An even larger fire dragon was reconstructed.
Senjutsu chakra formed its foundation, while sixty-six layers of flame-rune structures filled out its body. The temperature of the entire dragon rose wildly, its color brightening from yellow until it finally settled into a brilliant platinum-white.
The scorching heat ignited the forest, transforming the sea of trees into a sea of fire.
Illuminated by the flames, Uchiha Yoru laughed loudly.
"Look at that. Playing with fire in front of an Uchiha isn't exactly a wise choice."
"If you want to burn down my trees, then I might as well show you how it's done first."
Sage Art: Fire Release: Southern Spirit Fire Dragon Technique!
The technique was infused with divine power from Zhurong, God of the Southern Fire Spirit.
As expected, its power rose to an entirely new level.
The platinum dragon unleashed a deafening roar and charged toward the Third Hokage and the others.
Even from far away, the radiating heat curled their hair and scorched their skin.
Naturally, these top-tier shinobi understood just how dangerous it was and immediately prepared to evade.
Only the Third Hokage shouted,
"Don't dodge!"
"There's a barrier sealing the outside, and the interior is already filled with this forest!"
"If his flames spread through the trees, we'll all die!"
Everyone couldn't help turning to look at him with strange expressions.
Wasn't the Third Hokage the first one who had wanted to set the forest on fire?
How had his argument changed so quickly?
"Hey! I only did that to force him out!"
"If he keeps hiding inside the forest, there's no way to deal with him!"
After saying that, Hiruzen stopped explaining.
His hands rapidly formed seals as he proved himself through action.
Water Release: Water Dragon Vortex!
Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!
The Third Hokage's strength truly couldn't be underestimated.
He actually activated two techniques at the same time.
While creating an enormous water dragon, he also flooded the ground with a massive volume of water, providing the dragon with a continuous supply.
But it still wasn't enough.
That fire dragon was a senjutsu technique.
And the chakra component that formed the basis of the technique had originally been taken from the Third Hokage's own Great Dragon Fire Technique.
The power of the Sage Art fire dragon therefore far exceeded what Hiruzen could withstand.
Even with all his strength, his Water Dragon Vortex couldn't stop the fire dragon's advance.
The old principle of water overcoming fire—
Had been completely overturned.
At the point where water and fire collided, the battlefront rapidly pushed toward the Third Hokage.
"Help me!"
Jiraiya reacted first.
His hands immediately formed seals.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
He cast the defensive technique beneath the fire dragon.
The rising wall of water slammed into its underside, forcing the dragon's body upward and greatly reducing the pressure on the Third Hokage.
Homura Mitokado reacted immediately afterward.
His fingers swept rapidly across the scroll fastened to his chest.
One kunai after another, each carrying explosive tags, shot toward the fire dragon.
Dense explosions erupted across the front half of the dragon.
The violent shockwaves tore apart portions of its structure, nearly blasting off its head.
Uchiha Fugaku sighed.
Suppressing the stabbing pain in his eyes, he activated a Mangekyō dōjutsu that had been stored within his eyes through a transcription seal.
Sharingan: Amaterasu!
Streams of black flame landed on the fire dragon.
To everyone's surprise, they actually began burning the senjutsu chakra itself as fuel.
Using fire to counter fire—
Uchiha Fugaku's response was exceptionally impressive.
What surprised Uchiha Yoru even more was that Fugaku had actually prepared a third Mangekyō dōjutsu.
He really had been caught off guard.
The black flames quickly spread to the section of the dragon that had been damaged by Homura Mitokado's explosive attacks.
Using the chakra within the kunai and explosive tags as easier fuel, Amaterasu rapidly expanded.
Soon, the black flames had spread around the fire dragon's neck.
It looked as though the platinum dragon had gained a ring of black mane, making it appear even more majestic.
But in reality—
Amaterasu was causing enormous damage to the fire dragon.
Uchiha Yoru quickly noticed that its structural stability had been compromised.
It was gradually becoming difficult to control.
The Third Hokage's Water Release immediately began pushing back.
Although it could only force the fire dragon backward slowly, the spreading water quickly extinguished the surrounding flames.
The battlefield environment improved considerably.
Uchiha Setsuna and the remaining ANBU shinobi seized the opportunity and rushed into the battlefield from different directions.
Those skilled in Water Release supported the Third Hokage's Water Dragon Vortex with their own techniques.
But most of the shinobi charged directly toward Uchiha Yoru.
In their minds—
This man had Mangekyō Sharingan.
Wood Release.
Powerful Fire Release.
Then surely taijutsu had to be his weakness.
Of course, even if taijutsu wasn't actually a weakness, it didn't matter.
