Hashirama felt an immense pressure like never before.
He could tell—Kuzan wasn't just stronger than Aramaki.
Sage Mode!
As his hands quickly formed the seal in front of him,
Green markings appeared across his face in an instant.
Kuzan didn't try to interrupt him.
He simply watched with curiosity.
"So you really do draw natural energy into your body… fascinating~"
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
With Hashirama's powerful roar, the frozen beach began to tremble once more.
[Boom! Boom! Boom!]
Thick wooden trunks burst cleanly through the frozen ground and layers of ice.
Beneath him, they rapidly assembled into a colossal Wood Human, climbing skyward segment by segment.
"Good… a Wood Human created using Sage Art chakra, reinforced with Armament Haki on the surface—it really can withstand the freezing cold!"
Senju Hashirama looked down with joy at the very, very, very good-looking giant wooden figure beneath him.
Standing atop the Wood Human's head,
Hashirama locked his gaze on Kuzan in the distance—unmoving, silently watching him cast his jutsu.
Realizing he was being underestimated again, he gritted his teeth and shouted: "Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"
[BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!]
From the frozen coastline, titanic trees erupted from the ground one after another.
The force of their emergence thundered across the entire sky—
A truly earth-shattering scene.
Kuzan, faced with this magnificent spectacle, merely retreated swiftly and calmly.
With a look of genuine curiosity, he admired the rapidly forming Thousand-Armed Kannon before him.
To him, it was nothing short of breathtaking.
And more than that, the immense pressure radiating from the construct—like a mountain range crashing down or a boundless sea surging—
Drew genuine awe from the depths of Kuzan's heart.
"Ara ara~ I suppose it's time I got serious too~"
"Ice Age!"
As the coat of justice billowed behind him in the frigid wind,
The power of the Ice-Ice Fruit burst from Kuzan's towering figure in an invisible wave.
In an instant—
With a deafening rumble—
A force many times greater than before exploded outward.
The earth quaked. Mountains shook. Forests of wood shattered.
"This is..."
From atop the Thousand-Armed Kannon, Senju Hashirama stared wide-eyed.
All around him, the once-vast forest of frost-covered trees, the ocean stretching as far as the eye could see—were now dominated by massive glaciers rising from the depths.
In the blink of an eye, they had formed an unbroken range of towering white mountains.
And it didn't end there.
The next second, Hashirama's gaze snapped upward.
To his astonishment, the once-clear, deep-blue sky had already been swallowed by thick, black storm clouds.
Massive flurries of goose-feather snowflakes came pouring down, swirling with an unnaturally spawned violent wind—
Becoming a world-consuming blizzard.
The unimaginably low temperatures and a superstorm far beyond the scope of any ordinary natural disaster—
Were already affecting the overall climate of the Shinobi World.
...
Northwest of the Land of Fire.
In a clearing clearly carved out of the surrounding forest—
Stood a cluster of flat-roofed barracks made of stone and soil, along with watchtowers about three stories tall.
But the most eye-catching sight was the black-clad soldiers, either patrolling or standing guard.
[Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh——]
Suddenly, a strange, biting cold wind swept in from the south, setting the leaves rustling in a frantic flurry.
This unusual gust caught the attention of several army soldiers.
Even officers draped in black coats stepped out to inspect the sky.
The shinobi world was currently in early summer, and with the Land of Fire's generally pleasant climate—
Such an icy wind should've been impossible.
"Assembly!"
At that moment, all field-grade officers and above received orders via Den-Den Mushi.
Before long—
A large number of army soldiers poured out of the various barracks, quickly falling into formation by squad, platoon, and company.
In an instant—
The entire camp echoed with the thundering cadence of boots and the harsh barking of orders.
At the forefront was Aramaki, the supreme commander—
A smug, arrogant grin stretched across Aramaki's face.
He had just received intelligence from CIPHER POL—
Admiral Aokiji of the Navy had cornered Senju Hashirama at the southernmost coast of the Land of Fire.
In other words, it was now his turn to act!
"Rawawawa!"
"This time, I'd love to see—who else Konoha could possibly throw at me to stop me!"
[Swish—swish—swish—swish——]
While the main combat brigade was still assembling—
A group of warriors, each clad in matching black military uniforms but bearing distinctly different animalistic traits, shot forward like arrows loosed from a bowstring, darting into the forest beyond the camp.
There were around a hundred of them.
Once dispersed, they began leaping swiftly between the towering trees that loomed like pillars.
These were the Moon Lion Unit—
A special force composed primarily of Mink warriors.
Their main responsibility was to scout ahead of the main force: detecting enemy positions, numbers, strongholds, traps, and probing their strength. They were also tasked with eliminating enemy scouts and forward elements.
But just then—
[BOOM!!]
A massive explosion erupted from a location at the front.
"That direction—!"
The commanding officer of this Moon Lion Unit—immediately narrowed his sharp lion eyes and fixed his gaze on the towering column of flames in the distance.
Soon after, the Den-Den Mushi inside his coat of justice began ringing.
When he took it out and casually answered—
"Reporting, Captain! This is Hensley's squad from the second wave—Teo's squad appears to have been hit by explosive tags, likely traps set in advance. It's bad! They're under ninja attack!"
A chorus of whistling sounds and chaotic combat noise followed the report.
