In Leaf Village: Starting by Slapping White Fang

This was merely the border region of the Land of Wind.

Deeper in, the environment would only get worse.

It was said that over ninety percent of the country was nothing but useless sand.

Genetsu muttered to himself:

"Whenever I see how terrible other countries' environments are, I can truly appreciate the beauty of the Land of Fire."

Orochimaru turned toward him with interest and replied leisurely:

"Hehe, naturally. After all, the Land of Fire possesses the most fertile land in the shinobi world. That was all thanks to the territory the First Hokage won back then."

"Now, Leaf Village only knows the Third Hokage as the [Strongest Hokage]. Who still remembers the First Hokage, who ended the warring era and founded Leaf Village?"

Genetsu said with a laugh.

Orochimaru merely smiled and did not answer.

Whenever he was bored, he had flipped through the current Ninja Academy textbooks on Leaf Village history.

Senju Hashirama's deeds were barely mentioned.

Tobirama Senju, perhaps out of respect for his teacher, at least had several achievements listed.

Most of the textbook was devoted to the accomplishments of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Orochimaru had nearly burst out laughing when he saw it.

But for the Leeks, it was quite an effective form of brainwashing.

At some point, their Teacher Sarutobi had begun to be called the [Strongest Hokage].

Even Senju Hashirama and Tobirama Senju had nearly been forgotten by the world, let alone Madara Uchiha.

"By the way, Genetsu-kun, is your neck injury all right?"

Noticing the bite marks on Genetsu's neck, Orochimaru asked with amusement.

There was no need to guess who had done it.

Genetsu wordlessly pulled his collar up a little higher.

After he had jokingly said, "It still has my shape," last night—

Tsunade had gone crazy and bitten him several times.

She had even drawn blood.

"They're here!!"

Suddenly, Hyuga Hiashi shouted from below the high ridge.

The bulging veins around his eyes showed that he had activated the Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai—

The Byakugan.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!

Almost the instant Hyuga Hiashi finished speaking, the yellow sand beneath the Leaf Village army began to tremble.

And with every passing second, the trembling grew more violent.

In less than ten seconds, an enormous wave of sand over twenty meters high formed into a raging tsunami and swept toward them!

At the sight of it, Genetsu's first thought was:

Gaara's Sand Waterfall Flow!

Of course, based on the intelligence Orochimaru had mentioned yesterday, the one using this technique was most likely Bunpuku, Shukaku's current Jinchuriki.

His abilities were very similar to Gaara's.

"In this war, Bunpuku has killed more Leaf Ninja than anyone else."

As the Sand Tsunami drew closer, Orochimaru, like Genetsu, was one of the few whose face showed no panic.

Indeed, although even a Kage-level fighter like Gaara had become little more than a background character later on—

His Sand Manipulation Technique had an exceptionally wide attack range.

With a single move, he could almost instantly kill every ninja below elite chunin level.

That was also why other countries did not dare invade the Land of Wind lightly.

The place was covered in yellow sand. Shukaku's Jinchuriki could kill a whole crowd of small fry with one move.

Orochimaru and the others, who had fought Sunagakure for years, already knew how to withstand the onslaught of wild sand.

They clasped their index fingers together, preparing to use Earth Release to create defensive walls.

"I'll do it."

However, Genetsu stopped Orochimaru and stepped in front of him, lightly resting his right hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Oh? Genetsu-kun, who never cares about anything, is actually taking the initiative?"

Orochimaru raised a brow and teased him, though he did lower his hands from their seals.

When the many Leaf Village ninja below, who had been preparing to use Earth Release alongside Orochimaru, saw that he had not given the order, they looked up curiously.

They also saw Genetsu with his hand pressed against his sword hilt.

"Since I'm already here, it would be a wasted trip if I did nothing."

Genetsu slowly drew the Iron Blade at his waist.

Compared to his older brother's White Fang, it was no famous blade.

