Fifty-Fifty

While Naruto was injured, Sasuke was also in a bad situation; his Susanoo was captured by a giant Iwa ninja who was far larger and stronger than him.

The Rock Golem Sasuke's Susanoo high into the air and slammed it into the ground.

Click click click~

The third form of Susanoo emitted a tremendous cracking sound.

In an instant, Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke, the Konoha's Three Blacks, were simultaneously put in a precarious situation by Neji, Haku, and Shion, the Iwa's Three Whites.

Just then, Naruto roared, and his black and red Chakra surged, causing a fifth tail to grow after he had already restored his four.

Two seconds later, a sixth one grew!

Neji's gaze sharpened; he sensed a hint of danger emanating from Naruto in this state.

He abandoned his dismissive attitude, focused intently, and prepared to unleash his full power.

Just then, within the Susanoo that had been crushed to the ground by the Rock Golem, Sasuke also saw Naruto's predicament.

Whether out of concern for Naruto or for himself, he roared again, and a surge of ocular power inexplicably flooded his eyes.

Then his Susanoo the verge of shattering, transformed again, donning a layer of armor.

At this critical moment, Sasuke immediately upgraded Susanoo to its fourth form.

Sokai was watching from a distance, narrowed his eyes, somewhat shocked. He naturally recognized this scene.

But it was precisely because he recognized him that he was surprised that Sasuke could use the fourth form of Susanoo with just his ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan.

It's important to know that before advancing to the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Sokai could only use the second form of Susanoo under normal circumstances.

Because Izumi Uchiha absorbed the eye power of many people, she was more powerful and could use her third form in battle.

But Sasuke's Dōjutsu doesn't have the ability to absorb eye power, nor does it have the ability to amplify Susanoo like in the original work. How could he do it even better than Izumi Uchiha?!

"What a genius!" Sokai murmured to himself, "It's a pity that Sister Izumi left with Kurotsuchi and the others, otherwise she would have been even more surprised than me to see this scene."

Susanoo, having reached its fourth stage, used its weapon to flip the Rock Golem over in one swift motion.

Then the Rock Golem and Susanoo stood up at the same time.

"Hahahaha! Neji Hyuga, get ready to tremble at my feet!"

"I'll show you the true power of the Uchiha Clan!"

Neji was somewhat surprised; these two actually erupted at this crucial moment?

However, Neji sneered, "What's the use of a burst of power? In the face of absolute strength, none of that matters."

Neji took a deep breath, and his Chakra surged out of his body, forming a Chakra Cloak similar to Naruto's Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.

Then he charged forward and arrived at Naruto's side.

Neji's speed had far surpassed his previous speed; before Naruto could even react, Neji was already beside him.

Naruto, in his Seven-Tails form, was opening his mouth to prepare to condense Tailed Beast Bomb when Neji suddenly closed in and slapped him on the head.

Naruto stumbled, and the Tailed Beast Bomb dissipated. Fortunately, his defense was greatly enhanced in the Seven-Tails state, and this time Naruto didn't cough up blood.

However, he didn't vomit blood only on the first strike.

Neji's attack wasn't a special move; it was just a simple basic attack.

Taking advantage of Naruto's unsteadiness, he kicked Naruto again, sending Naruto flying into the air. Neji then leaped above Naruto.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Neji delivered three consecutive kicks, unleashing a barrage of attacks on Naruto's stomach.

Bang!!!

Naruto was slammed straight down into the ground by Neji, creating a huge hemispherical crater.

This time, Naruto's Tailed Beast Cloak failed to protect him, and he coughed up blood again.

Neji swooped down to the bottom of the pit and delivered a full-force blow to Naruto's abdomen, who was still standing up.

Boom!

Naruto was slammed deeper into the ground by Neji's impact, and from Naruto's location, numerous cracks rapidly spread to other parts of the crater.

Looking down from above, you can see that Naruto at the bottom of the pit has lost consciousness, and the Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak around his body has also disappeared.

Naruto's entire body was covered in wounds caused by the corrosion of the Tailed Beast Chakra. He looked charred black, like a corpse burned in a fire.

