Chapter 167: Kitagawa Gen's Dust Release – Earth-Shattering Power
"What is that?"
As a surge of wild, violent chakra swept across the land, the entire Hidden Leaf Village felt it.
Ninjas from every village instinctively turned their heads toward the source. None of them could quite make sense of what they were witnessing.
"Raaawr!"
But before they could dwell on it, the furious roar of the One-Tailed Beast snapped everyone back to the immediate threat.
Everyone realized in that moment—this chaos was only just beginning.
"Earth Style: Great Mud River!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi reacted first. He knew the situation had become exceptionally volatile and that he had to take control before things spiraled even further.
If he didn't assert dominance now, some of the Kage might get dangerous ideas—and that would be a nightmare.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"
Danzo, ever the opportunist, moved just as fast. Leaping into the air, he finished his hand signs mid-flight. Razor-sharp blasts of wind shot out like slicing sickles, crashing into the platform and scattering the restless ninjas around it.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
"Combined Style: Earth Dragon Fire Stream!"
Hiruzen wasted no time. As Danzo hovered in mid-air, Hiruzen unleashed a flurry of techniques. Earth and fire intertwined, forming a raging stream that blasted into Danzo with thunderous force.
Boom!
The explosions echoed through the sky. Danzo's body was shredded like paper under the assault.
"As expected of Hiruzen Sarutobi... even at his age, that level of power is impressive."
Onoki and the others watched with narrowed eyes. Despite the old man's calm demeanor, he had just executed a deadly combination technique effortlessly.
But rather than focusing on Hiruzen, their attention drifted back to Danzo.
He should be dead. No one could have survived that.
Yet Danzo rose again, his wounds knitting back together unnaturally.
This jutsu... controlling the dead? Now this is interesting.
"He really doesn't fear death?"
As Danzo's body repaired itself, realization struck the observing Kage. Orochimaru's technique was horrifying in scope.
"Orochimaru, manipulating the souls of the dead like this... this crosses a line."
Hiruzen's face darkened. But Orochimaru merely licked his lips and chuckled.
"Maybe. But sensei, do you even know why he fell into my hands?"
"What are you implying?"
A bad feeling crept into Hiruzen's chest.
Orochimaru's voice dropped an octave, eerie and calm.
"Because he betrayed you."
"?!"
Hiruzen stared in disbelief at both Orochimaru and Danzo. Danzo, face darkening, tried to suppress the truth—but Orochimaru's control made it impossible.
Danzo let out a cold snort.
"Don't act so surprised. You betrayed me first. Or do you think only you have the right to scheme?"
"I betrayed you?"
"That's right!" Danzo snarled, the fury in his voice shaking the air. "If you hadn't started investigating me, I would never have had to resort to such methods!"
"You brought back Jiraiya to make him Hokage. Don't think I didn't know—I heard it all!"
"..."
"Even when I stopped Jiraiya, you brought back Tsunade. Just to keep me from the position!"
"..."
"You were too soft. The Fourth Raikage came right to your door, and you didn't kill him to weaken the Cloud? You don't deserve to be Hokage!"
Hiruzen stood speechless, dumbfounded by the tirade.
The other Kage were equally stunned. Danzo? Wanting to be Hokage?
Some couldn't help glancing at the Fourth Raikage—whose fists—Uh...fist was clenched, his face burning with rage.
The room fell into tense silence, but the mocking glint in many of their eyes was impossible to miss.
"I've devoted my life to Konoha, willing to do whatever it takes! And yet you never gave me a chance!"
With his secrets already exposed, and no ability to hide under Orochimaru's control, Danzo let everything spill.
"You spied on me! What kind of Hokage are you? You think I don't know what you've done? You broke every rule just to help your student take over! Why can't I do the same?"
"You—!"
Hiruzen trembled with fury. But the problem was—he couldn't deny any of it.
If word got out that his top advisor was assassinated over internal power struggles, it would already be a scandal.
