On January 7th of the new year, the Five Great Shinobi Villages reached a preliminary peace agreement. On this day, many envoys from Small Nations were still celebrating in their inns when a battle suddenly broke out on the outskirts of Three Wolves Mountain.
Before Iwagakure's Kitsuchi could react, seeing Ōnoki struck in the head, he instinctively cried out, "Father!"
Behind him, Roshi stared expressionlessly at Ōnoki, who had turned to stone. He then looked up in the direction of the other two, only to find that the Hokage was gone. Shu Furukawa shoved his short sword to his side. "Did you use your sword to cut through the ninjutsu?"
Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God to pull Sarutobi Hiruzen back to a distance, drew a specially made Kunai to block in front of him, and calmly questioned Ōnoki, who had emerged from the ground, " Lord Tsuchikage, do you intend to violate the peace treaty that was just signed?"
"No, as the Tsuchikage, I will not allow the village's ninja to die meaninglessly. Now that I have the opportunity to kill such a great threat as you, it is my responsibility!"
Ōnoki's gaze towards Minato Namikaze was filled with hatred. He quickly flew into the sky and shouted, " Roshi! You should understand the threat he poses to us. Kill the Yellow Flash, cooperate with the Mizukage to capture the Hokage, and then we'll negotiate with them to divide the Land of Wind's commission!"
"This is how ninjas negotiate! Han has already begun operations on the front lines!"
Upon hearing that Han Five-Tails Jinchuriki, had initiated an attack on Konoha, Roshi's expression turned pained, and he subconsciously muttered, "So you two were in contact all along. I thought you really wanted peace..."
Seeing the black lines continuously emerging from the heart of the Mizukage without offering any resistance, Shu Furukawa gripped his short sword tightly with both hands, azure blades appearing, and assumed a thrusting stance before vanishing in an instant.
"Let the small fry leave now!"
"Well..."
The user of the twin swords, Hiramekarei, with its pointed hair, had just drawn his swords when Shu Furukawa's short sword pierced his chest. He let out a muffled groan and slowly collapsed to the ground with an expression of disbelief.
"What! You bastard!"
Jūzō Biwa shouted and cursed, retreating to the Mizukage's side with a look of terror on his face. His eyes darted around, and when he couldn't find the Flying Thunder God's Kunai, he gripped the Kubikiribōchō in his hand even tighter.
While the old men were Talk no Jutsu, Shu Furukawa's Iron Sand spread underground, and the Flying Thunder God technique was already set up.
" Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Beneath the Mizukage's hat, the Third Mizukage, his face half-blackened, realized the battle environment was problematic. Suddenly, a swirling, violent torrent of water rushed towards Shu Furukawa and the ground.
Large swathes of pine trees were swept up by the waves, and a massive ninjutsu technique successfully altered the terrain, causing the ground to cave in and revealing a vast body of water in front of the two.
"Lord Mizukage!"
Jūzō Biwa cried out in alarm again, but the latter ignored the shout and continued to unleash his ninjutsu wildly as the massive fireball hurtled towards him, " Water Release: Water Formation Pillar!"
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!
The massive flow of water first blocked the fireball, stirring up bursts of mist, and then a ferocious water dragon swiftly pounced. The sheer scale of the ninjutsu was something no elderly ninja could possibly accomplish.
Faced with the continuous Water Release attacks, Shu Furukawa formed a hand Hand Seals, and the water around him spun rapidly, transforming into spinning spikes that lunged at the water dragon.
"Boom!"
The clash of ninjutsu produced a deafening roar, Jūzō Biwa's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected Water Release: Water Fang Bullet to be so powerful in Shu Furukawa's hands.
" Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique..."
Jūzō Biwa hurriedly unleashed the Kirigakure Ninja's most proficient ninjutsu, instantly covering a large pine forest with Dense Fog. Just as he was about to execute an assassination technique, he suddenly felt a wave of heat wash over him.
Ignoring the Dense Fog, Shu Furukawa Shadow Clone formed hand Hand Seals and unleashed a full-force ninjutsu. " Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
"You're kidding..."
