After a brief silence, the entire earth around the camp suddenly began to shake violently from every direction.
Might Guy slowly stood up and looked toward the dense forest ahead.
Everyone else was staring there as well.
At the edge of the forest, a golden line suddenly appeared.
It looked like the sun itself was rising from beneath the earth.
That golden line rapidly widened and rose higher while spreading outward to both sides.
The trees at the edge of the dense forest collapsed one after another, instantly swallowed by the advancing golden tide.
"Gold Dust Wave!!"
Someone cried out in shock.
Guy's pupils instantly contracted.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust.
Rasa's signature Ninjutsu.
The golden wave continued rising higher and higher as it surged out from the forest and spread across the open ground.
Three meters.
Five meters.
Seven meters.
Its width stretched from south to north, perfectly facing the entirety of the Konoha camp.
Not too long.
Not too short.
Just enough to completely engulf the entire camp.
The speed of the wave was not particularly fast, but it advanced steadily and relentlessly.
As the Gold Dust Wave moved forward, the ground outside the camp gradually transformed into sand.
The hidden traps were swallowed whole.
The buried explosive tags were suppressed beneath the tide.
Shuriken.
Kunai.
Senbon.
Everything hidden underground vanished beneath the gold dust.
The Gold Dust Wave continued pushing forward while the trap zone shrank rapidly.
Six hundred meters.
Five hundred meters.
Four hundred meters.
Before such a terrifying wave, the people within the camp looked no different from ants.
"What... what kind of terrifying Ninjutsu is this...?"
Someone muttered in disbelief.
But nobody answered.
Everyone merely stared blankly at the golden wave steadily crushing toward them.
Some people unconsciously stepped backward while their legs trembled.
Guy stared fixedly at the Gold Dust Wave as memories from two months ago flashed through his mind.
Two thousand Iwagakure Ninja.
A massive square formation.
Two thousand people simultaneously forming hand seals before slamming their palms into the earth and raising a seven-meter-high earth wave.
That had required two thousand people.
But this Gold Dust Wave now...
Was created by a single person.
Only one person.
Its scale might not match the gigantic earth wave formed by two thousand shinobi, but its oppressive force was absolutely no weaker.
"Is this... really a Ninjutsu a human can use...?"
Another person spoke softly.
Still, nobody answered.
Because everyone already knew the answer in their hearts.
Not human.
A monster.
"So this is... the power of a Kage-level shinobi..."
Guy tightened his grip around the hilt of the Youth Blade while sweat spread across his palms.
At that moment, Sarutobi Sosuke's voice suddenly exploded from behind them.
"Run!! If you don't run now, are you all waiting to die?!"
He jumped down from the command platform while pointing frantically at the Gold Dust Wave now only four hundred meters away.
"What are all of you hesitating for?! If that thing crushes over us, nobody will survive!!"
"Do you all really want to die here?!"
"If we retreat now, there's still time! There's still time!!"
Some people were visibly shaken by his shouting.
A few even took several steps backward before stopping again.
Their expressions became conflicted.
Seeing that Choza still had not moved, Sarutobi Sosuke rushed directly in front of him.
"Retreat! Give the order to retreat right now!"
"Are you seriously going to make everyone die here because of your stupid decision?!"
Sarutobi Sosuke had already become hysterical.
But Choza remained completely unmoved.
He stood at the very front of the camp, the person closest to the approaching Gold Dust Wave.
The golden light reflected across his face as he narrowed his eyes deeply.
His brows were tightly furrowed.
He was calculating.
The height of the wave.
Its width.
Its speed.
How long before it reached the camp.
After calculating everything, Choza slowly reached into his clothes.
Then he pulled out a small wooden box.
The crest of the Akimichi Clan glimmered beneath the firelight.
He opened the box.
Inside lay three pills.
Green.
Yellow.
Red.
Choza stared silently at those three pills for one second.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he picked up the green Spinach Pill.
He stuffed it directly into his mouth.
Chewed twice.
Swallowed.
Yet he did not immediately use the Multi-Size Technique.
Instead, he silently picked up the yellow Curry Pill.
He was waiting.
Waiting for his body to fully absorb the effects of the Spinach Pill first.
Waiting for the Gold Dust Wave to move a little closer.
Then, he would eat the Curry Pill as well.
He would use the power of the Super Multi-Size Technique to block the incoming gold dust with his own body.
"Even if... it costs me my life."
Choza's gaze shifted toward the final pill inside the box.
The red Chili Pill.
His eyes were already filled with absolute resolve.
A Gold Dust Wave on this scale was likely something even Rasa himself could not repeatedly unleash within a short period of time.
If he could block this attack, the camp would gain precious time.
Maybe enough time to survive until reinforcements arrived.
As for Sarutobi Sosuke's frantic shouting, Choza simply ignored it completely.
Because he understood something clearly.
No matter how hysterical or desperate Sarutobi Sosuke acted right now, he absolutely did not dare flee on his own.
He was a member of the Sarutobi Clan.
The clan of the Third Hokage himself.
If he abandoned the battlefield and ran...
The consequences awaiting him afterward would likely be worse than death.
Choza slowly inhaled deeply while locking his gaze firmly upon the approaching wall of gold.
When the Gold Dust Wave reached three hundred meters away from the camp, Choza's body finally began changing.
The effects of the Spinach Pill were activating.
His muscles rapidly bulged outward.
Veins rose across his skin.
Dense Chakra began leaking visibly from his body.
Yet his eyes never left the advancing wave.
He was still waiting.
Waiting for the Gold Dust Wave to move just a little closer.
Just a little more.
To the exact distance he had already calculated in his mind.
Then he would consume the Curry Pill.
And charge out.
He would use the Multi-Size Technique.
Use his body.
Use his life.
To forcibly block the Gold Dust Wave.
Just as the golden tide closed to less than two hundred meters away from the camp, Choza finally raised the Curry Pill toward his mouth.
But at that exact moment, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm firmly.
"Captain."
Guy's voice sounded beside him.
Choza turned his head.
Might Guy stood beside him with one hand gripping tightly onto his arm.
"It's not time for that yet."
Choza froze briefly.
Guy looked directly into his eyes while pressing his arm downward away from his mouth.
"If you eat that now, then what happens later?"
"There are still three thousand enemies waiting afterward."
Choza opened his mouth instinctively.
But Guy did not give him the chance to speak.
"I have a way to deal with the Gold Dust Wave!"
Choza's entire body trembled.
"You have a way?! This is not the time for jokes!"
"I'm not joking!"
Guy's expression was completely serious.
Solemn.
Seeing that expression, Choza's thoughts suddenly blanked out for a moment.
He remembered another scene from half a year ago.
Back during the battle against Iwami JΕ«zΕ.
At that time, Guy had worn this exact same expression while saying almost the same words.
Choza stared fixedly at him.
"What... way do you have?"
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