But if it was revealed he'd been secretly investigating Danzo and Orochimaru's experiments on Hashirama's cells?
That would be catastrophic.
After all, none of it would've happened without his approval.
"Hiruzen, you're too soft. You never deserved to be Hokage!"
Danzo growled through gritted teeth.
"I warned you you'd regret this!"
"Enough! Shut up, Danzo!"
Hiruzen snapped, voice harsh. He couldn't let this man speak another word.
"Don't forget—I am the Hokage!"
Danzo couldn't take it anymore. Even in death, this man still clung to authority?
"Alright, everyone. I think it's time for a decision."
Orochimaru stepped in before Danzo could continue. He made a few quick hand signs.
With a low rumble, two more coffins burst from the ground.
He gave Hiruzen a brief glance, then swept his eyes over the other Kage.
"I've prepared far more than you think. And I'm not alone."
"You all felt it earlier... that overwhelming power? That was my ally at work."
"If you don't wish to fight—then at least remain silent."
"Who are they?"
The Fourth Raikage stepped forward with a grin. Orochimaru only shook his head.
"At this point... does it matter?"
"What does matter is how this chaos will benefit you."
"Now that you mention it, it is time to think about profit."
The Fourth Raikage turned toward the Fourth Kazekage.
"How long are you going to keep hesitating? Without your daimyo's support, how long can your forces hold out? The One-Tail's causing havoc right here in Konoha. Do you really think they'll forgive you later?"
Rasa clenched his jaw, looking at the rampaging One-Tail. Finally, he raised his hand.
That was the signal.
Cloud and Sand began to move.
"You..."
Hiruzen's face went pale.
Luckily, Onoki and Genji exchanged glances—then both shook their heads.
"We're not interested. Just don't drag us into this."
"Suit yourself. It's all the same."
Orochimaru didn't mind.
He silently thanked the Akatsuki. Without them, none of this would've been possible.
His teacher was old... and what better sendoff than a gathering of Kage to witness his fall?
"Raaawr!"
The One-Tail howled in fury.
Below the platform, Cloud and Sand forces launched their attack. Orochimaru watched calmly as the two coffins began to open.
He turned to Hiruzen, grinning.
"Sensei, do you like your gift?"
But before he could finish his sentence—something changed.
A massive surge of chakra erupted into the sky.
Buzz—!
A blinding white beam pierced straight through the One-Tail's chest and crashed violently into the central platform.
The two coffins didn't even have time to open—they were reduced to ashes.
And the beam didn't stop—it kept blasting forward, shattering the entire platform into rubble!
"What the hell is that?!"
Onoki had already retreated, but when he saw that beam, his eyes widened in disbelief.
He turned to look... and in that moment, his expression shifted dramatically.
Everyone followed his gaze.
Through the One-Tail's blasted-open chest cavity... stood a single figure.
A young man.
"That's... Kitagawa Gen?!"
"How does he have Dust Release?!"
Ōnoki scratched his head, unable to figure out the situation no matter how hard he thought about it. At this moment, a trace of regret crept into his heart.
"Damn it, I spoke too soon."
"Kakashi, thirty-nine."
Inside Konoha, Kakashi and Might Guy fought side by side while helping other shinobi evacuate the civilians.
After kicking down an enemy, Guy flashed Kakashi a thumbs-up.
"Looks like I'm ahead of you! This is the power of youth!"
"This isn't the time for competition," Kakashi said, shaking his head. His expression was serious.
"There are a lot of Sound ninja, and now the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Sand have started moving too. Things are getting messy."
"Don't worry, Kakashi. Didn't we already make preparations?"
Guy remained confident. He smiled as he watched the Konoha ninja maintain order and escort civilians out of the village.
"Just a few more groups left. Once they're out, we can go support Lord Hokage."
"Right. Let's hang in there."
"Besides, don't forget—Gen is still out there."
"Yeah… Gen is still out there."