Looking at the suddenly appearing enormous "sea of fire," Jūzō Biwa murmured to himself as the heat wave hit his face, and the Dense Fog was dissipating at a visible speed.
" Water Release · Water Formation Wall!"
The Third Mizukage hurriedly used ninjutsu again, barely managing to block the wave of fire. Suddenly sensing something was wrong, he didn't have time to warn his subordinates and used the Body Flicker Technique to instantly disappear from the spot.
The flames suddenly turned orange-red, and the power of the ninjutsu increased dramatically. Jūzō Biwa felt as if all the moisture in the air had vanished. In terror, his Chakra exploded beneath his feet, followed by a bloodcurdling scream, "Ah!"
A wave of orange-red fire swept across the space several hundred meters in front of Shu Furukawa. With the enhancement of the Scorch Release, the earth cracked and the surrounding air became extremely dry.
A dark, withered figure lay on the ground, still tightly gripping the half- Kubikiribōchō before its death. Even in its final moments, Jūzō Biwa couldn't understand why the Fire Release Ninjutsu was so powerful.
The Third Mizukage, who had barely escaped the range of the ninjutsu, had his hat mostly burned off, and his clothes were burned through in many places. Before he could gather enough Chakra, he heard a whoosh of wind. "Whoosh!"
A giant Shuriken imbued with Lightning Release Chakra appeared before him in the blink of an eye. Water flowed around the Third Mizukage again, and as he unfolded the Shuriken, he noticed the reflective threads. "Not good!"
In the distance, Shu Furukawa tossed the summoning scroll aside, then yanked his right arm sharply, causing the Shuriken flying into the sky to rapidly separate, before crashing down on the Third Mizukage.
His aged body had finally reached its limit. The moment a Shuriken grazed his shoulder, the numbness caused his dodging speed to decrease again.
In the end, the Third Mizukage could only unleash the full power of his newly refined Chakra, sending swirling water soaring into the sky, while giant Shuriken clattered and clanged as they fell.
"Call..."
The Third Mizukage was breathing heavily, narrowed his eyes and hurriedly twisted to dodge.
Not far away, black lightning crackled continuously on Shu Furukawa's right hand, and a black light blade pierced through the Third Mizukage's body in the blink of an eye.
Seeing the Third Mizukage's disheveled and white-haired state, Shu Furukawa unleashed his Senjutsu Chakra once more. Black electricity instantly shot out from the Third Mizukage's body, and the old man cried out in agony, "Ah!"
"Old man, isn't it better to be alive?"
The Third Mizukage's body was charred black, and the black lightning on his body seemed to be alive, constantly spreading throughout his body.
The old man knelt on the muddy ground. Although he hadn't been hit in a vital spot, he could no longer refine his Chakra. Knowing his death was imminent, he smiled instead, "For a ninja, to die in battle is the best end."
Coughing up blood, the Third Mizukage felt his body collapsing. Only then did he barely sense that Shu Furukawa's spirit was eroding his own. "What kind of ninjutsu is this..."
Senjutsu Chakra contains spiritual consciousness; once it enters a living being, Shu Furukawa can imbue his attacks with life force, thus destroying it from the inside out. "The puppet doesn't need to know too much. Is it a combination of Puppet Technique and Yin-Yang Release?"
" The Cursed Seal on your heart uses entirely new technology!"
After carefully sensing his surroundings, Shu Furukawa couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. Madara Uchiha was still teaching him new knowledge; even after fleeing with his broken body last time, he was still able to continue to "contribute his remaining energy."
"I've finally regained the feeling of freedom..."
"Young man, thank you. That peace agreement proves I existed."
The Third Mizukage was covered in blood, his body destroyed by the lightning-attribute Senjutsu Chakra. After saying these words, the old man lay motionless on the ground.
