Tsunade clenched both fists, the markings of the Yin Seal on her forehead gleaming as she prepared to face the strongest enemy she had ever encountered.
Uchiha Itachi unfurled his Susanoo, red light enveloping the surroundings as the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror began to emerge. Armed for both offense and defense, he stood ready.
The three held their positions in a triangle, guarding every approach. Behind them, Jonin and Anbu formed rank upon rank, settling into a formation for a fight to the death.
Not one of them backed down. Not one of them showed fear.
Even though their enemy was an Otsutsuki powerhouse who stood above the Shinobi World, even though a single all-out strike from him could annihilate all of Konoha, they still chose to defend it to the bitter end.
As long as the village stood, they would stand.
If the village fell, they would fall with it.
This was the conviction and resolve etched into the very bones and blood of Konoha Ninja.
Isshiki gazed coldly down at these ants, who knew they were outmatched yet still fought to the death. He felt no admiration, only icy indifference.
He could no longer be bothered with maneuvering or probing their defenses. What came next would be a one-sided slaughter.
The only person who had ever made him wary was neither Tsunade, Hiruzen, nor Itachi before him, nor even Jiraiya, who would soon arrive.
It was Hagoromo, who had concealed his presence from the beginning and never shown himself.
After watching the Sky Screen, he too believed that Hagoromo had been plotting behind the scenes for a thousand years!
"Let's see."
"Can the trump card of Konoha, which you sacrifice everything to protect, withstand an attack I unleash at any cost?"
The instant his oppressive aura erupted