The massive Wood Release giant, standing more than ten meters tall, rampaged wildly through Kumogakure's army.
Even though Natsuhiko hadn't equipped the Wood Human with any weapons and had deliberately restrained its size, once something of that scale entered the battlefield, it became nothing short of a massacre.
The Fourth Raikage and Killer B had naturally attempted to stop it.
Unfortunately, they simply couldn't.
And at the same time, they had no way to retreat either.
Under Natsuhiko's control, every punch and kick from the Wood Human caused the earth itself to tremble violently.
With each strike, an unknown number of shinobi lost their lives.
The Kumo forces were being wiped out at an astonishing rate.
Faced with such a desperate situation, they naturally attempted to counterattack.
But whether it was ninjutsu or taijutsu, every attack that landed on the Wood Human was utterly meaningless. Not even the slightest ripple appeared across its massive body.
The Wood Human Technique had originally been created to rival Susanoo itself.
And even though Susanoo had its own history of being shattered in battle, a technique of this caliber would never collapse under attacks of this level.
...
"It's too much... the gap is too big. Can we really win against a monster like this?"
Finally, one Kumo shinobi completely lost control.
As he watched companion after companion fall before his eyes while he remained utterly powerless to stop it, the last thread holding his mind together snapped.
Staring at the enormous figure in the distance—the gigantic wooden giant relentlessly crushing everything in its path—he could no longer endure it.
And he wasn't the only one.
At this very moment, countless Kumo shinobi were gradually breaking down mentally.
The enemy standing before them was simply too powerful.
So powerful that it suffocated them.
Every person had limits to what their heart could endure.
Even shinobi, whose mental fortitude far surpassed ordinary people, were no exception.
When comrades continuously died around them…
When they clearly understood they were nothing more than praying mantises trying to stop a chariot, yet still had no choice but to charge forward…
Eventually, someone would become the first to flee.
And once that happened, the entire Kumo army would collapse instantly.
Besides, against a technique like the Wood Human…
Against an opponent like Natsuhiko…
Even if they somehow maintained their morale and refused to scatter, it still wouldn't make any difference.
"That damned bastard…" The Fourth Raikage cursed under his breath.
He could clearly see the state of the battlefield. At this rate, the entire Kumo force would completely collapse before long.
But there was almost nothing he could do about it.
Earlier, he had already coordinated with the army to launch a direct assault.
The result?
Although he had managed to blast open a hole in the Wood Human's body, the damage regenerated almost instantly.
Meanwhile, he himself had been sent flying backward by the counterforce.
This level of defense was even more terrifying than the Deep Forest Emergence technique Natsuhiko had used against him previously.
Just how much strength had this monster been hiding all along?
"Big Brother, we can't let this continue."
At that moment, Killer B suddenly spoke, his expression incomparably grave.
"We'll have to use Gyuki's power now."
"You mean the Eight-Tails?" The Fourth Raikage's expression changed slightly upon hearing those words. "No. You still haven't fully mastered its power!"
At this point in time, Killer B was far from the future version of himself who had completely synchronized with the Eight-Tails.
Although, because of Minato Namikaze's influence, he had spent years desperately trying to improve himself, one undeniable fact remained—
His usage of the Eight-Tails' power was still extremely crude, mostly limited to transforming into the Tailed Beast itself.
In fact, throughout the shinobi world, most Jinchuriki seemed to use their Tailed Beast powers in similarly simplistic ways.
Only Naruto had ever truly developed something like the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Whether that was because only Kurama possessed such an ability, or because no one else had managed to develop it properly, nobody knew.
And what Killer B was suggesting now was obvious.
He intended to fully unleash the Eight-Tails' power.
But his body had not yet reached its peak condition. Forcing himself to use the Eight-Tails so recklessly would place enormous strain upon him.
It was similar to how Naruto's body had suffered severe life-force depletion whenever he overused the Nine-Tails' chakra in the early days.
The current Killer B faced the exact same problem.
"Big Brother," Killer B said with a helpless sigh before raising his head again, his gaze becoming incomparably serious, "right now, the only thing capable of stopping that Wood Human… is Gyuki."
