"Continue the preparations."
"But Hatake Kakashi's Lightning Release poses a serious threat to us. Should we activate that technique immediately?"
Fudō spoke from the side.
Hema narrowed his eyes, then nodded slowly. "Fine. Use the Earth Release Reincarnation Technique. With Hokushi and the others, we can restrain Kakashi long enough to buy us sufficient time."
"The corpses and the barrier—start preparing those as well."
The other three nodded in unison.
Yet despite his calm exterior, Hema's heart was far from steady.
In truth, he bore no personal hatred toward Konoha.
He simply wanted to erase it—to fulfill the ideal he had chased for decades.
As for Konoha's shinobi, its Hokage, and anyone stained by the Will of Fire…
They all had to die.
Otherwise—
No one would ever truly pledge loyalty to the Daimyō.
In the end, this world still answered to strength.
As long as Konoha existed, the Daimyō would remain nothing more than a puppet.
But then—
How were they supposed to deal with Jiraiya…
And Yagyū Souma?
The former's strength was terrifying. Even without ever crossing blades, Hema knew full well that he stood no chance against Jiraiya.
As for the latter—
Intelligence reports stated that this boy had personally dismantled Orochimaru's offensive.
Everything gathered so far pointed to one conclusion:
This young man possessed terrifying power, and his influence within Konoha was no less frightening.
It was even said—
That he had memorized every single book in Konoha.
With such memory, even if the entire village were wiped out, as long as that boy lived, he could rebuild another Konoha elsewhere.
He had to die.
Hema's resolve hardened.
"Then we begin with Konoha. Destroy the village first—then deal with that monster of a genius. If we don't split them up, Konoha will only become harder to deal with."
Truthfully—
This was not the ideal time to attack.
Though Konoha had suffered a war, it was far from weakened. Its power remained formidable—just shy of its former peak.
Hema had little confidence.
But if he delayed another two or three years…
He feared Konoha would recover into something even more terrifying.
This was his last gamble.
"Begin."
"Yes!"
The four gathered together, hands forming seals.
Soon, intricate jutsu formulas surfaced, and one corpse after another clawed its way out of the earth.
And then—
Four coffins emerged.
Years of preparation.
All of it was here.
"Fuen. You may activate that technique."
"Everyone, be careful."
Yamanaka Inoichi raised the crystal ball in his hands.
Within it appeared the scene he sensed—
Four figures performing jutsu, summoning four coffins, along with strangely altered soil.
"Could they have secretly allied with Orochimaru and obtained the Impure World Reincarnation technique?"
Nara Shikaku's expression changed instantly.
If that were the case, with Might Guy currently away on a mission, this would be extremely difficult to deal with.
"Not necessarily," Kakashi said, frowning. "Edo Tensei isn't the only technique capable of summoning the dead. We can't jump to conclusions yet. And even if it is Edo Tensei, there are counters."
"Correct."
Inoichi took a deep breath and looked behind him. "Reinforcements are arriving quickly. Our job is to hold them back and prevent them from using anything even more dangerous."
"Then—"
"Move!"
Still some distance away, Kakashi suddenly accelerated.
Halfway there, he was about to form seals—
"Kakashi, slow down. Leave the fodder to us. Save your chakra for killing the leader."
"…Alright. Chōza, I'll leave it to you."
"No problem!"
Akimichi Chōza let out a thunderous shout.
They were nearly at the valley.
The enemy had made many preparations—but clearly, they had no idea how much Konoha had changed.
"Stop them! Hokushi, you take Kakashi!"
Hema was brimming with confidence.
With all attention drawn here, Konoha itself should be vulnerable.
Even assassinating the Hokage wouldn't be a bad choice.
But—
The next moment, shock spread across his face.
The corpses couldn't stop Kakashi.
That wasn't surprising—Hatake Kakashi's reputation was built on real achievements.
What truly stunned him—
Was Akimichi Chōza.
This man—
Even with the Expansion Jutsu, how could he be this strong?!
Hema looked up.
A massive, towering body completely blocked the valley's choke point.
Then—
Chōza took a deep breath.
A violent wind swept through the entire valley.
Even Kakashi turned back, eyes wide.
That was—
Breath Activation Technique?!
Impossible!
Kakashi had created the earliest version himself—but he never pursued it further.
Yet now—
Under Yagyū Souma's modifications, it had become something unrecognizable.
After inhaling, Chōza's skin flushed an ominous dark red.
Then he roared.
His arms slammed down like pillars—
BOOM!
CRASH!
The gigantic body looked slow—but moved with terrifying speed.
