Excluding those ninjas with exceptionally large chakra reserves, most ninjas cannot sustain prolonged battles. Hiruzen Sarutobi's chakra was considered immense, but after using the Five-Element Great Bombardment Technique three times in succession, he was almost completely depleted.
In this defensive battle, Hiruzen Sarutobi's large-scale ninjutsu was a crucial safeguard against the enemy. However, the enemy used their Jinchuriki to eliminate this greatest threat. Without Hiruzen Sarutobi, the small number of Konoha and Uzumaki ninjas would be insufficient to withstand the Hidden Mist ninjas' attacks.
However, the fruits of Konoha's Research Department finally came into play. Early on, by analyzing the forbidden jutsu, Earth Grudge Fear, from the Warring States period, found on Kakuzu's corpse, a secret technique was created to improve chakra condensation efficiency, allowing ninjas to quickly recover chakra. This technique had now begun to be put into practical use.
Another development was the chakra storage blocks that Orochimaru had once shown to everyone. Due to material and technological limitations, the chakra stored within them was limited and had to be manually extracted, meaning they couldn't yet be used as automated ninja tools. However, from the perspective of providing chakra to ninjas, they were still very useful.
Traditional methods for ninjas to quickly recover chakra involved using medicine and rest. The former could harm the body and even leave sequelae, while the latter was too time-consuming. With these two new technologies, Konoha ninjas' endurance would far surpass that of other ninja villages.
This was the source of Hiruzen Sarutobi's confidence. He had previously left a large number of chakra storage blocks in the capital. No matter how difficult the previous battles were, he had not used them, saving them for now. This was a tough battle, unlike other fights that could be won by cunning strategies.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his chakra replenish again. He glanced at the large pile of depleted storage blocks and thought that half of his reserves would soon be gone. In terms of chakra storage efficiency, there was still a long way to go for the storage blocks.
After a brief moment of reflection, Hiruzen Sarutobi composed himself and bumped fists with his good partner, Enma, the Monkey King, saying, "Come on, let's show those Hidden Mist ninjas what we're made of."
Enma said nothing, merely smiled, and walked side-by-side with Hiruzen Sarutobi towards the outside.
At this moment, the capital city walls were covered in blood, with the bodies of both enemy and allied forces lying on the ground. But no one had time to clean up. Konoha ninjas, Uzumaki ninjas, and samurai repeatedly pushed back the enemies who charged onto the city walls. If not for the Uzumaki clan's barrier blocking most of the enemy's ninjutsu attacks, they might have already collapsed.
When the barrier maintained protection over the entire city wall, the enemy also gave up using ninjutsu attacks, instead leading their samurai army and Hidden Mist ninjas in a direct assault.
Some Hidden Mist ninjas climbed the front with the samurai army, while others began to infiltrate and sabotage underground near the city walls.
Facing fewer Hidden Mist ninjas, Konoha and Uzumaki ninjas had to fight desperately to block the attacks. To protect the powerful Konoha ninjas, many Uzumaki ninjas acted like suicide squads, willing to die to hold back the Hidden Mist ninjas and give the Konoha ninjas a chance to breathe.
At this point in the battle, no one was allowed to retreat. Gengetsu Hozuki, to avoid future punishment, had to destroy the Land of Whirlpools. And the Land of Whirlpools, to protect itself, would never allow the enemy to breach the capital's gates. This was the last sanctuary of the Land of Whirlpools; once it fell, the entire nation, even its people, would face complete annihilation.
Even with the unwavering resolve of the Land of Whirlpools, without Hiruzen Sarutobi, the gap in strength remained insurmountable. Seeing the city walls gradually failing to hold, Gengetsu Hozuki suddenly felt a sense of relief. Although the Hidden Mist ninjas had paid a considerable price compared to the initial plan, the outcome was entirely worth it.
He just wondered what state Hiruzen Sarutobi was in now. Would he leave with some of his people? From a ninja's perspective, this was entirely possible and no one would blame him. After all, the disparity in strength was evident. Strategically abandoning and preserving important people or resources, and retreating at the right time, were qualities an excellent ninja should possess.
