The Blooming Ultimate Technique

That day, after finishing his instructions to Nara Shikaku.

Sarutobi Hiruzen set off with Fujin and Raijin.

Without bringing any additional subordinates, Sarutobi Hiruzen was aiming for a surprise attack.

Unburdened by others, Sarutobi Hiruzen could travel a thousand miles a day at full speed on his own.

With the Immortal Breathing technique to rapidly recover his stamina, his rest time was greatly compressed, allowing him to reach the border of the Land of Fire from Konoha in just one day and one night.

Furthermore, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no intention of traveling on his own.

Instead, he had Fujin and Raijin open the Eight Inner Gates, taking turns carrying him as they traveled.

Once Fujin and Raijin opened the Eight Inner Gates, their full-speed assault was enough to exceed the speed of sound.

It was only to accommodate Sarutobi Hiruzen's physical limitations that they kept their pace within the speed of sound.

Even so, it was terrifyingly fast; bystanders on the road would only see a green and a blue streak of light flash by, vanishing from sight in an instant.

Despite dragging Sarutobi Hiruzen along as dead weight, Fujin and Raijin still reached the border of the Land of Fire in just half a day.

"Finally here..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared intently at the camp ahead; the flags clearly bore the mark of Konoha.

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not alert anyone, heading straight for the commander's main tent.

Uchiha Fugaku was still inside the camp reviewing classified intelligence, which stated that the Third Hokage had already departed and would arrive within the day.

Just as Uchiha Fugaku was thinking that even with a non-stop, high-speed ninja dash, it would take at least a day and a night, and that a standard squad's forced march would usually take at least two days and a night, wondering how the Third Hokage could possibly arrive today, he looked up and saw the increasingly youthful and dignified face of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Lord Third?!"

Uchiha Fugaku was shocked; he had just been wondering how the Third Hokage could arrive, and in an instant, he was right there.

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, signaling him not to make a scene.

There were bound to be Cloud Ninja spies within the camp, and they were being closely watched by the Cloud Ninja; once word of Sarutobi Hiruzen's arrival leaked, it would be impossible to keep it from them.

Uchiha Fugaku understood Sarutobi Hiruzen's intent, and regardless of how he had managed to arrive so quickly, he simply said in a low voice.

"What are your orders, Lord Third?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, "How many people are currently in the Cloud Ninja camp, and which powerful figures are leading them?"

Although he had heard the report from Nara Shikaku once, Sarutobi Hiruzen still wanted to confirm it.

Uchiha Fugaku replied, "I have already sent elite Jonin from the Hyuga clan to scout it out."

"There is an army of about one thousand stationed there."

"They are led by Toroi, and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki is among them..."

Uchiha Fugaku relayed the intelligence, vaguely guessing what Sarutobi Hiruzen intended to do.

But he felt doubtful; was the Third Hokage planning to go and launch a surprise attack all by himself?

Even with the immense strength of a Kage, it was difficult to deal with a thousand-man force led by a Titled Jonin, not to mention the presence of a Jinchuriki.

He might be able to catch them off guard for a short time and inflict some casualties on the Cloud Ninja.

But once the battle dragged on, he would be bogged down by the sheer number of ninja, and there was even a risk of being surrounded and killed.

Uchiha Fugaku felt a jolt of alarm, considering a possibility.

Surely Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't want him to join in?

He couldn't handle such a dangerous task, even with his Mangekyo Sharingan activated.

Seeing Uchiha Fugaku's somewhat guilty expression, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew what he was thinking and found it rather amusing.

"I won't be taking you with me..."

"Just hold the line in the rear."

"Gather the troops first and pretend to hold a drill..."

"When you see my signal flare, lead the troops out to hunt down the scattered Cloud Ninja forces..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally couldn't bring Uchiha Fugaku along; given the stamina drain of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Fugaku would likely be a true "three-minute man."

If the battle lasted more than a quarter of an hour, he would have to have Sarutobi Hiruzen carry him back to Konoha.

Uchiha Fugaku breathed a secret sigh of relief; although he didn't know where Sarutobi Hiruzen's confidence came from, he was just glad he wouldn't have to perform such an exaggerated mission.

He quickly promised that he would complete the task.

Although the Uchiha clan leader before him was a bit cowardly, Sarutobi Hiruzen still patted Uchiha Fugaku on the shoulder to show encouragement.

After all, his Mangekyo Sharingan was a decent trump card, and it might just prove useful at a critical moment.

Having obtained accurate intelligence, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not hesitate to cross the border of the Land of Fire, approaching the Cloud Ninja encampment with Fujin and Raijin in tow.

Sarutobi Hiruzen hid on high ground, watching the Cloud Ninja's well-equipped encampment from afar, noting that their morale seemed even a cut above that of the Konoha ninja.

"But after today, these Cloud Ninja will no longer exist."

With deep killing intent, Sarutobi Hiruzen gestured lightly, and Fujin and Raijin, who were following behind him, vanished from the spot instantly.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had no intention of staying idle and merely watching Fujin and Raijin perform.

