On the other side of the battlefield—
The moment the explosion rang out, everyone instinctively stopped fighting and covered their ears.
And right after the sound came an overwhelming shockwave.
In an instant, everyone who wasn't prepared was blown off their feet.
The battle abruptly came to a halt.
"Is that really power a human can achieve?"
One ANBU stared at the two massive half-body giants in the distance and gulped.
"If I had to face something like that... I'd probably be dead instantly."
A nearby Uchiha clansman winced in agreement.
But soon, every Uchiha's expression shifted from awe to exhilaration.
"That overwhelming power belongs to us Uchiha!"
"As long as we train hard and evolve our Sharingan into the Mangekyō, we too can wield such power!"
Meanwhile, the Root and ANBU members, despite being trained to have strong willpower, couldn't help but fall into despair.
They were already affected by Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon), and even without Kaede actively controlling them, they were being pushed back by the Uchiha.
Now, with Kaede revealing power on this level…
They began to question—could the Hokage really defeat such a monster?
That was when Naoto stepped forward and shouted:
"Kaede-sama has already suppressed Hiruzen and that traitor! We can't afford to fall behind!"
"Ohhh!!"
Every Uchiha clansman roared in unison.
Naoto raised his sword and pointed toward the ANBU. "Kill!"
In the blink of an eye, the Uchiha charged forward once more.
Back on Kaede's side—
Itachi raised the Yata Mirror again, but was still barely holding back Kaede's sword energy.
His Susanoo kept retreating, dragging deep trenches through the ground.
Hiruzen hid behind Itachi's Susanoo, not daring to poke his head out.
After just a few seconds of desperate resistance, Itachi had already been forced back dozens of meters.
And the sword energy hadn't weakened at all.
If not for the overwhelming defense of the Yata Mirror, Itachi's Susanoo would've likely been shattered by now.
Even Kaede couldn't help but comment.
"Kishimoto really spoiled you, huh? Offense with the mighty sealing Totsuka Blade, defense with the invincible Yata Mirror."
"But absolute strength… can't be made up for with a couple of divine tools."
Kaede's Susanoo raised its sword once more.
In an instant, another massive wave of sword energy slashed toward Itachi!
"Damn it!!" Itachi's eyes widened in panic.
Just one wave had pushed him this far. What could he do against another?
With his life on the line, Itachi erupted with desperation.
He twisted the Yata Mirror unnaturally, then suddenly leapt back!
A clever maneuver—it altered the trajectory of the sword energy.
It brushed past his Susanoo and destroyed everything in its path, crashing directly into the barrier Root had set up.
The moment it touched it, the barrier was completely torn apart.
The sword wave then passed through the edge of Konoha, smashed through the village wall, and kept going into the forest.
It didn't stop until it hit a distant mountain—shattering it—before finally fading away.
"The barrier is down?!" Hiruzen paled.
Without that, the battle could no longer be concealed.
It wouldn't be long before every ninja in Konoha converged on this location.
But Itachi didn't have time to worry—another sword wave was already coming!
He didn't dare block it this time and dodged sideways.
Still, the wave scraped the arm of his Susanoo.
As expected, the Susanoo's left arm was sliced clean off!
"What terrifying destructive power," Itachi muttered with gritted teeth.
Maybe if he reached the third stage of Susanoo, he could hold his ground with the Yata Mirror.
The sword wave, whether by chance or fate, continued its destructive path straight toward the Hokage Tower.
And with no resistance—it completely obliterated it.
Konoha's symbol of authority, standing for nearly 60 years… was gone.
The whole village was shaken.
Countless shinobi leapt onto rooftops, staring toward the Uchiha district.
There, fire and smoke raged, and the outlines of two colossal giants could faintly be seen.
"What the hell is that? Can ninjutsu summon giants like that?!"
"Wait… isn't that the Uchiha district?"
"What's going on? Are we being invaded?!"
"No choice! We have to check it out!"
In a matter of seconds, waves of shinobi rushed toward the Uchiha district.
More seasoned ninja quickly took charge, directing weaker genin and chūnin to start evacuating the villagers.
"Kaede!!!"
Hiruzen roared in fury toward the sky.
That damned brat… he destroyed his Hokage Tower!
This was an open slap to the face!
More than that, the tower stored countless classified documents, along with staff who handled vital administration.
They were likely all gone.
Konoha hadn't faced such humiliation since it was founded.
Right now, Hiruzen wanted nothing more than to make Kaede suffer through every single torture technique in the village.
Only then would he feel satisfied!
"I love that look in your eyes," Kaede said with pleasure.
He spread his arms. "You want to kill me that badly, huh?"
"Well come on then! I'm standing right here, Hokage-sama. Come try and reclaim your lost pride!"
Kaede's taunt only fueled Hiruzen's rage.
But make a move now?
No way. He didn't have the guts—he didn't want to die!
"Don't get cocky! I should be thanking you!"
Hiruzen laughed darkly despite his anger.
"You destroyed the barrier. Now all of Konoha will see you for what you are!"
"With my army of ten thousand shinobi, what can you possibly do?"
"You and your clan are finished!"
Kaede sneered. "I'd say you're the one who's finished."
A disgusting enemy like Hiruzen didn't deserve a simple death.
He deserved to have his reputation torn down, to watch his carefully built legacy crumble, to see his own clan destroyed—before being killed in the most brutal way imaginable.
Only then would justice be served.
"I'm quite curious to see how you'll use that so-called army to kill me."
Kaede deactivated his Susanoo's weapons and calmly closed his eyes.
He didn't have to wait long.
Within minutes, thousands of shinobi arrived at the Uchiha district.
"Where's the enemy?!"
"They dared to attack Konoha—they're not leaving alive!"
"Wait—that's the Hokage, and… Itachi and Kaede? They summoned these giants?!"
"What kind of power is this?!"
"Damn… is this what the Uchiha are really capable of?"
The area grew chaotic with the sudden influx of people.
Seeing the tense standoff between Kaede and Hiruzen, the newly arrived shinobi hesitated and decided to stand behind the Hokage for now to figure out what was going on.
Naoto and the others looked visibly anxious.
They didn't have Kaede's calm composure, and quickly disengaged from battle to stand behind him.
"Kaede…"
Naoto tried to speak, but Kaede cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"No need. I have a plan."
He opened his eyes and looked toward the group of shinobi gathering behind Hiruzen.
"Now that everyone's here… things are about to get interesting."
(End of Chapter)
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