The first wave of Sunagakure's assault came fast—and ended just as quickly.
The embers from the clash of ninjutsu still drifted through the air, the firelight illuminating the devastation both inside and outside the camp.
After taking the impact, Konoha's defensive formation rapidly adjusted. The frontline combat shinobi pushed outward to stabilize the perimeter, while those assigned to logistics and medical support—but still possessing decent combat capability—contracted inward to hold the middle line.
At the very center, personnel with weaker strength, unsuited for direct combat yet responsible for critical supplies and documents, were swiftly gathered and placed under tight protection. Meanwhile, the wounded were dragged to relatively safe corners for emergency treatment.
Sunagakure's assault unit also withdrew from direct engagement after a brief clash, but did not retreat far.
Both sides formed a dangerous standoff in the darkness inside and outside the camp.
Killing intent filled the air—ready to erupt at any moment.
The night wind swept across the wrecked battlefield, carrying the scent of blood and scorched ruin.
Within Sunagakure's formation, the robed Ebizō slowly stepped forward. Benimaru followed slightly behind him, his signature red eyes now noticeably dimmer, no longer bearing their earlier eerie, lustrous glow.
Maintaining his ocular technique for an extended period—continuously releasing chakra to interfere with the Byakugan's perception while simultaneously providing precise positioning for the assault unit—had taken a heavy toll on him.
Now that the target had been located and both sides had entered the stage of direct confrontation, he temporarily deactivated the dōjutsu to recover as quickly as possible.
Moonlight pierced through thin clouds, illuminating Ebizō's lean yet slightly aged face. His gaze passed over the scattered wreckage and overlapping figures, locking directly onto the blond figure at the center of Konoha's group.
"So it's the renowned Tsunade-sama leading the force in person. No wonder the response was so swift," Ebizō said calmly.
Tsunade stepped forward through the crowd, standing at the very front of the defensive line. Arms crossed, her golden hair fluttered lightly in the night wind, a mocking sneer on her face as she replied: "I was wondering who had such nerve to sneak all the way here—turns out it's Elder Ebizō of Sunagakure. Haven't heard a peep from you in all these years—I thought you'd already been buried. Or maybe Chiyo turned you into a human puppet like the Third Kazekage and put you on display at home."
Her words were merciless, but inwardly she was cursing.
What the hell was Jiraiya doing on the frontlines?
And there were also Root and the ANBU in charge of intelligence and counter-infiltration!
That old fox Shimura Danzō spent his days lurking in the shadows, yet he still let an elite Sunagakure force of several hundred cross the border, infiltrate the Land of Fire without a sound, and even accurately intercept the only route this critical logistics unit had to take.
Though she was cursing furiously inside, Tsunade's gaze swept rapidly across the opposing Sunagakure formation.
At a glance, the numbers on both sides seemed roughly equal, each exceeding five hundred.
But the enemy consisted entirely of battle-hardened frontline combat shinobi, brimming with killing intent and fully equipped, while on her side, only about a hundred were true frontline fighters. The remaining four hundred were medical and logistics personnel—though they possessed some combat capability, direct confrontation was far from their strength.
If it came to a head-on clash, her side would undoubtedly suffer heavy losses.
And the moment Tsunade's remark—"the Third Kazekage being turned into a human puppet by Chiyo"—left her mouth, the Sunagakure ranks immediately erupted. One by one, fury ignited in their eyes, their gazes sharpening like blades as they locked onto Tsunade.
"Heh, still as sharp-tongued as ever." Ebizō did not seem angered; he merely narrowed his eyes slightly. "Looks like I've hooked a big fish this time. If we take you all down—especially you, Tsunade—Konoha's casualty rate on the frontlines will likely multiply several times over."
"Keep dreaming, you senile fool!" Tsunade shot back. "If your brain's already gone soft with age, then stop using it. Next time you go back, have your sister turn you into a human puppet too—keep the Third Kazekage company."
"Heh." Ebizō let out a soft chuckle and said no more, though his gaze grew colder. With a sharp clang, he drew the tachi at his waist. The blade flashed with a cold glint under the moonlight as he raised it high and shouted: "Warriors of Sunagakure! Fight with me! Fight until the very last moment—"
"Elder, watch out! There's danger!"