"Come to think of it, since I transmigrated, I haven't used that technique yet."

A smile curled at the corners of Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth as his aura erupted instantly.

His chakra was held in check but not released, forming tangible fluctuations on the surface of his body that made it impossible for anyone to ignore.

Despite the half-day of rapid travel, he had spent most of the time resting on the backs of Fujin and Raijin, and even had time to circulate his Immortal Breathing.

Therefore, Sarutobi Hiruzen's current state was better than ever, perhaps even slightly stronger than in his prime.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen formed hand seals, creating four other shadow clones that dispersed in an instant.

The five Sarutobi Hiruzen stood at the corners of a pentagon, forming an encirclement around the Cloud Ninja encampment.

In a flash, the five Sarutobi Hiruzen performed rapid hand seals, simultaneously emitting terrifying chakra reactions.

Under his masterful nature transformation, red, orange, green, blue, and purple chakra condensed in the air into tangible Five Nature Transformation Ninjutsu!

Sea waves, earth dragons, lightning, and tornadoes!

The tidal wave of chakra transformed into natural phenomena akin to a disaster, converging into one in the sky!

Yet, the five nature transformation ninjutsu of completely different properties did not cancel each other out or explode upon meeting.

Instead, under Sarutobi Hiruzen's masterful control of nature transformation, they formed a strange, singular balance!

"Five Nature..."

The main body of Sarutobi Hiruzen performed hand seals unhurriedly, unleashing the final Fire Release technique that would trigger a qualitative change.

A voice as indifferent as a Deity's echoed across the battlefield.

"Great Elemental Barrage Technique!"

The five nature transformations, which both generated and countered one another, played out in the air as the five-colored energy instantly converged into a single mass.

Immediately following, like a cosmic big bang, it first contracted to the extreme... and then—

Collapsed!

With a thunderous boom!

A destructive, five-colored light wave detonated right in the middle of the Cloud Ninja camp!

"Enemy attack!"

"There are five types of nature chakra at once!"

"It's the Professor of Ninjutsu!"

Naturally, the sensory ninja among the Cloud Ninja were not blind; the moment the Third Hokage began his hand seals, they had already sensed those terrifying chakra fluctuations.

Upon realizing it was the Third Hokage's signature ultimate ninjutsu, they immediately recognized that it was impossible to withstand.

The Cloud Ninja reacted extremely quickly, and their combat coordination was highly proficient.

In an instant, they organized themselves into tactical squads.

"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

It was a pity that there were very few ninja among the Cloud Ninja who could use Earth Release, and they were not skilled in defensive ninjutsu, so they could only barely scrape together a dozen men to set up earth barriers on the ground.

Most of them instead used the Lightning Body Flicker Technique, intending to escape the attack range of the Five Nature Great Barrage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched everything coldly from his high vantage point.

If nothing went wrong, the Cloud Ninja troops, who were poor at defense and densely packed within the camp, would inevitably suffer more than fifty percent casualties even if their Body Flicker Technique was top-tier, provided they took this move head-on.

"Hmm?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression shifted slightly as he noticed the ground below beginning to churn abnormally.

"Magnet Release! Super Magnetization Technique!"

Toroi wore a ferocious expression, embedding his hands deep into the ground as chakra poured in like a tidal wave!

Immediately after, the ground within a hundred meters flashed with lightning, churned by an inexplicable force!

Like a subterranean dragon turning over, the next second, countless earth and stones shot into the sky, forming a pillar that instantly collided with the light wave of the Five Nature Barrage.

But how could a hastily formed Kekkei Genkai technique compare to an ultimate ninjutsu involving five nature transformations?

It would have been a different story if it were the Kekkei Tōta, Particle Style.

The churning earth and stones were instantly engulfed by the light wave and ground into dust.

Furthermore, devastating energy fluctuations continued to ravage the Cloud Ninja camp, with high temperatures and explosions rising everywhere, assaulting the bodies of the Cloud Ninja.

Huge clouds of dust and smoke billowed up, engulfing everything within the camp.

The army of a thousand ninja fell into silence.

When the dust finally settled, the Cloud Ninja camp was a scene of wailing and misery, with flesh and viscera scattered about in a truly tragic display.

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored the gruesome sight of bones exposed in the wilderness and glanced at Toroi, who remained unscathed under the protection of his technique but was completely drained of Chakra.

"Using Magnet Release to magnetize the earth, thereby manipulating a massive amount of soil in a short period."

Sarutobi Hiruzen praised, "It is still a very creative bloodline limit..."

"It is just that the soil itself has almost no magnetic properties; to magnetize it, the consumption of Chakra must be astronomical."

That was why Toroi had fallen into a state of total Chakra exhaustion, even collapsing to the ground unable to rise.

Had Toroi not managed a hasty defense at the very last moment, the casualties among the Cloud Ninja would have been even higher.

As it stood, the casualties of the Cloud Ninja were roughly one-third, mostly consisting of light to heavy injuries, with the number of dead likely no more than a hundred or so.

