The Ninja World was not large.
Information spread quickly.
Just two days later, the events that had occurred on the front line between Konoha and Kumogakure in the Land of Fire had already become known to every Ninja village, large and small, through their scouts' reports!
A, the son of the Third Raikage, had died in battle!
Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, had died in battle!
And the one responsible was the new-generation Ninja known as Konoha's greatest genius, who possessed the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline, Uzumaki Seiryū!
Even the Third Raikage, known as the strongest Raikage, was no match for Seiryū. After losing an arm, he ultimately led the Kumogakure Ninja on the Land of Fire front line in retreat.
The battle between Konoha and Kumogakure on the Land of Fire front ended in Kumogakure's crushing defeat!
Once this news spread, the entire Ninja World erupted into an uproar.
After all, the person who had accomplished such a feat was merely an eleven or twelve-year-old boy!
Seiryū, Konoha's greatest genius, already had an intelligence file in every Ninja village.
During the previous joint Chunin Exams, he had already displayed extraordinary strength.
A monster similar to a Tailed Beast was sealed within his body, and he could utilize its Chakra.
Furthermore, he had forcefully killed Setsuna, the Great Elder of the Uchiha Clan!
That alone was enough to make others take him seriously.
But now, he had killed two of Kumogakure's pillars and defeated the Third Raikage, the strongest Raikage.
This was no longer simply a matter of becoming famous throughout the Ninja World. It was enough to make every person in power wary and demand their serious attention!
The Third Raikage's strength had already been fully displayed during the Second Shinobi World War.
He was a figure who made the Kage of the other Ninja villages wary.
Yet he had fallen at the hands of an eleven or twelve-year-old boy.
Everyone who learned of this news wore expressions of shock, awe, and disbelief!
Because of the spread of this information, even the Great Ninja War briefly came to a standstill!
The news was simply too shocking!
...
At the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers stood Sunagakure's temporary camp.
Because the course of events had changed, the Third Kazekage, who had not been assassinated by Sasori was still alive.
He was personally overseeing this front line!
Inside the command tent.
"How could this be?"
The Third Kazekage looked at the intelligence report in his hand, his expression becoming grave and solemn.
He looked at the ANBU Ninja who had delivered the report. "Has the information been verified? Does an eleven or twelve-year-old Konoha rookie truly possess this kind of strength?"
The ANBU Ninja replied respectfully, "This news has already spread throughout the entire Ninja World. It cannot be false."
"Our spies within Kumogakure have also obtained accurate information. The Third Raikage is heavily injured, while the Jinchuriki Killer B and the Raikage's son, A, are both dead."
"Konoha has actually produced such a monster, and even Tsunade, one of the Sannin, has awakened Wood Release."
The Third Kazekage slowly exhaled, his expression shifting uncertainly.
The intelligence report not only contained general information about Seiryū, but also mentioned that Tsunade, one of the Sannin, had awakened Wood Release.
Konoha's Wood Release.
Every Ninja village remembered it vividly. After all, the former God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, had relied on Wood Release to sweep across the entire Ninja World.
He had brought an end to the chaos of the Warring States Period.
There was no one in the Ninja World who did not understand the threat posed by Wood Release.
...
Meanwhile, in Iwagakure.
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had naturally received the relevant news as well.
"Even that man was defeated? How could an eleven or twelve-year-old brat possibly possess such power?"
Previously, on another battlefield, the Third Tsuchikage had also clashed with the Third Raikage.
Although they had not fought to the death, the strength displayed by the Third Raikage had still made even the Third Tsuchikage feel pressured.
Now, no matter how much the Third Tsuchikage thought about it, he could not imagine the Third Raikage losing to an eleven or twelve-year-old boy.
"Seiryū, who defeated the Third Raikage. Tsunade, who awakened the Senju Clan's Wood Release. Minato, who has mastered Senju Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique."
"Phew."
"Konoha truly is filled with extraordinary talent!"
The Third Tsuchikage exhaled heavily and tapped his index finger against the table.
His brow furrowed involuntarily, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Finally, he clapped his hands, summoned an ANBU Ninja, and calmly said, "Continue investigating. Find out more details about that front line."
...
At the same time, inside the Kirigakure camp.
The Third Mizukage, who ruled over Kirigakure, was standing respectfully beside a white-bodied figure whose eyes contained a diagonally shaped Mangekyō Sharingan.
Any other Kirigakure Ninja who witnessed this scene would undoubtedly be shocked!
Their Third Mizukage was actually being controlled by someone!
"The Third Raikage. That man's mastery of Lightning Release is not weak."
"Does that brat still have enough strength to fight another Kage after battling me?"
