Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the village.
"So Kiyohara has already sealed the Nine Tails?"
Might Guy could clearly sense that the Nine Tails' overwhelming chakra had suddenly vanished.
While in the state of the Eight Gates, every one of his senses had been greatly enhanced.
"It seems your village's Hokage is much stronger than the Mizukage of our village."
Kisame smiled faintly.
Before becoming a rogue shinobi, he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving Kirigakure.
Naturally, he had witnessed the Mizukage's strength firsthand, and he knew it was nowhere near Kiyohara's level.
"You people who inherited the Bloody Mist era could never understand the bonds that exist in Konoha."
Guy's expression became solemn.
To him, the Bloody Mist policy of Kiri was nothing short of inhumane. It never treated comrades as true companions.
It was a world filled with bloodshed, darkness, betrayal, and backstabbing.
A village like that was never one Guy could accept.
Only a village like Konoha, full of light, constantly prospering, and carrying on the Will of Fire, was worthy of dedicating his entire life to protecting.
"Judging from the results, perhaps you're right."
Kisame nodded without trying to deny it.
Otherwise, how else could one explain why Konoha continued to produce one genius after another?
Still, Kiri no longer had much to do with him.
From the moment Obito invited him to join, Kisame had already accepted the Eye of the Moon Plan.
"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
Kisame molded Water Release chakra, creating an enormous shark that possessed the ability to devour chakra itself.
Seeing this, Guy immediately opened the Seventh Gate.
"Daytime Tiger!"
Forming a unique hand seal, Guy unleashed an enormous tiger-shaped shockwave formed entirely from compressed air.
The gigantic water shark, which could absorb chakra, was instantly shattered by Guy's attack.
"Not bad at all."
Kisame spoke with a hint of admiration.
Just as he was preparing to unleash another Water Release technique, ripples suddenly spread through the surrounding space.
"It's time to go, Kisame."
The masked Obito appeared from the distortion in space.
"I suppose it is."
Kisame quickly suppressed the fighting spirit in his eyes.
Finding a worthy opponent was certainly enjoyable.
But the bigger picture came first.
"The Nine Tails has already been sealed. There's no reason for us to stay any longer."
Kisame sheathed his large sword once again.
Watching Obito appear so suddenly, Guy did not dare attack recklessly.
"This operation has been a complete disaster."
Not far away, within the forest, Sasori looked down at the countless puppets scattered across the ground.
The puppets that had originally been controlled through his Secret Red Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets were now mostly destroyed.
Some had lost their arms.
Others had their heads crushed apart.
Mechanical components littered the battlefield everywhere.
The strength of Konoha's shinobi had increased considerably.
"Who could have predicted the Hokage's strength would exceed every expectation we had?"
Hearing Sasori's complaint, Kisame could not help commenting.
"Hmph."
At the mention of Kiyohara, Sasori's face immediately darkened.
Very soon, under Obito's orders, the White Zetsu who were still fighting also began to retreat.
They moved with astonishing speed, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
The Konoha shinobi pursued them for a short distance before Kakashi called them to a halt.
"Don't chase them."
Kakashi spoke calmly.
"Kiyohara once said that a desperate enemy should never be pursued. There may very well be an ambush waiting ahead."
Kakashi had memorized quite a few idioms because Kiyohara enjoyed using them so often.
The pursuing shinobi gradually stopped.
Turning around, they looked toward Kakashi.
Raising his head, Kakashi gazed toward the direction of the village.
"Remain alert. Be wary of enemy traps. Then have half of our forces accompany me in patrolling the village perimeter."
"Understood!"
The shinobi immediately responded.
"Is it over already?"
The voice of the Priestess Miroku sounded from behind, carrying a trace of urgency.
She hurried over to Kiyohara.
The hem of her white robe embroidered with golden patterns was stained with dust, while the strings of pearls woven into her hair swayed gently beneath the moonlight.