Shu Furukawa smoothly completed the [ Collection ], and after carefully sensing his surroundings, he discovered that Roshi was actually just going through the motions, only using ranged ninjutsu. He couldn't help but feel completely relieved. " Jinchuriki who advocates peace, there's nothing Ōnoki can do about it..."
Seeing the exaggerated scale of the ninjutsu, Ōnoki and his group, who were locked in battle in the distance, couldn't help but quicken their pace of attack.
Roshi, having entered Lava Release Chakra Mode, destroyed the specially made Kunai around him, continuously spewing out magma balls, preventing Minato from getting close enough to attack.
After Ōnoki's Dust Release went astray, he became somewhat passive. Although he was in the air, Sarutobi Hiruzen's staff kept slashing down, and for a moment he could only shout, " Kitsuchi! Engage him!"
The Ōnoki was interrupted because he was too slow in using ninjutsu. Suddenly, a strong arm appeared on the stick that was sweeping towards him again, and the old man who was almost caught hurriedly dodged away.
Minato Namikaze naturally sensed the disappearance of the three streams of Chakra, which happened even faster than he had anticipated.
Noticing the Third Hokage nimbly grabbing the staff and chasing after Ōnoki, Minato Namikaze looked at the Four-Tails Jinchuriki in front of him and earnestly advised, "If you launch another surprise attack in the Land of Grass, war will break out again!"
"I know you didn't fight with all your might. Tell the Tsuchikage to stop. I don't want to engage in meaningless killing."
Roshi was enveloped in a red glow, his body covered in crimson Chakra. At this moment, he was in perfect harmony with both offense and defense. He stopped and ceased unleashing ninjutsu, calmly replying, "He is the Tsuchikage, and has the authority to make any decision."
"But I will not become a puppet of war. Everyone must be responsible for their own choices. I am simply following my heart."
While still floating in the sky, Ōnoki seemed to have heard these words. The old man's nose turned red with anger, and he pointed at his Jinchuriki, shouting, "You are clearly the most suitable person to deal with him! He can't hurt you at all!"
"As a result, you always disappear when the front lines need you most. You are a disgrace to the Iwagakure Ninja..."
Ouch! My back!
Ōnoki was suddenly struck by the club that came crashing down, landing heavily on the ground. Roshi immediately returned to the Tsuchikage's side, bowing to the fully armed Sarutobi Hiruzen and saying, "I'm very sorry, Lord Hokage, this is not the outcome the Iwagakure Ninja desired."
"The peace agreement remains in effect, and we will soon withdraw from the Land of Grass."
"As for the agreement between Kumogakure and Kirigakure, I'm not entirely clear on it. The Fourth Raikage's hasty return suggests he has other plans."
His Jinchuriki immediately contradicted his decision, and the prideful Ōnoki, ignoring the wounded Sarutobi Hiruzen, glared at Roshi and shouted, "Do you want to betray the Iwagakure Ninja?"
"If you could kill Minato Namikaze, everything would be different. Do you know how much I paid for this day?"
"You are the Jinchuriki of Iwagakure, the strongest fighter, yet you spend all your time holed up in the valley!"
"I won't ask you to use the Tailed Beast Bomb on ordinary ninjas; I respect your choice. But have you considered the village?"
Shu Furukawa suddenly appeared beside the Third Hokage, causing Ōnoki to stop his reprimand, his face Sarutobi Hiruzen helplessly, "So you knew all along that the Mizukage would fail?"
"Haha, Xiu won't show any mercy to us Old Man. That agreement is still valid."
Sarutobi Hiruzen laughed heartily, took the Hokage hat from Minato, put it on his head, and without looking at the Iwagakure group again, immediately turned and left. " Ōnoki, controlling the number of ninjas is Iwagakure's only way out."
" The Fourth Hokage won't be as easy to talk to as I am. The future belongs to the young."
Kitsuchi hurriedly tugged at his father's sleeve. With Roshi not helping, there was no chance of victory. Ōnoki looked at the pine forest destroyed by ninjutsu in the distance, finally clutching his waist and letting out a soft groan. "I'm not old yet! It's all that traitor Rasa's fault..."