Neji was about to finish off Naruto, a loud bang suddenly erupted in the distance.

The fourth form of Susanoo defeated Neji's Rock Golem.

Neji raised an eyebrow, then Hand Seals and summoned a giant sword that was much longer than Susanoo and the Rock Golem.

Neji gripped the greatsword with hands that seemed completely mismatched with its shape and slashed horizontally.

Sasuke didn't even have time to control his Susanoo to dodge before the attack arrived.

Sizzle~~~

The giant sword slashed through Susanoo, cutting the fourth form of Susanoo in two.

Peng~

The Susanoo, severed in two, dissipated, and Sasuke, already greatly weakened, fell into a coma due to the backlash from his Dōjutsu.

Just then, a voice reached Neji's ears. "Neji, watch out for Hinata Hyuga, she's gone invisible!"

It was Haku who spoke up to remind Neji.

Just as Neji unleashed his Kamui and defeated Naruto and Sasuke one after another, Hinata, who was also in danger, used another Dōjutsu: invisibility!

Hinata vanished from Haku and Shion's sight.

Initially, Hinata in stealth mode, was attacking Haku's encirclement. Although Haku couldn't see her, he could roughly judge Hinata's location based on the feedback from his Ice Release.

However, Shion was unable to pinpoint Hinata's location.

Without the restrictions of the Shion Miko Seal, Hinata easily created many openings in Haku's attacks.

A short while later, after Hinata slipped away through some unknown gap, Haku could no longer locate Hinata.

Worried that Hinata might interfere with Neji, Haku quickly spoke up to remind Neji.

Upon hearing this, Neji immediately used his Tenseigan to survey his surroundings, but as expected, he found nothing; Hinata seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Neji then directly activated the Giant Tenseigan.

With the help of the giant reincarnation, Neji finally saw Hinata's figure: Hinata was rushing towards him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Neji raised his hand and struck Hinata with a palm strike.

Hinata frowned, quickly dodging Neji's attack while thinking to herself, "I've been discovered? How is that possible?"

Neji had just witnessed Neji Hinata her current state.

They originally planned to use their invisibility to rescue Naruto and Sasuke, but now it seems impossible.

What to do? Now, forget about saving anyone, Hinata herself is probably going to die here too.

Just then, a white-haired figure suddenly appeared beside Naruto.

The newcomer was none other than the Seventh Hokage, Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi was working in the Hokage's Office in Konoha when he suddenly felt a series of heart palpitations.

For some reason, Kakashi immediately thought that something might have happened to Naruto or Sasuke at the front lines.

So he quickly Flying Thunder God to get directly to Naruto's side.

Neji noticed Kakashi's arrival immediately, and his second attack, originally aimed at Hinata, was redirected to strike Kakashi, who was right in front of him.

Kakashi was startled. What was going on? Why was he attacked every time he appeared?

Unable to take Naruto with him in time, Kakashi quickly dodged the attack.

As he dodged, Kakashi swiftly reached out his left hand towards Neji.

As he reached out, his special left arm transformed into a long wooden spike, piercing straight into Neji's chest.

Unexpectedly, Kakashi's counterattack was so swift that Neji could only turn sideways and strike the side of the wooden spike with his palm, breaking it in two.

The wooden splinter was broken, but Kakashi was not injured; the remaining half of the splinter transformed back into his arm.

Meanwhile, Kakashi's right hand had somehow condensed into Chidori, which he thrust straight into Neji's waist.

Without a second thought, Neji raised his hand and Wheel Rotation Like Intent.

The next moment, Neji was dumbfounded. Although Kakashi had been sent flying, Naruto, who was lying at their feet, had also been sent flying as well.

It turns out that when Kakashi attacked Neji with wooden spikes, he also secretly used a small wooden stick to wrap around Naruto from behind.

Kakashi used a wooden stick to pull Naruto along, and with the help of Neji's Wheel Rotation Like Intent, successfully increased the distance between Neji.

Hinata was not far away, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. Instead of rushing towards Neji, she quickly retreated towards Konoha.

Kakashi has the Flying Thunder God Technique, so you don't need to worry about his safety.

