The massive stroke of the blade split the entire Sand camp in two with unstoppable force.
Hundreds of Sand shinobi were caught off guard; they didn't even have time to let out a scream before they were killed instantly!
If not for the quick reactions of Sasori of the Red Sand and Lady Chiyo, they might have perished under that single strike!
"This is—?!"
Sasori looked at the scene with a heavy expression. At that moment, the deluge arrived!
The monstrous waves transformed into a natural disaster, submerging and swallowing the Sand camp!
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Several Sand shinobi attempted to block the torrential flood, but the Mud Walls they created looked utterly pathetic against the overwhelming wall of water.
This was no longer a mere gap in strength; the two could not even be described within the same dimension of power!
The violent waters swept through like a plague of locusts, quickly submerging the entire Sand camp. Thousands of Sand shinobi struggled in the water, trying to stand, but no matter how they fought—even when they managed to find their balance—another wave would crash down, slamming them back into the depths.
In the middle of the vast desert, a man-made marshland had appeared!
Shizune and Itachi Uchiha followed behind Kakashi, watching the scene. While their hearts were filled with shock, they gained a clear understanding of their Hokage's true power.
"Hatake... Kakashi."
The elderly woman stood upon the surface of the water, her eyes fixed on the man pacing toward her.
White hair, a rugged face, and pitch-black eyes.
Everything about him reminded her of that man from many years ago.
Sakumo Hatake.
Her son and daughter-in-law had died at the hands of this man's father.
Watching the figure before her approach with such calm composure, Chiyo grit her teeth, the flames of hatred smoldering in her heart.
"Hokage, the Sand has lost."
"The Sand is willing to surrender."
As the commander of the Sand forces, Chiyo could not let personal vendettas blind her. She could only suppress her rage and speak with a heavy voice.
Kakashi looked at the old woman calmly.
"Is the Sand surrendering again?"
His words were detached. He didn't show the slightest flicker of emotion at her statement.
"Yes."
Hearing the word "again" from Kakashi's mouth, Chiyo felt a surge of humiliation, yet she was forced to bow her head.
She had never seen power of this caliber before.
Splitting an entire camp in two with one sword strike; turning a desert into a marsh with a single Water Style jutsu.
This kind of power could perhaps only be rivaled by the legendary Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha.
In Chiyo's view, it was undoubtedly a bargain to bow their heads in surrender now and pay some reparations to become allies with such an enemy once more.
Beside Kakashi, Shizune frowned as she watched. She had also noted the word "again."
Surrender, surrender, surrender.
They surrendered so many times only to do it again. Konoha had won so many times, yet they were bitten back every single time.
She felt something was wrong, but with Kakashi present, she could only suppress her dissatisfaction for the moment.
"If that is the case, then there is no longer a need for the Hidden Sand Village, or even the entire Land of Wind, to exist."
"From now on, they shall simply belong to the Land of Fire."
The calm words exploded in Chiyo's mind like a thunderclap.
For a moment, she didn't even process what Kakashi had said and stood there stunned.
Chiyo looked at Kakashi blankly, asking with uncertainty, "What... did you say?"
Facing Chiyo's question, Kakashi simply stared at her.
"Do you mean to completely erase the Hidden Sand and the Land of Wind?"
Only now did Chiyo finally snap back to reality, looking at Kakashi with an expression of utter disbelief.
"Correct."
"This world has been in chaos for too long. You, who have been enemies of Konoha many times and have repeatedly betrayed our alliances, simply cannot earn my trust."
"Since that is the case, it is better to erase you entirely."
Kakashi nodded slightly and continued:
"But do not worry. It won't just be your Hidden Sand Village."
"The Cloud, the Mist, the Stone, the Rain... every nation in the world, every piece of land, and even those samurai of the Land of Iron will become mere passing guests in history."
"In the end, everyone will be known by only two words."
"Konoha."
Perhaps because Kakashi's words were too shocking and terrifying, Chiyo remained dazed for a long time.
"You are saying... you want to erase the Hidden Sand Village?!"
Chiyo asked once more.
Kakashi was no longer interested in talking.
When people get old, they tend to only hear what they want to hear.
Similarly, out of Kakashi's entire speech, Chiyo had only registered the part about the Sand being erased.
"As an Elder of the Sand, I have personally witnessed the establishment and the glory of the Hidden Sand Village. I will never allow such a thing to happen!"
