At the central area of the battlefield in a corner of the Uchiha clan grounds, this sudden tectonic shaking reached its absolute climax!
Whether it was ninjas who excelled in taijutsu or ninjutsu masters focused on weaving hand signs, all of them instantly lost their balance before this violent tremor that was comparable to a grand force of nature.
The solid earth beneath their feet transformed into a churning, angry sea; they could only instinctively halt all offensive movements to stabilize their swaying, tottering bodies.
"An earthquake?! How could it happen at a time like this..."
Countless ninjas felt immense horror in their hearts, finding it incredible.
And this was merely the beginning!
Beneath Takuno's feet, under the stamp of his terrifying Chakra Enhanced Strength, an incomparably violent, bottomless crack stretching over a dozen meters wide frantically spread toward the battlefield ahead with astonishing speed!
Wherever the rift passed, the ground collapsed and fractured like a crisp wafer, forming deep trenches and broken ravines.
Many ninjas who reacted a fraction too slow—regardless of whether they belonged to the dove faction or the radical faction—found the ground vanishing beneath them before they could even secure a footing, leaving the scene instantly in a complete mess.
Fugaku was laboring to stabilize his stance; seeing this scenario, his pupils abruptly contracted!
He finally understood what the "timing" transmitted by his son meant!
He looked with profound shock toward that seemingly ordinary figure standing upon the broken wall in the distance—the Anbu Captain!
'This kind of power... this kind of earth-splitting, mountain-shattering brute force...' Fugaku's inner heart was in a state of chaotic upheaval.
To his knowledge, only that legendary individual... Tsunade-hime possessed this! Had the Anbu Captain actually inherited the Senju Princess's mantle?!
Shock was shock, but his decisiveness as the head of a clan allowed him to instantly suppress all stray thoughts.
The opportunity was not to be missed! He took a deep breath, instantly channeling chakra into his throat, and let out a roaring shout that sounded like a sudden clap of thunder, the soundwaves piercing through the rumbling of the earthquake:
"Everyone! Retreat immediately right now!!!"
The Uchiha clansmen, regardless of whether they saw the situation clearly, unconditionally abandoned the enemies before them and began to withdraw under the double pressure of their leader's strict order and this collapsing earth beneath their feet.
Looking conversely at the radical faction's side, they were similarly caught completely unprepared by this sudden "natural disaster."
Watching the Uchiha clansmen rapidly disengage from the battlefield, they had every intention to pursue, but that continuous, violent shaking and the constantly expanding abyssal rift beneath their feet heavily restricted their mobility.
Pursuing blindly, they would likely harm themselves before they could harm the enemy.
Should they perhaps wait until the earthquake ended before continuing?
This was also the thought in their hearts; they had not yet discovered that this tremor was not a natural disaster at all, but pure, man-made power!
The entire core area of the fierce battle actually fell into a sort of "silence" forced down by raw violence because of Takuno's earth-shaking, mountain-moving foot stomp.
The sudden and violent earthquake instantly tore apart the equilibrium of the conflict scene!
Although mixed within the panicked cries, several sharp ninjas had already perceived that this was absolutely not a natural disaster, but was rather caused by some ninjutsu of astonishing power.
However, amidst the chaos, these faint voices were rapidly drowned out, powerless to guide the situation.
At this time, the scene of the conflict was not completely disorderly; the dove faction's side had Fugaku directing and deploying them, so although it was a bumpy process, the withdrawal was considered stable.
But it was different for the radical faction; they originally possessed a commander as well, yet this commander had been instantly knocked down by the fierce and precise movements of the "Yellow Flash," Minato, the very moment he arrived, losing his effectiveness.
Having lost their core command, the radical faction forces instantly turned into a scattered heap of sand.
Even without a decisive combat power like Minato joining, the dove faction obtaining the ultimate victory would have merely been a matter of time.
But this "time" happened to be the greatest variable; the longer the conflict persisted, the greater the probability of accidents occurring.
If casualties unfortunately appeared, this already fierce conflict would highly likely spiral out of control, escalating into an even more tragic, bloody incident.
Therefore, Minato was going all out, striving for a quick battle and a quick resolution to pacify this disturbance as soon as possible.
The strike that shook the earth just now naturally posed no threat to Minato, whose strength was transcendent.
His sharp gaze instantly locked onto the source of the tremor—it was actually Takuno-senpai!
This discovery caused a distinct flash of astonishment to pass through Minato's sapphire-blue eyes.
In his impression, Takuno-senpai had always been famous for his profound sealing jutsu, while his prowess and strength in conventional ninjutsu were not considered prominent.
But this surprise only lasted for a brief moment before a crucial memory surfaced in Minato's mind.