Kakashi had just saved Naruto when, swish, a figure flashed into view—it was Sokai, who had activated the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Sokai Jie appeared, he connected with the Giant Sharingan and immediately unleashed the Perfect Susanoo.

Susanoo, wielding the Totsuka Blade, smashed directly at Kakashi.

Seeing Neji ignored Hinata's retreat and turned to attack Kakashi.

Seeing what Sokai and Neji were doing, he didn't hesitate and immediately said to Shion, "Shion, let's go help Neji deal with the Hokage."

"Okay." Shion responded and immediately used the Miko Seal to attack Kakashi.

Kakashi's brow twitched violently. What was going on? Had he been ambushed? Was this a trap?

Kakashi used Kamui to deflect Sokai's full-force attack. Time was of the essence, and he couldn't directly sever Sokai's Susanoo; he could only barely deflect Sokai's attack.

Boom! Sokai's sword struck a spot a dozen meters to Kakashi's left.

Kakashi tossed Naruto onto his back, then clapped his hands together, unleashing a wide-range Wood Release.

Wood Release not only temporarily blocked Neji's attack but also concealed his figure.

Kakashi used the Wood Release technique to get close to Sasuke.

But then, a huge Ice Wall suddenly descended from the sky, blocking his path.

Without saying a word, Kakashi raised his hand and unleashed a Wood Release dash.

Just as he was about to pierce the Ice Wall, a leg emerged from within Ice Wall and kicked the wooden spike away with a snap.

The wooden spikes grazed the Ice Wall, carrying away a shard of ice, but failed to completely Wind Release: Breakthrough the barrier.

When Kakashi tried to deal with Haku who suddenly emerged from the Ice Wall, Haku had already retreated and disappeared again.

Moreover, the Ice Wall that had been torn by the wooden spikes was rapidly recovering. By the time Kakashi used his Sharingan to search for Haku, Haku had already completely repaired the Ice Wall.

At that moment, Sokai's Totsuka Blade suddenly swept across the white Ice Wall.

After one strike, all the trees on one side of the Ice Wall were cleared away, leaving only wooden stakes, the upper parts of which were swept far away by the Totsuka Blade.

Kakashi reacted quickly; before the Totsuka Blade could strike, he and Naruto leaped away, dodging the attack.

Just as Kakashi and Naruto were in the air, a suction force came, but it wasn't aimed at Kakashi; instead, it was aimed at Naruto in his hands.

Because Kakashi was holding onto Naruto tightly, he was also pulled towards Neji along with Naruto.

However, Kakashi reacted quickly. While his body was still unstable in the air, he swiftly extended several wooden strips from his left hand, which quickly pierced the ground, stabilizing him and Naruto's bodies.

Just then, a purplish-red light rapidly approached the two of them; it was Shion's Miko Seal.

Shion doesn't have Dōjutsu, so she couldn't see Kakashi had just been hidden by the sea of trees. She also doesn't have Haku's ability to assess the battlefield situation and seize opportunities, so she couldn't find a chance to attack.

It wasn't until Sokai cleared away the trees in the field that Kakashi and his companion were exposed, giving her an opportunity to strike.

Kakashi didn't know what the purplish-red thing was, but he was sure it wasn't anything good.

Seeing that there was no time to Hand Seals, he kicked Naruto, sending Naruto flying, and used the recoil to dodge to the other side.

The crimson light missed its target, Kakashi was about to pull the wooden strip connecting Naruto to him to bring Naruto back to his side.

But then, a long ice blade slashed between the two, severing the wooden strip connecting them.

Kakashi was forced to separate from Naruto once again.

At that moment, Neji struck Kakashi with another Empty Palm strike, giving Kakashi no chance to get close to Naruto again.

But just then, a wooden stick suddenly shot out from the ground and quickly wrapped around Naruto.

It turns out that when Kakashi dodged the Miko Seal, he didn't sever his connection with the Wood Release planted in the ground.

He used these pieces of wood to capture Naruto again.

Kakashi, meanwhile, used his Wood Release technique to throw himself in Naruto's direction.

The two soon reunited.

