The borders of the Land of Earth are groaning.
The footsteps of the stone golem army rolled across the wasteland like muffled thunder. With each step, the ground cracked open like Spiderweb, and even the hard rock trembled. The golems in the front row were as tall as five zhang, their stone arms still stained with the bloodstains of the Land of Demons's rock walls. The eerie green soul fire in their eye sockets reflected the town ahead, like a pack of ravenous beasts staring at their prey.
"Charge--!" A hoarse roar came from one of the puppets, and the entire army suddenly accelerated, its stone legs crushing the frozen earth as it raced toward the heart of the Land of Earth. Villages along the way were flattened, fleeing civilians were crushed by its stone palms, and even resisting ninja squads were crushed like ants by the puppets—these guys' Chakra was several times stronger than it had been in the Land of Demons, their stone armor was hard enough to block Ninjutsu, and their slashes carried a chilling aura of the Nether Vein.
Worse still, to the west, the undead dragons of the Land of Ghosts flapped their bone wings and flew across the wasteland, their breath corroding even stones into ash; the Star Ninja of the Land of Bears formed a beast tide, tigers, elephants, and venomous snakes mixed together, collapsing houses and turning farmland into swamps wherever they went; the Wind Release Flying Feather Unit of the Land of Birds was even more arrogant, their dark wings blotting out the sky, their wind blades slicing the city walls like gnawed bones.
"The western front is finished!" On the watchtower of Iwagakure, a ninja's voice trembled as he watched the beacon fire signal returning from the village. "The undead of the Land of Ghosts have breached the third line of defense, and the beast tide from the Land of Bears is almost at the Blackwater River!"
Tian Uguisu stood on the ruins of Iwagakure, the broken bricks creaking beneath her feet. Her Rinne Sharingan swirled in its sockets, and within the purple ripples, the giant black smoke infant—a Moryo composed of human faces—was clearly reflected in the distance, slowly floating behind the stone golem army, like an overseer watching over slaves at work.
"Master." Tian Uguisu turned around and looked at Madara Uchiha behind her. Madara had just used the Susanoo to repel a group of bird ninja who were trying to ambush them, and bone fragments were still stuck to the armor of his six-armed Susanoo.
"Speak." Madara wiped the blood from his face, his red eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"I'll leave the three western fronts to you." Tian Uguisu's gaze swept over the flames of war in the west. "I'll go and deal with that reptile."
Madara chuckled, Susanoo suddenly rose from the ground, its six arms simultaneously gripping various weapons. "Perfect, saves me the trouble of going looking for them."
Just then, a small figure suddenly darted up from under the city wall, dragging a white phosphorescent fire snake thicker than himself. It was Tenchu, a seven-year-old boy whose face was covered in ash, but whose eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, somewhat resembling Tian Uguisu's Rinnegan.
"Mom! I want to go too!" Tenchu patted the fire snake's head, and the little guy stuck out his tongue.
Tian Uguisu frowned. "Go back."
"No!" Tenchu dragged the fire snake westward. "I can help my master! Look!" He suddenly formed a somewhat awkward hand seal, and the white phosphorus fire snake shot out at lightning speed, entangling a bird ninja flying low overhead. The poisonous mist instantly corroded the bird into a puddle of water.
Madara Uchiha, watching from the side, couldn't help but chuckle, "This kid's strength isn't much worse than mine. I'll go and have some fun with him."
Tian Uguisu didn't object anymore, but shouted to Tenchu, "Stay close to your master, don't run around!" She turned and leaped onto the back of the Eight-Headed Orochi, her black and gold haori unfurling in the wind. "People of Ryūchi Cave, come with me! Today we'll smash these stone golems!"
The undead dragons of the Land of Ghosts are roaring.
It had just finished spewing out a burst of bone breath, burning a large hole in the Blackwater River's embankment, when a pale purple blade of light struck its neck. Susanoo six arms simultaneously, and the six long swords struck the dragon bone at the same time, producing a piercing metallic clang.
" Madara Uchiha!" The head of the undead dragon split open, revealing the ninja who controlled it. "You think you can stop us?"
Madara, too lazy to waste words, suddenly crossed the six arms of Susanoo into a net, Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation burst forth from the net of blades, flames hotter than magma instantly engulfing the undead dragon. The bone dragon howled in the fire and was quickly burned into a pile of white ash, the ghost ninja inside not even having time to scream.
"Master is so amazing!" Tenchu cheered from the side, riding the white phosphorus fire serpent. Suddenly, the fire serpent swooped down and coiled around a group of Star Ninja who had transformed into wild wolves. Poisonous mist spread out, and the wild wolves rolled on the ground. They quickly transformed back into human form, but their skin was festering as if it had been corroded by strong acid.
"You little brat, get out of my way!" Madara's Susanoo kicked a bear ninja who was lunging at him, sending him flying. The guy had just transformed into a giant elephant when Susanoo grabbed his trunk and flung him away, causing half a mountain to collapse.
Meanwhile, Gi Senju's mecha was wreaking havoc. She flew through the sky, entangled the Land of Birds's Wind Release Flying Feather Unit, and knocked them down from the sky. Some bird ninjas tried to escape using magic, but their wings were bitten off by White Zetsu that suddenly appeared.
