BOOM!!
Explosions, the thunderous roar of ninjutsu, and the clash of blades intertwined without end, tearing through the night sky like a deafening war cry.
The Konohagakure force was already fighting as they retreated, having withdrawn a considerable distance.
But even with Isshin charging through the front lines, constantly disrupting one Kumogakure formation after another, and with Shinichi's true body repeatedly launching support attacks from the shadows...
Kumogakure's pursuit still clung to them relentlessly.
There were simply too many enemies.
In contrast, Konohagakure's side not only suffered from an overwhelming numerical disadvantage, but most of the shinobi were already wounded, exhausted, and nearing their limits.
"Increase the intensity of the assault!" Troy's gaze turned icy as his voice echoed across the battlefield. "I want every last one of these Konoha shinobi buried here!"
Although Kumogakure had suffered catastrophic losses during this period—especially after nearly seventy percent of the village's logistics and medical systems had been utterly destroyed, leaving the war itself difficult to sustain—
As long as they could leave this group here forever, especially Higashino Shinichi, then everything would have been worth it.
That boy was a future calamity.
A threat that had to be strangled in the cradle.
Troy's eyes sharpened like blades as they locked firmly onto the figure rampaging through formation after formation in the distance. His hands were just about to form seals—
When suddenly—
A vast, heavy, mountain-like pressure erupted without warning from the depths of the forest ahead!
It descended like an invisible tsunami, instantly engulfing the entire battlefield!
What?!
Troy abruptly raised his head, his pupils contracting violently.
At that same moment, the Adamantine Staff in Isshin's hand, while he was still slaughtering his way through the enemy ranks, suddenly began to tremble violently!
Without the slightest hesitation, Isshin hurled the staff toward the forest ahead with all his strength!
The pitch-black staff tore through the air, dragging behind it a visible white shockwave like a meteor streaking across the heavens as it shot straight into the woods!
"Watch out!!"
The instant Troy roared the warning—
A black figure exploded out from deep within the forest!
Too fast!
So fast that the eye could barely follow it!
All it left behind in the night sky was an elongated afterimage and a shrill screech that tore through the heavens!
While hurtling forward, the figure flipped through the air and reached one hand toward the void.
Smack!
He firmly caught the Adamantine Staff flying toward him.
Staff and man became one in that instant.
Then—
BUZZ!!
The Adamantine Staff suddenly expanded!
It grew thicker! Longer!
Fifty meters! One hundred meters! Three hundred meters! Five hundred meters!
A colossal pillar five hundred meters long, with a tip as massive as a mountain, stretched beneath the night sky like a heavenly column!
There was no pause.
No gathering of momentum.
The gigantic pillar already carried with it a terrifying force capable of crushing and suppressing everything as it came smashing down toward the three hundred Kumogakure elites closest to the pursuit force—less than one hundred meters away from the Konoha shinobi!
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!
It was as though the heavens themselves had collapsed.
The instant the colossal pillar struck the ground, the earth crumbled layer after layer like fragile flatbread!
The shockwave transformed into a visible ring-shaped tempest, sweeping shattered stone, broken trees, ninja tools, and human bodies wildly in every direction!
Screams.
Bones shattering.
Earth and stone exploding apart.
In that instant, all of it was swallowed by the catastrophic roar of destruction.
Just one strike.
That single blow left the three hundred Kumogakure shinobi at the front either dead or grievously wounded.
Even the more than two thousand Kumogakure shinobi following behind them were thrown into complete chaos by the massive shockwave from the explosion, their formation utterly disrupted and unable to advance any farther for the moment.
The overwhelming strength of the newcomer had been fully revealed.
After unleashing that heaven-shaking strike, the figure flashed forward and arrived before the Konohagakure group.
It was none other than the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen!
"Third-sama!?"
"Hokage-sama!?"
The Konoha shinobi cried out in unison, their eyes filled with disbelief.
The Hokage himself had actually ventured deep into enemy territory and appeared here in person!
Hiruzen did not turn around.
He merely slammed the Adamantine Staff—now restored to its normal size—against the ground. His gaze was sharp as lightning as he stared at the endless clouds of dust rising before him, as though he could already see the Kumogakure forces beyond them.