To prepare for confronting the Nine Tails, a monster even more terrifying than Moryo, she had spent an entire hour inside the shrine making preparations.
She had filled ten talismans with sealing formulas.
She had even brought out sacred artifacts passed down through generations of priestesses.
Some of those artifacts had not been used for over a hundred years.
The fuinjutsu inscriptions engraved upon them had already become somewhat faded with age.
Yet by the time Miroku finally arrived...
The battle had already ended.
Kiyohara turned to face her.
Moonlight illuminated his handsome face.
His expression remained calm as he simply nodded.
"Yes. It's over."
Miroku's gaze passed over his shoulder and landed upon the devastated battlefield behind him.
Broken boulders.
Splintered trees.
Scorched earth.
The stone roads had been violently lifted by massive trunks erupting from underground, as though an enormous hand had torn the earth apart and folded it outward on both sides.
The Nine Tails' chakra had completely disappeared.
Only the faintest residual traces still lingered in the air.
"Were there many casualties?"
Miroku asked softly.
"The barrier fulfilled its purpose, and all the civilians were evacuated."
Kiyohara paused before sweeping his eyes across the busy shinobi working all around them.
"There are quite a few injured shinobi, but not a single civilian was harmed."
He shook his head.
The injured shinobi were all those who had fought outside against the Akatsuki and the White Zetsu.
Even while remaining inside the village, his astonishing sensory abilities had allowed him to perceive everything happening on the battlefield beyond.
Miroku nodded gently.
Her gaze shifted away from Kiyohara and toward the surrounding shinobi.
The expressions on their faces puzzled her.
Each pair of eyes burned with an almost scorching intensity.
She did not understand.
She knew what admiration looked like.
Back in the Land of Demons, the people revered the priestess with unwavering devotion.
But these Konoha shinobi...
They looked as though the object of their faith had truly appeared before them.
"Everyone seems to worship you."
Miroku said quietly.
"I suppose."
Kiyohara glanced around before understanding exactly why they felt this way.
Wood Release was not merely an overwhelmingly powerful bloodline.
More importantly...
It was a symbol.
A symbol of the invincibility of the First Hokage.
To Kiyohara, who had memories of his previous life, it was much like the Sword of King Arthur.
Its significance went far beyond its practical value.
"Kiyohara-kun."
A hoarse voice sounded from the side.
Miroku turned around.
Orochimaru emerged slowly from the shadows, wearing his trademark eerie smile.
He was dressed in a green flak jacket, with a thick purple rope tied around his waist.
The edge of his robe was stained with dust, yet he looked anything but disheveled.
"Thanks to your power, Konoha has suffered almost no losses."
Walking up to Kiyohara, Orochimaru extended his tongue and slowly licked the corner of his lips.
His vertical snake-like pupils lingered on Kiyohara.
They swept from his face to his hands, before finally stopping at his eyes, which had already returned to their normal black color.
"As Hokage, it's simply my responsibility."
Kiyohara's reply was brief.
Orochimaru nodded.
He did not continue that subject.
Yet his gaze remained fixed upon Kiyohara, like a serpent quietly evaluating its prey.
"Kiyohara."
At that moment, Biwako's voice came from behind the crowd.
Supporting Kushina by the shoulder, she slowly walked over.
Almost all of Kushina's weight rested against Biwako.
Her face was as pale as paper.
There was not the slightest trace of color on her lips.
Her crimson hair was soaked with sweat and clung messily to her forehead.
Her white maternity robe was stained with blood and medicine, wrinkled and hanging loosely from her body, making her appear far thinner than usual.
However, within Kiyohara's perception, Kushina had merely exhausted an enormous amount of chakra.
After several days of rest, she would recover completely.
He was not surprised in the slightest.
Kushina's Uzumaki bloodline was far purer than Naruto's.
Her life force was also considerably stronger.
In the anime, even after the complete Nine Tails had been extracted, she still retained enough strength to use the Adamantine Sealing Chains to suppress it.
