"Isn't this a bit too exaggerated? Me alone facing the remaining four Kage?" Tsunade stared in disbelief. Even with all her confidence, she didn't believe she could defeat them on her own. "Once this is filmed, won't it turn into some kind of divine-level drama?"
Anya countered, "Didn't you plan exactly this before I sent Yugao to bring you back?"
The three of them from that time were all there. Tsunade silently nodded, then suddenly turned fierce: "You're actually bringing that up again? I've never asked about it before, but shouldn't you tell me what really happened back then?"
Anya replied calmly, "Actually, you should have already guessed. It's that clan's forbidden technique. Only they could have generated poison on such a massive scale."
"A kinjutsu—the Kekkaijin: Pot of Poison. So it was just as I suspected." Tsunade sighed. "During these years since I left the village, every year ninja came to find me, asking me to help cure their poisoning. From the first glance, I knew all those poisons came from the Deadly Poison Valley. Now so many years have passed, and the Ninja World has returned to peace—it's no longer fitting for that poison valley to still exist."
Anya understood. "I know what you mean. However, I can't do it alone. It's a problem only the one who created it can fix. If you want to completely purify the toxins inside, the key still lies with members of that clan."
Tsunade turned her gaze downward, understanding instantly whom Anya was referring to.
After a tense confrontation, the four Kage attacked first. Although protected by Katsuyu, "Tsunade" still got pushed back repeatedly.
At that moment, several members responsible for security got a radio message from the Director at the same time.
"Hurry up—it's your turn to appear. Someone is ruining the show."
Before they could react properly to his words, a force teleported them into the center of the arena. They arrived just in time to witness Tsunade being forced backward by the attacks of the four opponents.
Kiba Inuzuka didn't stop to think twice and rushed straight toward the four attackers.
Seeing someone charging in first, the others quickly followed—but Shikamaru hesitated, muttering confusedly to himself: "What's going on? Weren't we supposed to be performing in a stage play? Why is the former Hokage here too? No, something's seriously wrong."
Despite his confusion, the four enemies clearly meant business. Especially Gaara—his sand jutsu kicked into full gear the moment battle began. As soon as the fight started, great volumes of sand formed midair, launching countless spherical sand bullets like machine guns, pinning the rushing group down. If not for Choji expanding his body to shield them from the front line, they might've been riddled with sand bullets instantly.
Seeing their comrades in danger, Shikamaru quickly found an ideal angle and sent his Shadow Possession Jutsu flying toward Gaara.
Gaara reacted instantly, maneuvering the sands beneath his feet to evade.
Successfully disrupting Gaara's offensive rhythm, Shikamaru commanded, "Don't attack head-on! Scatter and engage everyone. Once we draw all of them into individual fights, he won't be able to fully utilize his wide-range sand techniques."
Kiba shouted at Gaara, "Damn it! Didn't Sunagakure sign an alliance agreement with us? How fast you broke your word!"
"Hmph. Don't talk nonsense. We're not part of Sunagakure anymore—look closely. I am now the Mizukage." Temari laughed loudly and raised her Three-star Fan, unleashing a Wind Release technique directly at the group.
It clicked for Shikamaru when she spoke. He glanced at the other three and immediately understood, silently cursing, "Of course, they're still performing a stage play. But why wasn't this explained beforehand? Why did we have to handle security?"
Looking at everyone's serious fighting expressions, Shikamaru instantly figured it out: "Are they acting or actually fighting out there? They're taking this too seriously! Don't they worry about accidentally hurting someone?"
Among the four opponents, the one who had been significantly enhanced was Kankuro. He received a Secret Jutsu Scroll from Sasori. Previously able to control only one crow puppet, he now had an additional nine puppets. The entire center of the battlefield was filled with puppets. As soon as the battle started, Konoha found itself in a severe disadvantage.
"Hinata, your close-range combat skills are the best. Use Byakugan to locate the puppet master's real body and finish him off quickly," Shikamaru immediately made the tactical decision. With so many puppets on the field, no one could break free, creating a situation where they were heavily outnumbered.
"Okay, Byakugan."
Hinata swiftly charged toward Kankuro once she located his actual position.
Gaara's sand and Temari's Wind Release blocked Hinata's path.
"Watch me, Passing Fang!"
"Meat Ball Impact!"
Kiba Inuzuka and Choji simultaneously cleared a path for Hinata, while Shino unleashed numerous insects from his body, attaching them onto the puppets to prevent them from obstructing Hinata's charge.
As Hinata was about to reach Kankuro, Samiu, who had been waiting patiently, finally struck. Her ninja blade combined with Lightning Release carved an electric arc through the air, slashing down toward Hinata who was sprinting forward.
"Careful!"
Just as Hinata was about to be struck by the blade, Shikamaru urgently used Shadow Possession Jutsu to forcibly move her out of harm's way, narrowly dodging the attack.
The two who had served as vanguard had already been knocked to the ground, badly injured.
Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock as he yelled, "Hey, this is just acting, right? Do you really need to hit this hard?"
Gaara calmly replied, "Before we came here, someone already informed us—there was no need to hold back."
Shikamaru frowned angrily, muttering, "What exactly are they treating us as, clowns in a circus?"
Temari scoffed mockingly, "A grown man constantly complaining like this—what good does that do? You should focus more on how to defeat us instead. What's wrong, are you thinking of giving up already?"
"There's absolutely no way I'd give up," Tsunade declared firmly. "It's not only strength that makes people powerful. More powerful than strength is willpower—the unyielding Will of Fire passed down through every generation in Konoha. Everyone, don't lose heart. Fight alongside me. With me here, nobody will die."
Tsunade's body radiated boundless green chakra. Her Katsuyu companion liquefied into a wave of shimmering liquid that spread across the battlefield, covering everyone with invisible radiance. Their injuries healed rapidly, and even their drained chakra began recovering.
"What kind of power is this?" Everyone looked on puzzled.
With a generous wave of her hand, Tsunade confidently ordered, "Alright, launch a counterattack. Let's work together and defeat our enemies."
Samiu coldly replied, "Hmph, don't underestimate us Four Kage. Soon enough, you'll understand what it truly means to face the crushing pressure of Kage-level fighters."
At the same time, light also shone from the Four Kages across the arena. The blue and green beams intertwined at the center of the stage, surging straight into the sky. Countless radiant pillars crossed each other in midair, glowing so intensely that everyone had to shut their eyes.
Once the light faded, the ground lay completely vacant—every single soul had disappeared. A chilling silence fell over the area.
"Where did they go?"
"This doesn't seem like part of the show. Could they really be fighting?"
"Hope nothing serious happened..."
As murmurs grew louder, Shizune's voice rang out again: "The final act. May you sail through endless storms and return still a youth at heart. This performance is dedicated to the former pride of Konoha, and current Fifth Hokage, Tsunade-sama."
No sooner had Shizune finished speaking than the two previous beams of light burst forth once more, glowing like giant lanterns that lit up the spot where Tsunade stood.
On the Raised Platform, Anya and Yugao had already vanished without a trace, leaving Tsunade standing there in complete shock and confusion.
It took her quite a while to snap back to reality before she lightly waved her hand.
In an instant, a deafening roar of joy exploded from the crowd below. Today, the name Hokage resounded throughout Konoha.
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