Under the introduction of Master Jiraiya, Takuno-senpai had once visited Senpai Tsunade, who was also one of the "Sannin."
Although he ultimately failed to be admitted under Tsunade's tutelage—it was said because Lady Tsunade had no intention of taking disciples at that time, rather than Takuno-senpai's lack of natural talent—Lady Tsunade seemed to appreciate Senpai quite well.
Not only did she pass down her famous specialty, "Chakra Enhanced Strength," without reserving anything, but she additionally taught him several secret techniques as well as precious medical knowledge.
Thinking up to this point, the astonishment in Minato's eyes was rapidly replaced by a gleam of delight.
It appeared Takuno-senpai had mastered these inheritances exceptionally well; that earth-shaking strike just now was the clear proof!
In his view, the stronger Takuno-senpai was, the better it naturally was, and the greater the assistance to him would be; it was merely a slight pity that Senpai possessed no interest in political affairs...
Minato shook his head; he could not force Senpai to do things he was unwilling to do either. If the opponent followed his master's example and traveled the world, wouldn't he then lose another helping hand?
Thinking no further, he looked at the situation before him and revealed a smile.
That terrifying force just now, even he, Minato, would absolutely not dare to meet head-on; his strength was primarily established upon ninjutsu and high mobility, and head-on physical collisions were not what he excelled at.
Of course, this wasn't because he lacked means of equivalent power, but because he simply could not use them at this moment!
The enemies before his eyes were, in name, still a part of Konoha.
Even if they took the initiative to provoke this conflict, as the Hokage, he could not directly deal fatal blows to his compatriots and engage in indiscriminate slaughter.
What's more, companions from the dove faction camp were also mixed within the chaotic battlefield, which made him hesitate to shoot at the rat for fear of breaking the vase.
Therefore, even though he possessed overwhelming strength, Minato could only abandon those wide-range ninjutsu of immense power, carefully identifying ally from enemy one by one to precisely knock them unconscious and subdue them.
This bound-hand-and-foot style of fighting heavily restricted his performance.
But now, Takuno-senpai's arrival and that battlefield-shocking attack were like casting a massive boulder into a turbid mire!
It not only disrupted the hawkish faction's footing, but more importantly, it successfully and forcefully "dispersed" the enemies' attention.
It allowed the dove faction members, who were entangled and unable to extricate themselves, to successfully withdraw under Fugaku's deployment; those remaining were basically all from the radical faction.
The remaining dove faction members were also mostly just unable to withdraw due to being injured by the earthquake just now.
Faced with such a scenario, Minato could finally break free from that suffocating shackle, no longer needing to fight in such a timid manner.
He finally had the space to let loose and deploy his skills!
His figure instantly became even more agile, the golden flash tracing even more lethal trajectories across the battlefield.
The dust and smoke from that Chakra Enhanced Strength technique had not yet completely dissipated, and the air was frozen with killing intent and shock.
Takuno stood at the edge of the field, his sharp gaze sweeping across the battlefield.
Sure enough, after removing the drag of teammates, the situation that was clamorous and chaotic just moments ago was already being dominated by a golden figure.
A deep arc hooked at the corner of his mouth; this was the so-called strength!
He took a deep breath, his voice resounding and clearly piercing through the remaining sounds of the battlefield to issue directives to all Anbu members.
"All Anbu, heed my command!"
Takuno ordered calmly: "Follow closely behind Lord Hokage and take full responsibility for the aftermath! Bind and detain everyone on the field who has lost their combat capability immediately, without any temporary need to differentiate their identities as ally or enemy! There is no need for you to step into the combat at this moment!"
The objective of this order was incomparable clear: to leave the "Yellow Flash," who had broken free from his shackles, with no further reservations.
Although the remaining Uchiha radicals were numerous, before true peak speed, they were nothing more than wheat waiting to be reaped.
One could see Minato's figure had already transformed into an uncatchable flowing light, traversing through the crowd.
His operational efficiency compared to when he was restricted by "differentiating ally from enemy" earlier had increased by how many times over?
Every single Body Flicker flash and reappearance was accompanied by a dull thud of a body hitting the ground; in the blink of an eye, even more radical ninjas had slumped to the ground like broken-stringed puppets, completely losing their combat capacity.
What went beyond Takuno's expectations was that after the order was issued, what responded to him was not a uniform "Yes!", but a brief silence.
He froze slightly, looking toward those Anbu.
Only then did he discover that it wasn't that the command went unheard, but rather that these elite subordinates of his were still immersed in the ultimate shock brought about by that earth-shattering stomp from just now, their minds unresolved.
'The Captain's strength... is actually terrifying to this extent?!'
