The setting sun, like blood, spilled across the battlefield on the border of the Land of Fire, and war broke out once more.
The broken Kunai lay embedded in the scorched earth, its blade still stained with dark red blood. The distant forest had long been blasted into ruins by Ninjutsu, and the smoke and blood swirled in the wind, each breath feeling like swallowing a mouthful of burning sand.
"Cough... cough cough..."
A young Konoha Ninja knelt on the ground, his left hand clutching his bleeding abdomen, his right hand gripping a broken Ninja Blade. Before him, three blue-faced, fanged demon soldiers were approaching step by step, their foul-smelling saliva dripping from their sharp claws, corroding small pits in the ground.
"Long live Konoha..." He managed to squeeze out the words, trying to sit up, but a demon soldier stomped on his back, the cracking sound of bones breaking mixed with screams piercing the twilight.
Not far away, Tsunade's roar drowned out the noise.
"Get out of here!"
Golden Chakra exploded from her body like flames, and the wounds that had been torn open by the Demon General's thick claws were healing at a visible speed. Even the diamond-shaped Cursed Seal on her forehead glowed with a scorching red light. This was a sign of the Strength of a Hundred Technique: Full Release, and also the ultimate in Creation Rebirth —using Senjutsu to accelerate the division of her own cells in exchange for an immortal body, burning Senjutsu Chakra every second.
" Tsunade, are you crazy?!" Jiraiya's voice came from the side. He had just used Senjutsu Sage Mode Senjutsu around his pupils were flickering slightly with the flow of Chakra. "Save your Senjutsu Chakra! There are tough battles ahead!"
Tsunade completely ignored him, stomping her feet and causing the ground to crack like Spiderweb. She charged towards the three-zhang-tall demon general like a cannonball, her fists carrying immense force, golden Chakra condensing into tangible blades of light at her knuckles. "Enough talk! If these bastards aren't cleared out, the ninjas behind will be the ones dying!"
BOOM!
The fist collided with the Ghost General's hard, iron-like chest, producing a deafening thud. The Ghost General let out a shrill roar, his massive body being forced back several steps, a large dent in his chest, black ghost blood mixed with bone fragments spurting out.
" Sage Art: Sage Art: Goemon!"
Almost at the same moment Tsunade succeeded, Jiraiya quickly Hand Seals. Fukasaku and Sage Shima, who were Fukasaku on his shoulders, opened their mouths at the same time, and oil and fire instantly merged, transforming into a raging torrent of flames tens of meters long, sweeping towards the surging tide of demon soldiers.
"Aaaaaah--!"
The demon soldiers screamed as they turned to ashes in the flames, the stench of burning flesh filling the air. Jiraiya, panting heavily, wiped his face; sweat mixed with dust etched two deep lines on his skin. " Orochimaru! Are you done yet?!"
On the other side of the battlefield, black Cursed Seal spread like living things across Orochimaru's pale arm. He stood on a complex blood array, with three twisted corpses lying at its core—the "fighting force" he had just attempted to summon using the Impure World Reincarnation technique. But now, strange veins were bulging beneath the corpses' skin, clearly indicating that they had been devoured by some more powerful force.
"Shut up, Jiraiya." Orochimaru licked the blood from the corner of his lips, a sinister glint in his crimson snake eyes. "These bastards' souls are too tainted; the Impure World Reincarnation simply can't control them... However, perhaps there's another way."
Before he finished speaking, his body suddenly began to swell and twist. Black scales pierced his skin, and his bones made a teeth-grinding grinding sound. In just a few seconds, his originally thin body transformed into Yamata White Snake King nearly a hundred meters long!
Eight snake heads rose simultaneously, flicking their forked tongues, their cold, vertical pupils locking onto the distant ghost king wielding a bone spear.
"Hiss--"
One of the snake heads suddenly spewed out dark green venom, which instantly corroded the ground, creating a large cloud of white smoke. The Ghost King merely waved his bone spear, and a black barrier blocked the venom. His hoarse voice was filled with mockery. "A mere reptile dares to provoke this king?"
"A reptile?" Orochimaru's voice came from within the snake's body, laced with a chilling laugh. "Then you'll experience what it's like to be torn apart by a reptile."
The Yamata no Hakuryu charged forward, its Yamata White Snake King heads biting at the Oni King's limbs and torso. The bone spear swept across with a whooshing sound, smashing the snake's heads into a bloody mess, only to regenerate in an instant— Orochimaru had already transformed his body into an immortal one, so this injury was nothing more than a tickle.
While the three were each engaged in battle with powerful enemies, at the edge of the battlefield, a wounded messenger stumbled back towards the rear. He carried a scroll in his arms, which was the peace order sent from the front lines by Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi from Konoha Village.
" The Fifth Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, said... he wants us to hand over three border cities as a sign of sincerity..." The messenger's voice rang out from the makeshift medical tent, and the ninjas bandaging their wounds instantly fell silent. "... As long as we bow down and admit defeat, the Oni Clan will negotiate with Konoha to withdraw their troops..."
"What did you say?" A young ninja with a missing arm suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. "How many of us have died? Teacher Jessie, Brother Gangzi... they all died out there! And now you want us to bow down to the Oni Clan?"
"But the Lord Hokage said to negotiate peace..."
"What a Lord Hokage!" Another female ninja slammed her bandages to the ground, blood still streaming from her forehead. "My brother was torn to pieces by demon soldiers yesterday! How am I supposed to tell him that we gave up the land he risked his life to protect just to save our own lives?"
