Dust explosion

At the Hagoromo Clan's Cliff Stronghold, two Senju jonin led eight chunin in clearing the battlefield.

Water Release: Mixed Shuriken was effective. High-pressure water carried hundreds of shuriken, shredding every enemy in an entire area within a few breaths.

Lord Tobirama truly was a genius. Not only had he calculated that overlapping high-pressure Water Release jets could cross the entire abyss and strike the opposite bank, he had also drawn inspiration from the Fuma Clan's Wind Release: Shuriken to devise such a-

Brilliant tactic that anyone could use: mixing shuriken into Water Release.

The Hagoromo had thought the bottomless abyss was an impregnable natural barrier. None of them had imagined Lord Tobirama would stack Water Release attacks to bridge that chasm and eliminate this thorn in one decisive push.

But powerful as the technique was, firing off a volley mixed with shuriken had its drawbacks. It felt great at the time, but now they had to retrieve hundreds of shuriken one by one. It was a real chore.

Still, they did not complain, leaving only the two jonin on guard. The real reason was that they also wanted to see whether anything valuable remained here.

According to their intelligence, a Hagoromo caravan had returned from the capital last month, having traded food and supplies for quite a few rare goods.

Across the cliff, Senju Shuto oversaw the operation. Seeing the ninja preoccupied with hunting for treasure in the mud, he knitted his brows and impatiently gestured-

Clear the battlefield. Stop scavenging junk.

A chunin had just dug an exquisitely crafted temari ball out of the mud. Before he could examine it, the ground softened beneath his feet, and he sank into it.

At that very moment, four earthen walls shot up, enclosing all ten Senju ninja inside the stronghold.

A swamp spread beneath their feet, immobilizing the entire squad.

The jonin in the squad did not panic at all.

Lord Tobirama had already prepared for this.

Given the Hagoromo Clan's affinity for wind and earth, they would most likely use an Earth-Style Wall and Yellow Spring Swamp to trap their opponents, then attack with Wind Release.

The countermeasure was simple: solidify the swamp beneath their feet with the Hardening Technique, then use an Earth-Style Wall to raise their footing and strike back from above. As long as they survived the first wave, the supporting Water Release squad on the opposite cliff would slice through the earthen walls with high-pressure water blades, covering their escape with arrows.

But just as a Senju jonin formed the first hand seal for the Hardening Technique-

Several Wind Release attacks poured into the earthen walls from every direction, followed by a bang.

In an instant, the surrounding walls disintegrated into dust.

The air became murky, leaving nothing but grayish yellow in their field of vision.

Are they trying to obscure our vision with dust and launch a surprise attack?

The Senju jonin reached his conclusion instantly and sneered inwardly.

Useless. We Senju aren't like the Uchiha. We don't rely so heavily on sight.

Apart from their powerful regenerative abilities, the Senju Clan was best known for its chakra sensing.

With visibility obstructed, the Senju Clan actually held the advantage.

The only ones who would die were the Hagoromo ninja, who depended more heavily on sight!

Yet a tiny flame flickered to life amid the drifting dust.

The instant that flame touched the dust, every airborne particle ignited at once-

The Senju jonin recoiled in shock. Gunpowder had been mixed into the dust!

Orange-red flames filled every inch of space. Scorching blasts of air hurled burning particles in every direction.

The two Senju jonin reacted extremely quickly. The moment fire swallowed their vision, they abandoned their Earth Release seals and switched to Water Release to protect themselves-

A curtain of water spread hastily, barely managing to shield five people nearby.

The three chunin beyond the Water Formation Wall's protection were not so lucky.

The scorching explosion slammed into them, carrying dust particles that were still burning. Countless black holes burned through their clothes in an instant.

Flames erupted everywhere. They could see nothing. The roar of the dust explosion swallowed every sound as searing blasts of air hurled rubble at them from all sides. The Water Release barrier warped violently under the shock waves, its walls steaming into white mist in the intense heat.

The two jonin struggled to maintain the water curtain's surface tension. The force still drove them four or five steps backward.

Across the cliff, Senju Shuto reacted immediately, sending Water Release support.

Several high-pressure jets merged into one and blasted across the abyss toward the stronghold.

But the Hagoromo Earth Release ninja had already prepared their countermeasure-

Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!

Earthen walls rose one after another, keeping the Water Release attack outside the blast.

Several figures then rushed through the lingering dust and smoke toward the Senju ninja trapped at the center of the explosion.