But it was not much worse either. After all, the forging techniques of the Naruto world had reached the level of the One Piece world.

Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword was already at the absolute pinnacle.

As Genetsu spoke, the blade had already been drawn one-third of the way.

The instant his words fell, he violently pulled the rest of the blade free.

Orochimaru beside him, as well as the other Leaf Village ninja below—

For a dazed moment, they had only one thought—

A black blade!?

BOOM—!!!

A dark crimson sword aura, nearly black and almost as tall as the Sand Tsunami itself—

Roared forward with suffocating destructive force, tearing apart the sea of sand ahead.

Riiip—!

The dark crimson sword aura seemed to transform into a roaring Primordial Beast halfway through.

The instant it struck the sea of sand, it bit down and tore apart the prey blocking its path.

After roughly two seconds of deadlock—

A massive gap was ripped through the middle of the Sand Waterfall Flow.

The sand on both sides instantly collapsed as well.

A sword-cut ravine several meters wide remained in the center, stretching hundreds of meters all the way to the sea of sand.

The instant the sea of sand was cut apart—

An Old Man of around fifty, dressed like a monk, changed expression drastically behind it.

He clearly had not expected his Sand Waterfall Flow to be broken from such a great distance.

Although he did not have telescopic Byakugan vision, Genetsu sensed through Observation Haki that enormous Chakra presence unique to a Jinchuriki and thought:

Is that Bunpuku, Gaara's predecessor as the One-Tail Jinchuriki?

In the blink of an eye, Bunpuku clasped his hands together again.

A miniature Shukaku just over three meters tall spread its arms before him.

The strongest Absolute Defense: Shield of Shukaku!

Puff!!

The sword aura that had just pierced through the Sand Waterfall Flow struck the even sturdier Shield of Shukaku this time.

It was beginning to lose momentum.

After sinking roughly halfway into the Shield of Shukaku, it was finally stopped completely.

"Though he isn't a perfect Jinchuriki, he has gained Shukaku's acknowledgment. His control over sand is no less than Gaara's, huh?"

Genetsu said with a faint smile, holding up his sword.

The Armament Haki on the blade gradually faded, restoring the sword to its normal color.

Orochimaru, who had witnessed the entire process, felt his pupils tremble violently at the sight.

What was that?

A secret technique of the Hatake Clan?

Or... a Kekkei Genkai?

He had never heard of it!

Even a Kage-level fighter like Orochimaru was stunned, let alone the nameless extras below.

"W-What was that just now... a s-slash?!"

"H-How does it compare to White Fang? N-No, it wasn't worse than White Fang, was it?"

"If we're talking long-range attack power, I think... it might even surpass White Fang!"

"Isn't he the Eternal Genin?!"

"That blade just now... did it turn black? B-Black Blade, Leaf Village's Black Blade?"

"Leaf Village's Black Blade?"

Shocked, out-of-control voices rose one after another throughout the Leaf Village army.

Even the fathers of the future 12 Little Strong found it difficult to remain calm.

Yamanaka Inoichi swallowed. "From that far away, he not only broke Bunpuku's Sand Waterfall Flow, but forced him to use the Shield of Shukaku?"

"B-Black Blade... White Fang and Black Blade?"

The fat on Akimichi Choza's face trembled in fright as his gaze shifted repeatedly between Hatake Sakumo in front of them and Hatake Gengetsu above.

Nara Shikaku, the leader and brains of the trio, said in a grave tone:

"Both brothers are Kage-level powerhouses. White Fang and Black Blade, huh? So the rumors I heard as a child were true."

The moment Nara Shikaku said this, everyone fell into recollection.

They remembered that it had been before they entered the Ninja Academy.

They had heard of the two geniuses of the Hatake Clan.

Yet over the years, because Genetsu had never appeared in the public eye at all—

At some point, he had been given the title [Eternal Genin].

Who came up with that title? Were they blind?

He was clearly a complete monster!