As long as they rushed in and fought desperately—
As long as they forced Uchiha Yoru into close combat—
He would no longer be able to focus entirely on the frontal ninjutsu clash.
Even if they died—
They would still be helping the Third Hokage.
Uchiha Yoru watched the ANBU shinobi charge toward him with blades raised, ignoring the scorching battlefield that was burning their bodies.
Naturally, he understood exactly what they were thinking.
A simple numbers advantage.
Attacking from multiple directions.
But when it came to numbers—
Was Uchiha Yoru supposed to be afraid?
The fire dragon was already riddled with damage and on the verge of collapse.
So Uchiha Yoru simply abandoned control over it.
The unstable dragon exploded into an enormous ball of fire.
Then—
Rather than directly fighting the ANBU shinobi—
Uchiha Yoru clasped his hands together and activated another Sage Art.
Sage Art: Wood Release: Sea of Tree Golems!
The great trees twisted around one another.
They rapidly merged into giant humanoid forms.
Some were covered in fresh green leaves.
Others still burned with raging flames.
Soil rose from beneath their feet and wrapped around their bodies, forming thick terracotta armor that made the tree golems appear even more massive and solid.
Taking advantage of the chaos—
Uchiha Yoru slipped into the crowd of tree golems and vanished without a trace.
The tree golems immediately began moving.
Two arms.
Four arms.
Some had eight, nine, or even ten arms.
They swung those enormous limbs and collided head-on with the charging shinobi.
Logically speaking—
Puppets like these, which knew no ninjutsu and relied entirely on their size and durability, should never have been capable of defeating real shinobi.
Unfortunately—
The tree golems were simply too large.
And their bodies were far too sturdy.
The ANBU surrounded them and attacked with kunai and swords, but the strikes barely mattered.
Even most ninjutsu failed to damage them.
Wind blades and water bullets couldn't even break through their bark.
Only Lightning Release caused obvious damage to their defenses.
But even destroying a six-meter-tall tree golem was enough to leave a Lightning Release shinobi panting from exhaustion.
And the tree golems possessed terrifying physical strength.
A casual swing could snap a large tree in half.
A downward strike could smash a crater into the ground.
The Sarutobi and Uchiha clans were both exceptionally skilled in Fire Release.
As large numbers of fire techniques struck the tree golems, several were finally brought down.
Unfortunately—
Even more tree golems were simply ignited.
The result was that the burning tree golems became even more dangerous.
The ANBU shinobi were beaten into scattering in every direction.
At that moment, Jiraiya, having helped destroy the fire dragon, rushed over.
He immediately used an Earth Release technique.
Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!
A huge section of the ground within the forest transformed into a swamp.
Trees and tree golems alike tilted and sank into the mud.
The tree golems struggled—
Only causing themselves to sink even faster.
Soon, only huge portions of their trunks remained above the surface as they slowly disappeared beneath the mud.
For a moment—
The battlefield became strangely quiet.
It wasn't that Jiraiya had destroyed all the tree golems.
Rather—
After clearing the immediate area, the swamp had separated most of the tree golems from the shinobi.
Since they could no longer reach their enemies, the tree golems simply formed neat ranks and waited silently.
They were waiting for the ninjutsu to end.
Waiting until the earth could once again support their weight.
Jiraiya looked across the swamp at the countless tree golems on the other side and let out a long breath.
He couldn't help complaining,
"This guy is way too strong."
"He's much harder to deal with than Hanzō was back then."
"If Tsunade and Orochimaru were here, this would be a lot easier."
The Third Hokage had finally caught his breath as well.
Hearing Jiraiya's complaint, he shook his head.
"What?"
"Complaining that this old man can't keep up with your rhythm anymore?"
Jiraiya didn't bother being polite.
"Exactly."
"Whether it's you, old man, or Uncle Homura, neither of you really synchronizes with my style."
"Of course it feels awkward."
The Third Hokage smiled bitterly and shook his head.
He could feel it too.
Both his own performance and Homura Mitokado's were already clearly inferior to Jiraiya's.
Not only had Uchiha Yoru's strength far exceeded expectations—
Even Uchiha Fugaku's strength had greatly surpassed Hiruzen's impression of him.
The battle had only managed to reach this point because Jiraiya and Fugaku had both performed exceptionally well.
The Third Hokage finally realized—
He really was old.
And Konoha truly lacked Kage-level shinobi.
He needed to properly repair his relationships with Tsunade and Orochimaru.
But Hiruzen understood his own circumstances.
Neither Orochimaru nor Tsunade would have agreed with this attempt to kill Uchiha Yoru.
Orochimaru in particular—
If he had truly come here, there was no guarantee which side he would have chosen.