The battle was decided in an instant. By the time the Senju ninja reacted, Hagoromo blades were pointed at their throats.

Across the cliff, Senju Shuto's hands froze in midair, still poised in a hand seal.

He could only watch helplessly as his comrades were trapped in the orange flames on the opposite cliff, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.

The Hagoromo had used a never-before-seen tactic combining three types of release!

The outcome had been decided the moment Wind Release poured into the earthen walls-Earth Release created the medium, Wind Release pulverized it, and Fire Release detonated it. The three elements linked together seamlessly.

It was already too late to provide further support. All ten Senju ninja left behind to clear the battlefield had been captured.

A sharp shing rang out.

It was the sound of a shuriken severing a rope.

With the abyss between them, he could do nothing.

Setsuna drew his gaze away from Senju Shuto on the opposite cliff,

Ignoring how the voice in his ear had calculated, "Senju squad defeated. Rebellion points +5."

He glanced at Hagoromo Shogatsu.

Hagoromo Shogatsu did not look well.

On the surface, there was no blood on him. He stood straight, still wearing the composed air of a young nobleman.

But the fingers hanging at his side trembled slightly.

Setsuna glanced over the captured Senju ninja and asked:

"Why didn't you surround all of them with dust before igniting it? If you'd added explosive tags like I told you, you wouldn't have needed anyone to restrain them. They'd all have been blown to death."

In his worldview as a game character, the ultimate goal of any tactic was total annihilation. The arena offered only victory or defeat. If the enemy was not wiped out, it did not count as a win.

Shogatsu lowered his head to look at him.

"Your tactic is excellent, but you've overlooked the strategic issue."

From a distance, Shogatsu watched the wounds of the Senju ninja injured in the explosion begin to heal visibly. He sighed inwardly-

With regenerative abilities like that, no wonder they can hold their own against the Uchiha on the battlefield.

He explained to Setsuna.

"What we need is prisoners. Leverage for negotiations. We want a ceasefire."

He turned toward the opposite cliff. The captured Hagoromo Clan ninja had been roughly bandaged. Without the Senju's terrifying regenerative abilities, quite a few had already fainted from blood loss.

Across that bottomless abyss, he and Senju Shuto gazed at each other from afar.

Shogatsu withdrew his gaze. "They didn't massacre everyone in the stronghold. Their objective is clear-they mainly came here to take prisoners too."

"So?" Setsuna did not understand what he meant.

"That means the Senju can't keep fighting either."

"Then shouldn't we press our advantage?" Setsuna snorted defiantly.

"I remember your clan leader was killed by the Senju. You can stomach a blood feud like that?"

"Everyone in the Hagoromo Clan wants revenge for the clan leader. Only Tobirama Senju's blood will quell their rage. You can't suppress that anger, and that's why you can't command the kekkei genkai ninja."

Setsuna curled his lip disdainfully and muttered:

"No wonder nobody supports you."

Shogatsu did not argue.

As acting clan leader, he lacked the Heavenly Eye and could not command the kekkei genkai ninja. Despite being their finest commander, he was scorned by his own clansmen.

Wind blew across the cliff, setting his gray-blue sleeves snapping.

"Once the north wind blows, winter will be here. We need to sign a truce as soon as possible, before winter sets in. The Hagoromo have suffered severe losses. We need time to recover. If we keep fighting, our clan will be wiped out."

He lowered his lashes.

"The clan leader would understand."

Setsuna studied his profile. His delicate features held a calm that buried every burden deep beneath the surface.

"Will a truce agreement do any good?" Setsuna asked.

Shogatsu sighed, a trace of emotion crossing his face.

"With Hashirama Senju, it will."

Setsuna knew Shogatsu was right.

As a character from the Naruto game, Setsuna knew better than anyone how desperately Hashirama Senju longed for peace.

Ever since his youth, the man known as the God of Shinobi had dreamed of building a future where children would not have to go to war.

He was willing to pay any price for that foolish peace-even bowing his head to his enemies, cutting open his own belly, or killing his best friend.

Setsuna rolled his eyes in annoyance.

He had to admit that Hashirama Senju truly was an honorable man.

But Hashirama was the only Senju like that. Tobirama Senju was downright sinister.

Setsuna jumped down from the branch and landed on the ground. Whatever the case, things on the Hagoromo side had stabilized for now.

The stronghold had been retaken, prisoners had been captured, and Shogatsu had bargaining chips.

But news that the Cliff Stronghold had fallen, that the Senju had found a way around the front lines-

All this intelligence had to reach Izuna immediately.