Madara, who was controlling White Zetsu through the Dōjutsu Gyo Tenshin, looked at the intelligence report in his hand.
A grave look appeared in his eyes.
After suffering losses at that brat's hands twice in succession, Madara no longer dared to underestimate him.
He also needed to eliminate the other party as soon as possible.
The threat was too great!
Madara looked at the Third Mizukage, whom he controlled through Genjutsu, and calmly ordered, "Launch an all-out attack against Sunagakure. Find the whereabouts of Sunagakure's One-Tail Jinchuriki, and simultaneously investigate the locations of the Jinchuriki in the other Ninja villages."
With White Zetsu gathering intelligence throughout various regions, Madara did not lack sources of information.
However, Kirigakure was also a major Ninja village and possessed its own intelligence network.
In terms of spies, Kirigakure had agents in every Ninja village.
It was time to put them to use!
"Yes, Lord!"
The Third Mizukage's eyes remained tightly closed as he gave a single respectful response.
Then he left.
After he departed, the Mangekyō Sharingan in Madara's eyes spun slightly as he whispered, "If I let the Gedo Statue absorb the Three-Tails, it should heal my injuries and allow me to recover to my peak as soon as possible."
"However, only the Rinnegan can control the Gedo Statue. I wonder whether the Dōjutsu Kaiten-shin can make the Gedo Statue absorb the Three-Tails' Chakra."
There was a connection between the Gedo Statue and the Rinnegan. Only the Rinnegan could control the Gedo Statue.
Currently, his Rinnegan was still being nurtured by Nagato!
Madara was also unsure whether the Dōjutsu Kaiten-shin could make the Gedo Statue absorb the Three-Tails, thereby healing his injuries and allowing him to recover to his peak as soon as possible.
He also did not know whether the Gedo Statue would undergo any changes after absorbing the Three-Tails.
Madara considered whether he should immediately reclaim the Rinnegan he had transplanted into Nagato.
After all, the Rinnegan was necessary to control the Gedo Statue!
"Forget it. I'll try this first. If it doesn't work, I'll have no choice but to reclaim my eyes now."
After thinking it over, Madara decided to try it first.
If it failed, he would reclaim his Rinnegan.
Since he had not yet recovered to his peak, he could not use the Rinnegan perfectly.
Reclaiming his eyes now would not only fail to help him, but would instead slow down his recovery.
The loss would outweigh the gain!
After all, he still could not completely separate himself from the Gedo Statue. He still needed to use the Gedo Statue's Chakra to recover to his peak as quickly as possible.
Therefore, the Dōjutsu Gyo Tenshin within Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan was still extremely important to him.
It was the key factor that determined whether he could move freely. This pair of eyes, which was close to the level of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, was also one of the necessary conditions for generating the Power of Shinra Eternal Treasure to nourish his body.
This pair of Mangekyō Sharingan was extremely useful to Madara.
He could not possibly discard them now!
Madara also needed more time, which was why he felt such a sense of urgency.
...
Achieving a victory at this stage of the war was also a tremendous boost to morale.
Therefore, the Konoha forces on the various front lines soon learned of the news one after another.
At a temporary camp within the Land of Fire, there were only two people.
Sakumo and Kakashi, father and son. Their mission was to eliminate the Kirigakure Ninja squads causing trouble within the Land of Fire!
"He killed the Raikage's son, A, and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, before forcing the Third Raikage to retreat. Has Seiryū already become this powerful?"
After learning of the news, Kakashi was shocked beyond belief.
Seiryū was only one year older than him. How could he be so incredibly powerful?
Leaving aside a Kage, Kakashi could not even defeat a Jonin at present.
At most, he could only hold his own against one.
It was just as Seiryū had once said, "Those who have been defeated by me will never be regarded as my rivals. I will give you time to catch up until you can no longer even see me in the distance."
The gap between them and Seiryū was indeed growing wider and wider.
Kakashi could not help but feel somewhat dejected and discouraged.
"Seiryū's talent is undoubtedly the greatest I have ever seen. As for the Third Raikage, even I might not necessarily be able to defeat him."
Sakumo was also shocked and perplexed.
Even he found Seiryū's rate of growth difficult to comprehend.
He understood very clearly what it meant to force the Third Raikage to retreat.
The Third Raikage's strength was even greater than his own. At the very least, in a battle to the death, Sakumo believed that he would be more likely to fall.
And yet, the Third Raikage had actually retreated before Seiryū.
It was simply too incredible!
"Even Father."
After hearing this, Kakashi opened his mouth but fell silent.
He knew how powerful his father was. In fact, his father was one of the people he aimed to surpass.
And yet his father had actually said such a thing.
Just what kind of monster was Seiryū?
