Compared to the overwhelming scale of
Senju Hashirama's Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, which could reshape entire battlefields,
Tenzo's version was far more limited.
But even so—
Within a radius of over a hundred meters, trees burst violently from the earth.
They coiled.
They lashed.
They bound.
Friend and foe alike were caught in a living prison.
It felt as though the forest itself had turned hostile—
the sky and earth conspiring together.
Many masked shinobi, even at full strength, lasted only seconds before being crushed into wooden restraints.
"Careful! The trees absorb chakra to strengthen themselves!"
The one-armed masked leader, already slowed by blood loss, was among the first captured. His expression changed drastically as he shouted the warning.
But instead of fear—
His desire hardened.
Wood Release.
It was worth any cost.
Collapse
Tenzo stood at the center of the spreading forest, pale as paper, gasping for breath.
That technique had nearly emptied him.
His limbs trembled. His vision swam.
But he knew—
This wouldn't hold them long.
He swallowed several soldier pills and fled without looking back.
"Kayui! Stop him! At any cost!"
The masked leader roared, abandoning subtlety entirely.
"Lightning Release: Shattering Thunder!"
A masked shinobi ignited twin lightning spheres in his palms. Arcs of electricity lashed outward, blasting apart the encroaching wood and clearing a wide area instantly.
Then—
The shinobi known as Kayui ignited in crackling lightning.
He became a streak.
Lightning Armor
"Lightning Chakra Mode… Kumogakure?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped two incoming branches aside and narrowed his eyes.
Lightning Chakra Mode was Kumogakure's secret art—
the hallmark of the Raikage lineage.
Only the Raikage and their closest confidants could master it.
Which meant—
These masked shinobi were almost certainly from the Hidden Cloud.
Kayui's mastery wasn't at the level of the Third or Fourth Raikage—
But it was more than enough.
He caught Tenzo within seconds.
A lightning-wreathed chop came down toward Tenzo's neck.
Tenzo's instincts screamed.
He dove forward barely in time—
Only for a black blur to crash into Kayui mid-motion.
CRACK.
The Adamantine Staff smashed him aside.
The Old Man's Choice
Hiruzen appeared beside Tenzo.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Technique!"
Flames surged across the forest.
Wood became fuel.
The battlefield turned into an inferno.
"Third… Hokage…"
Tenzo stared.
He hadn't expected rescue.
"Don't lose focus. This isn't over."
Hiruzen grabbed Tenzo by the collar and retreated without hesitation.
Behind them—
Kayui rose, blood on his lips, and gave chase.
But Hiruzen did not turn.
Instead—
He hurled the staff backward.
"Enma. I'm counting on you."
Midair, the Adamantine Staff transformed back into
Enma.
"I'll hold them as long as I can!"
Enma landed like a falling meteor and kicked Kayui away.
Then he planted himself between the pursuers and their quarry.
Golden body. Adamantine skin.
He endured strike after strike—
even stalling Kakuzu himself.
Profit Slipping Away
Kakuzu clicked his tongue.
The forest had targeted him heavily due to his Earth Grudge Fear tendrils. Combined with his duel against Hiruzen, he had escaped slightly later.
A single delay—
Became compounded failure.
Now Hiruzen was gone.
If this had happened fifteen minutes earlier, Kakuzu wouldn't have cared.
His employer had said Hiruzen's death was optional—payment guaranteed either way.
And there was a long-term contract waiting in the Land of Rain.
But—
The Cloud leader had just promised another thirty million ryō.
Thirty million.
That was not optional.
"That damn white-haired monkey…"
Enma was exhausted—but barely injured.
Jōnin-level strength.
Adamantine durability.
And as a summon, fatal damage simply meant dismissal—not death.
Who would trade life for life against that?
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Kakuzu fired a massive bolt.
Enma took it head-on.
Smoke rose from his fur.
With a final breath—
He burst into white smoke and vanished.
The Pursuit
"After them! Don't let them escape!"
The one-armed Cloud leader, supported by a subordinate, barked orders.
Dozens of surviving Cloud shinobi immediately pursued Hiruzen and Tenzo.
Kakuzu remained where he stood.
The Cloud leader glared.
"Why aren't you moving? Don't want your money?"
Kakuzu glanced at him calmly.
"My contract was to ambush Hiruzen here."
"The ambush failed."
"Chasing him is a different job."
The Cloud leader's anger spiked.
"It's the same objective—kill him!"
Kakuzu shook his head slightly.
"Ambush and retreat immediately after engagement."
"Low risk."
"Now?"
He gestured at the burning forest and devastated valley.
"This commotion will alert Konoha."
"Pursuit now carries a completely different risk profile."
He met the Cloud leader's eyes evenly.
"Same target."
"Different danger."
"Different price."
The Cloud leader blinked.
"So?"
Kakuzu's tone was perfectly serious.
"If you want me to keep chasing—"
"You'll need to pay extra."
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