Axe, shield, wooden dragon, chains.
These weapons were the physical manifestations of Heiyan's many powerful abilities developed through years of cultivation, all channeled into the War God Xingtian.
At this moment, from Xingtian's abyssal maw erupted one of Heiyan's most potent Water Release techniques—the [Exploding Water Shockwave].
A roaring torrent poured down like a waterfall from the heavens. It instantly submerged the land as though Heiyan had summoned an actual ocean and dumped it from the sky.
The sea of flames conjured by Son Gokū, the Four-Tails, contained lava exceeding a thousand degrees in temperature, incinerating and melting everything in its path, leaving nothing alive behind.
Yet before the "ocean," no matter how scorching the magma was, it could not resist the endless waters' devouring embrace.
Hiss... Hiss... Hiss...
As the rushing water met the sea of molten rock, massive clouds of white steam erupted instantly, expanding and spreading like celestial clouds across a radius of several kilometers.
After a long while, the mist gradually dissipated.
On the ground below, seawater had ravaged everything, solidifying all lava into bizarre-shaped boulders. In the snowy plains of the Land of Iron, a spectacular stone forest had formed.
Within the labyrinth of stones lay the red-furred giant ape, Son Goku, collapsed on the ground, with thick Celestial Binding Chains wrapped around his neck, the other end held firmly in Xingtian's grip.
In the original timeline, Roshi had been defeated by Kisame Hoshigaki's Exploding Water Shockwave. Now, Heiyan recreated that same move during an even more intense battle, defeating Son Gokū, the Four-Tails, using the War God Xingtian.
Thus, all four Tailed Beasts had now been defeated.
On the snowfield, only the hundred-meter-tall figure of Xingtian remained, raising his axe and tower shield while gazing upward toward the endless sky.
[Expand Heaven and Earth – Release!]
As Heiyan dispersed his chakra, Xingtian's towering form gradually became translucent, finally vanishing into thin air like smoke. What he left behind was a scarred battlefield and four severely weakened Tailed Beasts barely clinging to life.
Heiyan scanned the battlefield before flicking his fingers in quick succession.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four white parasitic spores shot lightning-fast into the mouths of the four fallen beasts. Their dulled senses rendered them oblivious to what Heiyan had done.
Though no larger than a soybean—seemingly insignificant against the towering forms of the Tailed Beasts—these spores were born from Heiyan's perfected Immortal Sage state fused with Yin-Yang Release: unassuming, yet divinely crafted.
Once inside the Tailed Beast hosts, the spores would quietly begin absorbing their chakra, growing stronger while continuously replicating themselves.
Within two or three months, the network formed by the spores would spread through every part of the host's body, seizing control of their physical forms and turning them completely into Heiyan's puppets.
This form of control was permanent—far surpassing the limitations of Jinchuriki sealing or Sharingan genjutsu.
That was because, through this process, the spores' chakra would fully merge with the host's own chakra—an irreversible transformation. Even Heiyan himself, the technique's creator, could not undo it once completed.
Under these circumstances, even if the Tailed Beasts die, when they are reborn again next time, they still won't be able to escape Heiyan's "clutches."
"Whether it's Madara Uchiha, Black Zetsu, or others, whether implementing the Moon Eye Plan or resurrecting Kaguya otsutsuki, one essential step is required: gathering all Nine Tails and becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
Once these four Tailed Beasts are infected with parasitic spores, their conditions can be sensed at any time, allowing indirect monitoring of those 'villains.'"
Heiyan mused, resting his chin in his hand.
After serious consideration, he decided not to take these Tailed Beasts to Shikkotsu Forest like usual. Doing so would make six Tails reside there at once, making the place extremely crowded.
He didn't want to impose too much on Sage Slug.
Instead, he could let them return to their respective villages, serving as covert agents planted by Heiyan.
His plan was to use these four Jinchuriki to gather intelligence about Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure, continuously tracking these Three Great Ninja Villages.
Meanwhile, they could also be used for "fishing." Once Madara Uchiha and others begin collecting the Tailed Beasts, that would mean the Moon Eye Plan had begun.
At that point, Heiyan would receive this information immediately and prepare a response.
Thinking thus, Heiyan paid no further attention to the Four Tailed Beasts. Instead, he crouched down, touching the ground with one finger while closing his eyes to sense the surroundings.
No enemies remained.
The powerful shinobi from the Four Great Ninja Villages who came for the Five Kage Summit were practically wiped out in battle against Heiyan. Only that guy Onoki managed to escape while Heiyan was fighting the Four Tailed Beasts.
Hmm, there's still one minor henchman left.
Heiyan sensed two colliding chakra signatures in some woods several kilometers away. One of them was Musashi, the renowned general from the Land of Iron.
