At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, an emerald-green valley lay in profound silence.
At the very center of the valley stood a structure resembling a vast garden, quiet and imposing.
Rainbow Dojo.
Its entire form glowed with a soft, seven-colored radiance. Vines coiled around its walls, and delicate petals drifted down from its eaves, making it seem less like a building and more like a colossal flower that had grown for millennia.
Sakumo Hatake stood at a distance, his gaze steady yet vigilant.
He had been guarding this front line for several days.
Though separated by just one dojo, it felt like two different worlds.
Sakumo was cautious.
He had never approached—until this day.
Footsteps approached.
Sakumo turned and immediately recognized the figure ahead.
"Lord Danzo, you've arrived?"
Shimura Danzo was covered in dust, clearly having rushed here in haste.
He offered no pleasantries, instead letting out a disdainful snort filled with accusation.
"White Fang, you've been stationed here all this time, yet you haven't even dared to probe this dojo... Truly too weak."
Sakumo did not refute him, only furrowing his brow slightly. He had previously tested the Flame Gym and clashed with Red, well aware that without concrete intelligence on the Gym Leaders' strength, reckless probing was tantamount to suicide.
But he did not argue with Danzo.
"Hmph."
Danzo flicked his sleeve and waved a hand.
"Since Lord White Fang is unwilling to act, this matter will be handled by my Root unit."
As soon as he spoke, over a dozen Root members leaped out, their movements clean and precise, charging straight for the entrance of the Rainbow Dojo.
A warning flashed in Sakumo's eyes. "Wait!"
But it was too late.
The moment the Root members stepped into the vine-covered area surrounding the dojo, the entire Rainbow Dojo seemed to awaken.
Vines trembled.
Flowers quivered.
Petals drifting in the wind suddenly reversed direction and soared upward, as if welcoming a distinguished guest.
An ethereally elegant figure emerged slowly from within the sea of flowers.
It was a woman dressed in a jade-green kimono.
Her hair was black as silk, her eyes gentle yet unfathomably deep.
She bowed gracefully, her smile like a spring breeze. "A pleasure to meet you, ninjas of the Hidden Leaf Village."
Her voice was as light as petals falling on water, delicate yet impossible to ignore.
"My name is Erika, the Gym Leader of the Rainbow Dojo."
Shimura Danzo snorted coldly. "Enough with the theatrics. Establishing such a facility without permission... What exactly are you plotting in the Land of Rain?"
Erika merely maintained her smile. "By barging into my dojo, you have already breached etiquette. In my dojo, guests who lack courtesy are not qualified for assessment."
The world shifted colors.
The earth trembled, and roots spread rapidly across the ground.
Dozens of thick vines shot up from the soil,
coiling like whips around the limbs, waists, and necks of the Root members.
"Wha—!?"
The Root members had no time to break free.
The vines tightened instantly!
Their Chakra was violently drained, and within moments, their faces turned pale and their strength vanished.
They collapsed weakly, held firmly by the vines, immobilized as if sentenced by nature itself.
All dozen-plus Root members had fallen.
Danzo watched with a cold expression; it was clear that the Root members' probing was solely for intelligence gathering. Nearby, Sakumo Hatake's gaze sharpened further at the sight.
Erika looked up, her expression still gentle but carrying a faint refusal:
"Rude individuals are not worthy of my assessment. Please leave."
Sakumo Hatake remained silent beside her.
Erika suddenly turned to him.
"Aren't you participating in the Gym challenge?"
Sakumo was momentarily taken aback.
Erika continued softly, "You carry... an intense Trainer aura. Moreover—"
Her gaze drifted downward, settling on the faintly glowing egg at his waist.
"It's about to hatch."
In truth, not only Sakumo Hatake but also the egg Danzo was incubating had entered its final stages. This group possessed Chakra levels that, at this time, slightly surpassed even Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.
Hence, their eggs took longer to hatch.
Currently, aside from the Rainbow Dojo, both the Cerulean Gym and Pewter Gym had endured repeated fierce battles.
