The five Third Hokages finally completed their hand seals.
This time, Hiruzen chose five dragon-shaped elemental techniques as the foundation for his proudest Five Nature Combination Ninjutsu.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!
Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Bullet!
Wind Release: Wind Dragon Bullet!
The chakra expelled by the Third Hokage transformed into five chakra dragons in midair, twisting and soaring through the sky with lifelike movements.
None of these techniques was the strongest within its respective elemental nature.
But among all Five Nature techniques, these five possessed the greatest compatibility with one another.
Among the Third Hokage's ninjutsu was already a compound technique known as Lightning Water Dragon Bullet, which relied precisely on the compatibility between Water Dragon Bullet and Lightning Dragon Bullet to achieve fusion.
The Third Hokage took a deep breath.
Finally, he formed the Rat seal as the initiating seal, completing the last step of the technique.
Ninja Art: Five Nature Release: Great Five Dragon Barrage Technique!
The five enormous chakra dragons roared in the sky.
Each dragon's roar vibrated at a different frequency, but the five sounds ultimately merged into a single deafening blast.
Then—
The five chakra dragons collided with one another.
They fused into a single gigantic dragon with five colors flowing continuously across its body.
The enormous chakra dragon roared once more—
And charged toward the tree golems on the opposite side of the swamp.
The ninjutsu mastery displayed by the Third Hokage was truly worthy of being called the pinnacle of Kage-level shinobi.
Everyone on his side immediately felt their morale surge.
Led by Homura Mitokado, the more than one hundred surviving ANBU shinobi erupted into cheers.
"Clan Head Sarutobi, long live!"
"We've definitely won!"
"Victory!!"
"As expected of the strongest Hokage in history!"
Their cheers were so loud that they traveled all the way to a distant tree—
Where three dead men heard every word clearly.
Through Senju Tobirama's Water Mirror Technique, they could even see Hiruzen Sarutobi gasping heavily from exhaustion.
They saw him casually wave down the cheering.
And—
They saw the smug satisfaction he could barely suppress.
In front of the water mirror—
Senju Hashirama looked at Senju Tobirama.
Tobirama looked back at his elder brother.
Cold sweat covered the younger brother's face.
The elder brother looked utterly bewildered.
The White Fang of Konoha was nowhere to be seen.
At some point, Hatake Sakumo had silently slipped over to another tree.
From there, he secretly watched the two former Hokage and swallowed hard.
This was way too exciting.
Right in front of the First and Second Hokage—
Hiruzen Sarutobi's clansmen and classmate were shouting that Hiruzen Sarutobi was the strongest Hokage in history.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi himself—
Had actually pretended to modestly accept it.
Even someone as politically insensitive as Hatake Sakumo knew—
The Third Hokage was in trouble.
"Peh!"
Uchiha Yoru's voice wasn't loud.
Yet it exploded directly within everyone's minds.
A single contemptuous scoff suppressed all the cheering.
"Strongest Hokage in history?"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi is that strong?"
"How come I never knew?"
His figure emerged from among the layers upon layers of tree golems.
He walked all the way to the front of their formation and stopped at the edge of the swamp created by Swamp of the Underworld.
Behind him—
The bodies of the tree golems all began changing at once.
They drove their feet into the earth.
Their legs transformed back into root systems.
Their arms stretched high into the air, growing more branches and tender green leaves.
One after another—
The tree golems transformed back into towering trees.
Meanwhile—
Uchiha Yoru raised his right hand.
He aimed it toward the enormous Five Nature chakra dragon diving toward him from the sky.
His five fingers curled loosely into a claw.
Then—
He clenched them viciously.
Golden skeletal fingers suddenly appeared around the chakra dragon's neck.
The enormous hand perfectly mirrored Uchiha Yoru's movements—
And seized the dragon.
As the chakra dragon struggled—
The golden skeletal hand continued extending backward.
Forearm.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Rib cage.
Spine.
Eventually—
An enormous golden skeleton fully manifested.
It stood twenty meters tall.
Yet even after its skeletal frame became complete—
It continued growing.
More and more golden chakra wrapped around the bones.
Muscles formed.
Then skin.
Then clothing.
Finally—
A gigantic golden humanoid thirty-five meters tall towered over the battlefield.
It held the Five Nature chakra dragon high in one hand—
As though contemptuously displaying a tiny snake.
The golden giant's other raised hand accidentally struck the dome of the barrier overhead.
The supposedly indestructible barrier—
Shattered apart with a thunderous crash beneath the golden fist.
The flames derived from the Four Violet Flames Formation immediately spread onto the golden giant's body.
Those purple flames could reduce a person to ashes in an instant.
But when they touched the golden giant—
They looked no more threatening than the flame used to light a cigarette.