"And besides, we don't really have any other choice left. If this continues…"
Killer B didn't finish his sentence, but the Fourth Raikage already understood exactly what he meant.
And because he understood, he fell silent.
If things continued at this pace, the situation would only become worse and worse.
The Kumo army was already nearing its limit.
Thinking of that, the Fourth Raikage closed his eyes helplessly, while Killer B slowly shut his own.
In the next instant, an enormous surge of chakra began brewing inside his body.
That chakra immediately caught Natsuhiko's attention.
The brilliant blue light within his Jogan flickered slightly, and almost at once, he understood what Killer B intended to do.
Through his eyes, he could clearly see the gigantic monster hidden deep within Killer B's body beginning to awaken.
At the same time, Killer B's body rapidly started transforming.
Only moments later, an enormous Eight-Tails roughly the same size as Natsuhiko's Wood Human appeared before him.
"Still holding back?"
Seeing this, Natsuhiko couldn't help letting out a quiet laugh.
Naturally, he could clearly perceive just how severe the Eight-Tails' chakra erosion on Killer B's body truly was.
But no matter how serious it might have been, against the power Natsuhiko currently possessed, this level of transformation still looked insufficient no matter how he viewed it.
Yet immediately after laughing, Natsuhiko suddenly paused.
Because he realized something strange.
Why was he starting to feel more and more like a villain?
When he seriously thought back over everything he had done since arriving in the shinobi world, he suddenly realized that nearly every action he took had basically been a direct slap to the face of the traditional hot-blooded shonen protagonist archetype.
To put it more bluntly…
Wasn't he basically acting like the antagonist the entire time?
The things he had done included, but were certainly not limited to—wearing masks constantly so nobody could ever determine whether he was truly a good person or not.
When his personal interests conflicted with a mission, he had simply killed Kusunoki guy without hesitation and then taken the division commander's position for himself.
When members of his own clan tried to scheme against him, he never compromised. Instead, he directly used Senju Ryota's family as leverage, utterly ruining the man's life.
Later, after becoming ANBU Commander, when facing subordinates loyal to the Third Hokage, he never bothered trying to reform or emotionally persuade them.
He simply kicked every last one of them out.
Even while previous Hokage were still in power, once he saw an opportunity to become Hokage himself, Natsuhiko had never stopped scheming against them behind the scenes.
He even knew that if an old companion ever betrayed him…
He would probably kill them personally without hesitation.
Perhaps the only classic "villain" behavior he hadn't experienced yet was the situation of being loved by two girls at the same time.
Though judging by his personality and behavior so far…
He'd probably just choose, "I want both."
No matter how he looked at it, everything he had done resembled the methods of someone willing to use absolutely any means necessary.
A true villain.
"If I really am the villain…"
At that thought, the smile on Natsuhiko's face suddenly became even brighter.
"Then I might as well do it properly."
Hero? Villain?
To Natsuhiko, only the victor had the right to speak.
After all, the winner gained everything.
And the loser…
Lost everything.
With that thought in mind, Natsuhiko slowly floated out from within the Wood Human.
Arms crossed over his chest, he looked down upon everyone present from above before calmly speaking.
"You've all managed to surprise me a little. The Eight-Tails does look somewhat interesting."
He paused briefly.
"But…"
"Have any of you ever experienced true despair?"
True despair.
The instant those words left Natsuhiko's mouth, both the Fourth Raikage and the transformed Killer B were struck by an overwhelming sense of foreboding.
Unfortunately, they had absolutely no way to stop him.
Natsuhiko formed a hand seal.
In an instant, his chakra erupted violently.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Bloom!"
An indescribably vast amount of chakra burst forth from his body.
Even the blue chakra surrounding him became turbulent and chaotic from the sheer intensity, while his hair danced wildly in the wind.
BOOM!
The earth suddenly shook violently.
Countless tree branches and enormous vines burst upward from beneath the ground, spreading madly across the battlefield.
These branches and vines resembled the Deep Forest Emergence technique to some extent, yet they were clearly different.
As the endless vines and trees expanded to their limit, tightly closed flower buds began appearing along the countless branches.
