More importantly—
The current Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, was an invincible existence in the shinobi world.
So why had he come to Takigakure?
The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
In that instant, whether they were Kumo shinobi or Takigakure shinobi, all of them trembled slightly. Their faces turned pale as they looked at the Fifth Hokage. Their mouths opened as if they wanted to say something—
only to realize they could not force out a single word.
What was there to say?
If the Fifth Hokage had personally descended on Takigakure, then he definitely had not come with good intentions.
"It's over…"
Among those kneeling on the ground, Mabui felt her heart sink.
The smugness on her face had long since frozen away.
She had never imagined that Konoha's Fifth Hokage would actually be here in Takigakure.
Despair.
Utter despair.
If anyone else from Konoha had come, Mabui would still have had the confidence to retreat unscathed.
But facing the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren…
She no longer had even the courage to think about escaping.
After all, hadn't everyone already seen it?
Just from his presence alone, both the Kumo and Takigakure shinobi had been forced to their knees.
How were they supposed to fight that?
All she could do was kneel there stupidly, trembling.
"So… he's the Fifth Hokage?"
Looking at the man who had casually suppressed both the Two-Tails and the Seven-Tails, Suien felt utterly helpless.
He had plotted for so long.
Victory had practically been within reach.
And then an unwanted guest had appeared out of nowhere.
That left him completely dumbfounded.
Now he could only pray that the Fifth Hokage had not come for Takigakure.
Otherwise, everything was finished.
As for the young leader of Takigakure, Shibuki—
unlike Mabui and Suien, who were drowning in despair and panic—
after his initial shock wore off, he clenched his fists tightly and felt a thread of hope rise in his heart.
In his eyes, the sudden arrival of the Fifth Hokage might be Takigakure's one chance at new life.
In truth, ever since hearing that Konoha had annexed the Hidden Rain Village with overwhelming force, the farsighted Shibuki had already been considering leading Takigakure into submission to Konoha in exchange for protection.
After all—
a Konoha led by the strongest man in the shinobi world, Uchiha Ren, was almost impossible to resist.
And Shibuki didn't believe that relying on the Hero Water and the Seven-Tails jinchūriki alone would ever allow Takigakure to withstand Konoha.
So he had long since made up his mind.
At the right time, he would surrender to Konoha.
Unfortunately, plans never kept pace with reality.
His teacher, Suien, had secretly colluded with the Kumo shinobi and caught him completely off guard.
But now—
with the appearance of the Fifth Hokage, everything had changed again.
Buzz!!
Without any warning—
perhaps because she had been slammed down to the ground under that crushing pressure—
Fū could no longer suppress the Seven-Tails inside her.
With her mind thrown into chaos, the Seven-Tails seized control of her body and forced her into full tailed-beast transformation.
An overwhelming wave of tailed beast chakra erupted.
Looking over—
one could see dark red tailed beast chakra surging wildly.
The Seven-Tails' six wings and single tail thrashed frantically, as if it wanted to rise from the ground and confront Uchiha Ren head-on.
Unfortunately—
no matter how hard it struggled, it was useless.
That invisible, terrifying pressure pinned it flat against the ground.
It simply could not move.
Roar!!
After struggling for a while, the fully released Seven-Tails let out a savage roar.
"Damn you! If you've got the guts, take away that pressure and face me head-on!"
Damn it—
As the legendary Seven-Tails, it had never suffered humiliation like this before.
Pinned to the ground by a single person's aura, unable to move—
that was unbearable disgrace.
So even knowing its opponent was terrifyingly strong, it still wanted to lash out with everything it had.
"You, a mere insect, think you're worthy of making me move?"
Uchiha Ren folded his arms and tilted his head slightly as he glanced at the Seven-Tails.
His tone remained calm and casual.
"Since you insist on resisting, then don't blame me for showing no mercy."
"How dare you—! Even if you've reached the Six Paths level, don't think you can—"
Boom!!
Before it could finish speaking, an even more overwhelming pressure surged from Uchiha Ren's body.
And if one sensed it carefully, they would realize that this time, the pressure faintly carried traces of Six Paths power within it.
Crack. Crack.
The sound of the air splitting rang out.
Before everyone's eyes, visible cracks spread through the air around Uchiha Ren like a spiderweb.
The ground trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck, splitting apart in wide jagged fractures.
The sight made every Kumo shinobi and Takigakure shinobi present go numb with fear.
And as for the Seven-Tails, the one who had caused all this—
in that instant, its body froze completely.
Its mind rang with deafening noise.
It could not even endure for a full second before going limp and collapsing flat onto the ground, losing consciousness on the spot.
Impossible…
Has he really reached the Six Paths level…?
That was the Seven-Tails' final thought.
It had clearly never expected that this Fifth Hokage had truly stepped into the realm of the Sage of Six Paths.
That realization shattered the last sliver of hope it had held.
Silence.
Dead silence.
After suppressing the fully released Seven-Tails with overwhelming ease, the entire battlefield fell completely still.
If not for the ruined ground, the collapsed houses, and the broken trees throughout Takigakure, no one would have believed that someone had just crushed the Seven-Tails with nothing but his presence.
What kind of terrifying power was that?
Too strong.
He was far too strong.
The God of the shinobi world was truly too strong.
Just what kind of monster was the Fifth Hokage?
After the initial shock passed—
especially after seeing the Seven-Tails, now knocked unconscious—
all the Kumo and Takigakure shinobi kneeling on the ground stared blankly ahead, their minds empty.
That was right.
Everyone knew the Fifth Hokage was powerful.
Everyone knew he was the newly risen God of the shinobi world.
But no one had imagined he could be this monstrous.
From beginning to end, he had not even moved.
And yet he had suppressed the fully transformed Seven-Tails.
What kind of horrifying power was that?
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