The enormous Susanoo tomoe hurtled down at the Guardian Ninja with terrifying pressure.
Facing Gengetsu's terrifying attack, the Guardian Ninja all paled and shouted in horror.
"Watch out! Dodge!"
"We can't take an attack like that head-on!"
Faced with the threat of death, the Guardian Ninja reacted swiftly, desperately scattering in every direction.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At that moment, the enormous Susanoo tomoe slammed into the ground outside the Daimyō's Residence.
A deafening series of explosions immediately rang out.
Every crimson tomoe gouged a massive crater into the hard ground as it fell.
Violent shock waves swept in every direction, carrying countless fragments of stone and dirt. The entire ground shook violently as though an earthquake had struck.
The Konoha ninja in the distance, both the Uchiha Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, were stunned by the terrifying destructive power, their scalps tingling.
"Terrifying! Is this the destructive power of Susanoo?!"
"Just one casual strike changed the terrain! That power isn't something humans can stand against!"
"The Fifth Hokage's strength is simply unfathomable! The Twelve Guardian Ninja are practically a joke before him!"
Everyone whispered among themselves, their gazes filled with awe and fervor as they looked at Gengetsu.
Before the dust had settled, Gengetsu stood within the enormous Susanoo, looking down contemptuously at the Guardian Ninja fleeing in disarray, and snorted.
"Hmph. Dodging? Do you think you can escape?!"
Then, without giving them any chance to catch their breath, Gengetsu clapped his hands together and instantly unleashed a Fire Release technique.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
"Whoosh... boom..."
Countless searing flames rapidly gathered before Gengetsu, forming four enormous flame dragons that bared their fangs and claws as they attacked the Guardian Ninja.
"Watch out! Dodge, now..."
Asuma Sarutobi, who had just climbed out of the rubble and was coughing up blood, shouted at the sight.
Unfortunately, his warning came a moment too late.
Gengetsu unleashed his ninjutsu far too quickly, completely exceeding a normal ninja's ability to react!
Moreover, the power of those four fire dragons was utterly terrifying. Their searing flames distorted the surrounding air.
"Boom... boom... boom!"
"Ah... ah... ah!"
The four fire dragons engulfed those four Guardian Ninja with unerring accuracy, and a series of violent explosions rang out.
Heart-rending screams mingled with the blazing sea of fire.
In just two or three seconds, the screams abruptly stopped.
When the flames dispersed, the four Guardian Ninja had become four blackened corpses, giving off foul-smelling black smoke, utterly dead.
"Nishito! Nango?!"
"Damn you! You actually killed Nishito, Nango, and the others..."
Seeing the companions they had spent every day with die so horribly before them, the remaining Guardian Ninja's eyes reddened with anger and shock.
They were angry at their companions' horrific deaths and shocked because Gengetsu's strength was simply too terrifying!
They were the Land of Fire's most elite force, the Twelve Guardian Ninja, each a powerful fighter at the elite jonin level.
Yet now, the moment they clashed, four of their teammates had been killed instantly without even touching the hem of Gengetsu's clothes!
That despair-inducing gap in strength filled them with dread.
Looking at the furious Guardian Ninja, the disdain in Gengetsu's eyes deepened.
"Don't worry! There's no hurry!"
"You'll be joining them soon!"
The instant Gengetsu's icy words fell, he vanished from where he stood.
So fast!
The remaining Guardian Ninja's pupils abruptly contracted. They could not track Gengetsu's movements at all.
The next second, Gengetsu appeared directly behind a Guardian Ninja like a phantom, drawing his ninja blade with ruthless force.
Rip!
A bone-chilling streak of light flashed through the air.
Before the Guardian Ninja could even turn his head, he felt a chill across his neck.
Then blood shot into the sky like a fountain.
The Guardian Ninja's head was severed cleanly from his body and rolled onto the ground, his eyes still wide with terror.
"Die, you bastard!"
Seeing another companion killed, the nearest Guardian Ninja completely lost his reason. In a fury, he raised his weapon and attacked Gengetsu wildly.
"You overestimate yourself."
Gengetsu snorted and casually swung his ninja blade without even giving him a proper glance.
Clang!
With a crisp ring, the Guardian Ninja's weapon was sliced clean through.
Then, without losing momentum, the ninja blade sliced across his throat.
Thud!
The enraged Guardian Ninja clutched his spurting throat and collapsed helplessly into a pool of blood.
As the Land of Fire's daimyō's Guardian Ninja, they ranked among the strong even in the shinobi world.
Unfortunately, they had encountered Gengetsu.
Before Gengetsu, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, the strength they took such pride in was utterly insignificant.
Gengetsu's strength overwhelmed them completely!
Thus, these Guardian Ninja were no match for Gengetsu. The battle was an entirely one-sided slaughter.
After only a brief clash lasting a little over ten minutes, the area before the Daimyō's Residence had become a living hell.
The Guardian Ninja died one after another in rapid succession, their blood staining the entire ground red.
Realizing the situation was going badly, Chiriku, the bald monk among the Twelve Guardian Ninja, quickly fell back to the grievously wounded Asuma Sarutobi.
"Asuma, we need to go!"