"Move."
Although he had absolute confidence that, if he fought here with his full strength and coordinated with Orochimaru and the eight hundred elite shinobi rushing in behind him, he could annihilate these two thousand-plus Kumogakure shinobi here and now—
The Third Hokage understood clearly that his purpose in coming here was only to rescue people.
No one knew how many additional Kumogakure forces were already converging on this location from every direction.
Nor could anyone guarantee that, once they became entangled in prolonged combat, that old bastard the Third Raikage would not personally lead the main force back here.
At this moment—
Time itself was the deadliest enemy.
"Yes!"
The members of Shinichi's unit no longer hesitated. Enduring their exhausted, overdrawn bodies, they supported one another and retreated at full speed.
Meanwhile, on Kumogakure's side—
"The Third Hokage came too!?" Troy was startled at first, but immediately turned and roared: "Send word immediately! Notify every nearby unit to gather here at full speed! At the same time, send news of the Third Hokage's appearance here back to the village and inform Raikage-sama at the front lines immediately!!"
"Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Battalions! Flank them from both sides immediately! No matter the cost, keep them pinned down!"
As the orders were issued, Troy stared fixedly at the still-unsettled cloud of dust ahead.
The smoke was too dense, obscuring all vision and preventing him from seeing what lay within.
But his hand seals had already been completed in an instant as chakra surged and condensed violently.
Around him, hundreds of Kumogakure elites centered around jōnin had likewise already finished forming their seals.
The moment the smoke cleared even slightly—
A storm of attacks would erupt at once!
However, before the smoke could even begin to settle—
A terrifying sense of danger suddenly exploded inside Troy's chest!
Deep within the dust cloud, a colossal destructive force capable of splitting mountains and crushing peaks was erupting in an instant!
"Attack! NOW!!"
Troy roared hoarsely as both hands thrust forward with full force.
Storm Release: Storm Dragon Light Wave!
And at the exact same instant his voice fell—
From within the smoke, five torrents of ninjutsu, each completely different in color and nature, burst forth like primordial beasts breaking free from their restraints!
The roaring crimson torrent of flames!
The surging azure torrent of water!
The blinding, explosive torrent of blue lightning!
The heavy, condensed torrent of yellow earth!
The shrieking emerald torrent of wind!
Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth, Wind!
Five Release Great Combo Technique!
A secret composite ninjutsu developed by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. It required simultaneously controlling Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, and Wind chakra natures to activate, placing extraordinarily high demands on both chakra control and mastery over the five elemental transformations.
Why was the Third Hokage called the Professor of Ninjutsu?
Precisely because his mastery over all Five Releases had reached the level of a true grandmaster!
Rumble!
The instant the five elemental attacks were unleashed, they intertwined and amplified one another!
Wind fueled the flames.
Flames intensified the lightning.
Earth shaped the water.
Water carried the wind.
At that moment, the five nature transformations produced an astonishing resonance, transforming into a fan-shaped tsunami of destruction that engulfed over half the battlefield!
Troy's Storm Release: Storm Dragon Light Wave crashed head-on into it!
At the same time, the various ninjutsu unleashed by the hundreds of Kumogakure elites around him converged into a dazzling tide of death as they slammed directly toward the five-colored torrent of ninjutsu!
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!
The sound itself seemed to transcend the very concept of noise.
It was as though the heavens trembled in fear, and the earth groaned in agony.
The light transformed into an all-devouring white, while the shockwave swept outward in every direction like a raging cataclysmic tide.
Wherever it passed, the ground was violently scraped away by several meters, forests were reduced to dust, and mountain rock shattered apart like sand!
Troy and the several hundred Kumogakure elites around him were blasted away by the irresistible force, sent flying like kites with snapped strings. They smashed through multiple giant trees before crashing heavily onto the ground.
They had blocked it—
And yet they had not.
"Cough... cough..."
Supporting himself upright, Troy coughed several times before raising his head.
The smoke and dust finally began to disperse slowly.
Ahead of them remained only a gigantic crater over one hundred meters wide, as though a meteor had struck the battlefield.