Under the nourishment of Natsuhiko's mixed chakra, the plants multiplied endlessly, growing at an incomprehensible speed. In only a few seconds, they had already expanded beyond the scale of any normal vegetation in existence.
And along with the eruption of those branches and vines, countless Kumo shinobi who failed to react in time were instantly entangled and bound.
Some were buried alive beneath the earth the moment the gigantic trees erupted from below.
However, the Kumo forces were still elite shinobi after all. They quickly recovered from their shock and began desperately dodging the branches that relentlessly pursued them.
But mentally, they were already collapsing.
At this moment…
They had truly begun to understand what despair felt like.
...
"Is that... the Deep Forest Bloom?"
Back at Konoha's camp, the ordinary shinobi had already erupted into deafening cheers. Yet the clan heads remained unusually silent.
Disbelief flickered through their eyes.
That was Deep Forest Bloom!
As the leaders of Konoha's great clans, they naturally possessed records passed down through generations. Many of their ancestors had personally fought alongside the First Hokage himself.
Because of that, they knew quite a bit about Hashirama Senju's abilities—especially the legendary battle between the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara, which was one of Konoha's most significant historical events.
Naturally, detailed records of those techniques had also been preserved.
And they clearly understood the difference between Deep Forest Emergence and Deep Forest Bloom.
Deep Forest Bloom was essentially a fully evolved version of Deep Forest Emergence.
Moreover, Deep Forest Bloom had once been considered one of the First Hokage's signature techniques.
"It seems Commander Natsuhiko's strength has truly surpassed all of our imagination." Hyuga Hiashi finally spoke, his expression still carrying lingering shock.
But very quickly, he frowned slightly.
"And Commander Natsuhiko's eyes… does anyone know what exactly they are?"
"That's the question I wanted to ask you." Aburame Shibi rarely spoke unnecessarily, but now that the battle situation appeared overwhelmingly favorable, even he broke his usual silence.
"Your clan specializes in dojutsu too. Even you don't know?"
"Honestly… I really don't."
Hiashi sighed helplessly.
He truly had no idea what was happening with Natsuhiko's eyes. Although he vaguely remembered that the Hyuga clan's records might contain something similar, the immense pressure over recent months had completely occupied his mind.
He simply hadn't had the time—or energy—to investigate.
But now, he suddenly felt that with Senju Natsuhiko present, war itself no longer seemed like a problem.
Perhaps even Hiashi himself hadn't realized it yet…
But he had already begun viewing Natsuhiko as someone capable of ending an entire war through his strength alone.
...
Unlike the excitement and relief on Konoha's side, Kumogakure's forces had completely fallen into chaos.
Amid the deafening rumbling of the earth, the terrain itself had been forcibly reshaped.
The towering vegetation that erupted everywhere made the battlefield resemble an ancient primordial forest.
Looking upward, all one could see was an endless sea of vines and trees stretching into the distance.
If these had been ordinary trees, perhaps the Kumo shinobi could have used them as cover.
But these trees were all creations of Natsuhiko.
Every single one of them was a man-eating tree.
"Don't even think about it!"
The Fourth Raikage and Killer B continued frantically attacking the massive forest around them.
Among the countless Kumo shinobi, the two brothers were among the very few still capable of effectively resisting.
Yet even their efforts appeared pitifully insignificant beneath the overwhelming scale of Natsuhiko's endless forest.
Still, their performance was undeniably impressive.
The Fourth Raikage relied on his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to madly resist the encroaching branches while continuously rescuing trapped Kumo ninja from the vines.
Meanwhile, Killer B controlled the Eight-Tails as it wildly smashed apart the spreading Wood Release branches while simultaneously charging straight toward Natsuhiko.
The two brothers displayed remarkable fighting spirit and an unshakable determination to protect the Kumo shinobi behind them.
But Natsuhiko felt no sympathy whatsoever.
No matter how tragic or heroic they appeared now, it could not change one simple fact—
Kumogakure were the invaders.
And toward confirmed enemies, Natsuhiko had never possessed any unnecessary compassion.
What he intended to do was simple.
Bury every last one of them.
"Not bad."
Natsuhiko controlled the Wood Human and caught the Eight-Tails' incoming arm with one massive hand. Standing atop the giant's shoulder, he revealed a faint smile.
