The vast forest on the border between the two lands had provided sustenance for many residents in peacetime. They lived in the forest for generations, and legends were passed down by word of mouth.
According to legend, this land was originally barren. People struggled to survive and always had to be wary of terrifying demons like the tailed beasts, living in constant danger.
Until one day, the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, set foot on this land. He transformed into the Senju Buddha and forcibly subdued the rampaging beast that had shrouded the path to survival for the people of this land.
The reason the trees here were twisted, towering, and so lush that they blotted out the sun was that the First Hokage, who had crossed the ninja world, had used his supreme Wood Release ninjutsu and decades of nurturing vitality for this land, which had been poisoned.
But from today onward, these forest lands—passed down through generations by the residents on the border between the two lands—would ultimately be destroyed in war.
And the ancient legend belonging to Senju Hashirama, etched into the bones and blood of this land, would today be completely replaced by a new legend.
A legend belonging to Nara Locke would take its first step in the ninja world on the very ground where the first God of Shinobi once walked.
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As the Third Raikage, looking back on his life, it seemed that from the very beginning, he had an indissoluble fate with Konoha.
His name first spread through the ninja world during the peace negotiations between the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and the First Raikage, A.
At that time, no one expected that Gold and Silver Brothers would dare to rebel, openly assassinating the Second Hokage at the negotiating table and leading their men to hunt down the Second Hokage.
It must be said that Senju Tobirama was worthy of being the younger brother of the God of Shinobi. Even severely wounded, he could kill elite jonin and seriously injure the Gold and Silver Brothers, easily exposing these two traitors for what they were.
Since then, he had eliminated the remnants of the Gold and Silver Brothers, unified the internal conflicts between the main war faction and the main peace faction, and stabilized the order of Kumogakure before the start of the Second Ninja War, fully solidifying his name as Raikage.
Now, with the Third War beginning, he wanted to reclaim for Kumogakure what should have been theirs. He wanted to wash away the shame of the First Ninja War.
But he hadn't expected that in such a large-scale confrontation, Konoha would still stand firm. Not only had he led elite forces on raids, but the elite of the younger generation in his village had been nearly wiped out.
To the point that now, he could die here.
After failing to break through Mahoraga's defense, A immediately changed his combat strategy. He decided to end the situation with the extreme speed blessed by the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, forcibly pulling Mahoraga into his own speed-based combat rhythm.
Initially, he wanted to rely on his speed advantage and blunt attacks to suppress the opponent and expose Mahoraga's weaknesses during the gaps. But as the fight continued, the effectiveness of his attacks grew worse, and Mahoraga gradually kept pace with his own combat rhythm.
It was only then that the Third Raikage A realized that compared to the beginning, the current Mahoraga had changed in some subtle ways.
However, in an instant of distraction, A's attack rhythm faltered slightly. This fleeting flaw was precisely seized by Mahoraga, who constantly adapted and evolved. The demon-sealing sword in its hand grew sharper, and the cold light of chakra flashed on the blade, instantly severing A's right arm.
Without his right arm, the Third Raikage A could no longer use his Hell Stab. He had completely lost any chance of turning defeat into victory. The balance of victory had fully tipped toward Mahoraga.
At this point, the victor was decided.
The pain of losing his right arm did not make A give up. He first opened the distance, formed a hand seal with one hand, and used the Panther Black Thunder.
This unique black thunder technique was A's final struggle. But he hadn't expected that this strike against Mahoraga's body wouldn't even make it pause for a second.
The black lightning was directed by Mahoraga's adapted skin, leaving not a single wound on its body.
At this moment, the Third Raikage A understood that he had been feeding Mahoraga from the very beginning of the battle.
Every time the wheel of dharma above its head turned, Mahoraga grew stronger, even adapting to his attacks—from piercing taijutsu to lightning release techniques.
Realizing all this, A knew that he no longer posed a threat to the thing before him. A self-mocking smile appeared on his face as Mahoraga slowly approached him.
"I really was bluffing. Nara Locke, you deserve the name Nara. You had this planned from the start, didn't you? Using enhanced ninjutsu to keep me on edge, feeding me false information to mislead me."
"You've won, Nara Locke. I, the Third Raikage A, admit defeat."
Though he still had physical strength left, enough to maintain the current intensity of battle for at least half a day, A clearly understood it was useless.
Faced with a being that could endlessly adapt to an opponent's attack methods, the endurance he prided himself on was worthless.
"You really did it, Locke."
Several hundred meters away, Akimichi Choza watched the center of the battlefield, still unable to believe that Locke's so-called shikigami had truly defeated the Third Raikage—and in an almost overwhelming fashion.
"Uncle Choza, why didn't you say so earlier if you didn't believe me?"
"How could it be the same? There was no other choice back then. I could only give it a try."
Without exchanging more than a few words, Akimichi Choza unconsciously lowered his voice, then turned to Locke, who had somehow returned to his normal form, and said:
"Alright, Locke. Call back your psychic beast. If the Third Raikage dies by our hands now, Kumogakure might go mad. The cost would outweigh the gain."
"I can't cancel it. I haven't fully mastered the amplitude adjustment yet. Right now, he's not under my control."
Hearing this, Choza froze for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. Then he jerked his head around, suspecting he had misheard.
"You can't recall it? What do you mean? Isn't that your psychic beast?"
"I said from the beginning, he's my shikigami, not a psychic beast. You need to complete the amplitude adjustment ritual before you can use him. Right now, it's in the middle of the ritual—either the Raikage kills him, or he kills the Raikage, and then me."
After listening to Locke's explanation, Akimichi Choza felt as if he had fallen from heaven to hell. He immediately grabbed Locke's shoulder and shouted:
"That's the ultimate technique you said could handle a Kage?! Then what do we do now?! I can't handle that monster! Are you going to die again?!"
"No, no, the real body is already preparing. Most of it is ready. I've also prepared a little surprise for him."
With that, Locke pointed at the black sphere behind him and said to Choza with a smile:
"A six-hundred-meter charge. If you get hit by that, you might get sent to another world. You might even meet Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo."
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, who was watching: "?"