Lightning and flames still flickered within the crater.
The earth and stone had been scorched black.
Steam rose endlessly into the air.
And the residual cuts left behind by wind blades still hissed across the ground.
As for the Konohagakure group—
They had already vanished without a trace.
"As expected of... the Third Hokage."
Troy wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly straightened himself, staring toward the distant forest where the Konoha shinobi had disappeared.
"Pursue them! Even if it costs our lives, we must leave the Third Hokage here!"
...
'Orochimaru, you take the rear guard!'
Under the Third Hokage's protection and guidance, Shinichi's unit and Danzō's group rapidly withdrew from the battlefield. Before long, they successfully rendezvoused with Orochimaru, who had come ahead to reinforce them.
But as he watched Orochimaru calmly speaking with Shinichi as though nothing had happened, the Third Hokage suddenly found an inexplicable thought surfacing in his mind.
Yet when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back down.
"Hiruzen."
At that moment, Danzō—silent the entire time while being supported by Hiruzen's left arm—suddenly spoke.
"Hm?"
Hiruzen glanced sideways at him.
Danzō remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking slowly, as though he were uttering words that had been ground over in his heart countless times across countless years: "This time... I finally walked ahead of you."
Hearing that, the Third Hokage froze briefly.
Then a smile slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth as he nodded with emotion.
"Yeah... this time, you walked ahead of me."
He paused, a teasing note entering his voice.
"So? How does it feel?"
"Hmph!"
Danzō let out a cold snort.
"So-so. Nothing special."
Without giving Hiruzen a chance to respond, he continued speaking with a stern face: "Hiruzen, your actions this time were far too reckless. As Hokage, how could you so easily risk yourself alone and venture deep into enemy territory? It was utterly foolish! If anything had truly happened to you, then the village would've—"
But at that point, he suddenly stopped, seemingly realizing that he himself had just done something equally foolish. His tone softened slightly.
"...Though this time, we'll let it pass. Don't let there be a next time."
"Alright. No next time," Hiruzen nodded in agreement before adding, "But the same goes for you."
"Hmph! Of course I know that!"
Yeah right, like I'd believe you.
The moment their eyes met, both men almost simultaneously looked away, the exact same thought flashing through their minds.
After that brief exchange of criticism, neither spoke again.
Yet while racing forward at high speed, their gazes occasionally swept across the mountains, forests, and night scenery rushing past around them, strange emotions flickering deep within their eyes.
Not long afterward, the group successfully reunited with the eight hundred elite reinforcements the Third Hokage had brought with him.
Without a word, everyone adjusted formation in perfect tacit understanding.
The wounded were protected at the center.
The elites guarded the rear.
And the entire force withdrew from the borders of the Land of Lightning along the fastest and most concealed route possible.
The darkness of night gradually faded, while the horizon began to brighten with the first trace of dawn.
The Third Hokage and Danzō gazed at the slowly brightening sky before them, both showing an indescribably complicated look in their eyes.
Once again—
They had escaped alive from the Land of Lightning.
From this land that had buried far too many deaths and regrets.
But this time was ultimately different from decades ago.
Back then, it had been their teacher who sacrificed his own life to carve out a path of survival for them.
Now, decades later—
They themselves had likewise been prepared to sacrifice their lives in order to carve out a path of survival for the younger generation.
The last time they fled this land, what lay behind them was their teacher's resolute back as he turned away to face death alone.
An eternal regret they could never chase down again.
A wound that had taken half a lifetime and still never truly healed.
But this time, as they withdrew—
Beside them were the figures of the younger generation racing forward shoulder to shoulder.
The passing down of the will of fire.
And the ability to finally look back upon this land without shame.
The Third Hokage slowly raised his head, looking toward the ever-brightening eastern horizon as his sleeves fluttered gently in the mountain wind.
Danzō also lifted his one remaining eye toward that same direction, the corner of his mouth twitching faintly.
Neither of them spoke.
But at that moment—
Something buried deep within them for decades seemed to finally be soothed quietly by that first ray of dawn.
The road ahead was not yet over.
The killing had not yet ended.
But some regrets...
No longer needed to be carried for an entire lifetime.
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