"But this level is still nowhere near enough."
As he spoke, the Wood Human's enormous fist suddenly swung out violently.
The punch crashed directly into the Eight-Tails' face.
Boom!
The gigantic beast was blasted away like a cannonball, smashing heavily into the surrounding forest created by Natsuhiko's Wood Release.
To be fair, Natsuhiko still hadn't unleashed the Wood Human at full power. He had deliberately maintained its size at only a little over ten meters tall.
But even so, the Eight-Tails' current performance appeared even more lacking in comparison.
Against an opponent of this level, Natsuhiko genuinely felt almost no pressure at all.
Still, he was already preparing to increase the intensity of the battle.
There were still several techniques he hadn't used yet.
He had no intention of ending things so casually.
Before that, however, he planned to clear the battlefield further while simultaneously applying more psychological pressure to the two brothers before him.
After all, both of them truly possessed impressive potential.
Especially in the future, the two would become figures capable of influencing the entire shinobi world.
Although they had not yet fully matured, that didn't stop Natsuhiko from wanting to "forcefully encourage their growth" a little.
As for the damage this might cause them…
Natsuhiko didn't care in the slightest.
After all, if not for certain concerns, he might have simply killed the two of them already.
"Didn't I ask you before? Have you felt despair?"
With that thought, Natsuhiko stopped the Wood Human's movements and formed another hand seal.
"Don't think this is all. Because this is just the beginning!"
As he said this, Natsuhiko's chakra surged once more, and the flower buds began to bloom slowly.
Imperceptible pollen drifted through the air. A faint, sweet fragrance spread—enticing and deadly.
...
"Lord Tsuchikage… what do we do now?"
Inside a cave far from the battlefield, Onoki stood alongside Kitsuchi and several Iwa shinobi while watching the horrifying scene unfold before them.
Cold sweat already covered their faces.
Especially Onoki.
At this moment, he looked almost absent-minded.
The combat power Natsuhiko displayed today was enough to make anyone feel fear from the bottom of their heart.
Is this brat already on par with the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama?
Onoki himself had never personally experienced the terror of Deep Forest Bloom.
However, he had once read records of the technique within his grandfather's notes.
His grandfather, Ishikawa—the First Tsuchikage—had personally witnessed Senju Hashirama's terrifying strength and had carefully documented those memories.
For years, Onoki had firmly believed that after Hashirama's death, no one else in the shinobi world would ever again wield Wood Release at such a monstrous level.
Even if someone managed to replicate it, there was no way it could ever compare to the original.
But today, Natsuhiko had completely shattered that belief.
At this moment, Onoki suddenly found himself wondering—
If Iwagakure ever truly went to war against Konoha…
And if Natsuhiko personally entered the battlefield…
Even if he himself participated in the fight…
Could Iwa actually stop him?
The thought lingered in Onoki's mind briefly before he finally let out a weary sigh and shook his head.
Perhaps there truly weren't many people left in the shinobi world capable of stopping Natsuhiko.
Relying on Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique and Dust Release, Onoki himself might still pose a serious threat to Natsuhiko.
But only he could do that much.
Everyone else…
They wouldn't even be capable of threatening Natsuhiko at all.
In fact, they probably wouldn't even survive his attacks.
After another long sigh, Onoki finally understood what choice he needed to make.
Should they assist Konoha in completely crushing Kumogakure…
Or should they begin preparing defenses against Konoha instead?
Konoha becoming too powerful was not necessarily a good thing.
Strictly speaking, no one wanted to return to the era where every village lived beneath Konoha's overwhelming dominance and pressure.
But after thinking it over repeatedly, Onoki realized that, under the current circumstances, actively helping Konoha would likely bring Iwagakure the greatest immediate benefit.
From a long-term perspective, it was absolutely not a wise choice.
Yet judging by the strength Natsuhiko had displayed today…
Onoki honestly could not even see far enough into the future anymore.
Letting out a helpless sigh, his expression gradually turned solemn. He turned toward Kitsuchi and spoke in a firm voice.
