S-Rank Forbidden Technique Detonation Effect Evaluation (Part 1)

Konoha, inside the Hokage Office.

A ninja from the Konoha Intelligence Division was reporting the latest situation on the front lines to the Third Hokage.

"Currently, the war between Konoha and Amegakure has essentially been declared over. Both sides are in a state of silence and ceasefire. Hanzō the Salamander, Amegakure's leader, is already preparing to surrender. I believe they will soon send an envoy to Konoha."

This was good news. After thinking for a moment, the Third Hokage said, "We will acknowledge the ceasefire with Amegakure. Inform the frontline command not to attempt any further incursions into Amegakure. Strict defense will be sufficient. If Hanzō truly sends an envoy seeking peace, let them through."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"As for our war with Sunagakure, Tsunade-sama is currently commanding Konoha's Sunagakure front. Although we remain at a disadvantage in troop numbers at this stage, the situation has shifted from defense to offense. The battlefield has moved from the Land of Fire to the Land of Rivers, and we are gradually closing in on the Land of Wind's border."

"Very good..." Konoha's situation against Sunagakure was also improving. Sunagakure's only enemy was not Konoha; to their north, they were also facing immense pressure from Iwagakure. By this point in the war, Sunagakure's war potential had nearly been exhausted.

According to Konoha's strategy, they would resolve the war west first, then north, then east. Their first objective was Sunagakure, and they had deployed three defensive lines accordingly.

Of the three lines, only the Sunagakure front was attempting an offensive. The other two remained on the defensive.

Of course, because the northern front faced the powerful Kumogakure and Iwagakure, Konoha had concentrated its greatest forces in that direction. To counter the two enemies' fierce offensives, Konoha would occasionally launch counterattacks. As for the eastern front against Kirigakure, it was currently in an absolute defensive position.

At that moment, the Third Hokage was considering whether to redeploy troops and concentrate them toward the Land of Wind, crushing Sunagakure in one decisive push.

However, before the Hokage could speak again...

Boom...

A not particularly loud explosion suddenly rang out, almost like the muffled groan of some giant. In peacetime, such a sound would not have meant much, but this was a tense time of war. Nothing could be taken lightly. That sound could very well mean Konoha had been invaded!

The Third Hokage shot to his feet!

"What happened?"

The four Anbu ninja standing guard outside instantly appeared before the Hokage!

"Hokage-sama!" At that moment, the intelligence ninja who had been in the office from the beginning pointed toward a shelf displaying all kinds of scrolls.

An upright scroll had somehow suddenly caught fire and rapidly turned to ash. Then, two scrolls beside it that had not touched it at all also began to burn.

The Hokage glanced at the numerical code beneath the scrolls, then immediately said to the Anbu ninja:

"Konoha Barrier, Area Number Fifty-Nine!"

Time rewound several minutes earlier!

"Anyway, let's move back a little farther. Then farther still. The effective range of this technique is still unclear, so we have to ensure our safety," Kushina instructed Hagoromo.

"Understood, Teacher Kushina." In truth, Hagoromo understood even without Kushina telling him. He had no intention of observing this experimental ninjutsu from close range. He still treasured this life he had received a second time.

The two kept retreating, then retreated even farther, until they reached the lake behind them. They were now around three hundred meters from the scroll. This was already the limit; if they went any farther, the scroll would leave Kushina's chakra communication range.

"Are you ready? I'm starting!" Kushina looked down at Hagoromo. Her hands were already raised, prepared to form hand seals at any moment.

Hagoromo nodded. Several months of work would be judged by whether it could meet the design requirements.

Jonin-level hand seal speed was a basic requirement. Kushina's hands were extremely fast. Almost the instant Hagoromo nodded, her hands began to move, then immediately stopped.

Hagoromo was quite capable. Without blinking, he stared at the scroll, then saw a spherical black curtain rapidly rise around the enormous scroll as its center. Then, just as rapidly, the black curtain expanded outward!

"This is bad, run!" At the speed that dangerous thing was expanding, it might reach where Hagoromo stood in no time!

However, after he had only taken two steps in retreat, Kushina grabbed him.

"Calm down. It's already over."

In Kushina's eyes, the spherical black curtain rapidly expanded to a range of two hundred meters. After maintaining itself for two or three seconds, the curtain, along with everything within the area it enclosed, was sucked back into the center of the sphere!

Then the black curtain instantly vanished like a soap bubble.

It vanished without leaving any trace... How could that be possible? When the black curtain had appeared, it had formed a black sphere two hundred meters in diameter. Half of that sphere had been above ground and half below it. Leaving aside the portion above ground, a perfectly hemispherical depression had formed underground!

The sound of rumbling water arose as lake water began rapidly pouring into the enormous pit...

"The experiment succeeded." Looking at the scene before him, Hagoromo spoke with complete composure, as if the person who had just turned and tried to run had not been him at all.

"Yes, the Sealing Technique experiment succeeded, but we're in serious trouble now," Kushina said quietly.

Yes, she had gotten herself into trouble again.

Fearing that this immature experiment might produce some disastrous consequences, they had deliberately chosen a location at Konoha's outermost edge, right beside the Konoha Barrier.

But because the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique had worked so well—this was a Sealing Technique capable of annihilating all space within its effective range, an irreversible seal that could not be undone—not only had the sealed objects disappeared, but after the technique ended, even the scroll carrying the technique had vanished.

In other words, a large portion of the Konoha Barrier within the Sealing Technique's range had also been destroyed.

In the empty air, a translucent barrier emerged, like a sheet of glass with a hole punched through it.

Without question, this massive dome-shaped barrier had been partially destroyed by the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.

Well, hopefully only part of it had been destroyed, rather than the whole thing.

Kushina and Hagoromo stood on the water's surface, silent for a long time.

Chemically speaking, ninja were organic matter, and they were insoluble in water and gasoline, which was why they could stand on water.

Then the Third Hokage, accompanied by four Anbu ninja, also arrived on the water's surface.