Before he could finish, Benimaru abruptly cut him off from the side.
At some unknown moment, he had reactivated his red eyes. Those ruby-like pupils were locked tightly onto a certain position within Konoha's camp.
Hmm!?
Ebizō's heart jolted. He was just about to ask when a very real sense of danger surged from the depths of his being.
"Yah—HA!!!"
A thunderous roar suddenly exploded, overpowering all the noise on the battlefield!
A figure—not particularly tall, yet extraordinarily upright—burst up from within Konoha's camp, shooting straight into the night sky!
Both hands gripped a long staff that was now violently humming, erupting with a terrifying crimson-gold radiance!
It was Higashino Shinichi!
And the staff in his hands—the Adamantine Staff—looked as though it might explode at any moment!
When members of the Monkey King clan transform into the Adamantine Staff, they lose most of their autonomous combat capability. They can no longer move, cannot use jutsu, and cannot fight independently. But behind such a heavy price lies the ability to become a true divine weapon.
In this form, the Adamantine Staff possesses an almost heaven-defying property—size at will, freely extending and contracting!
Driven by the user's chakra infusion and intent, it undergoes qualitative transformation.
The more chakra poured into it, the heavier its mass becomes, the longer it extends, and the thicker it expands.
In theory, as long as the user possesses a sufficiently powerful physique, an enormous reserve of chakra, unyielding will, and precise control, this staff can grow without limit—ten meters, a hundred meters, a thousand meters, even enough to pierce mountains and sweep across the heavens.
For example, in the original timeline, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, once extended the Adamantine Staff to several thousand meters in length, using a single strike to knock the rampaging Nine-Tails out of Konoha. (The power was mainly concentrated in length; the thickness only increased by three to four times.)
But the cost is just as staggering.
Every extension, every increase in thickness, every rise in mass, consumes the user's chakra at a frantic rate. The energy that floods into the staff like a surging tide is converted by the Adamantine Staff into pure physical force—weight, length, width!
Whatever the user outputs, the staff returns in equal measure.
And at this moment, Shinichi was pushing this property to its absolute limit.
Midair, Shinichi suddenly exerted force through his waist, the muscles of his arms swelling. Using his body as the axis, he began to violently swing and spin the staff in his hands!
Clang!
First rotation! The Adamantine Staff expanded explosively! Its length broke past ten meters, the tip as thick as a support beam, the gale it generated pressing the trees below into submission!
Whoosh!!
Second rotation! The staff expanded again! Its length reached twenty meters, the tip as thick as a house, the crimson-gold radiance turning into tangible flames that coiled around it, the terrifying pressure causing the air itself to explode with sharp detonations!
Wuuuum!!!
Third rotation! The Staff had already become a colossal object! Its length exceeded fifty meters, the tip as massive as the base of a small hill. Each swing dragged out a deep, thunder-like rumble, as if even space itself were trembling under its weight and speed!
BOOM!!!!
Fourth rotation—and the current limit Shinichi could reach by pouring in all his chakra and strength, using rotational momentum to build power!
The Adamantine Staff had, in that instant, transformed into a true sky-piercing pillar—its tip over thirty meters in diameter, its length approaching two hundred meters!
Its entire body flowed with a molten, crimson-gold radiance. Merely hanging there, the shadows it cast were enough to cover nearly half the battlefield!
Carrying the terrifying kinetic energy accumulated through four full rotations, along with overwhelming pressure and the thunderous roar of wind and lightning, it churned the air and clouds as it descended toward the densest part of Sunagakure's formation—striking down in the simplest, most violent, most unstoppable manner—
Damn it!
That's Sarutobi Hiruzen's Adamantine Staff!?
He's here too!?
Ebizō's heart shook violently in shock, his pupils shrinking. But he was, after all, a veteran who had crawled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood—his reaction reached its absolute peak!
His hands formed seals in an instant, chakra surging out like a flood bursting through a dam!