With a casual motion—
They were extinguished.
The flames hadn't caused much actual damage.
But pain was still pain.
Uchiha Yoru immediately felt sharp agony in his fingers.
The ten fingers were linked directly to the heart.
The pain made him irritable.
So—
The golden giant viciously slammed the chakra dragon into the ground.
Then—
Stomped on it.
Hard.
Once more—
Venting the anger caused by the burn.
After suffering repeated violent impacts, the Five Nature chakra dragon could no longer maintain its ninjutsu structure.
The five different types of chakra mixed uncontrollably.
Blinding light began erupting from its body.
At that moment—
Everyone on the Third Hokage's side was dumbfounded.
Most of them didn't even know what they were looking at.
They merely stared upward with vacant expressions—
Feeling as though they had somehow fallen into a dream.
Only the few shinobi who knew information about this giant murmured in disbelief.
"Susanoo…"
"This technique actually exists?"
"How can this be?"
"Wasn't the Susanoo giant only a legend?"
Naturally—
The Uchiha understood this technique best.
Uchiha Setsuna's legs went weak.
He dropped onto his backside.
His mouth opened wide.
Yet all that came out was meaningless noise.
"Ah… ba… ah ba ba…"
Uchiha Fugaku was equally shaken.
But because he possessed Mangekyō Sharingan himself—
He barely managed to remain composed.
Even so—
Fugaku simply couldn't understand it.
He questioned himself in disbelief.
"Am I really that incompetent?"
"Ten years of effort after awakening the Mangekyō…"
"Yet I'm inferior to a junior who's only had his for a few years?"
And precisely because Fugaku possessed the Mangekyō himself—
His shock was far greater than Setsuna's.
It could practically be called the collapse of his worldview.
Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly.
He could see Uchiha Yoru's eyes clearly.
Those black pupils were bright and full of life—
But they were definitely not Sharingan.
"I sealed his Sharingan."
"His Sharingan definitely shouldn't be able to activate."
"But…"
"Why can Susanoo still appear?"
"The power of Susanoo resides within the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"How can he manifest the power of Susanoo without even activating the Mangekyō?"
Among everyone present—
Only Jiraiya the Gallant remained astonished without losing his composure.
He burst into hearty laughter.
"As expected of a shinobi even the Great Toad Sage pays attention to!"
"Uchiha Yoru, you really are incredible!"
"I, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, will personally experience the legendary Susanoo giant!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive cloud of white smoke exploded across the battlefield.
Three enormous armed toads appeared.
Jiraiya stood atop the head of the leading toad—
Gamabunta, who carried a short sword.
Even with Gamabunta crouching at seventeen meters tall—
Jiraiya still had to tilt his head far upward just to see the golden giant's chest.
Uchiha Yoru floated within Susanoo's chest.
He looked down playfully at the three supposedly enormous toads—
Which now appeared rather short.
He laughed.
"I've always heard the saying that when you beat the young one, the big one comes."
"And after you beat the big one, the old one comes."
"Again and again, endlessly."
"But today is strange."
"I beat the old toads first…"
"And now the big toads show up."
"Your Myōboku Mountain toad nest really doesn't follow common sense."
"If I beat you too…"
"Will a bunch of little tadpoles crawl out to trouble me next?"
This was Gamabunta's first time seeing a monster larger than himself.
He couldn't help feeling uneasy.
But the instant he realized that the enemy before him was the one who had injured his parents—
His anger exploded.
Gamabunta drew the short sword at his waist and roared,
"Ken!"
"Hiro!"
"That's the bastard!"
"Get revenge!!"
The purplish-red Gamaken raised his sake-cup shield and spiked fork.
"Damn Uchiha!"
"Die!!"
The pale-green Gamahiro drew his twin blades without saying a word.
Then—
He leapt.
Hidden Weapon Technique: Toad Twin-Blade Slash!
The green toad spun his twin blades like a whirlwind.
After leaping high into the air—
He slashed viciously toward the golden giant's waist.
Gamaken gripped his double-pronged spiked weapon.
He thrust directly toward the golden giant's right knee.
Gamabunta laughed.
"Nice one, brothers!"
Hidden Weapon Technique: Toad Short-Sword Slash!
He leapt high into the sky.
Then—
Dropped vertically downward.
His short sword aimed directly at the golden giant's neck.
Gamabunta intended to cut through the weakest point—
Then continue slicing downward into the chest—
And force Uchiha Yoru out from where he was hidden.
Duang!!
Duang!!
Duang!!
Three consecutive metallic crashes erupted.
The sharp sounds shook dust into the air.
The newly rooted trees swayed violently—
Some were even torn completely out of the ground.
Jiraiya was closest.
The impact made his eyes roll upward.