Just then, Haku, standing inside the Ice Wall, suddenly cried out, "Oh no! He created a Wood Golem and captured Sasuke Uchiha!"

That's right. While Kakashi's main body was entangled with Neji three, his Wood Clone, which he had secretly created using the forest of trees as cover, bypassed the Ice Wall from underground.

Then he took the opportunity to get to Sasuke's side.

Sokai Jie slashed at Kakashi again, but the next moment, Kakashi and Naruto simply vanished.

Neji's Tenseigan flashed, piercing through the Ice Wall, and he saw Kakashi appear beside the Wood Golem Sasuke.

"Flying Thunder God, and it's even without the original seal!" Sasuke exclaimed in surprise!

In the past two years, Kakashi's biggest change has been that he has changed the Flying Thunder God from requiring Hand Seals to requiring no hand seals.

Kakashi was still shaken; he had the Flying Thunder God Mark on Naruto, but not on Sasuke.

Because Sasuke had learned his lesson before, Kakashi was unable to place the Flying Thunder God Mark on Sasuke when he was on guard.

Because of Sasuke's recklessness, an accident almost happened today.

He didn't linger with the four any longer, lest things get complicated. He placed his hands on Naruto and Sasuke and then Flying Thunder God Technique to disappear!

Kakashi truly lived up to his reputation Fifty-Fifty, managing to save Naruto and Sasuke from an attack by two opponents who were roughly at the Super Kage-level and two Kage Level opponents, before using the Flying Thunder God to escape back to Konoha.

Kakashi ran away with Naruto Sasuke, Hinata also left first. The once incredibly intense battlefield quickly quieted down.

After waiting for a while, Chiga swallowed hard and emerged from the shadows.

She was completely terrified. She had previously thought that these junior brothers and sisters were either Kage Level or Elite Jonin, and that she, with her limited strength, couldn't possibly get involved.

She wisely hid behind Sokai.

Little did she know, she had underestimated these people; Sasuke and Naruto already possessed Kage Level strength before their power surged.

Chiga doesn't know how strong he will be after the outburst.

Even so, Neji easily defeated the two of them, even when fighting alone.

So just how strong is Neji, this junior disciple?

Could he be even better than Teacher Yichen?

The smoke of battle quickly dissipated, and Neji and Sokai exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat regretful.

Neji felt this was the perfect opportunity to wipe out Konoha. If they could capture Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke, then Konoha would be finished.

It's a pity I missed such a great opportunity.

Sokai knew of the Sage of Sage of Six Paths' existence, and that Sasuke couldn't possibly kill him.

However, he also felt that this was a good opportunity to deal with Kakashi.

It's a pity that Atsumi Akino isn't here, otherwise Kakashi definitely wouldn't have been able to escape today!

A moment later, Izumi Uchiha returned with Kurotsuchi and the others.

Upon seeing Sokai, Izumi Uchiha immediately asked, "Sokai, what happened?"

Izumi Uchiha sensed the Giant Sharingan had been communicating with him Sokai.

Thinking there was danger here, she immediately stopped Kurotsuchi and the others who were still planning to chase after the Konoha 11 and turned back.

No sooner had she asked than Izumi Uchiha noticed traces of Wood Release in the area.

So she added, "The Hokage came by?"

Sokai briefly explained the situation, Izumi Uchiha became somewhat nervous upon hearing that Kakashi, the Hokage, had indeed appeared.

They breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that everyone was alright.

After resting for a while, Izumi Uchiha asked Neji, "Neji, are you still going to the Konoha Command Center?"

Neji and said, "Go. Although the goal of killing Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, and the others couldn't be achieved because of the Hokage's appearance, the village's strategy still needs to be carried out."

"Destroy Konoha's temporary Command Center and spread the war to the southern half of the Land of Fire."

"In the past two years, Konoha has seen a large number of Genin who graduated at the age of eight or nine. These Genin are all carrying out missions in the southern half of the Land of Fire."

"After destroying the Konoha Command Center, Shinichi, Minamoto Shizuka, and Rion will order all teams involved in harassing and attacking Konoha ninja to enter the southern half of the Land of Fire."