'That brute strength from the strike just now... if it hit a human body...'
'Wasn't it always said that the Vice Captain is stronger? This...'
Countless similar thoughts churned within the hearts of the Anbu members.
Takuno was usually low-profile, and his combat reputation was not as prominent as Kakashi's, but the display of pure power sufficient to shake mountains and move the earth just now had completely overturned their cognitive understanding.
That was absolutely not a realm that a human physical body could easily attain! Merely this single scene had already branded the mark of "unfathomable" inside their hearts.
The one to first break free from the shock was, as expected, the experienced Vice Captain, Kakashi.
A hard-to-conceal astonishment similarly flashed across his eyes, and he took a deep look at Takuno.
Without needing many words, Kakashi took the lead to charge toward the battlefield.
His figure moved as if unraveling a freezing spell; all the Anbu members abruptly woke up, and subsequently followed Kakashi's figure to pounce toward the battlefield, beginning to execute the task of binding and detaining.
However, the scene that occurred immediately afterward caused everyone's hearts to be fiercely shocked once again!
Minato's speed had already reached an inconceivable state.
The Anbu members were processing the fallen wounded with the most efficient speed, yet their efficiency could actually not keep up with the speed at which Lord Hokage was "harvesting" the enemies by a wide margin!
Oftentimes, the Anbu had only just bound one or two people, yet within their field of vision, several times that number of enemies had already been cleanly and agilely laid flat by Minato.
This scene, rather than being called a battle, was better described as a suffocating, one-sided steamrolling performance dominated by the "Yellow Flash."
At the edge of the field, Fugaku's pupils violently contracted, his heart almost leaping out of his chest cavity.
No matter how many times one witnessed it, this posture of Minato exerting his full strength caused people to feel a bone-chilling cold and despair from the depths of their souls.
Truly worthy of being the most terrifying war machine!
Upon an open battlefield, an enemy possessing such miraculous speed was indeed the ultimate nightmare for all ninjas!
Fugaku was incredibly certain about his final choice at this moment.
However, the more he witnessed such a shocking performance from Minato, the more his inner heart also felt puzzled—faced with such power... what on earth did those clansmen rely on to dare to stir up a rebellion?
"Could it be... they truly grasp some unknown trump card in their hands that is sufficient to contend against the 'Yellow Flash'?"
Other than this, Fugaku could genuinely think of no other rational explanation.
Similarly deeply shocked was the young Itachi.
Previously, when Minato held back due to considerations of fellow village camaraderie, he had already been able to clearly perceive the Hokage's strength.
At this moment, when all restrictions were unsealed, what Minato displayed was left with only an peerless posture that caused people to look up.
Itachi could not help but think of his close friend, Shisui—that genius who similarly possessed the name of "Body Flicker."
Shisui's strength had once caused him incomparable admiration, but under the comparison at this moment, he clearly realized that even if it were Shisui's extraordinary Body Flicker Technique, it appeared eclipsed before Lord Hokage's pure-to-the-extreme speed.
However, this thought did not bring surprise; instead, it caused a matter-of-fact feeling to rise in his heart.
"After all... he is the Hokage."
In just a short moment, the originally clamorous battlefield had already, under Minato's despair-inducing speed, returned to a complete mess of silence.
When the final trace of chakra fluctuation settled down and the dust settled, Minato's figure instantly appeared at Takuno's side.
The golden tips of his hair lightly fluttered in the breeze; although he had just experienced a tense processing session, that signature gentle smile between his brows had still not diminished by a fraction.
"Senpai, you really helped a great deal this time!"
Minato's voice carried sincere gratitude, his gaze sweeping across the already pacified scene; because of Takuno's arrival, he saved a massive amount of time, and rushing to the school now, he should still be able to make it!
Takuno nodded slightly, his tone calm and modest: "Lord Hokage speaks too heavily. Even without me, processing these with your capability would not be a difficult matter; it would merely have consumed a bit more time."
"No, it's different," a trace of hard-to-detect anxiety dyed Minato's smile, his speaking speed unconsciously accelerating, "Right now, time is the most precious thing..."
If it weren't for still needing to explain the follow-up matters to Fugaku, he would have almost instantly activated the Flying Raijin Technique to vanish from the spot.
Yesterday under the sunlight, he solemnly promised his son Naruto that he would definitely appear at his Shinobi Academy freshman enrollment ceremony!
As a father, he deeply knew the weight of this promise in the child's heart.
Even though his intellect told him that the crisis was cleared and separating a shadow clone to go watch the ceremony was completely feasible, his innermost heart was exceptionally firm.
Such an important moment must have the "true father" personally present on the scene.