Tsunade also held deep resentment toward him.
Hiruzen knew exactly what she wanted.
But investigating the truth behind Dan Katō and Nawaki's deaths would have amounted to a death sentence for Danzō Shimura.
For the sake of his closest comrade—
He could only make his disciple Tsunade endure the grievance.
But now Danzō was already dead.
It was time to fulfill Tsunade's wish.
Once her resentment disappeared—
She could return to Konoha.
As for Orochimaru—
It was also time to hand the Hokage position over to him.
That way he wouldn't keep arguing with his teacher over it.
Of course—
Hiruzen himself still wasn't so old that he couldn't move.
After Orochimaru became the Fourth Hokage, Hiruzen could still assist him.
Hopefully, Orochimaru would accept his advice—
Allowing Hiruzen to continue managing the ANBU and Root—
While Orochimaru focused on the war and government affairs.
Mm.
As long as Orochimaru also accepted Asuma as his disciple—
There would be no conflict at all.
The Third Hokage quickly finished constructing his beautiful future plan.
But even the best plan required one prerequisite.
They had to kill this absurdly powerful Uchiha Yoru first.
As long as Uchiha Yoru died—
Hiruzen would immediately begin implementing the plan.
Konoha's future would surely become even better under his guidance.
Hiruzen Sarutobi made up his mind.
His chakra began surging wildly.
While forming hand seals, he said to Jiraiya,
"Against Uchiha Yoru, any single ninjutsu will be difficult to use effectively."
"I'm going to use my strongest technique."
"Until I'm ready…"
"Hold off his attacks for me."
Jiraiya nodded.
"Fine, old man."
"I'll do my best."
The Third Hokage began forming seals.
First—
He created four shadow clones.
The clones divided away an enormous portion of his chakra.
Nearly two-thirds of his total reserves were split among them.
Then—
Five Third Hokages stood side by side.
They began slowly forming hand seals.
Chakra of five different elemental natures surged upward—
Creating an overwhelming aura.
...
Behind the formation of tree golems—
On the canopy of one of the trees that had not been transformed—
Three Edo Tensei figures silently watched everything.
Uchiha Yoru's performance had been truly spectacular.
Hatake Sakumo naturally admitted that he was completely outclassed.
Even Senju Tobirama—
Despite having expected something like this—
Was still left staring in astonishment.
He knew Uchiha Yoru had used Sea of Tree Golems across more than two thousand construction nodes in the Land of Demons within two days.
But hearing about it—
And seeing it with his own eyes—
Were entirely different experiences.
Looking at the tens of thousands of densely packed tree golems—
Even Tobirama felt his scalp go numb.
He simply couldn't imagine how anyone was supposed to deal with them.
In fact—
If the Third Hokage's group could stand where Tobirama was now—
Looking down from a hundred meters above and seeing the massive sea of tree golems stacked layer upon layer—
They would immediately despair and abandon resistance.
There were too many.
It was impossible to finish them.
Among the three—
Only Senju Hashirama looked genuinely happy.
For the moment, he had even forgotten his dissatisfaction with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The First Hokage bobbed his head thoughtfully.
"I really never expected the second person to awaken the Wood Release kekkei genkai…"
"To be an Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Strange."
"Logically speaking, the Uchiha Clan shouldn't possess the Wood Release bloodline."
"Unless he also has Senju blood flowing through him…"
"Oh!"
"Could he actually be one of my descendants?"
"Did little Tsunade perhaps…"
"With an Uchiha…"
Senju Tobirama's face turned purple with rage.
He punched the back of his brother's head.
With a single strike—
He shattered Hashirama's Edo Tensei skull.
Tobirama was genuinely furious.
How could Senju Hashirama forget that Hatake Sakumo, a junior, was standing right beside them?
And yet he opened his mouth and said whatever nonsense came to mind!
If word got out—
What was Tsunade supposed to do?!
After Hashirama's head regenerated—
Tobirama snapped,
"Brother!"
"I already told you the last time I returned to the Pure Land!"
"Tsunade isn't married!"
"And she doesn't have any children!"
Senju Hashirama clapped his hands together.
Only then did he remember.
"Right!"
"Then that really is strange."
"How did this Uchiha Yoru awaken Wood Release?"
Tobirama answered,
"Actually, it's very simple."
"He first mastered all five elemental chakra transformations."
"Then natural energy."
"After that, he fused Earth Release and Water Release himself…"
"And mixed in Yang Release, which represents vitality."
"That naturally produced Wood Release."
Senju Hashirama was shocked.
"You can actually master it through training?"
Tobirama nodded.
"That's what he claims."
