used was appropriate; anything that might work was attempted.

Take Yekura, for instance—naturally inclined to Wind and Fire Releases—despite being a Jonin, she had completely abandoned other attributes to master Scorch Release.

In this critical moment, she could only cast a wide-range Fire Release jutsu, hoping to offset the opponent's technique.

Now, it was a life-and-death struggle for the Sand Shinobi, leaving them no choice but to give it their all~

In an instant, the center of the battlefield was filled with flames, water, and earth, clashing and countering each other.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted from the point where the chakras collided. Then, a massive white cloud of smoke spread out, enveloping the entire battlefield.

Seeing the visibility drastically drop, Tōshirō, using his Sharingan and excellent sensory abilities, charged directly into the white mist without hesitation.

Bang! Crack! Boom!

As Tōshirō attacked, the positions of the Sand Shinobi, either sensed by him or seen through by his Sharingan, were discovered one after another!

"Ah!"

"Ugh!"

Cries of agony from the Sand Shinobi echoed intermittently!

Some couldn't withstand his sheer force and were sent flying, or had their limbs broken by his brute strength, then tossed out of the smoke.

There was virtually no one who could match him blow for blow!

"Wind Release: Thousand Faces!"

Finally, some Sand Shinobi regained their composure, casting this non-offensive Wind Release jutsu to blow away the obstructive white mist that hindered everyone's vision.

Clang!

With a casual flick, Tōshirō used a ninja sword seized from a Sand Shinobi to deflect a kunai coming his way and halted his actions.

Gently tilting his head, his crimson, malevolent Sharingan scanned left and right. Observing the chaos on the battlefield, he didn't rush to attack but rather stood in place, waiting leisurely for the opponent's next move.

The Sand Shinobi now were heavily battered. Only about ten of them were left standing, facing off with Tōshirō; far fewer than the thirty or so that had surrounded him initially.

Instead, they seemed hesitant and fearful, unable to step forward!

It wasn't that they lacked courage; the earlier jutsu from Tōshirō had terrified them!

What they thought was an opponent cornered like a trapped beast had turned into a ferocious monster that could tear them apart in an instant. They couldn't accept this reality so quickly!

At this moment, the remaining Sand Shinobi, every single one of them, had exhausted a significant amount of chakra.

Moreover, with many of them being struck by Tōshirō in the chaos earlier, their numbers were rapidly dwindling, leaving them almost defeated.

"How is this possible?"

"How could someone with such power remain hidden for so long?"

A Sand Shinobi murmured in disbelief.

The drastic difference was hard for them to accept. Like he said, if Tōshirō had such power, why would he have been hiding all this time?

Some of them had encountered his shadow clones before. Judging from those encounters, they had estimated Tōshirō's real power to be at most at the Jonin level.

Reality had slapped them hard, leaving them collectively stunned.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"So, what do you say now? Was I wrong?"

"With my power, do you still think I'm not worthy of being called the 'Scorch Release User'?"

Seeing the arrogant Tōshirō on the other side, no one refuted him; it was as if they acknowledged his words~

Given the power he displayed, if he were to join them...

Sand Shinobi Village would indeed stand to gain greatly~