Battle, Battle, Battle

"Father, are you alright?"

Kitsuchi's eyes were filled with worry as he looked down at Ōnoki, who was sitting on the ground with his legs spread apart.

"He won't die, he just used up too much Chakra."

Ōnoki sat on the ground, leaning against a protruding rock behind him, relaxing his stiff muscles. Two medical-nin, one on each side, helped him examine his body and used Mystical Palm Technique to alleviate the aftereffects of the overloaded battle.

Being in one's fifties is considered old age for a ninja.

As time goes by, the body's vitality declines and its self-healing ability decreases, making such high-intensity combat a considerable burden on the old man.

The profession of ninja involves fighting at the expense of one's physical strength. In their youth, they recklessly squander their youth, and once they pass the golden age of their lives, they inevitably slide into decline and death.

"Stop standing there like an idiot! Quickly take some men and kill that brat from Konoha!" Ōnoki's gaze was like a knife, piercing straight at Kitsuchi was guarding the side, and he urged him repeatedly.

The old man was completely oblivious to his own situation; only one thought was on his mind: to kill Katsuki.

Having lost half his body to Dust Release, yet still alive... that... absolutely transcends the realm of what humans should be able to do. This reminded him of the First Hokage, that monster who was also nearly immortal.

I had a premonition that if I didn't deal with that monster now, I might never have another chance.

"Senior Roshi and Han are gone..."

"Not enough, that's not enough. Relying on them alone isn't enough. We need to Jonin..." Ōnoki's words were cut short by a deafening roar from afar.

In the distance, a great battle had already broken out.

With a dignified and imposing appearance, and glaring eyes like a Vajra, the wooden figure stands on the earth like a majestic and towering hill.

The wooden figure cleaved down with a single palm strike, forcefully pressing down the jet-black Tailed Beast Bomb and sending it crashing into the ground. A massive explosion occurred underground, and visible ripples spread across the land. The violent shockwave tore off three feet of the ground, but the wooden figure remained perfectly still, completely unaffected by the shockwave.

The two Jinchuriki of Iwagakure were not so lucky. Their power was ultimately limited in their Partial Tailed Beast Transformation form, and they did not have the physical advantages of their full form.

Faced with the shockwave generated by their own Tailed Beast Bomb, both of them were thrown over and rolled a long way on the ground before they managed to grab the ground and regain their footing.

That amount of power wasn't enough to hurt them. The Tailed Beast Cloak's defensive capabilities were quite reliable; it just left them looking disheveled and undignified.

"With me here, you won't take another step forward."

A majestic voice echoed from the top of the wrathful wooden figure.

The Nawaki Senju's feet were firmly rooted to the top of the wooden figure, Yugito Nii moved, it did not budge an inch.

He gazed at the two blood-red figures below, feeling their violent and ferocious Chakra Stone Ninja in the distance. A surge of heat suddenly welled up in his heart, his heart pounded, and his breathing became heavy.

He got excited!

The bloodline of the Senju of the Forest burned wildly in his veins, unleashing an incomparably scorching and powerful force that permeated his internal organs, limbs, and bones. His entire being was like a blazing torch, uncontrollably wanting to release light and heat.

The Wood Human Technique.

Nawaki, living up to the pure bloodline inherited from the First Hokage, is the first and currently the only one among all his clansmen to master this extremely profound Wood Style Jutsu.

"Ahhh! Is this Berserk mode?"

Rokuro Kaguya looked up at Nawaki's silhouette, which was blurred in the sunlight and could not be seen clearly.

"The Senju of the Forest... what a terrifying family."

Yuki Yoizuki pressed one hand to her chest, while the other hand tightly gripped Rokuro Kaguya's arm. Rokuro Kaguya's upper body was bare, with pure white bones protruding from his back and nailed to the wooden doll's neck.

The two were secured to the wooden figure's shoulders in a bizarre way to prevent them from falling off due to the figure's violent movements.

"Roar--!"

"Roar--!"

One after the other, two inhuman roars echoed across the plains.

The two Jinchuriki almost simultaneously released the Tailed Beasts sealed within their bodies.

Four-Tails, a giant gorilla with red fur, its four thick tails waving and thrashing, creating a trembling, explosive sound in the air.

Five-Tails, a strange, pure white creature, resembling both a horse and a dolphin, with four thick, strong horns on its head and five fluffy, pure white tails swaying back and forth.

"Bang!!"

Nawaki didn't just wait for the two to transform. The wooden man's right hand reached out towards the Five-Tails, whose body had just been completed. The huge hand grabbed the Five-Tails' sharp horn, and immediately turned around and ran south, dragging the Five-Tails like a dead dog, giving it no chance to resist.

In the blink of an eye, it dragged its Five-Tails and ran a long distance.

The Five-Tails creature's body carved a deep furrow in the ground, and no matter how much it struggled and twisted, it couldn't break free from the wooden figure's restraints for the time being.

The red gorilla roared furiously, emitting strange howls, and chased after the wooden figure relentlessly, using both hands and feet to run like a monkey.

"Wow, Nawaki is really something else."

Rokuro Kaguya's eyes widened, but his whispered words were carried away by the strong wind.

Yuki Yoizuki clung tightly to Rokuro Kaguya's arm, doing everything in her power to prevent herself from being shaken off.

The wooden figure ran wildly, causing extremely violent vibrations. Nawaki, as the driver, was unharmed and even enjoyed it, but the passengers riding on it suffered.

Rokuro Kaguya suppressed his discomfort, maintaining a calm expression, while Yuki Yoizuki lacked such composure, his face turning deathly pale. He was filled with regret, wishing he hadn't stayed to try and help.

Judging from Nawaki's fierce stance, he might not even need their help.

"Liulang, Xiaoyue, you must leave quickly."

Just as Yuki Yoizuki was lost in thought, a Wood Clone suddenly appeared beside them.

"Leave now?" Rokuro Kaguya smiled wryly. "That's true, we can't get involved here at all."

"But... which way do we go now?"

Rokuro Kaguya looked troubled. On this battlefield where colossal monsters clashed, it would be difficult for tiny ants like them to escape. Even the aftershocks of a battle they stirred up could give them a run for their money.

"I will lead the Five-Tails north to confront the Four-Tails head-on. You all head south."

Nawaki's Wood Clone at lightning speed.

Rokuro Kaguya and Yuki Yoizuki exchanged a glance, then without further hesitation, the white bones on their backs instantly retracted. Without any support, the two of them were like kites with broken strings, flying towards the southern land in the fierce wind.

As instructed, the wooden man abruptly changed direction, grabbed the Five-Tails beast's arm, and with a sudden burst of strength, threw the enormous Five-Tails directly out, colliding head-on with the pursuing red-haired ape. The two giant beasts rolled into a heap, causing the surrounding ground to collapse dozens of meters deep. (To be continued)