On the battlefield of Amegakure.
The blinding white light of [Dust Release: Boundary Demolition Technique] engulfed everything. Everyone had to shut their eyes tight, only sensing intense chakra fluctuations.
Faintly, sounds of massive explosions and crashing noises came from the center of that white light, as if Tsunade was resisting with some kind of ability.
After a long while, the white light gradually dissipated.
Everyone held their breath and gazed intently at the center of the battlefield.
Had Tsunade fallen?
"Huh?"
Onoki's eyes widened in shock. Shock and horror filled his face instantly. Not just him—hundreds of thousands of people inside and outside the battlefield all looked on in stunned disbelief when they saw what happened.
"What... What is that? Did I see right?"
On the cliffside, Yahiko and Konan rubbed their eyes repeatedly, incredulously staring at the gigantic entity that had appeared on the battlefield.
It turned out to be a tree.
A towering divine tree nearly seventy to eighty meters in diameter, over three hundred meters tall, its branches and leaves lush and verdant. Its sprawling limbs stretched so far that it cast a shadow over hundreds of thousands of people from Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and the entire Ame Village itself.
Right now, there was a massive hole nearly fifty meters across on the divine tree's trunk—clearly caused by the [Boundary Demolition Technique].
However, this divine tree possessed astonishing regenerative capabilities. As waves of natural energy surged into it, within about ten seconds, the gaping wound on its trunk was completely sealed, healing as though nothing had ever happened.
Tsunade stepped out from within the tree trunk, completely unharmed thanks to the divine tree's protection.
Then, stepping onto one of its limbs, Tsunade guided it with her will alone, lifting her high into the sky to an ideal vantage point where she could oversee the enemy forces.
Next, Tsunade moved two fingers.
Swish! Swish!
Two wooden dragons each a hundred meters long burst forth from layers of dense foliage on the divine tree, launching sudden attacks against Onoki and Rasa.
At that moment, the tide turned completely.
Both were shocked beyond measure. They resisted with all their strength—but faced with such an overwhelming gap in power, they were defeated without question, blasted away by the wooden dragons.
Boom! Boom!
They crashed down once again, severely wounded and unable to rise.
This scene threw Sunagakure and Iwagakure's allied forces into total chaos.
"Ha!"
High in the sky, Tsunade let out a sharp cry, then forcefully clapped her palms together, fusing herself with the divine tree. Her chakra surged tenfold in an instant.
The next second, an unforgettable scene unfolded before countless eyes.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Under Tsunade's control, the endless branches of the divine tree transformed into countless wooden dragons. In the blink of an eye, thousands of dragons launched forward, claws bared as they flew straight toward the enemy army.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The wooden dragons plunged into the enemy ranks, rampaging wildly. One-on-one encounters were already enough to shatter their formations and send ninja flying through the air amid screams of agony. Any attempt at resistance was like mayflies trying to shake a mighty tree [a Chinese idiom for 'futile effort'].
Within less than a minute, under desperate cover from their village elders, Onoki and Rasa barely managed to escape the battlefield.
As for that massive army of hundreds of thousands, many lay dead or dying on the ground, moaning in pain.
In this moment, Tsunade had displayed power surpassing even the peak of Hashirama Senju, crushing an army of hundreds of thousands solo.
"We surrender! We surrender!"
"Tsunade-sama, please have mercy and stop this!"
More and more people stopped fleeing, dropping their armor and weapons before kneeling on the ground, begging Tsunade for mercy. In the end, tens of thousands raised their hands in surrender, trembling under the intimidation of the Great Wood Dragon Formation, too scared to move.
Seeing this, Tsunade clenched her fist and withdrew the arm she had extended.
As she did so, countless wooden dragons also retreated from the enemy ranks, withdrawing back into the God Tree and returning to leaves and branches.
After dealing with the main threat, Tsunade's gaze shifted toward the walls of Amegakure.
Crossing her arms across her chest, she allowed the branches beneath her feet to carry her forward, extending all the way until she hovered three meters in front of Hanzo in midair.
Tsunade didn't say a word, yet the pressure she brought upon the enemy was unimaginable.
Especially for Hanzo.
Himself a Semi-God, facing Tsunade at her peak, he actually trembled all over, losing all courage to fight against her.
That woman, wearing the Sage facial markings and golden hair flowing, had grown powerful beyond despair. Before her, any resistance was meaningless, inevitably ending up as nourishment for the great tree behind her.
Clang!
Hanzo dejectedly dropped his ninja blade, lowered his head, joining the three thousand Amegakure ninja behind him as they awaited Tsunade's declaration of their fate.
"From today onward, there will be no Amegakure among the shinobi world, nor will the Land of Rain exist anymore."
Tsunade spoke, her clear, cold voice carrying a heavy weight of dominance and mercilessness.
Indeed.
Has it ended here?
At her words, Hanzo and others present turned pale-faced. After the nation's destruction, what awaited them could only be death.
Yet Tsunade's next words took everyone by surprise.
"Starting from this moment, all Amegakure ninja and villagers shall join Konoha as a collective. The former territory of the Land of Rain will be granted regional autonomy, administered directly by the former leader of Amegakure, Hanzo."
Tsunade looked down upon the Amegakure group and proclaimed.
Upon these words, expressions of shock appeared among the three thousand Amegakure ninja. Those who had narrowly escaped death immediately began whispering anxiously among themselves.
Why? Why would things turn out like this?
"You—you must tell me, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Staring fixedly at Tsunade, Hanzo found it difficult to understand.
She could easily kill all of them, eliminating future threats completely, then lead Konoha's army to take control of the Land of Rain.
However, instead of doing that, Tsunade chose to accept all Amegakure ninja as new members of Konoha without seizing the Land of Rain, practically leaving everything untouched.
Such generosity and tolerance—had the roles been reversed, Hanzo knew he could never have done the same.
"This world can't keep cycling endlessly through war anymore. Someone has to stand up and do things differently."
Tsunade gazed toward the distance, speaking slowly, "I will unify the shinobi world. But I choose to do it this way."
Her words hung in the air as Hanzo stared in shock. Tsunade calmly asked:
"So, Semi-God Hanzo, will you stand beside me?"
A tremor ran through Hanzo's entire body.
All along, his wish had been world peace, but with his power and status, he could do no more than mediate between the Five Great Nations, striving to maintain balance within the shinobi world and prevent war.
Hanzo had never imagined a day when he or someone else might stand up and unify the shinobi world, since it was nearly impossible.
Yet right now, after witnessing Tsunade's godlike strength and her heart and demeanor as vast as the ocean—
Hanzo suddenly believed.
He truly believed this woman standing before him could bring peace to the shinobi world.
And he himself was willing to serve as her vanguard.
The moment that thought entered his mind,
A loud thud rang out —
Hanzo immediately dropped to one knee on the spot, his gaze firm, sincere, and fervent. With fierce determination, he swore his oath to Tsunade:
"From Ame Village, Hanzo pledges his life to serve Tsunade-sama loyally and unite the shinobi world!"
As he spoke, three thousand Ame ninja followed suit, kneeling on one knee before Tsunade and swearing allegiance in unison.
Their voices thundered in perfect unison, forming a roaring tide that shot into the heavens, echoing across the skies of the Land of Rain and spreading far and wide.
In the thirty-eighth autumn of Konoha, on the battlefield of Ame Village, Konoha's Tsunade faced hundreds of thousands alone, decisively defeated the combined forces of Sand and Stone, and subdued the Semi-God Hanzo.
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