Was he truly one of their peers?
Sakumo understood his son's thoughts. Kakashi had always regarded Seiryū as someone he wanted to surpass.
Now, that person had become so powerful that it was enough to make anyone despair. It was only natural for Kakashi to show such an expression.
Sakumo merely patted Kakashi on the shoulder. He said nothing and offered only silent comfort.
"Don't worry, Father. I won't be discouraged!"
Kakashi remained silent for two seconds before showing a determined expression. "Even that guy Obito keeps shouting that he'll surpass Seiryū. How could I possibly lose to Obito?"
"No matter how strong Seiryū becomes, I will continue to regard him as the person I want to surpass!"
Whether he could surpass Seiryū was one matter. Whether he possessed the determination to try was another!
He would not admit defeat so easily!
"Hahaha! Good, that's my son!"
Sakumo laughed and firmly patted his son's shoulder in encouragement.
Beyond that, he said nothing.
Even after learning how wide the gap had become, his son had not been crushed by it.
That alone was already commendable!
...
In Konoha, at Seiryū's home.
Kurenai, Hina, and Rin, who had already learned what Seiryū had accomplished on the battlefield, all wore excited expressions. At the same time, they secretly breathed sighs of relief.
It was wonderful that Seiryū was safe!
Moreover, he was simply too strong!
He had achieved such a significant victory as soon as he stepped onto the battlefield.
As expected of Seiryū!
...
Meanwhile, Obito, who had also learned about the matter, was training even more seriously at the training ground.
Beside him stood a kind-looking old woman!
...
At another training ground.
Ryota's Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly as he trained. He was even more frantic than Obito.
At that moment, his body was covered in bandages.
These injuries had been caused by his intense training!
Unknown to Ryota, a white humanoid creature was quietly watching him from a short distance away.
...
Time passed quickly.
Some time had passed since Seiryū first stepped onto the battlefield.
In addition to the battlefield in the Land of Fire, Seiryū had also traveled to the other front lines one after another.
Both Kumogakure and Iwagakure had suffered at Seiryū's hands.
There was no telling how many Ninja had died by his hand.
Because of Seiryū's strength and decisiveness, he had even earned his own title, Konoha's Shinigami!
The Reaper who harvested lives on the battlefield!
Of all the Ninja who encountered Seiryū, regardless of their strength or numbers, few escaped from his hands alive.
His fame had even surpassed that of Minato, the Yellow Flash.
He left countless enemy Ninja trembling in fear!
Because of the terrifying threat Seiryū posed, both the Third Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage issued the same order.
Regardless of the mission being carried out, any Ninja who encountered Seiryū, Konoha's Reaper, was permitted to abandon the mission and prioritize preserving their own life!
At the same time, while Seiryū was making a name for himself, another major event occurred in the Ninja World!
A world-shaking battle erupted between Sunagakure and Kirigakure!
This battle was once again provoked by Kirigakure!
The combat forces of the two great Ninja villages, Sunagakure and Kirigakure, were mobilized almost in their entirety.
They fought across the Land of Rivers until the sky darkened and the earth shook!
This campaign was the largest in scale since the outbreak of the war!
It became known in history as the Land of Rivers Campaign!
During this campaign, the two great Ninja villages suffered heavy losses and countless casualties. The entire Land of Rivers was nearly destroyed, and its people were plunged into misery.
More importantly, the Third Kazekage, who possessed the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, died on the battlefield!
He died at the hands of the Third Mizukage!
The defeat and death of a Ninja village's Kage naturally had an enormous impact.
It brought Sunagakure to the brink of collapse and nearly resulted in its conquest by Kirigakure!
In the end, had Chiyo, her grandson Sasori, Sunagakure Jonin Rasa, Scorch Release Pakura, and several other Sunagakure figures not turned the tide, Sunagakure might have become the first ninja village or nation to fall during this war!
However, this battle also drew the attention of every Ninja village, large and small!
It was simply too tragic!
Wars were not supposed to be fought this way!
Kirigakure's actions left the Kage of the other Ninja villages confused and puzzled.
Why would the Third Mizukage so stubbornly launch a campaign on such a massive scale?
He had even ignored the fact that the other Ninja villages were waiting for an opportunity to strike!
Was the Third Mizukage not afraid that Kirigakure's strength would be weakened by the war, giving the other Ninja villages an opportunity to attack all at once and ultimately causing Kirigakure to fall?
Or did Kirigakure possess some hidden trump card or method that had yet to be revealed?
Something was clearly wrong!
Therefore, after the war between Sunagakure and Kirigakure briefly came to a halt, every other Ninja village, large and small, made the same decision.
They would wait and observe for the time being!
(To be continued.)
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