He had no choice but to drop to his knees on Gamabunta's head and tightly grip the toad's skin to keep himself from falling.
All three giant toads felt violent tremors surge through their arms.
Aside from Gamaken, who possessed the greatest physical strength—
Both Gamabunta and Gamahiro lost their weapons to the terrifying recoil.
Even Gamaken's palms were torn open.
Blood soaked the weapon's handle.
It would be difficult for him to attack with it again.
After experiencing such terrifying recoil—
They didn't even need to look.
They already knew—
Their attacks hadn't broken through the defense.
Damn it.
No—
As expected of the monster who had injured Dad and Mom!
The toads hurriedly retreated.
But the golden Susanoo moved even faster.
A giant fist punched through the smoke—
Straight toward the now-unarmed Gamahiro.
Seeing his brother in danger—
Gamaken dropped his iron fork.
He gripped the sake-cup shield with both hands and rushed in front of the golden fist.
Boom!
The shield blocked the punch.
But the enormous force smashed both toads beneath it into the ground.
A circular crater instantly appeared.
Dense cracks radiated outward from the crater—
Tearing open the surrounding earth.
Several unlucky ANBU shinobi were nearly swallowed by the spreading fissures.
Seeing this—
Gamabunta could no longer care about the pain in his right hand.
He shouted,
"Jiraiya!"
Jiraiya immediately understood.
"I know!"
He concentrated chakra into his feet, firmly anchoring himself to Gamabunta's head.
His hands rapidly formed seals.
Then—
He spat out a violent stream of fire.
The flames met the oil-based Water Release expelled by Gamabunta at precisely the right moment—
Igniting the thick toad oil.
Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!
This flamethrower-like ninjutsu possessed higher temperatures—
Greater adhesion—
And far more destructive power.
At the same time—
Because the chakra nature had been fundamentally altered—
It couldn't be easily fused and stolen by natural energy.
It was a specialized technique for dealing with senjutsu experts.
Thick flaming oil drenched the golden Susanoo.
The fuel adhered to the giant's body and burned furiously—
Transforming Susanoo into a blazing giant.
Meanwhile—
Gamaken and Gamahiro took advantage of the opening and dug underground.
Protected by the sake-cup shield—
They escaped the deadly attack.
Soon—
The two giant toads emerged from the ground some distance away.
They regrouped with Gamabunta as he descended from the air.
The three brothers stared at the giant engulfed in raging flames.
Together—
They released long breaths of relief.
Gamabunta said,
"With flames burning that fiercely…"
"Even if Susanoo separates him from the fire, it can't block the heat."
"That Uchiha inside should already be charcoal."
Out of a shinobi's natural caution, Jiraiya warned,
"Bunta, stay alert."
"Susanoo hasn't disappeared."
"Uchiha Yoru is definitely still alive."
"Quickly give me some natural energy."
"I'm entering Sage Mode."
Gamabunta saw that the flaming humanoid shape remained completely intact.
He realized something was wrong.
He immediately gathered natural energy and transferred it into Jiraiya's body—
Helping him enter Sage Mode.
With Gamabunta's assistance—
Jiraiya didn't need to spend a long period motionlessly gathering natural energy.
He entered Sage Mode rapidly.
The markings beneath his eyes expanded into much larger Sage markings.
The red patterns spread across his eyes and cheeks.
His entire face began resembling a demon from a Noh performance, painted in vivid pigments.
At the same time—
His white hair grew longer.
White whiskers appeared along his jaw.
His back hunched upward.
Large and small wart-like bumps appeared across his nose.
Webbing formed between his fingers.
Most frightening of all—
His pupils transformed into horizontal frog-like pupils.
Such eyes were said to possess the strongest dynamic vision.
More than a dozen toad-like traits appeared across Jiraiya's body.
These were characteristics produced by practicing Myōboku Mountain senjutsu—
And proof that Jiraiya had successfully entered Sage Mode.
At the same time—
They also proved that Jiraiya's mastery of senjutsu was incomplete.
If those toad traits continued spreading—
If Jiraiya transformed entirely into a giant toad—
Then in the very next instant, he would shrink, petrify, and lose his life forever.
A truly perfected Sage Mode should resemble Senju Hashirama's—
Only Sage markings on the face.
No other nonhuman features anywhere on the body.
One step beyond even that—
Was Uchiha Yoru.
His body didn't even display Sage markings.
All natural energy was digested and absorbed by him—
Completely transformed into something that belonged to him.
Since it had truly become his own power—
Why would there be any external signs of mutation?
At the exact moment Jiraiya completed Sage Mode—
The Susanoo beneath the sea of flames moved.
One step carried it directly across the Swamp of the Underworld.
Then—
It suddenly punched toward Gamabunta.