Especially Brock, the Pewter Gym Leader—though no match for Ōnoki, the large-scale invasion by Cloud ninja during this period forced even Ōnoki to eventually withdraw from Pewter Gym.
Within the Land of Rain, Shiroishi completed the foundational transformation.
The World Tree's branches spanned the entire territory, natural energy flowing through the soil, rewriting ecosystems and reshaping landscapes. Countless Pokémon thrived, grew, and nested across this newborn continent.
Only three external Gyms remained as connection points: Rainbow, Cerulean, and Pewter.
Internally, Shiroishi established three new Dojos as part of his Trainer advancement system.
At the core of the World Tree, Shiroishi calculated energy flows, leyline structures, and ecological growth rates.
With a light sweep of his hand through the air, the outlines of the three Dojos materialized in a projection of a different dimension:
The Viridian Dojo was positioned in the Land of Rain's vastest lake valley, where the World Tree Root System was most lush, pulsating with vitality like a forest's heart.
The second, Vermilion Dojo, was constructed at the northern convergence point of electrical energy pulses—a region perpetually wreathed in lightning, with clouds crackling with static electricity.
Under Shiroishi's design, an electric-powered city would rise here, driven by wind, ocean currents, and the World Tree's charge.
The final centerpiece was the Saffron Dojo, guarding Amegakure itself.
Arranged in a triangular formation across the Land of Rain, the three Dojos formed a closed-loop energy cycle.
"Next, I must capture the other Tailed Beasts to construct the next mythological system."
The next phase of the mythological system...
Naturally, this referred to the Ecological Zone Shiroishi had previously established in the Land of Water.
In fact, Shiroishi had already deployed over ten similar ecological zones across the Land of Water's archipelago—all to pinpoint the Three-Tails' location.
Gedō Mazō.
Guided by White Zetsu, Uchiha Madara seemed resolved to create a conscious clone of his own.
As his body linked with the Gedō Mazō, he released a mass of shadow.
Black Zetsu infiltrated it, preparing to manifest through this shadowy entity.
At that moment, Madara sat cross-legged at the center of a massive root system, his Chakra fluctuating with the Mazō's pulses.
Thick tendrils of shadow emanated from his back, as if the prototype of some will was taking form.
This was the will doppelganger Madara had released.
And deep within the shadows, Black Zetsu lurked silently.
At last... I can descend through Madara's will...
The shadow condensed to its extreme.
Black Zetsu prepared to emerge along Madara's consciousness channel, like a parasite breaking through its host's barrier.
Just then, Drampa chuckled.
The laugh was faint and brief, yet it resembled an ancient sage deliberately startling a slumbering snake.
He exhaled a wisp of ethereal blue smoke, which enveloped the shadow emanating from Madara, flowing along its veins and precisely locking onto Black Zetsu's body.
Black Zetsu shuddered violently.
Uchiha Madara did not stop Drampa.
The black Ninja Beast Egg that had incubated within him until now was suddenly torn out from the depths of his chest, as if its soul had been ripped away!
In that instant, Black Zetsu was bewildered.
It wasn't physical pain, but a fundamental force leaving him.
No!
That's... that's mine!!
A strange maternal emotion arose.
Without any hesitation, Black Zetsu extended a shadowy black arm, frantically lunging toward the black Ninja Beast Egg that had detached from his body.
Forest-like shadows transformed into sharp claws, grasping at the egg in midair.
Just as Black Zetsu was about to touch it again,
A cold edge flashed.
Clang!
Uchiha Madara's sickle was already in his hand, though no one noticed when he had drawn it.
Without any emotion, he merely flicked it lightly.
The shadow arm was cleanly severed, falling to the ground like a cut cloth strip.
And that black Ninja Beast Egg floated at the center of the Gedō Mazō's luminous veins,
Slowly rotating, nurtured by the Gedō Mazō's power, it began to hatch.
Uchiha Madara: "As expected, my will is taking form within this Ninja Beast Egg."
Black Zetsu: ...
No!!
That belongs to me!!!
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