Rustle, rustle, rustle…
The long defensive line of yellow sand rapidly collapsed after losing Gaara's chakra to stabilize it.
"What is this power?!" Haido's pupils constricted.
If he wanted to unify this world, the power of ninja could not be ignored.
Several years ago, to ascertain the measure of ninja strength, he had repeatedly hired jounin from the Land of Grass to serve as his guards.
Under his deliberate arrangements, Camira, Ranke, and others had fought against different jounin from the Land of Grass.
The final results were always Camira and the others achieving crushing victories.
This naturally led him to the idea that the power of ninja wasn't all that impressive.
After all, apart from the Kage of the Five Great Villages, jounin were considered the strongest.
This was also why he had chosen Sunagakure as the target for his first battle.
In his mind, possessing an organized fleet, he was already capable of easily crushing the ninja world. Choosing Sunagakure, the weakest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, as his target would surely lead to an easy victory.
But reality had fiercely slapped him across the face.
Who could tell him why Suna, which didn't even have a Kage at the moment, possessed such a terrifyingly strong individual?
They were both jounin; why were the jounin from Kusagakure so weak?
Unfortunately, none of the ninja present had any intention of explaining things to him. Gaara, in particular, was thoroughly infuriated by his missiles.
If Gaara hadn't protected them in time just now, the Suna ninja present would have undoubtedly suffered massive casualties.
Harming his people, right in front of him.
How could Gaara, who had already adopted the mindset of a Kazekage, not be enraged?
He pressed his hands lightly onto the yellow sand, and a massive amount of chakra continuously surged into the earth.
"Is this power that a human can possess?"
Watching the sandy ground beneath the warship slowly crack open, everyone aboard, including Haido, lost their initial composure and fell into a panic.
Several individuals, using the power of the Stone of Gelel, directly bestialized themselves, attempting to escape the warship before it completely fell into the abyss.
But the steel behemoth that had previously given them an endless sense of security had now become their prison.
"Damn it! Open up, damn it!" "I don't want to die yet!!" "Help!" "…"
Already bloodied and mangled hands pounded repeatedly against the ship's hull.
But the dull thuds that echoed back, again and again, seemed to become their death knell.
"Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral!"
Rumble!
Countless tons of yellow sand instantly closed in!
The terrifying pressure bore down directly on the warship. The sound of twisting steel became the most horrifying sound for Haido's many followers still trapped within.
But for the Suna ninja, this scene was incredibly gratifying.
Invading their homeland without reason, launching attacks against them, harming their compatriots—all the pain and humiliation…
Must be washed away with blood.
"Where's that artsy-fartsy brat, un?" Hidan asked, turning his head to look behind Sasori.
Among all the Akatsuki members, apart from Kakuzu, Deidara was the one who best suited his tastes.
"His family came looking for him," White Zetsu said with a chuckle.
"Family?" Hidan's expression turned somewhat odd.
They're all S-rank missing-nin wanted by their villages; why does it sound like he's a little kid still wearing split pants…
"Where are Itachi and Kisame?" Sasori asked.
"They went to find the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," Kakuzu stated.
"How about it? Want us to help you capture the One-Tail?" Hidan asked with a manic grin.
"No need."
Sasori glanced at him, then slowly walked towards the very center of the battlefield, disappearing into the yellow sand.
"He really is like a scorpion…" Hidan was speechless.
Since their responsible areas were far apart, this was the first time he had seen Sasori in action.
Whoosh!
Gust after gust of yellow sand slapped against his face.
Naruto withdrew his gaze from the battlefield and turned to look behind him.
"This Nine-Tails Jinchuriki gives off a distinctly different feeling. Don't you sense it too, Itachi-san?" Kisame removed his straw hat, revealing his shark-like sharp teeth.
"Indeed." Uchiha Itachi also removed his hat.
Looking at his face, Naruto's expression showed a hint of surprise. "You look a lot like a friend of mine."
"The friend you're speaking of should be Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi-san's younger brother, correct?" Kisame slowly took Samehada from his back.
"Lord Uchiha Itachi, I've long heard of your great name." Naruto slowly drew Kusabimaru from his waist.
"And might I ask who this gentleman is?" He turned his head to look at the shark-like man beside Uchiha Itachi.
"Kisame."
Kisame grinned, swinging Samehada, as large as a door panel, towards him in a cleaving motion.
"The Kirigakure missing-nin, wielder of the blade Samehada. I, too, have long admired Your Excellency." Naruto nodded slightly, a large amount of Wind Release chakra condensing on the blade of Kusabimaru.
Clang!
"Such terrifying strength," Kisame marveled.
He had struck first, his downward swing naturally having an advantage, yet the opponent, meeting his blade from below, had actually managed not to be at a disadvantage.
"Your Excellency is not bad yourself. Might I have the honor of witnessing the prowess of one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?" An overwhelming sense of pleasure, surpassing all else, continuously flowed from his body to his brain. Naruto knew he had encountered a strong opponent.
Kisame paused, then grinned widely. "Remember, Samehada is never used for cutting; it's for shaving!"
As he spoke, he gripped the hilt with both hands and suddenly pulled back with force.
Screeeech!
The sound of steel grating against steel echoed between them.
"I see… so this is the greatsword Samehada, capable of devouring chakra…" Naruto leaped backward, looking at Kusabimaru, now devoid of any chakra coating, and marveled.
The sound of something chewing food arose.
Naruto looked up and saw the white bandages wrapped around Samehada's blade gradually tearing apart.
A deep blue, spine-covered greatsword, resembling a hedgehog, appeared in his vision.
"Samehada says your chakra quality is very high, and very tasty," Kisame said, gripping the now much larger Samehada.
"A living sword?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. This truly was beyond his expectations.
Was this thing born like this? Or was it forged by human hands later on?
If it was born like this, it could still be attributed to the wonders of nature's creations. But if it was forged later…
That would be terrifying.
To bestow life upon an object…
That would definitely be an old monster who had researched Yin-Yang Release to its absolute limits.
Just getting a basic grasp of Yang Release had already made him scratch his head in frustration…
Researching Yin-Yang Release to its limits was something he didn't dare to think about for now.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Jutsu!"
Several shuriken, wreathed in scorching flames, flew towards him.
Naruto held his long sword horizontally before him, deflecting them several times, easily blocking the attacks.
One or two Phoenix Sage Fire projectiles flew past him. The Uchiha clan's shurikenjutsu was exceptional; the possibility of a miss could be directly ruled out.
Which meant…
Predicting my movement trajectory… Naruto thought. Wind Release chakra once again coated his blade, and several Flying Thunder God kunai were thrown out.
"Kisame, try to stay away from those kunai! They are the space-time markings for the Flying Thunder God Technique!" Uchiha Itachi's Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun gently. After discerning the formula on the kunai, he warned his partner.
"So this is the Fourth Hokage's jutsu?" Kisame nodded slightly.
He had one virtue: he listened to advice. Itachi-san had proven his analytical abilities to be far superior to his own on more than one occasion.