The Wood Release user wasn't Danzo?
No way!
Perched on a gnarled branch, Sarutobi heard that anguished scream from afar. A foreboding feeling rose in his heart.
Frowning, the Third Hokage turned around. A helpless look crossed his face, now marked with numerous age spots.
—The breakneck speed required to rush ahead at all costs was a tremendous strain for an ordinary Chunin. At this moment, only the elite Anbu and some of the Sarutobi Clan's senior members could keep up with him.
The newcomers who had joined the Anbu not long ago, along with the civilian ninja who had rushed over on their own, had mostly been left behind.
In truth, their forces had become badly separated.
It was clear that a lack of successors was the most serious problem facing Konoha's Hokage line:
The Fourth Hokage had died in battle, and the Sannin had left the village. The blow to the system Teacher Tobirama had built from the ground up was simply too severe!
"I'll go ahead."
With that, the Third Hokage wiped every trace of emotion from his face. Such feelings would make him look weak, like a shriveled, aging monkey.
He bit his finger and rapidly formed hand seals. "Summoning Technique!"
Poof...
Amid a cloud of white smoke, a nimble ninja ape leaped out.
Enma instinctively glanced around.
"The Forest of Death."
"A rainstorm."
"Powerful chakra reactions in the distance, and the Anbu squad we've left behind."
"Has Konoha been invaded by a powerful enemy...?"
The thought flashed through his mind. With a few leaps, the Monkey King caught up to the Third Hokage, who had charged forward immediately after summoning him. Enma asked solemnly:
"Sarutobi, who's the enemy this time?"
"Some of the Uchiha Clan's strongest have gone astray. Danzo and the Root elite are likely in grave danger."
"..."
Enma nodded and said nothing more.
In his memory, Danzo was sinister and fond of plotting in secret. He was a rotten man, but never a weak one.
His pure Wind Release was stronger than that of the Kazekage of Sunagakure, especially when combined with his unusual summoning beast.
"Enma, I'm counting on you. Transform into the Adamantine Staff!"
Poof!
No more words were needed.
Another cloud of white smoke billowed up.
The instant Enma used the Transformation Technique, the Third Hokage leaped into the air.
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to descend, the Adamantine Staff pierced through the smoke and reached beneath his feet, carrying him forward at an even more terrifying speed.
"The Third Hokage's getting serious." Kakashi remained laid-back as he maneuvered through the marching formation with Yamato and the others.
He simply raised his crooked Forehead Protector, revealing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan beneath his scar.
Whoosh!
The Adamantine Staff extended many times faster than the speed of sound. Its power went without saying. During the Night of the Nine-Tails, Shisui Uchiha had seen the Hokage use it to force the demon fox off the ground.
In just a few breaths, it carried the Third Hokage to the ravaged battlefield.
A hundred-meter-long pillar crashed down!
Uchiha Xiu steered the Wood Dragon aside to dodge.
Shisui, standing on the ground, used the Body Flicker Technique to evade. The ground where he had stood exploded, leaving a ten-meter-deep crater.
"Rumble!!!"
There was no time to catch his breath. Uchiha Xiu brought his palms together. "Wood Release: Wood Shield!"
A wooden shield shaped like a demon with a blue face and fangs appeared at once, blocking the Adamantine Staff as it swung toward them again.
BOOOM!
Wood splinters burst in every direction beneath the staff's blow. The terrifying impact smashed into the Wood Dragon, shattering one of its enormous claws, powerful enough to crush a building.
"Damn, is that damn monkey really this strong? He's supposed to be old and washed up, then die off unceremoniously in the Konoha Crush!"
"Why's he so vigorous now?"
To be honest, it wasn't just Uchiha Xiu. Even Shisui, Fugaku, and direct descendants like Kakashi had all more or less assumed that the Third Hokage couldn't fight anymore.
The title of "Strongest Hokage" seemed more like a joke.
The older generation of ninja had all witnessed the First's power.
The Second Hokage had invented countless forbidden techniques. His enormous chakra reserves and the scale of his Water Release were fearsome, and the Flying Thunder God Slash was devastating. After his older brother, he had awed the four great nations of Wind, Earth, Water, and Lightning.
"Phew..."
"No matter. As long as he isn't in an Impure World Reincarnation state, this is the Third Hokage who shattered the God Tree's branches."
Accustomed to assuming the worst, Uchiha Xiu—who had yet to receive support from the clan's senior members—felt the pressure of death for the first time in ages.
One careless mistake, and he'd be badly wounded.
Getting killed, though, seemed unlikely.
