Chiyo and the Third Kazekage half-knelt on the battlefield, both gasping for air.
That last strike—they had thrown everything into surviving it.
But the price was brutal. Chiyo's ten legendary Chikamatsu puppets lay in shattered heaps, reduced to splinters and twisted joints. The Kazekage's iron-sand fortress had been obliterated in a single blow, crumbling into dust.
They looked at Konoha's White Fang with naked fear.
"What kind of blade is that!?""How can there be a sword with that kind of power!?"
If he could swing it again, they knew—there was nothing left in Suna that could stop him.
"The third level of basic inner training… I still haven't reached it."
White Fang's voice was calm, almost regretful. That strike had only borrowed a fragment of the third stage's power.
It wasn't chakra anymore. That blade had drawn on something else—something from outside himself.He'd heard whispers of it before: natural energy.
Maybe Jinzō was right. That brat's genius might surpass even the Second Hokage's.
White Fang's gaze shifted to the horizon. Dust clouds rolled closer—an entire battalion of Sand ninja, forehead protectors glinting under the sun.
A quiet sigh escaped him. "What a pity."
That sword had drained everything. Chakra, strength, stamina. He was only standing upright because he refused to collapse in front of the enemy.
But one look at the army pouring in was enough. His story was at its end."I can't take you back with me, Jinzō."
He had promised the Uchiha—promised him. And now he was going to break it.
The Kazekage, who had been staring at White Fang like a man awaiting execution, finally felt his heart steady when his troops arrived.
"Kazekage-sama!""Kazekage-sama!"
Hundreds of voices rose as one. White Fang looked like a lone wolf before the entire Sand Village itself.
"Lord Kazekage, kill him!""He's butchered too many of us!""Make him pay!"
Their outrage was real. This one man had nearly crushed Suna's defenses by himself.
The Kazekage's lips twitched. He wanted to give the order.But when he looked at the shattered mountains behind White Fang, the thought froze in his throat.
If White Fang could still swing that blade…
As Kazekage, he could gamble his own life. But he couldn't gamble the entire village. One stroke had leveled mountains. If that was unleashed again here, the Sand would fall from the Five Great Nations overnight.
Still—maybe White Fang was bluffing. Maybe that sword was gone.
He was caught between command and caution when—
"Let's see which of you bastards dares!"
A thunderous voice split the air.
A massive shadow dropped from the sky, slamming into the ground with a boom that kicked up a wall of dust.
When it cleared, a woman stood tall atop a giant slug, arms crossed, glare sharp enough to slice steel.
Tsunade.
She positioned herself in front of White Fang, cold eyes daring the Sand army to try their luck.
And behind her, smoke rose—Konoha reinforcements materializing one by one. Their numbers weren't inferior to Suna's in the slightest.
Chiyo's face darkened.Of course. Her nemesis had come. And beside her—the woman who had sworn vengeance for her clan.
The battlefield froze.
Finally, the Kazekage exhaled and made his choice. "…Retreat."
The word cut like a blade. But there was no choice. The situation was lost.
His subordinates obeyed instantly. The Third Kazekage's authority was absolute.
Chiyo gave White Fang a glare filled with venom but swallowed her rage. The village came first.
The Sand forces withdrew.
And the moment they were gone, White Fang's body gave out. His knees buckled and he collapsed backward, pale as a corpse.
A figure flickered into existence behind him, catching him before he hit the ground.
"…Jinzō."
White Fang forced an ugly grin."You can take me back to the village."
Then he passed out cold.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Jinzō snarled, gritting his teeth. "Drag me into hell with you, make me burn through every last trick I've got, and now you just collapse like that? Do I look like your personal ambulance, Hatake?!"
But he held the man steady anyway. He always did.
"This isn't over. Not by a damn long shot."
Tsunade's gaze lingered on the distant mountains White Fang had cut apart. The entire range had been carved open, reshaping the very terrain of the Land of Rivers.
"Has Shōmo already reached Grandfather's level…?" she murmured.
Outside of Senju Hashirama himself, she had never seen that kind of power.
Konoha.
The report that White Fang had forced the entire Sand Village army to retreat reached the Hokage's office.
"White Fang." Danzo slammed the dossier onto the desk. "One sword to cleave mountains? What is he trying to be—the god of the ninja world?"
"Don't scoff, Danzo." Koharu leaned forward, her expression severe. "The terrain change is real. The Land of Rivers itself looks different now. This isn't one person's exaggeration."
Danzo's frown deepened. He didn't want to believe it. Not because it was impossible—because it was inconvenient.
If Hatake Shōmo was this strong, who would still consider him fit for Hokage?
"Enough." Hiruzen cut them off, tossing another sealed scroll onto the table. "This is White Fang's own account. Read it."
Danzo snatched it up, eyes narrowing as he read."…So that's it."
According to Shōmo, there were three truths:
First, he had acted alone to atone for his mistakes.Second, the strike's source lay in the third stage of basic inner training.Third, he had not actually reached that stage—he had forced it, molding his will into a seal and unleashing it at terrible cost.
That was how he carved mountains.
The technique drained him completely. But still, the fact remained: this was a glimpse of power once thought impossible.
Danzo's lips curled into a smile. "The power of a god… right here, within our reach."
If he could seize it, the Hokage's chair would be his for the taking.
Koharu and Homura exchanged uneasy glances."…Again? Uchiha Jinzō's inner training? How many impossible techniques has this boy handed to Konoha already?"
They wanted to doubt it. They wanted to dismiss it. But the battlefield itself was proof.
Hiruzen's expression remained unreadable."The question," he said quietly, "is not about inner training. The question is—what do we do with Hatake Shōmo now?"