Thinking of this, Gengetsu Hozuki felt his mood sour again, especially after he and Kiri had suffered such a great loss at Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands. He wished that guy would stay and die here honorably like a warrior.
Of course, Gengetsu Hozuki knew this was impossible. Hiruzen Sarutobi was a ninja, not a rigid samurai. To leave when necessary, that was the true attitude of a ninja.
At this moment, Gengetsu Hozuki's gaze involuntarily fixed on a spot on the city wall. There, a samurai was fighting desperately, knocking down the charging Water Country samurai. Even when Hidden Mist ninjas rushed up, none could last three rounds against him; they either died or fell from the city wall.
Gengetsu Hozuki didn't know the samurai's name, but he knew his achievements. It was said that the previous samurai leader had died by this man's hand. Even from the perspective of a ninja village, this samurai's performance could be described as that of a first-rate taijutsu ninja, something Gengetsu Hozuki had to admit.
But unfortunately, a first-rate taijutsu ninja alone was not enough to turn the tide. After all, Gengetsu Hozuki and Kiri had not yet made their move.
The reason they hadn't intervened was that they felt the current situation was already decided. The Water Country samurai army was bearing the brunt of the pressure, and the Hidden Mist ninjas could use this as an opportunity to hone their skills. So they watched from the sidelines, waiting for the moment the city fell, which would mark the demise of the Land of Whirlpools.
Suddenly, Gengetsu Hozuki seemed to see someone. He quickly took a step forward, rubbed his eyes, and looked over in disbelief. That person also noticed Gengetsu Hozuki's gaze and waved at him with a smile.
Gengetsu Hozuki's expression was as if he had seen a ghost. He and Kiri, who was equally astonished, exchanged glances, wondering if they were seeing things. The next scene, however, told them that this was not an illusion but an undeniable fact.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, returning to the battlefield, directly swung his Adamantine Staff, sweeping away the samurai and Hidden Mist ninjas who stubbornly held their ground near the city wall. His appearance immediately boosted the morale of the city's defenders. They couldn't help but cheer, and even the Water Country army below was shocked.
Because of Hiruzen Sarutobi's previous feat of blocking three Tailed Beast Bombs, everyone, whether they were already there or had just arrived in the Land of Whirlpools, recognized this powerful Konoha ninja. Gengetsu Hozuki had told everyone that this person had exhausted his chakra blocking the Tailed Beast Bombs, so no one considered him a threat and charged forward fearlessly.
But now, this Konoha ninja, who was supposedly out of chakra, reappeared. And judging by his complexion, he showed no signs of weakness; instead, he looked vibrant, as if he had endless energy. For a moment, everyone was filled with doubt and even stopped attacking. 33 Novels
Hiruzen Sarutobi simply stood on the city wall, intimidating everyone, including the enemy commander and the Hidden Mist ninja leader. Everyone looked at him with eyes full of different emotions. Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled slightly. He believed that many of them were wondering if he was bluffing, and he would soon make them understand.
Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand signs, and with a series of 'bang' sounds, four more "Hiruzen Sarutobis" appeared beside him. This situation caused the enemy forces below to gasp in surprise. They had all witnessed with their own eyes how Hiruzen Sarutobi had used this very technique to block the Tailed Beast Bombs released by the Jinchuriki.
Some people began to retreat, but nearby commanders immediately stopped them. They couldn't be sure if Hiruzen Sarutobi was bluffing, or if he still possessed the power to unleash that ninjutsu. If they were to be scared away like this, giving the enemy a chance to breathe, it would be a major mistake.
Gengetsu Hozuki naturally couldn't be sure either. In his common sense, no ninja could recover chakra so quickly, unless he hadn't exhausted his chakra in the first place. But if Hiruzen Sarutobi's three attacks hadn't exhausted his chakra, there would have been no need for him to retreat to the rear and let his own people sacrifice themselves.
