Just a few dozen seconds later.
The darkness that blotted out the sky completely dissipated.
All that remained was the hundred-meter-tall Susanoo, holding a longsword crackling with Lightning Light as it stood silently between heaven and earth.
The two thousand Konoha ninja all remained frozen in their upward-looking poses.
After a brief deathly silence.
No one knew who was the first to break free from the overwhelming shock and roar with all their strength!
"OOOOOOHHHH—!!"
That roar instantly set off a chain reaction!
"Long live Hokage-sama!!"
"Konoha will prevail!!"
"OOOOOOHHHH—!!"
Cheers like a tsunami soared into the sky!
The next morning.
The wind and sand still raged.
Baki's cracked lips seeped with blood.
The five Hidden Sand Village jonin behind him were all sallow-faced, with sunken eyes.
They had not slept all night.
From the moment they received their orders, they had been running for their lives.
"Lord Baki..."
The only sensory ninja in the group spoke hoarsely, trembling as he pointed ahead.
"Just beyond those dunes... there's... there's an enormous Chakra signature!"
Everyone's spirits rose. Forcing their exhausted bodies onward, they rushed up the dune.
The next second.
The five men stood rooted to the spot.
"Th-That... what is that?"
Not far away, a cluster of buildings that should not have existed was quietly sprawled across the desert.
"Wood Release..."
Baki's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.
"It's the First Hokage... Hashirama Senju's Wood Release..."
"They... they built a town-sized camp out of thin air... in the desert?"
That meant Konoha possessed the terrifying ability to wage war indefinitely in any extreme environment!
Logistics!
The fatal shackle that could cripple any army fighting in the desert no longer existed for Konoha!
The Kazekage-sama's delaying tactics...
Before long, they were discovered by Konoha's sensory ninja and surrounded by a patrol.