At the mention of Kitagawa Gen, Kakashi couldn't help but smile.
Gen wasn't involved in the evacuation. Instead, he had distributed all of his Flying Thunder God kunai to the other Konoha shinobi. Whenever trouble flared up, he would instantly appear to reinforce them.
So far, though, it didn't seem like his help was urgently needed.
After all, Konoha's forces were on high alert, and the Cloud and Sand villages had mobilized relatively late.
BOOM—
But at that very moment, a massive tremor shook the earth with a deafening roar!
And then—a vast surge of chakra swept across all of Konoha.
The overwhelming power shook every building in the village. Cracks began splitting open the ground beneath their feet.
"What… is that?"
Kakashi and Guy turned toward the source of the chakra eruption in utter disbelief.
Elsewhere, Jiraiya and Tsunade were leading the rest of Konoha's forces in an assault on the Sound, Sand, and Cloud ninja.
Originally, they had planned to stay back and deal with the One-Tail, but Kitagawa Gen had confidently insisted he could handle it—and even provide backup for the Third Hokage if needed.
Besides, with other villages' ninjas on the move, someone had to take command—and no one had more experience than Tsunade and Jiraiya.
In the end, they had no choice but to trust him. Gen had already proven himself more than once.
But now—
A powerful shockwave and a terrifying surge of chakra suddenly swept through them.
"And… it's not coming from inside Konoha!"
Tsunade squinted toward the horizon, her gaze flickering with uncertainty. Jiraiya's face was just as grim.
"Hm?"
Just then, a small toad hopped up beside Jiraiya.
"What is it?"
"Jiraiya-sama," the little toad said softly, "Great Toad Sage sent a message for you."
Jiraiya's eyes widened instantly.
"The Great Toad Sage? What did he say?"
"He said… the battle outside Konoha is the real threat. Be extremely cautious."
"Outside the village?"
"Yes. Because Ōtsutsuki Genshiki has arrived."
"Hey, what's the rush?"
Meanwhile, Obito was warping through space with Hiruko (still watching Orochimaru) and Hidan, heading straight out of Konoha.
"Shut up. That guy… he's here!"
Obito's tone was grim, his face dark.
Hiruko raised an eyebrow, sensing tension. Hidan, on the other hand, looked intrigued.
"You mean that Ōtsutsuki Genshiki—the one who beat the crap out of you all?"
"..."
"Perfect. I've been wanting to see what this guy's really made of!"
"..."
Obito glanced at Hidan's excited face and was momentarily speechless.
This idiot had no idea just how terrifying Genshiki really was.
"Shut it. If I were you, I'd be very careful—otherwise, you won't even know how you died."
"Heh. Me? Afraid of dying?"
Hidan laughed it off. After all, he couldn't die. But he still looked annoyed.
"Still, it's a shame I didn't get to see the rest of that fight. And I never did find that Kappa bastard either."
"..."
"That jerk lied to me and still hasn't told me who that 'Dead Last' was. Damn turtle-faced conman!"
"..."
For a moment, Obito genuinely wanted to strangle him. But now wasn't the time—he had to endure it.
With a twist of space, they appeared at the battlefield outside the village.
But the moment they exited the dimensional rift, a thunderous roar greeted them.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
The ground trembled violently beneath their feet.
The sight before them was a scene of absolute devastation.
Mountains were shattered. The earth was torn apart beneath them. Deep ravines opened like gaping maws, stretching as far as the eye could see.
On one side of the gorge were hundreds of puppets, a towering crimson Susanoo, and several other bizarre, spectral creatures.
On the other side floated a blurry figure glowing with radiant chakra, hovering mid-air.
"What… is that?"
Hiruko's eyes were wide with shock. Even Hidan stopped grinning.
They both involuntarily swallowed hard. The overwhelming chakra pressure made their hearts race.
Obito took a deep breath, then spoke in a low voice.
"That… is Ōtsutsuki Genshiki."