"Shisui, hold off everyone else. I'm going to kill the Third Hokage on my own and personally send the Hero of the Ninja World on his way."
Thinking of the Gene Lock system, Uchiha Xiu silently used Earth Release: Earth Spear, covering his entire body at all times. That way, his flesh could withstand all impacts, and the Adamantine Staff wouldn't smash him to pieces with a single strike.
Watching his clansman leap down from the half-destroyed Wood Dragon, brimming with fighting spirit, Shisui hesitated before nodding.
"Okay."
He trusted Xiu without reservation.
The one who had said those words would lead the Uchiha, and perhaps even the village, toward a bright future.
"What a passionate sight..."
Watching the scene, Might Guy stood beside Kakashi on a tree just beyond the battlefield, practically itching to join in.
"The Hokage isn't someone you can take down so easily." Kakashi held Guy back with one hand, then looked toward Yamato.
"But..." Tenzō hesitated.
"Trust the Third Hokage. Let's stop the Uchiha reinforcements who are on their way. Try not to kill anyone. I have a feeling that after tonight, there'll be a war. Konoha can't afford to lose."
Whoosh!
With that, Kakashi cut through the downpour and charged toward Uchiha Yashiro, who was clad in armor.
The curtain had risen.
Every elite Anbu found an opponent among the Military Police Force.
The Sarutobi Clan was the sole exception. They were the most aggressive of all, treating the Uchiha as even more hateful than ninja from enemy nations!
"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!"
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
And so, the two clans, both masters of Fire Release, began slaughtering one another in the rain-soaked night, fighting in formations ranging from squads and teams to groups of a hundred.
Crimson light soared into the sky. Vast stretches of wetland were baked dry, while mist enveloped the entire Forest of Death.
Every sea of flames spread for miles at the very least!
Shisui stood on an ancient tree that had yet to be caught in the fighting. As he regained his strength, he used his Sharingan to watch every direction, carrying out Uchiha Xiu's order.
Don't let anyone interfere in this fight!
"Is the Third Hokage... on some kind of drug?"
Fugaku, having shaken off a group of Anbu, found Shisui. Staring at the fiercest part of the battlefield, he muttered to himself:
"The old monkey wasn't this forceful even on the Night of the Nine-Tails."
The massive Adamantine Staff was as light as a feather in the Third Hokage's hands. Every chop, sweep, thrust, and smash stirred up chakra currents like a hurricane!
"Yikes, that hurts."
With Hashirama Cells supporting his body, Uchiha Xiu had cracks appearing across his skin again and again. "Is this the price of acting cool? Cracked bones, broken bones... Good thing my cells heal fast. The second-stage Gene Lock focuses even more on boosting the body."
Trying to take on the Adamantine Enma with nothing but a high-level B-rank Earth Release and his fists and knees was far too much.
"If I had the Kusanagi Sword or the Sword of the Thunder God, I could keep fighting him in Taijutsu for a long time."
Thump!
Amid a dull impact, the short Sarutobi Hiruzen was sent flying by a kick from Leaf Strong Whirlwind.
The Third Hokage used the Ruyi Staff to nullify all the damage. He flew more than ten meters before landing on his feet. His chest swelled to its limit, and then he cried out, "Fire Release: Multiple Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Whoosh!
In an instant, the Third Hokage breathed out six blazing fire dragons, each as hot as the sun.
Uchiha Xiu reacted just as quickly. While the Third Hokage formed his hand seals, Xiu's Water Clone had already used Multiple Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
—With the rain pouring down and water all around them, the technique didn't consume much chakra.
The dragons of water gradually swallowed up the flames filling the sky.
At last, the two techniques canceled each other out.
On the rooftop of the Hyuga Clan's ancestral hall, Hyuga Hiashi, who knew well how to stay neutral, looked up at the terrifying commotion that lit up the sky like daylight and murmured:
"Third Hokage, you're not too old to move after all!"
"Then, Clan Head... should we send some of our people to help? We could make a good impression on Lord Sarutobi and make up for things."
A Main Family elder couldn't help suggesting it.
"Stay home. Nobody moves!" Hiashi shouted, growing agitated.
It was hardly unusual for the eldest and second eldest to be fighting while the third, not knowing any better, rushed into the fray and got killed in the crossfire.
Through the Byakugan, he could see that chakra inside that little monster from the Uchiha Clan was like that of certain creatures in the Ninja World that were weaker than Tailed Beasts, but still incredibly troublesome.
It could absorb energy from all directions and replenish its reserves.
How bizarre!
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