Meanwhile—
Explosions began erupting from other directions at the front as well.
Clearly—
The squads from both the first and second waves—
Had already clashed with the well-prepared shinobi forces.
Amid this vast and oddly structured forest—
Black-coated Mink warriors crackling with electricity swung their blades, unleashing arcs of lightning, as they engaged in brutal close-quarters combat against Konoha shinobi clad in green vests—every one of them chūnin or higher.
Roars, explosions, screams, and cries of pain echoed in a cacophony that thickened the air with the stench of blood, spreading across the forest canopy.
Corpses from both sides began to appear in the undergrowth.
However, due to the Minks' naturally robust vitality—
And the fact that each of them carried several Purple Butterfly Emergency Pills, along with the innate bleeding-suppression effects of Breathing Techniques—
The Moon Lion Unit had far more wounded than dead.
The Konoha shinobi were fighting while retreating, relying on pre-set traps and the strange effects of various ninjutsu.
During this process—
The upper echelons on both sides were also receiving a steady stream of intelligence.
Konoha had already gained some understanding of the Moon Lion Unit.
And on Aramaki's side they also learned that the enemy had long anticipated a surprise attack.
They now faced a vast array of unimaginable traps and ninja harassment.
"Hmph. A meaningless struggle, nothing more."
Watching his nearly five-thousand-strong army deploy in waves, Aramaki scoffed dismissively upon hearing a report from a nearby colonel.
"I'll head there myself and clean up those pesky shinobi and their little traps!"
"Please wait, Lieutenant General Aramaki."
Just as Aramaki was about to move, a Lieutenant General spoke up to stop him.
"Hm?"
"Since General Akainu ordered you to lead us personally, allow us the honor of handling these ninja on your behalf."
The Lieutenant General calmly held Aramaki's gaze as he spoke.
Several nearby field officers also looked at Aramaki with hopeful eyes.
After all, they too sought military merit.
If Aramaki went in and settled everything alone, then what was the point of them coming all this way?
"Fine."
Though somewhat displeased, Aramaki fell silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.
He might act arrogant, but he wasn't a fool.
"Then you deal with the annoying ninja army—while I go check out their headquarters myself!"
To Aramaki, the real reward lay in subjugating Konohagakure.
And time was of the essence.
He had no way of knowing how long Admiral Aokiji could keep Senju Hashirama occupied.
He immediately turned his body into branches and vanished, slipping down into the earth below.
"Aramaki's brigade has engaged the Konoha shinobi."
"The latter, leveraging their familiarity with the terrain, prearranged traps, and various coordinated ninjutsu, have been methodically obstructing their advance."
'In addition, Aramaki has left the main force and is heading alone toward Konohagakure.'
At the top floor of the central tower in Rōran—
Shiryu relayed the latest situation to Sakazuki, repeating every word precisely.
"Hmm."
Sakazuki merely nodded, offering no further comment.
If Aramaki still failed to take Konohagakure this time, then that man was simply useless—and Sakazuki wouldn't waste another second on him going forward.
"Then I shall take my leave."
"Mm."
Sakazuki paid no mind to Shiryu's departure.
His attention remained fixed on the reports spread across the desk in front of him.
They primarily detailed the situation in other regions of the shinobi world.
First was the matter in the Land of Birds.
Iwagakure, under joint assault from the coalition of Sunagakure, Amegakure, Takigakure, and Kusagakure, had performed remarkably well.
The veteran Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, utilized his exquisite Earth Release techniques and the powerful Kekkei Tōta known as Dust Release to ultimately defeat the man hailed as a 'demi-god'—Hanzō.
Hanzō's massive salamander, along with his left arm, was reduced to ash beneath the blinding white light of Dust Release.
Terrified, Hanzō fled for his life, abandoning everyone, including his newly accepted disciple, Yahiko.
Ōnoki did not pursue him.
Instead, his murderous gaze turned toward the shinobi of Amegakure, Takigakure, Kusagakure, and the others.
And the brilliant white light blooming from his hand followed his gaze, sweeping across the battlefield and atomizing every target it touched—bodies and ground alike disintegrated into nothingness.
Twelve-year-old Yahiko, in order to protect Konan and Nagato—
—promptly reached out to the Two-Tails within him, entering a state of partial Tailed Beast transformation.
But even so, he was no match for Ōnoki.
Eventually, Ōnoki used Earth Release to disrupt him and forced Yahiko, still in his semi-transformed state, into a desperate situation.
And then, just as expected, Nagato stepped forward without hesitation to shield Yahiko.
He immediately activated his Rinnegan and used the Blocking Technique Absorption Seal to absorb the full brilliance of the Dust Release into chakra.
Then, seizing the moment of Ōnoki's shock, he used Universal Pull to yank him down from the sky, followed by Almighty Push to inflict a devastating blow.
However, Nagato—still so young—had no intention of killing Ōnoki.
He simply used the Blocking Technique Absorption Seal to restore Yahiko to his human form and sanity from his semi-beast state.
Then, in a hurry, he took Konan and withdrew from the battlefield.
According to observations from the CIPHER POL-8 agents covertly tracking them, it appeared they were returning to Amegakure.
The report included a formal request to Sakazuki, asking whether these 'three little ones' should be intercepted en route and brought back to Rōran.
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