Naruto, on the other hand, had been left on the verge of death the instant Kurama was removed.
More importantly...
The current Kushina had not lost the entire Nine Tails.
Only half of it had been extracted.
Although the process had consumed a tremendous amount of her chakra, the damage remained well within the limits from which she could recover.
"Kushina, take it slowly."
Minato approached from the other side, reaching out to support her.
Kushina shook her head.
Steadying herself, she released Biwako's shoulder.
Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back.
"I'm fine."
She smiled reassuringly.
Watching this scene, every shinobi present found themselves arriving at the same realization.
So...
A jinchuriki did not necessarily die after having a tailed beast extracted.
As long as the entire beast was not removed, survival was possible.
Every shinobi present was learning this fact for the very first time.
After all, no one had ever encountered such a case before.
Even Orochimaru's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
His mind was already racing.
Since the Nine Tails could be divided into separate halves...
Wouldn't that mean two separate Nine Tails jinchuriki could exist simultaneously?
Then what about the other tailed beasts?
Could they also be split apart?
Or even divided into more than two portions?
If tailed beasts could continuously be divided, then many more jinchuriki could theoretically be created.
Although doing so would undoubtedly reduce each jinchuriki's individual combat strength, their controllability would increase dramatically.
"What should we do with everything here?"
At that moment, Shisui walked over and asked.
Shisui's Sharingan was still active.
The three tomoe slowly revolved within his crimson eyes as he carefully surveyed the battlefield that had just endured an earthshaking battle.
Following his line of sight, Kiyohara looked across the devastated surroundings.
The barrier had already disappeared.
The crimson curtain of light had begun fading the moment Obito vanished, gradually becoming thinner and thinner until it finally dissolved into countless tiny specks of light that scattered into the night air.
The ground looked as though it had been plowed over from beginning to end.
Large patches of soil lay exposed where the earth had been torn apart.
The enormous craters left behind by the Nine Tails' footsteps were still there, each surrounded by piles of broken stone and shattered trees.
Farther away, several buildings had been caught in the shockwaves of the battle.
Cracks spread across their walls.
Their roofs had partially collapsed, exposing dark, hollow interiors.
Fortunately, all of the destruction remained confined within the barrier.
Outside its range, almost nothing had been damaged.
"I'll take care of it."
Kiyohara slowly raised his right hand.
Earth Release chakra and Water Release chakra converged in his palm, merging together into the unique chakra of Wood Release.
"Wood Release: Four Pillar House Technique."
The earth immediately began to tremble.
At that instant, everyone present felt the change beneath their feet.
One thick wooden pillar after another burst out of the ground.
The entire process, from seed to sprout, from sapling to towering tree, had been compressed into only a few breaths.
Then, under Kiyohara's precise control, the rough tree trunks gradually became smooth and refined, resembling carefully polished wooden beams.
"That's..."
A young shinobi stood frozen in place, his mouth hanging wide open.
The kunai in his hand nearly slipped from his grasp.
"Wood Release..."
An older shinobi muttered absentmindedly.
"It really is Wood Release... the First Hokage's Wood Release..."
Thump.
The first support beam settled perfectly into place.
Thump.
The second.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The sounds of heavy wooden beams locking into position echoed one after another.
Under Kiyohara's control, the timber assembled itself as though someone were constructing a massive building from children's blocks.
Walls rose straight out of the ground.
Roofs gradually took shape above them.
Doorways and windows automatically appeared exactly where they were supposed to be, as if invisible craftsmen had already measured every inch.
Within only a few minutes, the outlines of one house after another stood before everyone's eyes.
Their walls were perfectly straight.
Their corners were sharp and clean.
Everything looked as though it had been built by master carpenters over the course of months rather than mere moments.
"This..."
Standing behind the crowd, Hiruzen had unknowingly already dismissed the Adamantine Staff back into Enma's original form.