Outside the tent, the villagers who were carrying the bodies also heard the commotion. An elderly woman with white hair, leaning on a cane, walked over. Her son and grandson had both died in yesterday's attack, but now her cloudy eyes burned with rage. "The Lord Hashirama Konoha that Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama built wasn't meant for us to cower like cowards!"
"Yes! Fight to the death!"
Someone shouted first, and then, the roar spread throughout the camp like wildfire.
"We are Konoha Ninja!"
"We'd rather die than surrender!"
"Fight them!"
Tsunade, who was engaged in fierce fighting, vaguely heard the commotion behind her. She smashed the Demon General's arm with a punch and glanced back. When she saw the wounded villagers and ninjas raising their weapons and roaring, the Strength of a Hundred Cursed Seal on her forehead shone even brighter.
"Did you hear that?" she shouted at Jiraiya, her voice filled with unprecedented fervor, "That's what Konoha Ninja is like!"
Jiraiya had just pierced the throat of a demon general with Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon, grinned, revealing blood-stained teeth. "I knew these guys wouldn't give up so easily!" He formed hand Hand Seals again, Sage Fukasaku whispered in his ear, " Sage Art: Super Giant Fireball!"
A massive, fiery red orb of light condensed in his hand, slamming into the horde of ghost soldiers with Sky Splitter that tore through the air, instantly clearing a vacuum zone.
Meanwhile, on Orochimaru's side, the battle had reached its climax. One of the Yamata no Hakuryu's heads was pinned to the ground by the Yamata White Snake King King's bone spear, and black demonic energy was spreading along the wound into the snake's body, corroding its regenerative abilities. However, its remaining seven heads were tightly gripping the Oni King's body, continuously injecting dark green venom into the opponent's body.
"You think you can win like this?" The Ghost King roared deafeningly, his body swelling as black ghostly energy erupted like a tsunami. "I am..."
"He's going to self-destruct!" Tsunade's voice suddenly rose, she shook off the demon general in front of her, and her golden Chakra surged once more, " Jiraiya! Attack!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiraiya unleashed his Sage Mode Chakra without reservation. " Fukasaku- sama, Shima- sama! Please!"
"Leave it to us, little Jiraiya!"
The two Sage to the ground, and their hands Hand Seals simultaneously with Jiraiya's.
" Sage Art: Frog Song!"
"Super Strength - Mountain-Shattering Strike!"
" Manda - Venomous Devour!"
Three distinct yet perfectly coordinated attacks simultaneously slammed into the demon king who was about to self-destruct. A deafening explosion rang out, and black demonic energy intertwined with golden Chakra and blue Senjutsu light, forming a twisted energy storm.
When the storm subsided, the demon king's body had turned to ashes. Orochimaru's Yamata White Snake King reverted to human form, his face as pale as paper, black blood constantly gushing from the corner of his mouth—the corrosive demonic energy had invaded his internal organs. Tsunade knelt on the ground, the Strength of a Hundred Cursed Seal on her forehead dimmed considerably, her rapid breathing betraying her exhaustion. Jiraiya worse shape, his left arm twisted unnaturally, clearly broken when he took the demon king's attack head-on.
But they had no time to catch their breath.
The other two ghost kings noticed the commotion and charged over with sinister smiles. One of them was surrounded by icy blue ghost fire, and thick layers of ice formed wherever it passed; the other wielded two enormous bone blades and moved so fast that only afterimages remained.
"Can you still move?" Tsunade and stood up, placing her right hand on Jiraiya's severed arm, and a green Medical Ninjutsu light shone.
"I won't die." Jiraiya winced in pain, but still managed a smile. " Orochimaru, how long can that skin of yours last?"
Orochimaru wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his snake-like eyes flashing with a crazed light. "Enough to tear them to shreds."
Just then, a unified shout came from behind.
" Konoha's new generation of ninjas, counterattack by day, defend to the death by night, fight to the last man!"
"Fight to the death, never retreat!"
"Fight to the death, never retreat!"
Tsunade and the other two looked back and saw that the young ninjas who had been bandaging their wounds were now charging forward with weapons in hand. The boy with the severed arm had tied his Ninja Blade to his arm with bandages, the female ninjas had blood-soaked gauze wrapped around their foreheads, and even some civilian samurai had picked up iron swords and katanas and followed behind the ninjas.
The last rays of the setting sun fell upon them, as if gilding these blood-soaked warriors with a golden edge.
"Looks like... we can't lose either." Jiraiya smiled as he wiped the blood from his face; his left arm, thanks to Tsunade's treatment, was now able to move with some difficulty.
Tsunade clenched her fist, her golden Senjutsu Chakra igniting once more. "Then let them see how the ninjas of Konoha really fight!"
Orochimaru licked his lips, the black Cursed Seal reappearing on his cheek. "The prey has come knocking..."
The three of them moved swiftly and charged towards the two menacing ghost kings once again.
At the very edge of the battlefield, a figure in a black cloak stood atop a charred tree, silently observing everything. He wore a white mask, revealing only his two Rinnegan, which reflected the blood-red battlefield below. A cryptic smile seemed to curve at the corner of his mouth.
"Interesting... We Ōtsutsuki Clan haven't arrived yet..." The deep voice dissipated in the wind, "This game is getting more and more interesting."
Night began to fall, and the blood-red battlefield was about to be shrouded in darkness. But the shouts of Konoha were brighter than the Xingchen and fiercer than the flames.
Fight to the death, never retreat.
This is not just a slogan, but a vow they have etched into their bones with their lives.
And this war has only just entered its most brutal phase.