"An army of a thousand, yet even a full-force strike from a top-tier powerhouse in the Ninja World only killed a hundred."

"And that was while launching a sneak attack."

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head.

Although the Third Hokage possessed sufficient power and could alter the terrain with ease, facing an army equipped with Chakra and rigorous training, they could use numbers to trade for quality, effectively hindering Sarutobi Hiruzen's attacks.

"Moreover, every Titled Jonin is no simple matter. While they cannot compare to the very top tier like myself in terms of raw strength,"

"they are still enough to delay my progress."

So-called Titled Jonin were the elite among elite Jonin, such as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist or the Copy Ninja Kakashi, who possessed clear and unique titles.

Every Titled Jonin could stand alone in the Ninja World; they were precious high-level combat assets within a ninja village. They were not only the gatekeepers of top-tier powerhouses, but if their numbers reached a certain level, they could even kill the Kage of the Five Great Villages.

Even if they encountered a top-tier powerhouse of the Ninja World alone, they could still hold their own for a while.

Thus, Toroi, holding the title of a Magnet Release ninja, possessed the talent to withstand Sarutobi Hiruzen's attack at a critical moment.

Sarutobi Hiruzen understood that such a result was within expectations.

Unless one reached the level of the God of Shinobi, like Hashirama and Madara, and could "pilot a Gundam" on the battlefield, the Kage of the Five Great Villages could only change the situation of small or localized battlefields; they found it difficult to check an army of over a thousand.

Suddenly, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a gaze filled with hatred strike him, followed by a powerful and cold surge of Chakra.

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his head to look.

He saw a young girl with tea-colored hair, her entire body ignited with blue Tailed Beast Chakra, and two massive Chakra tails enveloping an area of several dozen meters, protecting a group of Cloud Ninja.

"Almost forgot."

"This Jinchuriki is here too."

Facing Nii Yugito's hateful gaze, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled; the sensory abilities of a Jinchuriki were indeed strong, as she had discovered his position immediately.

If this Jinchuriki were the perfect Jinchuriki she would become in the future, the Cloud Ninja might have suffered almost no casualties this time.

Unfortunately, there were no "ifs."

"Whoosh!"

Without hesitation, Nii Yugito instantly streaked across the ground, moving at extreme speed toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"All Cloud Ninja!"

"Organize a counterattack!"

Toroi, who had been collapsed on the ground, was helped up by his subordinates, his voice full of vigor and intense hatred.

"Stop the Third Hokage for me!!"

Having launched such a massive attack, Sarutobi Hiruzen's figure was naturally exposed.

Driven by hatred, Toroi quickly organized a defensive counterattack.

Immediately, all the Cloud Ninja who still had the ability to move sprang into action, all wearing expressions of shared hatred as they surrounded Sarutobi Hiruzen!

"This is the troublesome part of a ninja army..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed.

If it were a conventional army, facing a ninjutsu that felt like the descent of a natural disaster, they would have long since lost the morale to resist, regardless of the casualties.

After all, one-third casualties had already reached the threshold of morale for almost any army.

"But ninjas possess willpower far exceeding ordinary people and a higher capacity to accept supernatural power."

"Even if casualties exceed half, they can still maintain their combat effectiveness and morale..."

"Especially the fighting spirit of the Cloud Ninja, which is exceptionally tenacious."

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the rolling tide of Cloud Ninja forces and sighed.

"However, your opponent today is not me..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his hand and pointed, sending an orange signal flare flying from his palm to explode in the sky.

Seeing this, Toroi's expression turned fierce.

"Calling for backup now..."

"Do you think you have time?!"

"Third Hokage!"

Toroi was a battle-hardened veteran; he naturally understood that if a large army were encroaching, they would have been detected by sensory ninja long ago.

Only a top-tier powerhouse like Sarutobi Hiruzen could infiltrate deep enough to evade the eyes and ears of the Cloud Ninja.

Therefore, even though Sarutobi Hiruzen had fired the signal flare, it would take at least a quarter of an hour for the main reinforcements to arrive.

Yet, doubt also stirred within Toroi.

The Third Hokage had dragged his aging body to the front lines to catch the Cloud Ninja off guard, so he was naturally well-prepared.

Although the current results were far from a decisive victory, they had still placed the Cloud Ninja at a disadvantage.

If Sarutobi Hiruzen were to be surrounded and forced to stay here, the so-called advantage would become a joke.

Despite such concerns, Toroi did not have much of a retreat path to speak of.

Carrying the resentment of being ambushed was currently enough to keep the morale of the Cloud Ninja forces from plummeting, but if they were to retreat immediately, that morale would likely collapse entirely, turning a disadvantage into a crushing defeat!

Moreover, the title of Professor of Ninjutsu held by Sarutobi Hiruzen was not just for show; if he saw a thousand-man army routing, he could pursue them and slaughter half of the Cloud Ninja.

By then, the magnitude of Toroi's failure would be immense.