Uchiha Fugaku showed no interest in Gastly whatsoever.
He didn't even exhibit the slightest emotional fluctuation.
His five fingers slowly spread open.
In the next instant, the air seemed to be grasped by his palm, the airflow instantly swirling into a vortex that exploded outward with Fugaku at its center!
Dust was kicked up from the ground, leaves were shredded, and the temperature rapidly fluctuated as if both flames and cold air were being simultaneously drawn in.
This was a further external manifestation of Houndour's Flash Fire ability, transformed under Fugaku's Chakra drive into a pulling force.
Just as Gastly was about to solidify its form, its dark purple gas was instantly torn apart by the airflow, scattering into fragmented shapes.
"Oh? This pulling force..."
Gastly's voice instantly fractured into multiple segments, echoing from all directions.
Fugaku's Sharingan tightly tracked the black nodes within those air currents.
Whoosh!
His figure flashed, as if intending to directly grasp Gastly's core.
However, Gastly seemed to have anticipated that Fugaku wouldn't continue wasting words.
The black mist receded like a tide, leaving behind a strange afterimage trail in the air that ultimately transformed into a faint wisp of purple smoke.
With the battle concluded, Uchiha Fugaku contemplated his own power.
He shook his head.
It still wasn't enough.
This Flash Fire ability needed further enhancement; otherwise, it would remain insufficient to counter Sunlight Power.
Though Mikoto was his future wife, as a matter of husbandly pride, Uchiha Fugaku didn't wish to be known merely as the Clan Head's husband.
He wanted to be known as Uchiha Mikoto's husband.
With this thought, Fugaku withdrew his hand and departed from the street directly.
At the frontline camp of Hidden Leaf Village.
Danzo sat quietly inside the command tent, his expression darker than the overcast sky outside.
For some time now, that bizarre Rainbow Dojo had stood like a massive boulder between Hidden Leaf and the Land of Rain.
It neither attacked nor provoked, yet steadily blocked all attempts at probing.
Over a dozen elite members from Root and Anbu had entered, none able to pass the first Vine Barrier.
Several had even had their Chakra drained completely, falling unconscious for days.
Danzo understood perfectly clearly: to forcibly conquer the Rainbow Dojo would require deploying at least ten battalions of ninja.
What did that scale represent?
It was nearly enough for Hidden Leaf to wage a village-destroying level war.
But that would be utterly meaningless.
Deploying such force didn't align with Hidden Leaf's interests, much less with his political objective of secretly maintaining balance.
Therefore, he had to convince Sakumo Hatake.
A ninja he least wanted to cooperate with, yet had no choice but to cooperate with.
Because...
Regarding the Rainbow Dojo matter, he had to admit that without Sakumo, he simply couldn't succeed.
With this thought, Danzo suppressed all his resentment and rose to walk toward the adjacent command tent.
Sakumo Hatake sat alone before his desk,
The lamplight illuminated his lean yet steady features as he held an opened letter from home announcing the impending birth of his child.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up.
"Is there something you need, Lord Danzo?"
Danzo came straight to the point: "We can delay no longer. Tomorrow we launch a full-scale assault on that strange dojo."
Given Sakumo's usual temperament, Danzo expected immediate opposition,
since Sakumo had clearly stated his reluctance to venture lightly into unknown territory.
But contrary to expectations.
Sakumo Hatake offered not a single word of objection.
He even picked up a thick scroll from the desk and handed it to Danzo.
"This is the battle plan I've already prepared."
Danzo frowned slightly as he accepted the scroll.
Expecting it to be merely a perfunctory document, he was shocked to find it terrifyingly detailed:
Plant types around Rainbow Dojo, Chakra reactions, weather changes, vine attack mechanisms...
Even the density changes of trace pollen in the air before and after Erika's appearance were meticulously recorded.
Combat simulation diagrams, retreat routes, reinforcement methods, the Gym Leader's three possible tactical branches...
Each page left Danzo increasingly astonished.
When he looked up at Sakumo, his emotions were as complex as swallowing bitter wine.
Sakumo Hatake said softly:
"Lord Danzo, the Gym Leader of Rainbow Dojo... is no ordinary enemy. This is currently the best plan to force her to act with minimal casualties."
He paused, his tone calm:
"...Very well."
As Danzo departed, Sakumo Hatake gazed at the egg in his backpack that was gradually emitting a hatching glow, feeling somewhat dazed.
The next morning, Sakumo Hatake slowly rose and joined Danzo.
They launched the full-scale assault on Rainbow Dojo.
Five frontline squads from the Hidden Leaf Village advanced simultaneously toward Rainbow Dojo under the dual command of Sakumo Hatake and Shimura Danzo.
Outside the dojo, vines writhed like living creatures, sensing the invasion in advance as they began to contract, tighten, and root themselves.
Sakumo Hatake raised his hand: "First team, prepare!"
Over a dozen Fire Release ninjas stepped forward simultaneously, forming hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Flame Formation Wall!"
They advanced like a sea of fire, forcibly drying out the entire grassland as the vines curled up.
Then the Sealing Team ninjas immediately stepped forward, precisely unrolling their scrolls.
Four Jonin pressed black patterns into the ground, spreading into a giant net that temporarily froze the underground Chakra flow.
In this era, as the leader of the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Hidden Leaf's assault on Rainbow Dojo proceeded smoothly once they had analyzed sufficient intelligence and information.
Eight more members took positions to provide support assistance.
Dozens of black patterns flew into the vines, successfully suppressing their expansion speed to the minimum.
Sakumo Hatake immediately identified the key point:
"Quickly! She's countering the seal!"
Sure enough, a gentle yet firm, almost sacred Natural Energy began emanating from deep within the vines.
This was Gym Leader Erika reversely absorbing the Sealing Technique energy.
At that moment, Sakumo took action!
The White Fang Sword swept out like a silver moonlight.
This strike wasn't aimed at the vines, but at the underground Chakra Pathways, delaying Erika's countermeasure by three seconds.
Danzo watched the vine pulse rhythm and instantly released a Wind Release, severing the connections to other vines.
Sakumo immediately pursued:
"Sealing Team!"
Protected by the Fire Release team and Water Release guards, the Sealing Team rushed within thirty meters, completing the final seal: numerous vines ceased movement.
Rainbow Dojo was finally exposed in a moment of vulnerability.
"Prepare, she's coming."
Sakumo warned in a low voice.
As expected, the petal gate at the center of Rainbow Dojo slowly opened, and Erika emerged expressionlessly.
Her green kimono fluttered in the wind as she lightly raised her jade-like hand.
"To use such excessive force against nature... you're becoming increasingly brutal."
With one step forward, all the suppressed vines instantly erupted like a tidal wave.
"Fall back!"
Sakumo Hatake fixed his gaze on the kimono-clad woman opposite him.
Though she lacked Red's domineering flames, her control over the natural power of plants proved equally troublesome.
The vines moved with eerie speed, each one resembling a high-velocity whip shadow.
Danzo snorted coldly as several sealing snakes flew from his back to entangle the vines, only to have their Chakra instantly drained and reduced to withered skins falling to the ground.
Subsequently, some members of the sealing squad began to retreat.
Fire Release techniques also extinguished due to the burst of humidity.
"White Fang of the Hidden Leaf Village, you've chosen to oppose nature after all."