Without hesitation, he formed a single-handed hand seal and executed the Flying Thunder God Technique, instantly vanishing from the spot.
Several minutes passed after Heiyan's departure.
From behind a distant hill, a human puppet slowly emerged from deep beneath the earth. Then the puppet's abdomen opened, revealing Chiyo curled up inside, who opened her eyes with an expression of lingering fear as she stood up.
She survived because this puppet could isolate all chakra detection — her ultimate life-saving technique. This enabled her to slip past Heiyan's detection by the skin of her teeth.
Chiyo stumbled up the hill, her face pale and hands trembling.
What met her eyes was horrifying: Raikage, Mizukage, and Kazekage were all defeated; the Four Tailed Beasts subdued; the Jinchuriki hanging onto life by a thread.
Such a terrifying sight.
Chiyo deeply understood that once news of today's battle spreads, it will rock the foundations of the ninja world more than last year's battle in Uzugakure ever did.
Uzumaki Heiyan might truly be on his way to unifying the shinobi world.
At this moment, bitter regret flooded Chiyo's heart.
When attending this Five Kage Summit, long before departing, she repeatedly warned the Third Kazekage not to provoke Konoha lightly. Personally, she had even tried arranging a marriage between Suna's Pakura and Heiyan to strengthen relations between Konoha and Suna.
However, the Third Kazekage insisted on his own path, ultimately paying with his life and nearly bringing Sunagakure to ruin.
Chiyo barely held back her grief before taking the body of the Third Kazekage and monk Bunpuku, who had been freed from his transformed state and remained unconscious, quickly leaving the battlefield.
...
Musashi shit himself in terror.
He was carrying the Sword of Kusanagi and rushed to join forces with the Four Great Ninja Villages to take down Heiyan. Unexpectedly, he hadn't even arrived at the scene when his entire side was nearly wiped out.
Especially when [War God Xingtian] appeared on the battlefield, it completely shattered Musashi's mind.
That hundred-meter-tall giant could probably destroy the entire Land of Iron in an instant, wiping the warrior clans from this world. Such a creature shouldn't even exist on this planet.
Scared out of his mind, Musashi fled without looking back. But he nearly forgot there was still someone chasing him relentlessly—Mifune.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Within the woods, the two clashed again, their respective Swords of Kusanagi attacking each other fiercely, sparks flying with every strike.
After an intense exchange, they briefly separated.
"Die!"
Using his old trick, Musashi thrust forward with the Sword of Kusanagi in his hand. The blade instantly shot forward over thirty meters, impaling straight toward Mifune.
As Mifune attempted to parry and counterattack, everything suddenly blurred before his eyes.
A figure had appeared in front of him.
It was Heiyan.
In fact, Heiyan had always left a Flying Thunder God Formula marked on the Murakumo Sword, allowing immediate teleportation at any time. This was also why he unconcernedly handed the sword away at the entrance of the meeting hall.
Now that he had eliminated enemies from the Four Great Ninja Villages and finally had some free time, he came back to retrieve his weapon.
Seeing the approaching Sword of Kusanagi, Heiyan remained calm. He simply stretched out his bare right hand to catch the blade.
Then, his palm emitted a bright red glow, sending a current of Heavenly Release lightning surging along the sword until it reached Musashi.
"Ahh!"
Musashi let out a scream as half his body immediately became numb and unresponsive. His sword clattered noisily onto the ground.
Utterly terrified, he didn't even glance at the fallen blade before turning and running for his life.
Unfortunately, all his struggles were destined to be futile.
Whoosh!
Under Heiyan's control, the Murakumo Sword flew from Mifune's grasp, tracing a graceful arc through the air before swiftly catching up to the desperate Musashi.
Thrust!
The Murakumo Sword pierced straight into Musashi's back and burst forth from his chest. Spinning several times midair, it smoothly returned to Heiyan's hand.
Meanwhile, Musashi dropped to his knees, clutching his chest while his pupils gradually lost focus.
This great general of the Land of Iron was dead.
Just like the Four Great Ninja Villages, he too paid dearly for his choices.
With a flash,
After retrieving the Murakumo Sword, Heiyan spat water from his mouth, cleaning off the blood staining the blade.
Then, he retrieved the abandoned Sword of Kusanagi lying on the ground.
This sword was General Musashi's personal weapon—a treasured national artifact of the Land of Iron.
Besides its sharpness and durability, its most notable feature was the ability to freely extend and shorten itself, much like Hiruzen Sarutobi's Adamantine Staff.
Heiyan recalled this sword from the original timeline—it had also belonged to Orochimaru as one of his Swords of Kusanagi.
