"Yoshimaru, watch your footing!" Hyūga Satomi suddenly warned. With her penetrating vision, she saw a Hidden Rain ninja using an Earth Release technique to transform a vast stretch of ground into a massive swamp.
Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!
Akimichi Yoshimaru had already activated his Expansion Jutsu and was rampaging through the forest. His enormous body and limbs granted him monstrous destructive power—but also greatly limited his mobility.
The swamp immediately put him in danger. His massive body began slowly sinking into the mire…
"Naoko!" Yoshimaru shouted.
"On it!" Naoko instantly began forming hand seals at high speed.
Satomi moved in close to protect her. With the coordination of Gentle Fist and her keen vision, every kunai and shuriken aimed at Naoko was knocked away.
Earth Release: Earth Flow River!
In an instant, all the surrounding terrain liquefied. Surging chakra turned the ground into a flowing river of mud.
Everyone nearly lost their footing and was almost swept away by the torrent!
"Satomi, grab onto me!" Naoko called. She had already completed another jutsu.
"Got it!"
Earth Release: Hiding in Rock Technique!
The two gradually sank into the sea of mud and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"My turn!" Yoshimaru suddenly pulled his head and limbs into his body, forming a massive ball. Then, following the current of the Earth Flow River, he rolled toward the enemy at astonishing speed.
This was the Akimichi clan's signature secret technique—Human Bullet Tank!
Wherever it passed, trees and Hidden Rain ninja alike were crushed into nothing before this living war machine.
Satomi, who had repositioned to a high branch, watched in bewilderment. "How can Akimichi-senpai do that? How can he keep spinning at high speed in such muddy terrain?"
How could someone so large maintain rapid rotation and attack in a mudflow? It defied logic.
Naoko laughed and explained, "If it were a stagnant Swamp of the Underworld, he'd be stuck. But since it's a moving Earth Flow River, Yoshimaru can use the current of the sand and silt to maintain his rotation."
"He's suffered losses from this before, so he's trained specifically for it. Though I'm the one who suffers more—since I'm his sparring partner… haha!"
"I see…"
At this point, dozens of Hidden Rain ninja in the area had fallen silent. Yoshimaru's Human Bullet Tank had turned this section of the battlefield into a killing field.
"Thirty-four left," Satomi reported solemnly.
"I'm running low on chakra…" Naoko sighed softly. Not just her—after fighting this long, all of them were heavily drained.
"The enemies are at least Chunin level, and there are plenty of Jonin among them. It's getting difficult," Satomi said. In her sight, four individuals possessed chakra reserves comparable to Captain Minato's.
Especially the masked leader—his chakra felt like a bottomless ocean.
It could be said that most of the enemies they had eliminated so far were mere cannon fodder.
The elite jōnin unit had yet to move.
"Military Rations Pills… ration pills… No choice, I have to take one," Naoko muttered resignedly as she closed her eyes and swallowed another ration pill.
Satomi, however, showed no hesitation at all—she swallowed hers even faster than Yoshimaru did.
The decisiveness and resolve expected of a ninja were displayed perfectly by the fifteen-year-old girl.
…
...
...
On another part of the battlefield, Shimizu and Minato took turns launching high-speed assassination attempts against the masked ninja, while steadily wearing down the remaining Hidden Rain forces.
"There are twelve left."
Minato once again used Flying Thunder God, appearing behind the masked man in an instant, grabbing his marked kunai and slashing down hard.
The masked man once more turned into a wooden substitute.
Another attack missed…
"You guys are really annoying. Buzzing around me like flies," the masked man said, reappearing in the center of four Hidden Rain ninja to avoid being harassed again by Shimizu and Minato taking turns.
Both of them were slightly out of breath now—but there was no pause. Two more squads of Rain ninja rushed toward them.
"This is endless. At this rate, we'll be worn down to death," Minato muttered with a frown.
Compared to the beginning—when most of the enemies had been chūnin—the current Rain ninja were almost all jōnin or even elite jōnin.
An absurd thought crossed both their minds:
Had these Rain ninja increased their strength through some forbidden technique?
Otherwise, how could so many high-level ninja appear here at once—just to deal with the five of them?
It was unbelievable.
Now, the effort and cost required to eliminate even one enemy were on an entirely different level than before.
The battle intensity was overwhelming.
Especially for Shimizu—his own chakra reserves were nearly depleted.
"Hey, you over there, Konoha ninja," the masked man mocked, pretending to dig in his ear. "Looks like you're almost out of chakra?"
"And what was that you said earlier? I didn't catch it. Mind repeating it?"
Shimizu had no time for banter.
Three jōnin and one elite jōnin were launching lethal attacks at him simultaneously.
In terms of speed, strength, and timing, this four-man combination was the most troublesome he had ever faced.
Just defending and dodging their relentless barrage had already drained nearly all his strength…
Another kunai shot toward him. As Shimizu moved to sidestep, a jōnin behind him spat out a streak of blue light.
Lightning!
By the time Shimizu realized it was a calculated double attack, it was too late…
The blue flash pierced straight through his chest.
He fell instantly to one knee—blood rapidly soaking his dark green flak jacket.
"Haha! I knew it. Trash like you, without even a bloodline limit, are nothing more than loud-mouthed background ninja," the masked man said cheerfully. "Even the Second Hokage you all admire so much—I personally beat him until he cried for his parents. You brats didn't know that, did you?"
"…"
"Oh? Don't believe me? You really think your little Water Release amounts to anything? And that blond over there—does he think knowing Flying Thunder God makes him invincible?" The masked man, confident of victory, openly mocked them.
His voice suddenly turned sinister.
"If I could kill Tobirama Senju, then your fate can only be death as well."
Judging by his voice, the masked man sounded no older than thirty—very young. How could someone who had shone during the First Great Ninja War possibly be this age?
Moreover, according to Konoha's official records, the Second Hokage had exhausted himself buying time for his subordinates to escape, ultimately falling to the Gold and Silver Brothers of Kumogakure.
How could that possibly have anything to do with this masked man?
Yet even with the official explanation, many still believed the Second Hokage's death remained one of the great mysteries of the First Great Ninja War.
After all, the man hailed as the "Fastest in the Shinobi World"—even if he couldn't win, how could he not escape? Who would believe that?
"With Tobirama's speed, do you really think trash like the Gold and Silver Brothers could stop him? It was all thanks to me! Hahaha!" The masked man returned to his usual flippant tone.
"What's your name?" Shimizu asked in a low voice, kneeling on one knee as lightning-induced paralysis coursed through him.
"Oh, so you finally believe me? Fine, fine. Since you're being so sincere, I'll generously tell you again."
"My enemies usually call me 'Zetsu.' But I prefer they call me Tobi—that's my real name."
...
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