"Ah, it looks like Konoha is going to win."
Far away from the battlefield, White Zetsu, acting as both observer and commentator, clicked its tongue in surprise.
"Indeed. I didn't expect the Sunagakure shinobi to be this useless, two thousand ninja and they still couldn't take down three people."
Black Zetsu, ever sharp-tongued, spoke with a mocking tone as if it had not been desperately evading the shockwaves and tremors alongside White Zetsu moments earlier.
Even so, Black Zetsu remained Black Zetsu. Its insight was far superior to White Zetsu's simple reactions.
Even it could clearly see that Hayashi's use of Susanoo was already at a terrifying level, a peak display of power in the current shinobi world.
There was no doubt about it, Hayashi was a combat genius.
Just like Uchiha Madara, who once used Susanoo as armor for the Nine Tails, fusing dojutsu with tailed beast power to dramatically increase combat effectiveness.
Hayashi had done something similar, pouring overwhelming power into Susanoo and forcing out destructive force from a form that was not even fully mature.
For a moment, it reminded Black Zetsu of Senju Hashirama's Thousand Hands Buddha technique.
Hashirama could unleash countless giant arms from the True Several Thousand Hands, crushing enemies with overwhelming force, even breaking through Uchiha Madara's Susanoo armor head-on.
In this era, Hayashi's current state, combined with Sage Mode and the Mangekyo Sharingan, made him appear almost invincible.
However, Black Zetsu was not concerned.
A normal Mangekyo Sharingan could not maintain that level of power for long. And even if it could, so what? Could he surpass Uchiha Madara?
Even Madara had once been under its influence. Even if Hayashi became another Madara, it changed nothing.
Still, Black Zetsu could not help but feel a faint sense of regret.
Why had Uchiha Madara chosen Uchiha Fugaku back then?
To be fair, Fugaku was not weak either, having awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and influenced the Hidden Mist Village on his own. But comparisons always diminish value.
Compared to Hayashi, Fugaku suddenly felt like the "neighbor's child" everyone compared others to.
If Hayashi had been Madara's chosen successor, the tailed beasts might already have been gathered by now.
Black Zetsu was still thinking when White Zetsu suddenly spoke.
"Konoha's Lightning Flash is moving."
On the battlefield, as Susanoo finally disappeared, the violent tremors gradually faded.
Looking around, more than half of the Sunagakure shinobi had already been wiped out or incapacitated.
The remaining survivors were shaken to the core. They no longer had the courage to fight Hayashi directly.
Hayashi did not immediately continue his attack.
After landing lightly on the ground, he released Samehada and took a slow breath.
Chakra filled the air around him as he prepared his next move.
Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique.
A massive torrent of water erupted forward, spreading rapidly across the desert.
The ground that had been shattered by Susanoo collapsed further, forming a massive crater that easily filled with water.
For ordinary Sunagakure shinobi, this was nothing short of a disaster.
Those already injured from earlier attacks were especially vulnerable as the rising water swallowed them.
Even high level shinobi could handle it, but the majority were already exhausted and panicked.
The Third Hokage, standing nearby, immediately followed up with hand seals after Hayashi completed the jutsu.
Flames erupted across the surface of the water.
The timing was perfect. Shinobi who had just managed to surface were instantly engulfed.
The water level dropped slightly as steam and explosions tore through the flooded battlefield.
Seeing their coordination, Hanzō glanced upward in silence, feeling that his presence here hardly changed anything at all.
Nearby, Ebizo carried the unconscious Sasori while looking at the remaining Sunagakure forces. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"Retreat."
But retreat was easier said than done.
With Konoha's high speed fighters still on the field, very few of the remaining Sunagakure shinobi would escape alive.
At that moment, a dark silhouette appeared in the distance, approaching at extreme speed.
In an instant, the figure landed in front of everyone.
Ebizo froze.
The man wore a Kazekage hat and a dark coat.
The Third Kazekage.
He had been on the front lines of another battlefield, but urgent intelligence had reached him through rapid transmission methods resembling space time communication.
The presence of the Third Hokage, Hanzō, and Konoha's Lightning Flash in the same location, intercepting two thousand shinobi, could not be ignored.
Without hesitation, he had rushed here immediately.
The distance was not short, and sandstorm zones stood in his path, but for someone who mastered Magnet Release, they were not obstacles.
The Third Kazekage was a man of action. Once he decided, he moved.
However, as he approached, he had already felt the distant tremors.
That feeling alone told him something was wrong.
When he finally arrived, what he saw was devastation.
A flooded crater filled with bodies from Sunagakure.
A battlefield soaked in blood and ruin.
Silence followed.
Then iron sand surged into the sky like a river, forming countless spears that shot downward.
The Third Hokage immediately extended his staff, deflecting the incoming attack with precise rotations.
Hayashi did not even pause to analyze it. He swung Samehada directly, shattering the iron sand spear mid air and scattering it back into particles.
Hanzō let out a faint comment.
"Still the same old tricks."
Hayashi gave a slight smile.
All three of them had faced the Third Kazekage before. His methods were familiar.
A cold light flashed in the Third Kazekage's eyes.
He raised his hand.
Massive amounts of iron sand gathered in the sky, forming a gigantic flowing river that crashed downward toward the Third Hokage's position.
Then he turned sharply and shouted.
"Ebizo, fall back, I will handle them here."
Hayashi raised an eyebrow.
One versus three?
Did the Third Kazekage think this was some kind of game?
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