"You head back first. Inform the troops to begin advancing toward Kumogakure immediately. Occupy favorable terrain wherever possible and establish defensive lines in order to guard against—"
Before he could finish speaking, the earth suddenly shook violently once more.
At the center of the battlefield, Killer B's side had undergone another massive change.
—
The moment Natsuhiko caused every flower bud to bloom simultaneously, the faint pollen instantly spread throughout the entire forest he had created.
At that moment, countless Kumo shinobi felt a floral scent enter their nostrils.
The fragrance was extremely pleasant—smooth, relaxing, and utterly addictive in its soothing effect.
Soon, every Kumo shinobi began to feel overwhelming exhaustion spreading throughout their bodies.
Their will to fight was slowly being stripped away.
They felt unbearably tired.
All they wanted now was to fall asleep within that soothing fragrance.
Clang.
The sound of a kunai falling onto the ground suddenly echoed through the battlefield.
It was like the first crack shattering a fragile silence.
Very quickly, more and more weapons slipped from trembling hands.
As the Kumo shinobi lost their grip on their weapons, their bodies collapsed one after another onto the ground.
But what awaited them after falling was not rest.
It was the vines of Deep Forest Bloom.
In an instant, countless Kumo shinobi were seized by the spreading branches.
And the moment they were captured…
Their fates had already been decided.
"Damn it, the pollen is poisonous!"
The Fourth Raikage finally realized something was wrong.
His physique was extraordinarily powerful, yet even he had suffered severe interference from the pollen.
If he hadn't noticed the problem in time and forcibly expelled the toxins from his body using chakra, he likely would have already lost most of his combat ability.
But even with his reaction speed, he was still far too slow compared to Natsuhiko.
By the time he recovered, large numbers of Kumo shinobi had already been captured by the vines. Some had even been killed outright.
The Fourth Raikage erupted like a madman as lightning chakra surged violently across his body.
He leapt high into the air and slashed downward with a hand blade toward the countless vines.
Several vines were forcibly severed.
But it was nowhere near enough.
There were simply too many vines spread across the battlefield. His actions were little more than a drop in the ocean.
Even so, he refused to stop.
As the Raikage, protecting his shinobi was a responsibility he could never abandon.
Yet no matter how desperately he fought, he could not clear the overwhelming forest fast enough.
Even the transformed Eight-Tails was unable to resist completely.
Faced with such a catastrophic situation, a trace of despair finally emerged deep within the Fourth Raikage's heart.
He simply could not accept what was happening.
"If only I were stronger… if only I were stronger!"
Pain and despair twisted around him relentlessly.
His body trembled uncontrollably as he continued smashing apart the trees with his bare hands until blood began pouring from them.
He could already feel damage spreading through the bones of his arms.
But he still refused to stop.
The fury inside him continued to rise endlessly.
He swore he would kill Natsuhiko.
He swore he would save Kumogakure.
And under this prolonged, almost self-destructive assault, the Fourth Raikage suddenly noticed something strange—
The chakra within his body was steadily increasing.
And his strength…
Seemed to be growing alongside it.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the Eight-Tails transformed by Killer B suddenly released a furious roar as its body rapidly began to expand.
That overwhelming chakra pressure became suffocating beyond belief.
However, after the initial violent eruption, the chakra gradually stabilized.
In the end, the Eight-Tails' massive body stopped growing at roughly seventy meters tall.
"A complete Eight-Tails transformation… Killer B…"
The Fourth Raikage stared at the towering beast before him, and a sharp pain flashed through his heart.
Killer B's strength had indeed risen dramatically after fully transforming into the Tailed Beast.
But at the same time, the burden placed upon his body had become even greater.
Still, when he looked at Natsuhiko—who remained calm and utterly unconcerned—the Fourth Raikage slowly took a deep breath.
He made his decision.
There was no point continuing to destroy the vines.
He had to target the one controlling the technique directly.
The Kumo shinobi had already been poisoned. The only way to save them was to defeat the caster himself.
Only by killing Senju Natsuhiko could they possibly survive.
Or at the very least…
Avenge them.
Hatred and rage surged wildly through the Raikage's mind.
Even when his own father had died surrounded by Iwagakure forces, he had never felt hatred this intense.