Orochimaru was an obsessive collector of Swords of Kusanagi. Back in the original timeline, he owned at least three different Swords of Kusanagi: besides Murakumo Sword capable of performing Ku no Taiga, and this extendable version of the Sword of Kusanagi, he had even gifted Sasuke with another blade known as Tianbuliu Sword, which possessed strong conductivity.
Moreover, Itachi Uchiha wielded a Sword of Totsuka, an intangible spirit blade capable of sealing souls.
Heiyan decided to name this newly acquired Sword of Kusanagi "Tian Ruyi Jian."
At this moment, he held Murakumo Sword in his left hand and Tian Ruyi Jian in his right. With dual swords in hand, he could now attack from afar or engage in close combat, and once again demonstrate his unique Dual-Blade Style swordsmanship.
"Lord Heiyan..."
Mifune approached nervously, looking ashamed and unsure how to speak.
As for Musashi's death, Mifune felt not a shred of sympathy—he thought it was thoroughly deserved, even though the man had been the Land of Iron's general and his longtime superior.
Anyone who betrayed the code of the warrior and sold out their own principles deserved exactly what came to them.
What Mifune feared was that the entire samurai clan of the Land of Iron might bear the brunt of Heiyan's anger due to Musashi's actions, potentially facing complete destruction.
He drew forth a short blade and made up his mind—to beg Heiyan for forgiveness by offering seppuku (ritual suicide), hoping he would show mercy rather than exterminate the entire warrior order.
However, just as Mifune pulled out the short sword, preparing to disembowel himself on the spot—
Clap! Clap! Clap!
A loud round of applause echoed from afar, growing closer.
Following the sound, Mifune saw a man dressed in crimson armor styled after ancient warring states, a giant fan-shaped insignia strapped to his back, with wild long black hair flowing behind him as he emerged from deep within the woods.
"Magnificent. Truly magnificent."
The man applauded while praising Heiyan, yet his expression remained blank and his tone indifferent—like an elder casually complimenting a junior, barely paying attention.
Clearly, he had witnessed Heiyan's earlier battle from start to finish but only now chosen to appear.
"You've finally come."
Heiyan looked at the man calmly, not showing the slightest hint of surprise at his arrival.
Ever since arriving in the Land of Iron—even during the great battles against the Four Great Ninja Villages—Heiyan had always been on high alert for this man.
Madara Uchiha.
And judging by his appearance, this was Madara at his absolute peak.
At this point, Heiyan slightly turned his head and said to Mifune behind him, "Run. Run as far as you can."
Upon hearing this, Mifune's heart pounded violently, shocked beyond words. From Heiyan's calm voice, he sensed an unprecedented gravity.
Who could possibly be someone that even Uzumaki Heiyan faced with such seriousness?
Mifune didn't have time to think further. If Heiyan hadn't killed him already and instead ordered him to flee, perhaps there was still a chance in the future to redeem himself through service.
Thinking of this, Mifune bowed to Heiyan and said:
"Master, I will wait for you at the Three Wolf Mountains. I await your judgment and command."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and bolted without a second glance.
Madara Uchiha ignored Mifune. To him, Mifune was merely an insignificant little bug, not even worth his attention.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Madara began walking slowly toward Heiyan. Only when he was about ten meters away did he stop.
"Heiyan Uzumaki, we meet again."
Madara gazed intensely at Heiyan as he spoke.
"You seem much younger. Have you used the Rinnegan to perform the [Elephant Rotation Clone Jutsu]?"
Heiyan also looked at Madara, a calm, indifferent smile playing on his lips.
What?!
At these words, Madara's entire body stiffened. His expression immediately changed in shock.
The [Elephant Rotation Clone Jutsu]—this was a technique he had developed over many years, one that could only be performed by someone with the Rinnegan. No one else in the world should know of its existence.
"Just how much do you know about the Rinnegan?" Madara narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning colder as an extremely dangerous aura radiated from his entire being.
"You might not buy it, but no one knows the Rinnegan better than me—not even you," Heiyan replied calmly, completely unaffected by Madara's killing intent. "If you ever have any questions about your eyes, feel free to ask. I can teach you."
Rather than growing tense, Heiyan continued smiling, openly teasing his opponent now.
The greatest weapon is the mind—strike fear into the heart first.
Sure enough, Madara's expression became unpredictable, a mix of dark and light emotions crossing his face. He couldn't tell whether Heiyan was telling the truth or bluffing.
But make no mistake—Madara had already lost ground in this verbal battle, humiliated by Heiyan.
Thus, Madara removed the blazing war fan from his back, tightly gripping it in hand as he pointed it directly at Heiyan.
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