Whoosh~
Before his words had even fully faded, a figure flashed out of thin air in mid-sky. Tsunade and Uchiha Misuke, who had been preparing to depart, both paused their movements. They turned their heads to look beside Shisui, where a figure clad in a white robe with gold trim had appeared.
Seeing the newcomer, Tsunade's pupils instantly constricted. That attire… it was someone from the Divine Court!
"You're finally here!" However, upon seeing the newcomer, both Shisui and Uchiha Misuke let out a collective sigh of relief. Uchiha Misuke said softly, a note of reassurance in her voice.
The person who had arrived was none other than the Divine Court's newest member, Fujin. This was also the first time Shisui and Uchiha Misuke had met him in person.
Hearing Misuke's words, Tsunade turned her head to look at her in shock, instinctively taking a small step away. Behind them, the Third Hokage and Kakashi, who were rushing over with a group of ANBU ninja, also showed expressions of wary vigilance upon seeing this scene. The Third Hokage waved his hand, and the ANBU ninja immediately fanned out, surrounding Fujin.
"Lady Tsunade, there's no need to be so tense. We are on the same side as Konoha," Fujin said, turning to Tsunade and offering a gentle, reassuring smile upon seeing her and the Konoha ninjas' reactions. As he spoke, Fujin reached up and removed the mask he was wearing, revealing a young, handsome face.
After doing this, Fujin then turned his gaze towards Obito and Tobi. At this moment, Obito and Tobi, seated atop the giant Wood Golem, both wore extremely grave expressions as they looked at Fujin. The Divine Court… this mysterious opponent had finally appeared! It seemed their previous speculations were correct; the Divine Court indeed had some connection with Konoha.
Fujin's hands formed a series of seals, and the Summoning Technique was instantly activated.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Several plumes of white smoke erupted, and Jizo, Kagutsuchi, and Suijin appeared one after another beside Fujin.
"You three take Lady Tsunade and the others over there first. I will deal with this person," Fujin instructed Jizo, Kagutsuchi, and Suijin in a low, serious voice after summoning them.
"Alright!" Hearing this, Jizo, Kagutsuchi, and Suijin didn't waste any words, simply nodding in agreement. With that, the three of them each stepped forward, grabbing Shisui, Uchiha Misuke, and Tsunade respectively, then their figures flickered and vanished from the spot.
Watching the six of them disappear instantaneously, Kakashi's expression changed slightly. The Flying Thunder God Technique! This scene was very familiar to both the Third Hokage and Kakashi. They had witnessed this ninjutsu multiple times before. In the past, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had been a master of this technique. And now, there was also one person in Konoha who could use this ninjutsu. The image of Tatsuya immediately flashed through both the Third Hokage's and Kakashi's minds. At this moment, the Third Hokage instantly understood many things.
"Tobi, you stop them," Obito commanded, then, after throwing out this instruction, he disappeared into a swirling spatial vortex that had appeared out of thin air.
Seeing this, Fujin's hands formed another set of seals. In an instant, an immense surge of chakra erupted from his body. He had released the upgraded Yin Seal within him. Simultaneously, in a marshy forest somewhere in the ninja world, one of Fujin's Shadow Clones dissipated into a puff of white smoke. As this Shadow Clone vanished, another surge of energy welled up within Fujin's body. It was natural energy.
The vast amounts of chakra and natural energy quickly merged, and a boundless wave of power radiated outwards from Fujin as its epicenter. Black markings began to appear on his face. This was the unique Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest. Previously, after Tatsuya had completed his deal with Tsunade, he had obtained the method to travel to Shikkotsu Forest and had sent the Fujin clone there. In that sacred place, Fujin had completely mastered the unique sage techniques of Shikkotsu Forest.
After entering Sage Mode, Fujin's hands once again formed a specific seal.
RUMBLE!
Instantly, the earth began to tremble violently. This time, a colossal Thousand-Armed Buddha statue, far larger than the Wood Golem Tobi had summoned earlier, began to slowly rise from the ground.
Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands!
The Wood Golem's massive body towered hundreds of meters high. Its majestic, awe-inspiring form left everyone who witnessed it utterly stunned.
"This is?!" Watching this breathtaking scene, Kakashi and all the other Konoha ninja were completely dumbfounded. They could all recognize that this was Wood Style. But this Wood Style ninjutsu… wasn't it far too exaggerated, too overwhelmingly powerful?!
Among everyone present, only the Third Hokage had personally witnessed the strength of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. But even so, he too was utterly shocked by the True Several Thousand Hands technique Fujin had just unleashed. Even the First Hokage in his prime, he suspected, might not have surpassed this display. Compared to Fujin, the strength of everyone else present seemed pitifully weak.
Opposite them, Tobi, seeing Fujin unleash the True Several Thousand Hands, was also stunned into silence. Compared to the Wood Golem he had summoned, Fujin's True Several Thousand Hands was at least an entire tier, if not more, higher in terms of sheer scale and power. Just from the difference in their physical size, the disparity in their strength was readily apparent.
Before Tobi could even react, Fujin, opposite him, directed the True Great Buddha to attack. Countless massive wooden arms rained down from the sky with devastating force. Tobi, seeing this, had no choice but to command his own Wood Golem to counterattack. It too swung its numerous giant arms upwards to meet the descending onslaught.
Watching this scene from afar, the Third Hokage, Kakashi, and the others didn't even need to guess the outcome.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A continuous series of cataclysmic explosions thundered across the land. Dust and smoke engulfed the entire area, and the only thing people could see through the haze was the colossal Buddha statue, still standing tall against the sky.
Meanwhile, outside the Chunin Exams tournament arena.
Kisame Hoshigaki, wielding Samehada, was relentlessly attacking Naruto, who was in his Tailed Beast state. Each time Naruto clashed with Samehada, the crimson chakra cloak around his body would diminish slightly. In their continuous exchange, the Nine-Tails' chakra was being constantly absorbed by Samehada, and this absorbed chakra was then, in turn, replenishing Kisame.
"Naruto Uzumaki, to be able to hold out this long, your strength is already truly astonishing," Kisame said, a hint of grudging admiration in his voice as he continued his assault on the increasingly weakened Naruto. For someone Naruto's age to possess such power was indeed something to be proud of.
Not far from where Naruto and Kisame were fighting, Gamabunta had already been knocked down by Deidara's C3 explosive clay.
As Kisame spoke, he prepared to deliver another blow to Naruto. Just then, his expression suddenly changed, and he immediately leaped backward, retreating to a safe distance. And in the spot where he and Naruto had just been fighting, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A series of sharp, white bone spikes suddenly erupted from the ground.
Swoosh, swoosh~
On the high wall at the periphery of the tournament arena, two figures appeared with a flicker, each carrying a person. It was Mitarashi Anko and Might Guy. The ones they were carrying were Sasuke and Choji. Judging from their current state, both Sasuke and Choji had completely lost their ability to fight.
On the wall, the Konoha Genin who had been watching the battle were all completely stunned by the scene before them. Below the wall, the area that had previously been a forest was now covered by a dense forest of bone spikes that had erupted from the ground. The sight of those sharp, gleaming white bones made everyone's scalp tingle with fear.
This was Kimimaro's final, desperate technique: Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern!
"Sensei!" After a moment of stunned silence, Kiba Inuzuka, leaning heavily on the wall, was the first to let out a mournful cry.
"Naruto!" Immediately following, Hinata also let out a cry of anguish. Among those who had gone out to fight, Yuhi Kurenai and Naruto had not yet returned safely.
"Don't worry, they're alright!" On the wall, several figures flashed into existence. It was Jizo, Tsunade, and the others. Naruto and Yuhi Kurenai were now standing beside Suijin and Kagutsuchi, battered but alive.