Corpses, soil constructs, even Fudō rushing in to restrain them—
All were swept away.
"I'll open the path!"
Chōza bellowed.
Then his entire body curled inward—
And he charged like a meteor.
Sweat, blood, and compressed air spiraled violently around him.
Anything he touched—
Shattered instantly.
"Stop him!"
Hema cried out in horror.
What… what kind of technique is this?!
Fuen and Fudō hurriedly used Earth Release.
But—
BOOM!
The stone defenses crumbled like sand before a war chariot.
Kakashi stared in disbelief and looked at Shikaku and Inoichi.
"What is that technique?! That's insane!"
"We're seeing it for the first time too," Shikaku said, wiping sweat away. "All we can say is… Souma's techniques are just absurd."
In truth, even Chōza himself had never fully unleashed it before.
Expansion Jutsu combined with Fourth Activation—
Only lasting a few seconds—
But the burst of power was monstrous.
What was a war chariot?
One path forward. Nothing left behind.
Formations, barriers, traps—
All erased.
Sheer power crushed all tactics.
Kakashi and the others followed behind, their worldviews thoroughly shaken.
Combat…
Could really be this brutal?
Fourth Activation—
Terrifying.
When Chōza reached the end of the valley, he collapsed, utterly exhausted.
"Kakashi… the rest is yours. I need… a moment."
"Leave it to me."
Kakashi's expression hardened.
"Kakashi, someone escaped—should we—"
"No need. If he goes to the village, he's walking into a trap. Let's clean up here first."
"Alright."
They quickly finalized their plan.
Meanwhile, Fūka and Fuen were utterly dumbfounded.
All they had seen was devastation.
Every preparation destroyed.
Even Fudō—
Was lying beneath a tree, either unconscious or dead.
And—
Lord Hema…
The two exchanged a glance, then turned and fled.
Hema had clearly gone toward Konoha, intending to release the chakra sealed within Sora.
If they could delay—
There was still hope.
Chōza couldn't move, and Hokushi's group wasn't dead yet.
This was their chance.
But—
"Trying to run? Not so fast."
Shadow Possession Jutsu.
Success.
Immediately after—
Inoichi completed his technique.
Mind Body Reversal.
The souls of Fūka, Fuen, and Hokushi's group were thrown into chaotic confusion.
Even Inoichi couldn't tell who went where—
But none of them would be familiar with their bodies anymore.
ZZZ—!
Lightning crackled.
A blinding flash tore through the night.
Four bodies fell.
Kakashi exhaled, then turned to the remaining two.
"Finish them together."
"No… impossible… how could everything fail so completely?!"
Hema's mind collapsed.
Years of preparation.
Decades of schemes.
All annihilated—
By a single human war chariot.
"The Akimichi clan… how did their techniques become so terrifying?!"
He couldn't accept it.
That godlike figure—
Was from the clan he had always dismissed.
Now reduced to a cornered dog, Hema placed all his hope in his final card—
Sora.
Using Fire Temple channels, he infiltrated Konoha.
But—
Not long after—
Figures surrounded him.
At the same time, he felt Sora's chakra vanishing.
Hema's face went deathly pale.
"How… how is this possible?!"
"And you wonder?"
A cold voice sounded.
Tsunade stepped forward, eyes icy.
"Hema. Radical leader of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Your goal was to revive four fallen guardians using reincarnation techniques and destroy Konoha with Raiga Raijin."
"You also have a son—Sora. You placed him in the Fire Temple, and after learning of its cooperation with Konoha, you had him sent here."
"How… could you know all of that?!"
Hema's face drained of color.
Every plan—
Laid bare.
Were they betrayed?
No—
If that were the case, they would've been captured earlier.
Then it meant—
"Capture him."
Tsunade suppressed her fury.
Killing him would be easy.
But alive, he was far more valuable.
"You think you can—"
Hema tried to resist.
Then—
A buzzing sound filled the air.
He leapt—
Too late.
Chakra threads, shadows, and swarming insects bound him instantly.
In seconds—
Hema was captured.
"Who gave you the courage to charge in alone?"
Tsunade clapped her hands.
"Training's over. Results were acceptable. Mobilization speed was good despite limited awareness."
"All departments—review and improve. Next time, do better."
"Yes!"
The crowd shouted.
Only Hema remained—
Echoing that final question in his mind.
Who gave you the courage…?
He wanted to know too.
When had Konoha become this terrifying?
This was nothing like the village he remembered.
And yet—
He still had no idea who had exposed him.
It felt as though an invisible hand had been moving everything from the shadows.
A crushing defeat.
Utterly suffocating.
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