A terrifying storm, comparable to a natural hurricane and so condensed it was nearly tangible, roared into existence before him. It shot upward, intercepting the trajectory of the enormous staff!
Faced with this earth-shattering blow, Ebizō chose to block it head-on. He could have dodged—but if this strike landed, most of his people here would likely be wiped out.
At nearly the same moment, the Sunagakure jōnin around him—quick to react—also changed expressions drastically and unleashed their techniques!
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
More than a dozen thick earthen walls rose from the ground!
"Wind Release: Great Wind Bullets!"
A barrage of wind projectiles howled upward!
"Puppet Technique: Iron Wall Shield!"
Over a dozen massive puppets raised shields overhead!
All kinds of defensive ninjutsu and methods flared up simultaneously in that brief instant, attempting to block the descending strike of destruction!
BOOOOM!!!!
In the next moment, a terrifying explosion beyond words swallowed everything! It was the ultimate collision of pure power and absolute defense!
The two-hundred-meter sky-piercing pillar slammed solidly into the wind wall and layered defenses! A blinding flash erupted instantly, leaving everyone temporarily blind!
What followed was a shockwave like the world itself caving in, powerful enough to rupture eardrums. Centered on the impact point, a circular blast wave spread wildly—wherever it passed, trees snapped at their roots, and rocks shattered like paper!
The ground cracked, bulged, and exploded layer by layer like fragile biscuits! A massive crater over a hundred meters in diameter formed in an instant!
Soil, rock, and broken timber were swept tens of meters into the sky, mixing with chaotic streams of chakra light to form a small yet terrifying mushroom cloud that slowly rose into the night sky!
The carefully arranged offensive formation of five hundred Sunagakure shinobi was completely torn apart under this disaster-like strike!
Although, thanks to Ebizō and the surrounding jōnin's timely defenses, there were no massive immediate casualties, the shockwave's impact caused everyone's blood to churn. Blood seeped from ears and noses, formations collapsed, heads spun, and for a short time they completely lost the ability to mount any organized attack!
Some stood in place, blood flowing from their ears, swaying in confusion. Some were flipped over by the blast and pinned beneath their comrades, struggling to get up. Others clutched their weapons and barely remained standing, unable even to tell which direction they were facing.
At this moment, Sunagakure's line fell into complete chaos.
Within Konoha's camp, every shinobi who witnessed this world-shattering strike—whether combatant or medical/logistics personnel—was plunged into total silence and petrification.
Was that something a human could even unleash?
No one even noticed that after delivering that heaven-shaking blow, "Higashino Shinichi" quietly dissolved into a cloud of white smoke under the cover of dust and light, vanishing into the chaotic currents of air.
…
At the same time, in the Land of Iron, Sekikōjō, in the rear courtyard of the Isshin Dōjō.
Thud!
A dull sound of something heavy hitting the ground broke the stillness of the night courtyard.
It was followed by rough, rapid breathing.
Sensing the disturbance, Yamagami Motoya was the first to rush out. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword as his vigilant gaze swept across the courtyard—then he saw his teacher, Isshin, kneeling on one knee, his face pale, breathing heavily, sweat pouring from his forehead.
"Sensei!" Motoya hurried forward, trying to support him. "What happened? Was there an enemy?!"
Almost at the same time, Uzumaki Dōsuke and Uzumaki Kichō rushed out from their rooms as well. Seeing Isshin's condition, both were startled.
Kichō immediately stepped forward, extending her arm and revealing her pale wrist as she said urgently: "Isshin-sama, quickly—bite my arm! My chakra can help you recover…"
"Huff… no need. I'm fine."
Isshin pushed her hand away, raised his head, glanced at the three of them, and gave a direct order: "Go. Bring me all the food I prepared this morning."
The Entry "Gourmet" granted him powerful food absorption capabilities. At the same time, it allowed the food he personally prepared to possess a miraculous effect—turning decay into something extraordinary, in a sense like stepping on one's own foot to climb higher.
Because of this, Shinichi would occasionally prepare some food in advance for himself. If not for the fact that this food gradually lost that miraculous effect over time, he would have even considered making a large batch at once.
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