Before the fist even arrived—
The scorching fist wind struck first.
The blazing heat made the amphibious toads unbearably uncomfortable.
Their skin was instantly dried.
The suffocation and pain caused all three giant toads to suffer intensely.
How could they dare engage a flaming giant like this in close combat?
They leapt away in three different directions.
Gamabunta puffed out his cheeks.
Then—
Spat out an enormous water projectile.
Water Release: Gunshot!
The huge water sphere smashed into Susanoo.
Like cold water thrown into boiling oil—
Flames surged violently into the sky.
The fire actually burned even more fiercely.
But the water sphere did wash away part of the burning oil layer—
Briefly exposing Uchiha Yoru inside Susanoo.
What astonished Jiraiya and the three giant toads was—
Even under such extreme heat—
Uchiha Yoru was completely unharmed.
He even had his eyes leisurely closed—
Fighting entirely through his sixth sense.
Sensing someone staring at him—
Uchiha Yoru opened his eyes in surprise.
His black eyes briefly met Jiraiya's.
They weren't Sharingan.
Much less Mangekyō Sharingan.
Yet—
They made Jiraiya feel such overwhelming danger that his hair stood on end.
He hurriedly turned his head away—
Not daring to keep looking.
With his vision restored—
Uchiha Yoru's combat efficiency instantly increased.
Susanoo's movements suddenly became far more agile.
With a light leap—
It caught up to Gamahiro.
Uchiha Yoru controlled Susanoo and kicked.
Gamabunta's green brother flew away like a soccer ball.
Then—
Susanoo turned.
Raised one knee.
And blocked Gamaken's shield slash.
It had to be admitted—
Using the shield edge as a chopping weapon was extremely powerful.
The impact hurt so much that even Uchiha Yoru's eye twitched.
He controlled Susanoo—
Pressed Gamaken down—
Then lightly jumped.
The giant golden body tipped sideways.
An elbow smashed directly into Gamaken's white belly.
The purplish-red toad's mouth opened wide—
But no sound came out.
Then—
Susanoo seized Gamaken's tongue.
Spun him around like a hammer throw—
And hurled him far into the distance.
Because his body was still burning with flaming oil that Susanoo had deliberately smeared onto him—
Gamaken didn't even wait to hit the ground.
He transformed into a cloud of white smoke in midair.
His injuries were severe enough that he had no choice but to cancel the summoning and return to Myōboku Mountain.
At almost the same time—
Gamahiro, who had been kicked away like a ball—
Spat out a mouthful of blood.
Then vanished into white smoke as well.
He returned to Myōboku Mountain.
After eliminating the two relatively weaker opponents—
Susanoo once again turned toward Gamabunta.
The giant toad who proudly called himself a gallant warrior immediately shuddered from head to toe.
Only Jiraiya laughed loudly.
"Come on!"
"Let's have a proper fight!"
Uchiha Yoru appreciatively raised Susanoo's thumb.
He sighed.
"Not bad."
"Jiraiya-senpai…"
"Aside from your blind devotion to those toads…"
"You truly do deserve the title of Gallant."
Then—
The raised thumb folded back into a fist.
And smashed down.
Facing the approaching gale—
Gamabunta gritted his teeth.
He spat out several Gunshot water bullets with all his strength.
But none could stop Susanoo's advance.
The time Gamabunta bought allowed Jiraiya to focus completely.
Using all of his power—
He summoned…
The mouth of the Rock Lodging Giant Toad.
Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind!
This was a difficult creature to describe.
It was alive—
But not whole.
The Rock Lodging Giant Toad lived embedded within the mountain body of Myōboku Mountain.
It possessed the largest body—
And the strongest physical defenses.
Yet aside from the Great Toad Sage—
No one had ever seen its true appearance.
Even though Jiraiya had signed a contract with it—
He likewise had no idea what the giant toad actually looked like.
Because even in Sage Mode—
His chakra reserves were only sufficient to summon a portion of the Rock Lodging Giant Toad's body.
This time—
He summoned only its mouth.
Yet even that was the strongest-defended portion of its body.
Its durability far exceeded even the stomach and esophagus.
BOOM——!!!
A tremendous explosion erupted the instant Susanoo charged bodily into the giant toad's mouth.
Susanoo failed to smash directly through it.
However—
The violent collision caused space itself to become unstable.
Partial-body summons feared spatial instability above all else.
In the very next instant—
The summoning failed.
Before the Rock Lodging Giant Toad could swallow Susanoo—
It vanished back to Myōboku Mountain amid a mountain-sized cloud of white smoke.
At that moment—
Everyone finally understood.
The appearance of Susanoo had pushed the battle completely beyond the level that ordinary shinobi could handle.
Numbers—
Had already become meaningless.
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