"Hiss! How could it be this terrifying!"
After arriving at the battle site, Zou Hyuga could not help drawing a sharp breath.
Looking at the fallen trees and the shattered, fissured ground left in the summoning beast's wake, he realized what separated him from the Shinobi World's strongest fighters: their ability to... destroy the terrain.
Wait... what did the Shinobi World's strongest fighters have to do with him?
He was just a lowly ANBU operative accompanying the Fourth Hokage to investigate, a thoroughly insignificant ninja beside the Yellow Flash.
Just then, Kakashi approached the Fourth Hokage, carrying the Purple Scale.
Looking at the scale, the Fourth Hokage fell into thought. If his memory served, only the summoning beasts of Ryūchi Cave, which had a contract with Orochimaru, possessed scales like this.
In other words, one of the combatants was Orochimaru. But who was the other?
An unfamiliar powerhouse from elsewhere in the Shinobi World, or someone else from the village?
Reining in his wandering thoughts, the Fourth Hokage continued gathering intelligence. His goal was to find clues about both combatants. As a ninja who had been fighting on the front lines until recently, he was quite experienced at gathering intelligence.
After sweeping through the surrounding area, the Fourth Hokage looked at Kakashi and asked, "Did you find anything else?"
Kakashi shook his head lightly. Even with his Sharingan activated, he had found nothing more. The traces of battle left here alone were enough to unsettle him.
Whoever had left such destruction behind was certainly no ordinary ninja.
Elsewhere.
Zou Hyuga stopped before a row of neatly severed trees. He could see traces of chakra passing through their cross sections.
Those cuts had been made by Wind Nature ninjutsu, and the user had mastered Chakra Nature Transformation.
Judging by this, Danzo's