The Great Battle Concludes

The azure lightning surged forward in an instant, a blade as sharp as the Kusanagi Sword aimed straight for the throat. Just as it was about to make contact, a force and sharpness no less formidable intercepted the Fourth Raikage's thrust.

"The same speed and strength as always. Since you've offered your hand, I'll borrow it without hesitation. Summoning Jutsu!"

With bloodshot eyes, the Fourth Raikage looked at those fingers that should have been pressed together, now shifting into the hand seals for a summoning technique.

"You idiot! You bastard! I won't let you escape this time! Lariat!"

From the mouth of Gyuki, who had transformed into his full Eight-Tails form, blobs of ink morphed into human shapes, surrounding the two from all directions.

"A sealing jutsu? Nanto Sage, Hokuto Sage, seal."

The barrier reappeared, and an eerie, glowing purple light suppressed the ink. The Azure Dragon and the Vermilion Bird opened their maws, wind and fire intertwining.

"Scorch Style: Storm Dance."

The golden sand waves and the sea of wind and fire clashed, and the appearance of the Nine-Faced Beast caused Rasa, who was watching from the sidelines, to knit his brows.

"Summoning puppets? No, they are summoning beasts—incredibly troublesome ones. Who exactly is that member of the Uchiha clan? Is that heat high enough to melt even gold dust?"

"The Uchiha clan, truly a prestigious name in the ninja world. To think they still held such a trump card? Uchiha Fugaku, you've hidden your hand quite well."

Fugaku remained expressionless, neither confirming nor denying, yet subconsciously, he began to wonder which family that child, who was currently trading blows with the Fourth Raikage, belonged to.

"You damn Uchiha brat! You actually used my own hand to weave seals? Just how much do you look down on people, you bastard!"

"Then I'll end this boring fight with a technique that requires no seals. Goodbye. This is a parting gift: Great Spiral Ring."

In an instant, the Konoha ninjas stationed within Mount Kikyo flickered into motion. Namikaze Minato, having just returned from the coast, understood Uchiha Hanazuki's next move with a single glance.

"I see. So that's how it is. Let's go, Choza-san, Shikaku-san..."

With a flash of yellow light, every Konoha ninja on Mount Kikyo was transported dozens of miles away. Above the unremarkable black kunai, a star seemed to descend from the heavens, shining with a blinding light.

"That Uchiha brat, is he using that move again?!"

"No, the chakra in this technique—Bee! Hurry and get me out of here!"

An unprecedented sense of crisis flooded everyone's senses. The Eight-Tails, Gyuki, retracted his entire body into his tentacles and began to spin frantically.

"Tailed Beast Eight Twists!"

Space-time seemed to freeze at that moment. After a brief silence, a pure white light swallowed the entirety of Mount Kikyo.

The greatest sound is silence; the pure white that devoured all things quietly dissipated, and the sunlight spilled down once more.

Mount Kikyo, which should have been there, had vanished. Only the scorching magma and the gold flowing within it remained as proof of the deep abyss where the mountain once stood.

As the aftershocks faded, hot magma flowed over the octopus tentacles. The Eight-Tails crawled out from deep underground, panting, and looked at the irrevocably altered terrain with a helpless expression.

"This ninjutsu has completely changed the surrounding landscape. It's fully capable of rivaling our full-power Tailed Beast Bomb. Is this also that Uchiha brat's technique?"

"Damn it... that damn Uchiha brat, to think he would... Toroi, damn it..."

In the scalding magma, the Cloud Hidden Village's Magnet Release ninja, Toroi, lay motionless, his life already extinguished.

"He was too far from me; even if I wanted to protect him, I had no way to do so. That guy's ninjutsu carries the nature transformation of Fire Release, combined with the Body Flicker Technique and chakra comparable to a Tailed Beast."

"He might be the most formidable opponent your Cloud Hidden Village will ever face. Despite being an Uchiha with the Sharingan, he is most famous for his speed and that bizarre summoning technique. Even I don't know how to evaluate him."

Clearly, the Fourth Raikage was in no mood to listen to the Eight-Tails' assessment. Not far away, the temporary allies, Rasa and Pakura of Sunagakure, chose to retreat without hesitation.

The entire force of Sand ninjas they had brought was wiped out, and the Cloud had lost a ninja with a Kekkei Genkai. The Battle of Mount Kikyo was a total defeat.

To protect their depleted village, the two could not afford to die here; otherwise, Sunagakure would be in grave danger of annihilation.

"Uchiha Hanazuki, I'll remember that name. Let's go, Bee. Before that bastard Onoki finds out about what happened at Mount Kikyo, we return to the Cloud."

"OK, Brother."

With a flicker, Killer Bee and the Fourth Raikage retreated in haste, and the relentless flames of war subsided for the time being along with the disappearance of Mount Kikyo.

On the border of the Land of Fire, within a hidden forest, the survivors descended from the sky. They looked at one another, speechless.

"Are we safe now, Minato?"

Looking at his worried companions, Namikaze Minato offered a gentle smile and nodded slightly.

"Though I don't know who that child is, there shouldn't be any problems. The kunai I left on Mount Kikyo seem to have all been destroyed. Truly a powerful ninjutsu."

"Kurenai, where is Kurenai? Lord Fugaku, that child must be from the Uchiha clan. He had the Uchiha fan crest on his back. Where did he go?"

Seeing pair after pair of eyes fixed on him, Fugaku had no words to explain his predicament. He truly did not know the child. Had he known there was a genius in the clan capable of using the Flying Raijin, he would have long since recruited him into the Konoha Military Police Force for careful cultivation.

Meanwhile, near Mount Kikyo, two figures appeared from a kunai. The Three-Eyed Demon Fox mask that had concealed the face was slowly removed.

Kurenai, who had been numbed by the series of events, looked over subconsciously, her astonishment turning into shock and disbelief.

"Uchiha... Hanazuki-kun? Was it you all along?"

"I never expected you to be carrying out a mission on a battlefield of this intensity. Although I knew the previous two graduating classes had already stepped onto the front lines, I didn't think you would be caught up in it too, Kurenai."

For a moment, even Yuhi Kurenai could not believe she had been saved by a genin who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy, two years her junior.

She only knew Uchiha Hanazuki because Anko often dragged him to various dango shops in Konoha. Combined with his lazy temperament and decent looks, he had left some impression on her.

"It couldn't be helped. The border of the Land of Fire was invaded, and the village had to draft ninjas on short notice. More importantly... could you... put me down first?"

Her face flushed with embarrassment. Despite being covered in dust and grime, she could not hide the crimson glow spreading across her cheeks. Her pair of watery, ruby-like eyes met his clear, dark gaze, but she did not receive the answer she wanted.

"Sorry, but your injuries aren't something you can just power through. That was a Tailed Beast Bomb. If you don't get a proper check-up at the hospital, it will be very dangerous."

"Are they back? Then let's leave as well."