His mouth remained open for quite some time, yet no words came out.
He had witnessed the First Hokage's Wood Release once before.
That had been many years ago, when he was still a young man.
Even after so many decades, the overwhelming power of Wood Release remained deeply engraved in his memory.
"This brat..."
Not far away, Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, leaning casually against a tree.
Her eyes were half closed.
Yet the corners of her lips slowly curled upward.
Beside her stood Shizune, cradling Tonton in her arms.
The little pig had already awakened.
Its round eyes were opened as wide as possible, while its tiny mouth remained agape, letting out soft little grunts of disbelief.
"Lady Tsunade... Kiyohara... he... he really used Wood Release..."
Shizune could barely believe what she had just witnessed.
"Mm."
Tsunade simply nodded.
The smile at the corner of her lips became even more obvious.
She tried to suppress it.
It disappeared for a moment.
Then it rose again.
Suddenly, she remembered something Kiyohara had once said.
"Sensei, do you remember what you promised me?"
"You said that if I managed to master Wood Release, you'd grant me one wish."
That little brat.
Tsunade silently cursed him in her heart.
Then another memory surfaced.
That day inside the flower shop.
Kiyohara had caused the rose resting in her palm to bloom once more.
She had immediately sensed that something was wrong back then.
Medical ninjutsu simply could not accomplish something like that.
Only Wood Release possessed such miraculous vitality.
"Lady Tsunade, why are you smiling?"
Shizune's voice pulled her back to reality.
Tsunade quickly restrained her expression.
"It's nothing."
She paused for a brief moment.
"I just feel like..."
"I really accepted an excellent disciple."
Shizune blinked several times.
For some reason, Lady Tsunade's expression seemed a little strange.
But she simply could not put her finger on exactly what felt different.
Meanwhile, on another street.
Danzo returned from the outskirts of the village accompanied by the Root shinobi.
An unmistakable look of excitement covered his face.
Walking at the front of the group, his heavily bandaged right arm remained hidden beneath his sleeve.
Inside his mind, Danzo had already begun planning exactly how he would impeach Kiyohara.
The Nine Tails had gone berserk.
What a perfect opportunity.
Everyone among Konoha's leadership knew that the seal of a jinchuriki became weakest during childbirth.
Knowing the reason was one thing.
But whenever something this serious happened, someone had to be held responsible.
The Nine Tails rampaging through the village was itself enough to become a political weapon.
Regardless of whether the damage ended up being severe or minimal, the incident itself could serve as leverage.
If handled properly, he could shake the authority of the newly appointed Hokage before Kiyohara had even firmly secured his position.
Thinking this, Danzo unconsciously quickened his pace.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, he noticed an enormous forest standing in the distance.
"Wood Release?"
Danzo frowned.
"Where's Kinoe?"
He turned and questioned one of the Root operatives behind him.
A Root shinobi immediately answered.
(TN: Yamato is called Tenzo when he was in the Anbu and Kinoe when he was in Root. He was only then called Yamato when it was assigned to him as a codename by Tsunade.
"Captain Tenzo... err, Kinoe... left on a mission several days ago. If I remember correctly, he was supposed to return today."
"I see."
Danzo nodded.
Tenzo and Kinoe were the same person.
Within Root he had been known as Kinoe.
After joining the ANBU, he had received the name Tenzo.
If that was the case...
Then this forest must have been created by Kinoe.
It seemed that as Kinoe matured, his Wood Release had become considerably stronger.
Danzo only felt that today truly was filled with one piece of good news after another.
"Let's hurry over."
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
The Root members respectfully answered in unison.
Having undergone years of brainwashing and absolute obedience training, they regarded Danzo as the center of their very existence.
Very soon, Danzo rounded a street corner.
There, he happened to encounter Homura.
"Homura."
Danzo walked over and stopped beside him.
Homura turned his head and glanced at him.
"Danzo."
He frowned slightly.
"Where did you go just now?"