"I think it's possible."
"After all, he's a pure-blooded Uchiha."
Senju Hashirama scratched his head.
"Amazing."
"I've had Wood Release for so many years, and I didn't even know Yang Release was mixed into it."
"This Uchiha kid really is incredible."
Tobirama sighed as well.
"Yeah."
"He really is."
"And it isn't only as a shinobi."
"He's also quite capable politically."
"He once explained to me his plan to completely integrate the Uchiha Clan into Konoha."
"I think it makes a lot of sense."
"If his plan is carried out…"
"In twenty years at most, the Uchiha Clan will become like the Senju Clan."
"Completely integrated into Konoha."
"No longer separable from the village."
Tobirama looked toward Senju Hashirama.
His voice became earnest.
"So I hope you'll abandon your principle that the dead shouldn't interfere with the living."
"Step forward and help him solve a few small problems."
This time—
Senju Hashirama didn't scratch his head.
He crossed his arms over his chest and thought seriously.
When the First Hokage became serious—
He gave off an aura of wisdom and authority.
And whenever Hashirama made decisions in this state—
Tobirama had always accepted them.
Confused about small matters.
Reliable on great matters.
That was Senju Hashirama.
For someone as intelligent as Senju Tobirama to genuinely defer to his older brother—
It definitely wasn't merely because Hashirama was too strong for him to defeat.
Tobirama truly acknowledged Hashirama's wisdom and broad perspective.
Neither Tobirama nor Hatake Sakumo spoke again.
They quietly waited for the First Hokage to make his decision.
...
From Senju Tobirama's perspective—
Sea of Tree Golems was practically an unsolvable technique.
But from Uchiha Yoru's perspective—
It was actually frustrating to use.
There were too many tree golems.
Not only did they lack room to spread out—
They were also poorly suited to fighting Kage-level shinobi.
Against the Sarutobi Clan ANBU—
They performed beautifully.
It wasn't quite like chopping vegetables—
But they had slaughtered their way through with almost no losses.
Yet the moment Jiraiya attacked—
A large number of tree golems were trapped at once.
Of course—
Even if Jiraiya exhausted himself to death, he still wouldn't be able to eliminate tens of thousands of tree golems.
But the tree golems were also terrible at dealing with him.
After all—
Jiraiya was only one person.
He occupied barely one square meter of space.
At most—
Three tree golems could surround him at once.
In other words—
No matter how enormous their numerical advantage was—
They could only fight three at a time.
Not even one ten-thousandth of their total strength could be brought to bear.
Uchiha Yoru nodded to himself.
"No wonder Senju Hashirama made his Wood Golem so huge."
"And the Thousand-Armed Buddha was even bigger."
"He kept moving farther and farther toward gigantification."
"So that's how it is."
"If it isn't big enough, it can't properly exert its power."
"If it isn't big enough, it can't properly intimidate the enemy."
"Looks like Sea of Tree Golems is better suited to attacking an entire shinobi village."
"Flooding an enemy shinobi army."
"Not fighting a handful of Kage-level shinobi."
"What a shame."
"I still haven't figured out the Wood Dragon Technique."
"Or the Wood Golem Technique."
"Or True Several Thousand Hands."
"This situation is a little awkward."
Uchiha Yoru lost interest.
He separated his clasped hands.
"Wood Release is ultimately still an external tool."
"It's mostly useful for frightening Konoha's upper leadership."
"In the end…"
"I still have to rely on the bloodline of the Uchiha Clan."
"The Lunar Spirit Body is the true foundation of this life."
"Uchiha Fugaku thinks sealing my Sharingan is enough."
"He really knows nothing about his own bloodline."
"Within the Lunar Spirit Body, the Sharingan is merely the best tool for controlling spiritual power."
"Losing the Sharingan…"
"Doesn't mean the power itself becomes unusable."
He sensed the rapidly rising chakra fluctuations in the distance.
Then—
He stepped forward.
If he wanted to solve Konoha's problems—
If he wanted to kill the Third Hokage and still continue living peacefully in the village afterward—
Legitimacy alone was not enough.
He also needed overwhelming deterrence.
Since Sea of Tree Golems wasn't producing the desired effect—
Then he would simply stand at the very front.
Using the most direct violence possible—
He would show Konoha's shinobi exactly how strong he truly was.
First beat them into submission.
Beat all the spirit out of them.
Then—
Reveal his legitimacy.
When an overwhelmingly powerful man who could massacre everyone present was willing to reason with them—
That reasoning would naturally become persuasive.
Even if Uchiha Yoru's argument happened to be slightly lacking—
Everyone would help him think of additional reasons.
They would patch the logic themselves.
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