Senju Haruto could feel a warm current surging within him, rapidly spreading through every part of his body.
The wounds on his face and ankle healed before his eyes, the lingering pain vanishing completely.
"So this is Hashirama's chakra…"
He murmured to himself, quickly grasping the situation.
In truth, anyone familiar with the world of shinobi knew—other people had chakra, but Hashirama's wasn't chakra at all. It was chakaton, a unit all its own. Even dragging out the Nine-Tails wouldn't necessarily compare.
The true God of Shinobi—without question.
Forget Kumogakure's shinobi—even if Uchiha Madara himself appeared, activated his full-body Susanoo, and stabbed Haruto with it, Haruto could slap him twice in return.
So, you're Uchiha Madara? You're the one who wants to make people dance?
But aside from this overwhelming chakaton, Haruto had also gained another ability.
Planting his feet firmly, he let his chakra explode outward.
A tidal wave of energy blasted from his body, sending the nearby Kumogakure shinobi flying in all directions.
Haruto could clearly see their wide, disbelieving eyes as his power tossed them away.
Chakra can be used like this?
Then he remembered—in the later part of Naruto Shippuden, when Orochimaru used Edo Tensei to summon the Hokage, Second Hokage Tobirama had been about to strike down Sasuke Uchiha on the spot.
But Hashirama had simply released his chakra outward. That alone subdued everyone present—and even cracked the surrounding walls.
And that was while Orochimaru was deliberately suppressing him, and while Hashirama wasn't even trying to use his full power.
Still, Haruto's own chakra burst immediately drew the attention of the Kumogakure leader.
"That chakra…"
The man was startled. Such an immense presence didn't even require sensory techniques—he could feel it vividly from hundreds of meters away.
"Could it be… the Third Hokage?"
The thought made him swallow hard. In his mind, only Hiruzen Sarutobi could possibly possess this level of chakra in Konoha.
But could that be? His own speed was second only to the Raikage himself—yet somehow the Hokage had not only detected him in such a short time, but had intercepted him rather than chased from behind.
"Put her down."
Haruto appeared behind the Kumogakure leader in an instant, his voice low and heavy.
The Cloud ninja he had blasted away earlier happened to crash to the ground at the man's feet.
Haruto had to admit—Hashirama's chakaton was even more immense than he'd imagined. It was so vast, it was actually hard to control at first.
"You…"
The leader whipped around—and froze.
This wasn't the Third Hokage at all. It was just a black-haired boy—no older than thirteen or fourteen.
But there was no mistaking it. That terrifying chakra was coming from him.
Could he be a jinchūriki?
Like Killer B, perfectly in control of a tailed beast's power?
Damn you, intelligence division—how do you miss something like this?
For a moment, the leader wondered if every intelligence officer in his village was useless.
Thud.
"Wait… am I shaking?"
He swallowed nervously. He had thought about having his men cover him while he escaped, but it was only now he realized his legs felt as heavy as if they weighed a thousand tons.
Turning to run was impossible—he couldn't even stop them from trembling.
The supporting shinobi were no better. In their minds, only one thing remained—
Fear.
What was this unprecedented terror?
Was that really chakra?
It felt exactly like facing the Eight-Tails in full rampage.
And these weren't genin or chunin—no, in order to capture the Hyūga's Byakugan, they had been handpicked from the ranks of Kumogakure's jōnin. Elite jōnin, chosen to ensure absolute success.
Haruto watched coldly. He had no intention of letting any of them return to their village.
Narrowing his eyes, he carefully controlled his chakra so as not to harm Hinata—then unleashed it at full force.
Boom!
The chakra roared forward like a towering tsunami, the shockwave shattering the air with a deafening sonic boom.
In an instant, the jōnin who were farther from Hinata had their bones and organs pulverized.
The leader clutching Hinata had his arm crushed instantly, his body flung backward. The wave of force flattened the forest behind him—ancient trees torn from the ground as if by a storm.
Hinata, however, landed gently on the ground, untouched.
Moonlight spilled softly over her small frame as she slowly opened her eyes.
Meanwhile, Hyūga Hiashi had already discovered Hinata's disappearance. After sending word to the Third Hokage, he pursued at full speed.
Thanks to the Byakugan's unique abilities, he quickly found a trail.
But what he hadn't expected was that, just as he neared the Fire Country's border, an overwhelming wave of chakra slammed into him.
"This is…"
He drew a sharp breath. Even without activating his Byakugan, he could clearly feel the sheer force of it.
He had only felt chakra like this once before—
The night of the Nine-Tails' attack.
"Damn it—those Cloud bastards not only kidnapped Hinata, they've taken a jinchūriki!"
One of the Hyūga clan members behind him shouted without hesitation. In their understanding, only a tailed beast could have chakra of such magnitude.
As clan head, Hiashi's mind worked quickly. He immediately revised his plan.
"Everyone, battle positions! At the very least… we must hold out until the Third Hokage arrives!"
Hiashi clenched his fists. This was no longer simply about stealing the Byakugan. The enemy might be trying to use this as an opportunity to start a war—to destroy Konoha entirely.
"This isn't just for the Hyūga Clan—it's for the village!"
"We must hold the tailed beast here!"