Chiyo slowly lifted her bowed head, her aged eyes staring deathly at Kakashi.
"Glory?"
"Has the Hidden Sand ever actually had 'glory'?"
Kakashi let out a cold sneer.
"Regardless, you don't need to worry about it much longer. You will die here today."
Kakashi's words sounded like a death sentence for Chiyo.
The moment he finished speaking, Chiyo's left arm suddenly underwent a violent transformation!
The metal components at her left elbow joint turned into razor-sharp blades, instantly piercing through Chiyo's heart!
A splash of crimson stained Chiyo's robes.
Chiyo looked at Kakashi in disbelief, her mouth hanging open slightly.
"Magnet Style..."
Then, she collapsed with a heavy thud!
Years ago, Chiyo's left arm had been amputated due to injury. She later replaced it with a puppet arm, which naturally contained metal materials.
Kakashi had utilized this fact to kill Chiyo in an instant.
Looking at the old woman lying in the pool of water, Kakashi turned his gaze to Sasori of the Red Sand, who had remained silent.
"And you?"
"Surrender, or die?"
Sasori looked at his grandmother lying in the water and remained silent for a moment. Then, quite bluntly, he raised both hands.
"I surrender. Whether you flatten the Sand or not makes no difference to me."
Although Kakashi's killing of Chiyo had the flavor of a sneak attack, the previous strike that cut the camp and the current flooded domain were displays of genuine, overwhelming strength.
Back then, he had only joined the Akatsuki because he was defeated head-on by Konan and had no choice.
Surrendering now was no big deal.
In his pursuit of eternal art, he was unwilling to throw away his life over the trivialities of the Hidden Sand Village.
And most importantly...
Kakashi had just used the metal inside a puppet joint to kill Chiyo instantly.
As for Sasori himself, who knew how many metal parts he contained?
With those metal components on his person, as long as Kakashi wished, killing him would be no different from killing Chiyo.
In fact, Sasori might die an even more miserable death.
Using absolute strength, Kakashi forced Sasori to willingly bow his head in submission.
Kakashi didn't actually mind this. In the entire Akatsuki organization, aside from Kisame Hoshigaki, Nagato, and Konan, almost everyone was of this sort.
Ideals? Dreams?
Don't be ridiculous. Only absolute strength could suppress a group of S-rank rogue ninjas like them.
Only an honest man like Kisame had actually believed Obito Uchiha's nonsense.
He didn't even know the true identity of the so-called "Madara Uchiha" until the day he died.
With Sasori's decisive surrender, the Sand forces had completely lost the power to resist.
Thousands were struggling to survive in the water, and the number of those who had drowned was unknown.
Kakashi looked at Shizune beside him.
"Notify the troops to come and finish the cleanup."
With the core combat power either dead or surrendered, the Sand was no longer a threat.
Even if the so-called Ebizo was still around, he couldn't stir up any trouble in this situation.
The downfall of the Hidden Sand Village was now clearly visible.
"Yes."
Shizune spoke respectfully, her face filled with admiration.
She finally understood why she had felt that way earlier.
Surrender, defect, fight, surrender again, defect again, fight again.
That was the Hidden Sand.
That had been the Sand's way of doing things all along.
An organization so fickle and devoid of shame simply shouldn't exist.
It wasn't just the Sand; the other hidden villages were the same.
These factions, these villages, should all become sacrifices for Konoha's rule over the world.
And now, with Kakashi's arrival, the war on the Sand front was officially declared over.
Kakashi did not immediately send men to invade the Hidden Sand's home territory. After dealing with the Sand troops on the battlefield, he sent Shizune back to Konoha to treat Zaojian Baiyun, while Itachi Uchiha was temporarily left in charge of the stationed troops.
Everything else would be decided once the results of the battles in the Land of Grass and the Land of Frost were determined.
The news of the Sand's front line collapsing and the total annihilation of their army had already reached the Hidden Sand Village. Facing the might of Konoha's blade, everyone was consumed by anxiety and dread.
Kakashi didn't care about any of that. He had already taken the surrendered Sasori and the captured Deidara and set off for the battlefield in the Land of Grass.
Hikari did not continue with Kakashi; she would return to Konoha with Shizune.
High in the sky, Deidara looked at the white-haired man sitting in front of him with a sullen expression.
By now, he and Sasori knew what had happened in the Hidden Rain Village.
They never expected that even the leader of the Akatsuki would lose to this Fifth Hokage of Konoha.