Therefore, Gengetsu Hozuki believed that Hiruzen Sarutobi had definitely exhausted his chakra at that time. The question was, what was Hiruzen Sarutobi's current state? Was he still out of chakra, merely appearing to intimidate the army with his past achievements? Or was it... The latter possibility, Gengetsu Hozuki dared not even imagine. He took a deep breath and ordered his troops to disperse their formation, with Hidden Mist ninjas ready to use defensive Water Release at any moment. This was his chosen compromise; if he lost the gamble, it would minimize losses to the greatest extent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw the enemy's formation begin to change and quickly understood their intentions, a sneer forming in his heart. He could also understand Gengetsu Hozuki's thoughts. Gengetsu Hozuki had already sacrificed too much and could not retreat. In this state of mind, his chosen tactics would lean towards offensive ones. Being conservative and retreating, thus missing a good opportunity, was something Gengetsu Hozuki could never accept.
Therefore, the Hidden Mist ninjas were destined to face that consequence. Hiruzen Sarutobi could already imagine it. He unhesitatingly began to form hand signs. The five Hiruzen Sarutobis took a deep breath, condensed chakra in their throats, and then unleashed it all at once towards the ground below.
"Compound Ninjutsu: Five-Element Great Bombardment Technique!" Accompanied by five identical shouts, five elemental ninjutsu were released. They collided with each other, not canceling each other out, but rather catalyzing each other, amplifying their power to an unprecedented level, comparable to a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Gengetsu Hozuki's face suddenly changed dramatically, the color draining from his face. He couldn't believe that the opponent had recovered enough chakra to use this ninjutsu again in such a short time. And because of his command, no one had been able to retreat from the battlefield, leaving them to face this attack.
Fortunately, the Hidden Mist ninjas obeyed the previous command, suppressing their inner panic and unleashing the Water Formation Wall. The Water Formation Walls unleashed by each Hidden Mist ninja combined to form a defense on a scale comparable to the city wall. However, when the Five-Element Great Bombardment collided with it, the entire Water Formation Wall instantly crumbled.
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
The five elemental chakras intertwined, triggering five consecutive explosions. Although a significant portion of the force was deflected by the Water Formation Wall, it still caused incalculable losses to the army below. More importantly, it completely shattered their morale.
The entire formation became chaotic due to the bombardment of the Five-Element Great Bombardment Technique. Large numbers of samurai troops fled in panic, and the Hidden Mist ninjas were unable to stop them at this point. They too were forced back by the storm generated by the explosions. When the explosions gradually subsided, all that remained were the giant craters created by the explosions, and a large number of charred, broken corpses.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was now completely unrestrained. In the forest, he had not used the Five-Element Great Bombardment because he had to be careful not to involve his comrades. Previously, it had canceled out the Tailed Beast Bomb, creating a visually stunning effect but causing no harm to anyone. Now, the Hidden Mist ninjas were experiencing the power of the Five-Element Great Bombardment for the first time.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, inheriting the talents of his father, Sarutobi Sasuke, was proficient in all five elemental ninjutsu. Although he couldn't combine them into a Kekkei Genkai, he could use Compound Ninjutsu to combine them multiple times, increasing their power to a level comparable to a Kekkei Genkai. The Five-Element Great Bombardment was the ultimate result.
At this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not the nearly seventy-year-old man of later years, whose body and chakra were severely depleted, capable of at most two elemental combinations of Compound Ninjutsu. Instead, he was in his peak state, able to unleash all five elements at once. In a sense, this Hiruzen Sarutobi was an army unto himself.
Gengetsu Hozuki's order mitigated the damage to some extent, but seeing the terrified troops and the demoralized samurai corps, he knew the army needed to be reorganized, otherwise, it would be impossible to retake the capital. He couldn't help but feel some regret, as his stubbornness had led to such losses.
Gengetsu Hozuki might not have noticed that he had made a similar mistake in a previous battle. At that time, he had resolved to correct it, but now he had made it again, and with the same inner regret. He just wondered if he would make the same mistake of being too eager to win and acting rashly next time.
He walked to the front, exchanging glances with Hiruzen Sarutobi, who stood on the city wall. Gengetsu Hozuki still didn't know how Hiruzen Sarutobi had recovered his chakra so quickly, but one thing he could be sure of was that this person was indeed the greatest enemy. As long as Hiruzen Sarutobi lived, he might cause significant losses to the Hidden Mist Village in the future.
No matter what, this person must be stopped. This thought resurfaced in Gengetsu Hozuki's mind, and it was exceptionally firm.