Kōki was unconcerned by the Sunagakure's intense killing intent. In his view, it was merely the enemy's last-ditch effort. His only thought was to kill all the enemies and delay the time it would take for his Wood Release to be revealed.
Although he wasn't afraid of being exposed, it would be better to delay it.
With that in mind, he continued to carefully manipulate the trees to attack Sunagakure.
The three members of the Ino -Ino-Shika-Cho beside Kōki were full of praise for the power of Wood Release he displayed, "As expected of the First Hokage, his power is truly terrifying."
They had expected that facing such a large number of Sunagakure attackers, they would be seriously injured or even die.
However, to their Kōki easily defeated most of the Sunagakure using only Wood Release. Their immense strength made them cheer for Kōki.
Under Kōki's control, countless tree roots attacked the Sunagakure on the other side. The Sunagakure could only dodge helplessly. It wasn't that they didn't want to fight back, but their attacks were just a drop in the ocean against the endless trees. Once they were entangled by the trees, their only fate was death.
Many of their comrades had already been killed by the swarming trees because of their delay in fighting back, a tragic situation that constantly reminded them of their plight.
Moreover, they were extremely anxious because they were on the verge of collapse under such attacks.
Just as they were about to make their final push, the Sunagakure Village leader spoke up again, "Don't rush. Such a powerful technique will consume a lot of Chakra. With that brat's Chakra reserves, if we wait a little longer, he will naturally stop. And once he stops, that will be our opportunity."
"But remember, our target this time is that Anbu brat. Don't waste your energy on the Ino-Shika-Cho trio next to him. We'll separate them, then send a few people to hold off the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and the rest of you focus your fire on the Wood Release brat."
Even though they had lost half their men, they still had a huge numerical advantage over Kōki. Therefore, attacking from two sides was the best way they could think of to defeat Kōki.
Unfortunately, they didn't realize that having more people wasn't actually an advantage against those using Wood Release; this lack of information was the reason for their defeat.
Ignoring what the Sunagakure members were discussing, Kōki estimated his chakra Chakra, stopped his Advent of a World of Trees, and instead used other Wood Release.
" Wood Release: Adamantine Attacking Trees "
The Sunagakure members, thinking that Kōki was out of Chakra and not wanting to miss their chance, charged towards Kōki again.
However, they still underestimated Kōki's other Wood Release.
Countless hard, sharp logs grew from the branches behind the Sunagakure and stretched towards Sunagakure.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Dozens of shrill screams rang out at the same time, and another twenty or thirty Sunagakure were impaled by Kōki's Wood Release because they were unable to dodge in time.
Moreover, because the attack was so well concealed, even the leader of the Sunagakure was not completely evaded, and he also suffered wounds from the wooden attack.
He covered his left arm with his right hand, panting as he looked around and found that he only had thirty or forty people left on his side, and they all had more or less injuries on their bodies.
He realized the enemy wasn't so easy to deal with. To prevent their complete annihilation, he said to the remaining men, " That Wood Release brat is no ordinary person. Just in case, let's find a chance to send news of the Wood Release appearing in Konoha back to the village so they can prepare. The rest of you, continue attacking the Konoha Ninja with me. That way, even if we all die, it won't be a complete waste."
The leader's words were filled with determination; he had made up his mind that he would not leave until Kōki was dealt with. The Sunagakure members beside him were also infected by his resolute emotions and made up their minds not to leave until they killed the Anbu.
" Maruyoshi, go and relay the information back to the village. Make sure you personally deliver it to Lady Chiyo," the Sunagakure leader said to a young Sunagakure member in his team.
This young man was the youngest and most talented member of their team, and he didn't want such a young ninja to perish here.
However, his words were immediately refuted by the young Sunagakure, who was not impressed by the arrangement. "Captain, I'm staying. You can have someone else, or a summoning beast, deliver the message."
The young ninja named Maruyoshi understood what his captain meant, but he would never desert his post. He wanted to fight alongside his captain, even if it meant death.
"Fool, listen to me carefully. We have to take a two-pronged approach. I'll use the summoning beast, and you have to go back. Only in this way, even if one of you encounters a problem, the other can still deliver the message. That way, our sacrifice won't be in vain."
The Sunagakure leader, dodging the tree attacks, saw Maruyoshi's stubbornness and nearly got hit by one himself. He spoke earnestly again, " Maruyoshi, your role is crucial. You must carry the will of everyone here back to the village and not let us down. Besides, we have the upper hand now. Perhaps we can meet again in the village after we successfully kill the user of Wood Release."
Finally, the Sunagakure Village leader pulled a blank scroll from his pocket, bit his finger, and wrote information on it.
After finishing writing, he handed the scroll Kōki's information to Maruyoshi, saying again, "You know how important this information is. Be careful on the road, and make sure you bring it back to the village."
Under the captain's reprimand, Maruyoshi understood the importance of the intelligence. With tears in his eyes, he put away the intelligence, nodded seriously, and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to travel. He would definitely bring the intelligence back to the village, and then bring back reinforcements from the village to rescue his comrades here.
Meanwhile, Kōki was constantly watching the Sunagakure's movements, saw a Sunagakure leave with a scroll and immediately realized that his information was likely on it.
"I absolutely cannot let him leave," Yuki thought to himself. A sharp, green thorn slipped from Kōki's right hand. He grabbed it, swung it forcefully, and threw it at the Sunagakure fleeing the battlefield.
The high-speed flying wooden spikes quickly approached the back of the Sunagakure Sunagakure, who remained completely unaware.
Just as the wooden spike struck the Sunagakure Villager, a Sunagakure Sunagakure who appeared out of nowhere, presumably the leader, stepped in from behind and took the piercing blow head-on. However, he underestimated the power of the wooden spike.
The wooden spike, still brimming with power, continued its thrust towards the Sunagakure, piercing him through.
Thus, both Sand Ninja were successfully hit by Kōki's wooden spikes.
Having achieved his goal, Kōki raised two fingers and brought them together, chanting " Wood Release: Cutting Technique ".
The wooden spike that pierced through the two Sand Ninjas branched out and grew inside one of Sunagakure, eventually breaking through the surface of their Sunagakure.
The two Sunagakure also fell straight down from mid-air to the ground, lifeless.
Having witnessed this, Kōki, who had already completed his intelligence-blocking work, stopped paying attention to the two Sunagakure who had died from the Cutting Technique and instead used Wood Release to attack the other Sunagakure.
After witnessing their captain and the messenger being killed by Kōki, the Sunagakure were consumed by rage and launched a suicide attack, ignoring the Wood Release that were coming at them and using their Ninjutsu to directly target Kōki.
However, to their despair, their Ninjutsu was often blocked by Kōki's manipulation of trees halfway through their flight.
In other words, their Ninjutsu was ineffective, and their Taijutsu made it difficult to get close. All their counterattacks were blocked by the enemy, leaving them as easy targets.
" Sunagakure, all of you, die here!"
" Wood Release: Piercing Formation "
Kōki was no longer going to waste time. Under the influence of his Chakra, countless trees surrounding the Sunagakure troops sprouted sharp thorns and then shot out in all directions.
Countless wooden spikes crisscrossed and flew through this confined space, forming a piercing net of spikes. All the Sunagakure within the space faced attacks from countless wooden spikes.
Kōki himself, along with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, hid under the Wood Expulsion Jutsu he had cast, avoiding the indiscriminate attack of wooden spikes.