One had to remember that their leader possessed the legendary Rinnegan.
Thinking of this, they couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.
"Uh, hey, Lord Hokage... are we going to have to fight in a bit?"
Deidara looked at Kakashi, speaking with a bit of awkwardness and hesitation.
This earned him a sideways glance from Sasori.
Since when did this guy like calling people "Lord"?
"Suit yourselves."
"Just don't cause trouble," Kakashi replied to Deidara.
"Then I'll just stay in the back."
Deidara breathed a sigh of relief.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki of Both Scales, was his master.
If possible, he really didn't want to face that old man.
Whenever he thought of that stubborn, pedantic little old man, Deidara felt uncomfortable all over.
If possible, Deidara truly didn't want to see him.
But clearly, no one cared about his thoughts right now.
The initiative was entirely in Kakashi's hands.
As the clay bird beneath them let out a cry in the sky, Kakashi flew toward the distance with Sasori and Deidara.
The Land of Grass was located north of the Land of Rain. Starting from the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, they had to cross the Land of Rain, so it would take longer than the trip from the Rain to the Rivers.
While Kakashi was in transit...
The battlefield in the Land of Grass had reached a fever pitch.
Previously, the enemy side boasted the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, the Tsuchikage's son Kitsuchi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han, and Kisame Hoshigaki of the Akatsuki.
While Jiraiya and Tsunade did not fear any of them individually, if these people attacked all at once, even the legendary Sannin had to temporarily retreat from the brunt of it.
Especially since Jiraiya was unable to summon the toads of Mount Myoboku.
Yes, it was true.
Mount Myoboku had refused Jiraiya's Summoning Jutsu. This caused Jiraiya's composure to waver, reminding him of the day he and Kakashi had visited the Great Toad Sage.
The Great Toad Sage had prophesied Kakashi's future.
Kakashi would bring uncertain changes to the shinobi world, and no one would be able to remain uninvolved.
But now...
Although Kakashi's march toward unifying the shinobi world had begun, many forces were clearly still hidden in the shadows. The so-called Akatsuki was just one of the groups participating.
Did the Great Toad Sage still not consider this war, which affected the entire shinobi world, to be the "uncertain change"?
Jiraiya didn't know. Though his inability to summon toads caused his strength to drop significantly, fortunately, Tenzo's timely arrival managed to stabilize the situation.
Furthermore, with Tenzo's formidable strength, they had even launched a counterattack.
If not for the Third Tsuchikage's Particle Style being so troublesome, the war would have ended the moment Tenzo arrived.
However, at this moment, both sides had begun their final clash.
Jiraiya vs. Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
Tsunade vs. Kisame Hoshigaki.
Tenzo vs. Onoki of Both Scales, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, and Kitsuchi.
Tenzo alone was suppressing three top-tier experts.
When Zaojian Baiyun faced Obito Uchiha, he had personally said that with his strength, he could only be ranked fourth in all of Konoha.
Tenzo's strength was something Zaojian himself acknowledged as being superior to his own.
The strong have their own pride, and Zaojian Baiyun was no exception.
For a master who could end the Hidden Mist battlefield in a single day to be so thoroughly convinced of another's superiority, it was clear just how powerful Tenzo really was.
And now, on the Land of Grass battlefield...
A hundred-meter-tall, ferocious wooden figure, looking like a deity, stood tall upon the battlefield.
The wooden figure's body was colossal, and a long, menacing wooden dragon was coiled around it.
With every step it took, the earth trembled and rocks tumbled.
In the sky, looking at the giant wooden figure approaching him, Onoki's expression was grave.
Sage Art: Wood Release: Wood Human Jutsu.
This was a technique unique to Hashirama Senju.
He never expected that decades after Hashirama's death, a technique belonging only to the God of Shinobi would appear in the world once again.
At this moment, Tenzo stood atop the head of the Wood Human with his hands clasped. He controlled the wooden giant as it stepped toward the enemy.
Mysterious black markings had crawled across his cheeks.
Tenzo's pitch-black eyes watched the little old man ahead with solemnity. Even with the Wood Human Jutsu, he could not afford to be careless against Particle Style.
Otherwise, no matter how powerful the technique, it could be killed in one hit by Particle Style!
To face Onoki's Particle Style, he had to first use the Wood Dragon Jutsu.
He would use the Wood Dragon's ability to absorb chakra to counter it!
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