Danzo ignored the question completely.
His lone eye shifted toward the direction of the village.
He expected to see endless ruins left behind by the Nine Tails.
Instead...
Aside from that newly appeared forest...
The overwhelming majority of the village's buildings remained completely intact.
Could the battlefield have been somewhere else?
Danzo barely suppressed the urge to leap onto the rooftops for a better view.
Doing something so undignified would damage his image.
Nor did he dispatch any Root operatives to gather information.
That would attract too much attention.
"Where's the Nine Tails?"
Danzo asked directly.
"The Hokage sealed it."
Homura answered calmly.
"...!"
Danzo's brows immediately knitted together.
He had never expected Kiyohara to personally perform the sealing.
Earlier, Danzo had only sensed the Nine Tails' overwhelming pressure disappear, prompting him to hurry back with his men.
In Danzo's original plan...
Either Minato or Hiruzen would certainly use the Reaper Death Seal to stop the Nine Tails.
After all, against a creature as powerful as the Nine Tails, ordinary fuinjutsu sealing techniques were simply insufficient.
Moreover, with powerful enemies still lurking outside, nobody would have had the luxury of considering alternative methods.
"So..."
"Kiyohara sacrificed himself?"
A trace of delight surfaced inside Danzo's heart.
If that were true...
It would save him a tremendous amount of effort.
"...?"
Hearing those words, Homura nearly felt a question mark appear over his own head.
He pushed up his glasses before replying slowly.
"The Hokage didn't sacrifice himself. Why would you think that?"
"Didn't he use the Reaper Death Seal? Isn't that the only fuinjutsu technique capable of dealing with the Nine Tails?"
Danzo had collected extensive intelligence regarding the Uzumaki's fuinjutsu sealing techniques.
As far as he was concerned, the strongest sealing technique without question was the Reaper Death Seal.
Unfortunately...
He himself had never succeeded in mastering it.
As a result, he had settled for the next best thing.
After obtaining information regarding the Uzumaki Clan's Four Symbols Seal, he had developed his own Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.
This was Danzo's greatest fuinjutsu technique.
The user first had to engrave the Reverse Four Symbols Seal directly onto their own body.
Once activated, blood would erupt from every part of the user's body, drawing an enormous fuinjutsu formula while simultaneously expanding into a gigantic sphere.
Everything caught within its range would be sealed away together and dragged into the underworld, disappearing forever.
Of course...
Its greatest drawback was exactly the same as the Reaper Death Seal.
The caster would inevitably die.
"What Reaper Death Seal?"
"Danzo..."
"Have you been drinking?"
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"
Homura genuinely felt that Danzo had fallen further than ever.
Whenever trouble appeared, he immediately slipped away outside the village.
As a result, he now knew absolutely nothing about everything that had happened inside.
"The Hokage subdued the Nine Tails with Wood Release."
"There were zero civilian casualties."
"The shinobi casualties were also kept completely under control."
Hearing this, Danzo's heart suddenly sank.
"Wait..."
"Kiyohara can use Wood Release?"
His face filled with shock.
That enormous forest ahead...
Had actually been created by Kiyohara?
And here he had foolishly assumed Kinoe's abilities had improved dramatically.
"We were all shocked as well."
"But that's exactly what happened."
Even Homura could not suppress the admiration in his voice.
Kiyohara's ability to wield Wood Release proved that making him Hokage had truly been one of the wisest decisions they had ever made.
However...
Unlike Homura's expression of amazement...
Danzo's aged face grew darker and darker with every passing second.
Everything had unfolded completely beyond his expectations.
Not only had the village escaped with surprisingly little damage...
Kiyohara had also publicly displayed the legendary Wood Release, causing his prestige and reputation to soar to unprecedented heights.
And perhaps most importantly...
Danzo himself had fled the village during its moment of greatest crisis.
Would Kiyohara use this opportunity to finally settle accounts with him?
(End of Chapter)