Chiriku grabbed Asuma's arm, his voice carrying unconcealed fear.
"The enemy's strength is terrifying! We can't fight him at all! If we keep fighting, we'll all die here!"
As a user of Sage's Gift, Chiriku was extremely powerful, but facing Gengetsu now, he suddenly realized that his formidable strength meant nothing.
"Damn it! Are we just going to leave like this?!"
Hearing Chiriku's words, Asuma Sarutobi looked at his companions' bodies strewn across the ground, gritted his teeth, and growled with extreme reluctance.
"Asuma, this isn't the time to act rashly!"
Chiriku held firmly onto Asuma and kept urging him loudly.
"The enemy's strength is terrifying beyond anything we imagined! We can't stand against him!"
"Right now, all we can do is flee back to Konoha and seek help from Lord Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
"Only Lord Third Hokage might be able to deal with this monster!"
Chiriku's words finally restored a trace of reason to Asuma, whose mind had been clouded by rage.
"Let's go! Straight to Konoha!"
Although Asuma Sarutobi was extremely reluctant, faced with Gengetsu's terrifying strength, he had no choice now but to retreat.
Supporting the grievously wounded Asuma Sarutobi, Chiriku took advantage of the chaos on the battlefield to flee swiftly.
Meanwhile.
Inside a luxurious palace in the deepest part of the Daimyō's Residence.
The Land of Fire's daimyō had quickly changed into a brand-new, even more lavish outfit.
However, the strong, bloody stench left by the blood splashed on him earlier still had not faded.
At the same time, the explosions from the fierce fighting outside the Daimyō's Residence left him trembling with fear, his face deathly pale.
"Lord Daimyō, please rest assured!"
Seeing how frightened the daimyō was, a trusted minister beside him immediately approached and spoke with a fawning expression.
"The Twelve Guardian Ninja are extremely powerful! They're the strongest fighting force in our Land of Fire!"
"Moreover, Lord Asuma Sarutobi, the Third Hokage's son, is among them."
"With them here, they'll certainly defeat the enemy easily..."
Hearing the words of those beside him, the Land of Fire's daimyō took a deep breath, and his complexion improved slightly.
"That's right. I am the Land of Fire's daimyō. With the Twelve protecting me, a mere ninja from Konoha is nothing to fear..."
The daimyō picked up the teacup on the table, about to take a sip to steady his nerves.
Just then.
Boom!
An enormous explosion suddenly rang out.
Immediately afterward, the thick outer wall of the Daimyō's Residence collapsed with a crash, sending countless stones and bricks flying.
A violent blast of air, thick with the stench of blood, surged straight into the hall.
The daimyō jumped in fright, and the teacup fell from his hand with a clatter, shattering on the floor.
Under everyone's horrified gazes, the dust slowly cleared. Holding a blood-dripping ninja blade, Gengetsu walked in step by step like a god of slaughter emerging from hell.
At the sight of Gengetsu and his scarlet Sharingan radiating icy killing intent, the daimyō blanched.
"You... how did you get in?! Where are the Guardian Ninja?! Where's Asuma?!"
The daimyō shrieked in terror, his body shaking violently beyond his control.
His fear was so extreme that his legs went weak, and a foul-smelling, pale yellow liquid ran down his trouser legs.
The supreme ruler of the mighty Land of Fire had actually wet himself in fear.
Seeing the daimyō's utterly disgraceful state, Gengetsu stood in the center of the hall and spoke with utter disdain.
"What a worthless piece of trash."
"To think the vast lands of the Land of Fire are in the hands of trash like you!"
Gengetsu spoke in a voice full of contempt.
Hearing Gengetsu's words, the Land of Fire's daimyō grew even more terrified.
The daimyō scrambled backward, shouting hysterically:
"You can't kill me! You absolutely cannot kill me!"
"I'm the Land of Fire's daimyō! I'm the most exalted person in this land!"
"Everyone in your Konoha serves under me! If you kill me, the entire Land of Fire will never let you get away with it!"
Seeing that the Land of Fire's daimyō still could not face reality even at death's door, Gengetsu sneered.
"The most exalted person? In my eyes, you're worth less than an ant."
His face full of disdain, Gengetsu flicked a kunai out with a backhand throw.
Whoosh!
The kunai became a black streak of light, hurtling toward the Land of Fire's daimyō.
Squelch!
With a dull sound, the sharp kunai pierced straight through the daimyō's chest and embedded itself deep in the wall behind him.
The daimyō's hysterical cries abruptly stopped, his eyes still filled with disbelief.
He had never imagined that he, the mighty Land of Fire's daimyō, would die just like this.
Still less had he imagined that Gengetsu, a Konoha ninja, would actually dare to kill him.
"Someone!"
After killing the Land of Fire's daimyō, Gengetsu shouted without even glancing at the corpse on the floor.
"Lord Fifth Hokage!"
Uchiha Inabi instantly appeared before Gengetsu and knelt on one knee, his eyes filled with fervent adoration.
"Take your men and seize control of the entire Daimyō's Residence immediately! Take stock of its finances!"
"Kill anyone who dares resist!"
"Yes!"
Hearing Gengetsu's orders, Uchiha Inabi and the ninja of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans swiftly sprang into action.
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