"As long as we kill off a large number of those Genin in the southern half of the Land of Fire, Konoha will have no chance to rise again."

After everyone nodded and reached a consensus, they continued towards the Konoha temporary Command Center post.

However, Neji and his group arrived too late; Shikamaru Nara, who had returned earlier, had already evacuated everyone from the area.

Neji didn't mind, collected the remaining supplies and took them with him, then relayed the message to the Iwa Ninja Command Center.

The border Lands of Fire and Earth.

There is a temporary Command Center here that can accommodate several hundred Iwa ninja.

The temporary command was originally held by Sokai and Izumi Uchiha.

With the departure of these two individuals, the temporary Command Center was placed under full martial law.

In the Command Center, Aono Shinichi and his two companions were playing chess while waiting for news from the front lines.

All the preparations had been completed long ago; now all that was left was to wait for Neji's victory.

Aono Shinichi said, "I wonder how much success Neji and the others will achieve this time. The Konoha's Three Blacks are almost all at the Kage Level; they're not easy to deal with."

Minamoto Shizuka said, "It mainly depends on Neji's strength. This time Neji's strength has improved again, and no one can say for sure how strong he has become."

Rion said, "If we're only dealing with the people in Konoha who are on the surface, Neji and his two companions, plus Sokai Sister Izumi, could take down Konoha."

"The real concern is that person will make a move, since Neji's target this time is Sasuke and Naruto."

The three of them knew of the Sage of Six Paths' existence, after all, he was the actual commander arranged by Yichen to deal with Konoha. If they didn't even know this, it would be easy for something to go wrong.

Aono Shinichi whispered, "Don't mention him. Let's just focus on our own things."

"Since Teacher Yichen didn't stop it, I suppose he won't intervene."

Neji did know about Yichen's actions beforehand, but Yichen did not object in the slightest.

The Sage of Six Paths could bring the dead back to life, so it was impossible for Neji to have actually killed Sasuke and Naruto.

On the contrary, being beaten up by Neji, who is the same age as them, will only continuously stimulate Sasuke and Naruto's potential.

The two will only grow faster, which is a good thing for the Sage of Six Paths!

As for how many ordinary Konoha ninja would die for Naruto and Sasuke's growth, the Sage of Six Paths didn't care at all.

If Yichen were to go and kill Sasuke and Naruto himself, the Sage of Six Paths might actually kill him with a single slap.

However, it's a different story if Neji is unaware of the situation.

Neji, after all, possessed the bloodline of the Otsutsuki, and he could be considered to have inherited the mantle of the Sage of Sage of Six Paths brother.

The Sage of Six Paths was definitely more tolerant of Neji than of Yichen.

As for worrying about Neji's safety, there's absolutely no need. Neji's current strength is not necessarily inferior to Yichen's.

Yichen felt that he should be able to suppress Sokai and Izumi Uchiha in a one-on-one situation.

However, Yichen was not confident that he could completely suppress Neji.

Neji now only one step away from awakening the Tenseigan, just one more fetal movement away. His strength is already very close to the limits of ordinary people.

Although Yichen is only one step away from Five Elements Fusion, that step is still a long way off.

Yichen could only effectively deal with Neji by relying on unconventional methods such as Sealing Jutsu.

A moment later, the three people who were playing chess received information from Neji.

Aono Shinichi frowned and said, "Not a single one died? This result is neither good nor bad."

"In this situation, if a large number of them flood into the southern part of the Land of Fire, and Sasuke make their move, our losses will be enormous."

Minamoto Shizuka said, "You can't think like that. Didn't Neji say that Sasuke and Naruto were seriously injured among the three?"

"The two of them won't be able to get out anytime soon, so even if it's just to find a time gap, it'll be good!"

Rion added, "I agree with that statement. Moreover, Sasuke and Naruto were defeated by Neji alone this time, which damaged Konoha's morale. It's the perfect time to send troops."

"Besides, with Neji here, the Hokage won't easily send anyone out."

"No one can guarantee that he will be able to appear in time to save the two next time."

The three quickly reached an agreement.