"Kill! Kill them all!" Madara Uchiha's voice echoed across the battlefield through Susanoo, six long swords drawing Six Paths bloody streaks in the sunlight. "Tell those scum that the Land of Land of Earth is not a place they can tread!"
Tenchu watched with great excitement, riding his fire serpent into the group of Star Ninja. The little guy was small and agile, and he specifically targeted those Star Ninja who had transformed into Asuka. The fire serpent's poisonous mist was particularly effective against these guys who transformed using Chakra, and before long, more than a dozen "birds" fell to the ground, turning into corpses oozing pus.
"See? I'm amazing too!" Tenchu shouted at the sky, as if he were sharing Madara Uchiha.
Eight hundred li outside Iwagakure Rock-Wall Chasm.
This is a natural barrier in the heart of the Land of Earth, with towering cliffs on both sides and only a narrow passage in the middle. At this moment, Tian Uguisu is standing on the top of the cliff, watching the stone golem army surge into the passage like a tide.
"This is it." Tian Uguisu raised her hand, and the ripples of her Rinne Sharingan suddenly expanded. " Ryūchi Cave Clan, form the battle formation!"
Countless giant serpents emerged from the caves on both sides of the cliff, some spitting white phosphorescent fire, some spewing poisonous mist, and others simply blocking the passage with their bodies. The Eight-Headed Orochi was the most ferocious, its massive body lying across the canyon entrance, its tail whipping out hundreds of stone golems, the flames on its scales burning the rubble into glass.
"Kill!" Tian Uguisu leaped from the snake's back, Susanoo unfolded behind her—unlike Madara's six arms, her Susanoo was more slender, yet covered in snake-scale-like armor, and held a long-handled scythe in her hand.
The scythe swung down, creating a strange whirlwind, instantly severing the head of the five-zhang-tall puppet in the front row. The stone head rolled to the ground, the eerie green soul fire crackling and burning inside before quickly going out.
" Moryo!" Tian Uguisu amplified her voice using her Wind Release, letting her words echo through the canyon, "You reptile hiding in the pile of rocks, dare you come out? I'll roast you to rid the world of this scourge!"
"Hehehe..." Black mist surged up from behind the puppet army, and the giant infant figure of the Moryo emerged from the mist, with countless human faces writhing on its body. "Little brat, you've got quite the nerve. Can you kill them all?"
As it spoke, the rock walls on both sides of the passage suddenly exploded, and more stone golems emerged from them, some even with wings, leaping directly off the cliff. Their numbers were countless; as soon as one batch was killed, another would immediately take its place. Those with severed limbs could even reassemble themselves, making them practically immortal.
"Then let's try." Tian Uguisu swung her Susanoo scythe again, this time not bringing wind, but countless tiny snake-shaped Chakra, which shot towards the puppet group like raindrops. The puppets that touched it were instantly corroded, and even their soul flames were devoured.
The disciples of Ryūchi Cave were not idle either. Some summoned swarms of venomous snakes that burrowed into the joints of the puppets and gnawed at the stone armor with their fangs; others Hand Seals to cause the ground to sink, causing swarms of puppets to fall into the trap; still others directed the snake swarms to form a barrier, keeping any escaped puppets outside the ravine.
The battle lasted a full day. The passage below the cliff was filled with the remains of stone golems, broken stones and eerie green soul fire mixed together, resembling a strange graveyard. Yet the golems continued to pour in, as if all the stones in the entire Land of Demons had turned into killers.
Sweat Rinne Sharingan on Tian Uguisu's forehead as she stared intently at the direction of the Moryo. She could sense that the puppets 'Chakra all originated from the Moryo, from the umbilical cord connecting them to the Nether Vein.
"It's not over yet..." The giant infant of the Moryo suddenly opened its mouth, spewing out a thick black mist that turned into a new stone golem upon landing on the ground. "I have countless blood food to transform into. What about you? Little girl, do you have enough Chakra?"
Tian Uguisu didn't answer, but just gripped her scythe tighter. Just then, the Eight-Headed Orochi beneath her feet suddenly let out a deafening hiss, its snake eyes fixed on the black mist figure of the Moryo, its scales standing on end in excitement.
" Tian Uguisu." An aged yet majestic voice resounded directly in Tian Uguisu's mind. It was the White Snake Sage speaking through the mouth of the Eight-Headed Orochi, "Leave it to me."
Tian Uguisu was taken aback.
"That umbilical cord... connects to the very source of the Nether Vein." The White Snake Sage's voice carried a hint of longing, "I must devour it and break through this shackle."
The Eight-Headed Orochi hissed again, this time with obvious greed. Its massive body began to emanate intense Chakra fluctuations, making even the surrounding air thicken.
Tian Uguisu gazed at the endless puppets below, then at the writhing black mist in the distance, a resolute glint flashing in her Rinne Sharingan. Her Susanoo scythe pointed at the Moryo, her voice as cold as ice:
"Okay. But I'll use its bones to sharpen my sickles."