At this moment, he understood one thing clearly.
He hated Natsuhiko to the core.
And he absolutely had to kill him.
"ROAR!"
Accompanied by the Eight-Tails' monstrous howl, the Fourth Raikage stepped forward heavily.
The lightning chakra covering his body became even more dazzling than before.
"Senju Natsuhiko… I'll kill you!"
Natsuhiko looked at the two of them with an oddly amused expression.
He had already anticipated this outcome.
After all, power-ups in the Naruto world had never followed logic.
Whenever emotions like "love," "protection," or "determination" were involved, people could suddenly erupt with absurd levels of strength.
That was precisely why he had deliberately massacred the Kumo shinobi so mercilessly.
The power of Deep Forest Bloom was on an entirely different level compared to Deep Forest Emergence.
Not only did it possess all the destructive characteristics of Deep Forest Emergence, but its range was far wider, and those blooming flowers continuously released deadly toxins.
The moment Natsuhiko unleashed this technique, the fate of every Kumo shinobi trapped within its range had already been sealed.
Even Natsuhiko himself didn't know exactly how many had died so far.
But one thing was certain—
The vast majority of those Kumo shinobi were already beyond saving.
Unless…
The Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki managed to defeat him before the vines completely drained the chakra from the captured shinobi.
"Your courage is commendable."
Natsuhiko remained standing atop the Wood Human with his arms crossed, a faint smile resting on his face.
At this point, he truly felt like a complete villain straight out of a story.
But he didn't care in the slightest.
His voice remained calm as he continued.
"So… I'll give you a chance to choose."
The moment those words fell, the chakra within Natsuhiko's body suddenly erupted once more.
Under the shocked gazes of the Fourth Raikage, Killer B, the Konoha forces in the distance, and even Onoki's group observing from afar—
The gigantic Wood Human began growing again.
Its body expanded higher and higher until it finally stopped at nearly one hundred meters tall.
At the same time, the earth trembled violently beneath its weight.
"ROOOAR!"
Alongside a strange and savage howl, a massive Wood Dragon suddenly burst from beneath the ground.
This Wood Dragon was vastly larger and longer than any Natsuhiko had previously summoned.
It tore through the earth before coiling itself around the gigantic Wood Human's neck.
At this moment, Natsuhiko had finally displayed the Wood Human Technique in its most complete form.
"So long as you defeat me within a certain amount of time…"
Natsuhiko's indifferent voice echoed across the battlefield once more.
His figure stood against the sunlight, making his face impossible to see clearly.
Yet the coldness in his tone made everyone feel as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.
"Then they might still survive."
His voice paused briefly.
"But if you fail…"
"They all die."
"The only one dying here will be you!" The Fourth Raikage roared furiously.
In the next instant, his entire body shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
His fist, wrapped in terrifying arcs of electricity, smashed directly toward Natsuhiko.
"Go to hell, you absolute monster!"
The punch came crashing forward, its momentum carrying streaks of lightning that tore across the sky. Yet even in the face of such a terrifying attack, Natsuhiko showed no intention of moving in the slightest.
Just as the Fourth Raikage's devastating fist was about to strike him, the Wood Dragon coiled around the Wood Human's neck suddenly stirred.
In the next instant, the dragon effortlessly intercepted the Raikage's attack.
The Wood Dragon existed for far more than simply increasing the Wood Human's offensive power. Its true purpose was also to serve as an overwhelming defensive shield.
The moment the Fourth Raikage's body collided with the Wood Dragon, he was sent flying backward at incredible speed.
However, at that exact moment, Natsuhiko frowned slightly.
Not far away, the Eight-Tails had already thrown another punch toward him.
Unlike the earlier version of the Eight-Tails, which had only been a little over ten meters tall, the current Eight-Tails had fully entered its complete form.
Previously, its punches had merely contained impressive force, but against Natsuhiko's Wood Human, they had felt insignificant.
Now, however, this punch was pure overwhelming strength and destructive penetration—like a mountain weighing millions of tons crashing downward.
The force itself lacked refinement, yet its raw power had already reached an absurd level.
"As expected of the Eight-Tails… that strength really is ridiculous."
