Tsuchikage VS Hokage, Dawn Under the Night

Hearing his words, Nawaki raised his hands slightly, his expression growing solemn, though his voice remained perfectly calm.

"If you intend to strike, then be prepared to leave your life here."

Kakuzu remained expressionless, but his voice was deep and heavy.

"Rest assured, it is you who will die here. Even Lord Aizen will not blame me for killing one who defies his orders."

As Kakuzu's murderous words fell upon the scene, the surrounding air seemed to freeze!

A chilling, murderous atmosphere instantly enveloped the area, as if a fierce battle were about to erupt at any moment!

The Konoha ninja stood silent as cicadas in winter, looking on with worry at the calm Nawaki.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Konoha battlefield.

A vast, dense, and gloomy forest sat here, with many ninja hiding in the concealed corners around its perimeter.

There were Konoha ninja, Rock ninja, and Sand ninja, among others.

For some reason, even though they were aware of each other's presence, they did not move to track one another. Instead, they remained quietly crouched in place, as if waiting for something!

In a massive clearing within the dark forest, the ground looked as if it had been torn apart by a wild beast!

Across the scarred and broken terrain, dozens of massive trenches, each over ten meters long, were gouged into the earth, and the once-solid bedrock had been reduced to gravel scattered around the edges.

Deep, pitch-black pits of unknown origin were also densely scattered across the ruined ground.

The surrounding trees, once thick and sturdy, were in a miserable state, as if smashed apart by some giant creature; the cross-sections of their trunks were jagged and raw!

"Hoo... hoo..."

At that moment, a sound of heavy, bellows-like breathing suddenly echoed from a concealed