Natsuhiko silently praised it in his heart, though the movements of his hands never paused for even an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the Wood Human raised its massive arm.
At the critical moment, it blocked the Eight-Tails' incoming fist head-on.
Still, the power behind this attack genuinely exceeded Natsuhiko's expectations.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the strength of a fully transformed Tailed Beast truly was extraordinary.
Crack… crack…
Natsuhiko clearly sensed tiny fractures appearing along the Wood Human's arm.
However, the cracks failed to spread any further, nor did they come anywhere close to reaching the point of collapse.
After all, this was a technique capable of contending directly against Susanoo.
Destroying it was never going to be easy.
And almost instantly, under the support of Natsuhiko's chakra, the damage on the Wood Human's arm completely regenerated.
"Lightning Release: Liger Bomb!"
At that moment, the Fourth Raikage—freshly blasted away by the Wood Dragon—launched forward again by stepping off the Eight-Tails' body, completely ignoring his own condition.
Through the Jogan, Natsuhiko could already see multiple fractures throughout the Raikage's skeleton.
Yet despite that, the man still charged forward recklessly, even risking his life to unleash this attack.
That level of determination honestly made Natsuhiko look at him a little more seriously.
Gathering all of his strength into a single punch, the Fourth Raikage violently smashed toward Natsuhiko's position.
He had clearly abandoned any intention of targeting the Wood Human or the Wood Dragon.
His only focus now was Natsuhiko himself.
But to Natsuhiko, the attack was still futile.
Under his control, the Wood Human displayed unbelievable speed.
Its gigantic arm instantly lifted upward, and in less than a moment, it collided directly with the Fourth Raikage.
BOOM!
The two forces crashed together, and a terrifying shockwave exploded outward from the point of impact.
The surrounding vines around Natsuhiko and the Raikage were instantly annihilated by the aftershock.
Yet the Wood Human itself did not move even slightly.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Raikage was blown backward once more.
"Now!"
Suddenly, the Fourth Raikage roared loudly.
At the same time, the Eight-Tails had already completed its Tailed Beast Bomb.
In truth, Natsuhiko had noticed the Tailed Beast Bomb long ago.
After all, they were standing so close to each other, the chakra fluctuations were enormous, and most importantly—
His Jogan remained active the entire time.
But Natsuhiko had never intended to defend against it in the first place, which was why he had shown no reaction.
Under Killer B's control, the Eight-Tails leapt high into the air before violently firing the Tailed Beast Bomb toward Natsuhiko.
Natsuhiko still stood there calmly with his arms crossed.
Only when the massive sphere of destruction approached directly before him did the Wood Human finally react, rapidly crossing both arms in front of him to shield his body.
BOOOOM!!!
The world itself seemed to tremble from the impact.
The deafening explosion echoed across the sky itself.
Within the massive blast, blazing flames instantly erupted into existence.
In mere moments, the upper regions of Deep Forest Bloom were ignited by the explosion.
The fire spread wildly outward, and with the Wood Human at the center, the entire world transformed into a sea of flames.
The leaves and branches atop Deep Forest Bloom became perfect fuel for the inferno.
Everywhere one looked, there was nothing but endless crimson fire.
Scorching heat waves rolled across the battlefield.
The pollen evaporated under the terrifying temperature and mixed into the thick smoke, while the Eight-Tails' constantly swinging tails blasted the smoke upward into the sky.
Below Deep Forest Bloom, the surviving Kumo shinobi gradually regained consciousness.
They desperately struggled against the vines binding them.
For the first time in a long while, it almost seemed as though the situation was finally beginning to improve for Kumogakure.
"Did we kill him…?"
Standing atop the Eight-Tails' shoulder, the exhausted Fourth Raikage muttered weakly.
"Probably…" Killer B's voice echoed from within the Eight-Tails. "Taking a direct hit from a Tailed Beast Bomb… even he should—"
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."
Before Killer B could finish speaking, Natsuhiko's calm voice suddenly echoed through the battlefield.
The thick smoke gradually began to disperse.
That enormous figure slowly became visible once more.
And standing atop it—
Natsuhiko remained completely unharmed.
At that moment, true despair completely filled their hearts.
...
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