Standing atop Baku’s head, Danzō gazed down at the devastated battlefield below and narrowed his eyes.
Part of his attention drifted into his mental world.
There, above the miniature model of Konoha, the colossal Tree of Fortune had undergone another transformation.
Thanks to his performance in battle—and his successful defense against the Cloud assault alongside Hiruzen and the others—the branch representing Prestige had begun growing at an accelerated pace.
Fresh green shoots sprouted one after another.
Although no fruit had formed this time, a powerful stream of energy still poured from the branch into Danzō’s body.
The force transformed into abundant chakra, flowing through every cell and every corner of his body.
Just as I thought…
Danzō’s eyes flickered.
The growth of the Prestige branch directly determined the size of his chakra reserves.
The greater his reputation among Konoha’s people, the more chakra he could wield.
Which meant…
Even after unleashing large-scale Wind Release techniques continuously throughout the battle, his chakra had yet to run dry.
In fact, his maximum reserves were still increasing as his prestige continued to rise.
That was the true reason he could maintain such relentless firepower.
Of course, even humans had limits.
The prestige generated by a few dozen surviving Konoha shinobi couldn’t sustain him forever like some perpetual-motion machine.
And even if it could—
Hiruzen and the others were reaching their limits.
Kakui was, after all, a veteran Cloud commander with extensive battlefield experience.
Under his direction, wave after wave of Cloud shinobi launched fearless assaults, putting enormous pressure on Konoha’s defensive line.
Homura, already injured before the battle began, had been forced to withdraw from the front lines.
Torifu was nearly out of Soldier Pills.
Only Hiruzen and Kagami were still holding the line through sheer determination.
Most importantly…
At the edge of the map displayed in Danzō’s mind, new enemy markers had begun to appear.
There weren’t many.
Yet.
But it was a terrible sign.
Other divisions under the Gold and Silver Brothers might already be moving toward the battlefield.
And if reinforcements were coming…
What about Sensei?
How was Tobirama’s situation?
If the approaching force belonged to the Gold Brothers’ main army, then everyone here was in serious trouble.
No matter what.
This battle had to end immediately.
A sharp light flashed through Danzō’s eyes.
His gaze fell directly upon Hiruzen and Kagami, who were still fighting amid the bloodshed.
His deep voice echoed across the battlefield.
“Monkey.
Kagami.”
“Give me a hand.”
Hiruzen instantly understood.
With a swing of his staff, he sent a Cloud shinobi flying.
Then he slung Enma’s transformed Adamantine Staff across his back.
Excitement surged into his eyes.
“Are we really using that technique?”
Danzō nodded firmly.
His hands had already begun forming seals.
“We can’t drag this out any longer.”
Hiruzen grinned.
The weariness that had plagued him for hours seemed to vanish.
Battle spirit reignited within him.
Looking toward Danzō standing atop Baku, he laughed.
“It’s been a long time since we fought together like this, Danzō!”
Nearby, Kagami’s eyes lit up as well.
The three tomoe of his Sharingan slowly rotated through the haze of smoke.
A smile appeared on his face.
“This is our first time fighting as a trio.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Hearing those words, even Danzō’s usually cold expression softened ever so slightly.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Then let’s show Kumogakure what we’re capable of.”
With that, he slammed his palm down onto Baku’s head.
A tremendous amount of chakra surged from his body.
Flooding directly into the summon beast.
More.
More.
Even more.
Baku’s eyes widened.
Its entire body trembled with excitement.
It’s full!
I’m full again!
The beast threw back its head and roared.
“Danzō!”
“I’m going all out!”
Its massive body shook violently.
The long trunk swung forward.
Then its deep nostrils aimed directly at the Cloud forces gathered across the battlefield.
The Cloud shinobi immediately felt a chill run down their spines.
Their legs nearly went weak.
After suffering through more than an hour of relentless bombardment, they had developed a conditioned fear of that giant beast.
Every time it inhaled—
Someone died.
Every time it opened its mouth—
The battlefield exploded.
Now it was doing something different.
And somehow…
That was even more terrifying.
The Cloud shinobi instinctively tightened their grips on their weapons.
Their eyes remained fixed on Baku.
Ready to dodge at a moment’s notice.
Because experience had taught them one harsh lesson:
Whenever Danzō and Baku started preparing something together—
Nothing good ever followed.
The trauma Danzō and Baku had inflicted upon the Cloud forces was simply too great.
After all, they had endured over an hour of nonstop large-scale Wind Release bombardment.
Unless the Gold and Silver Brothers themselves arrived—
Nobody could withstand that kind of punishment forever.
But this time, Danzō chose a different approach.
A very different one.
“Wind Release…”
His eyes sharpened.
“Chaotic Current Devouring Collapse!”
In an instant, a terrifying suction force erupted from Baku’s nostrils.
The surrounding air was violently ripped away.
A massive vortex formed above the battlefield.
The pull was so overwhelming that it engulfed the entire valley.
It wasn’t merely drawing in air.
Even the solid bedrock beneath their feet began to crack apart.
Stone shattered.
Boulders splintered.
Countless fragments were torn from the earth and dragged into the swirling maelstrom.
At that moment, Baku resembled a living black hole.
A monstrous existence seeking to devour everything in sight.
“This is bad!”
“I can’t hold on!”
The exhausted Cloud shinobi desperately drove kunai and swords into the ground.
They clung to their weapons with all their strength, trying to prevent themselves from being dragged away.
Yet despite their efforts, they continued sliding forward inch by inch.
Toward Danzō.
Toward the vortex.
Toward death.
Nor were they the only victims.
The enormous rhinoceros beetle summon was dragged from the rubble as well.
The rocks covering its body were stripped away instantly.
Revealing Kakui standing atop its back.
His face had become darker than thunderclouds.
When this battle began, he had thought they were dealing with a handful of arrogant Konoha brats.
Nothing more.
Now?
He wasn’t so sure.
The others were troublesome enough.
Strong, certainly.
But still human.
They became exhausted.
They accumulated injuries.
Under constant pressure, they could eventually be worn down.
But Shimura Danzō…
What in the world was this monster?
If Kakui hadn’t personally read the intelligence reports, he might have believed Danzō was Hashirama Senju’s illegitimate son.
His chakra reserves seemed endless.
An inexhaustible ocean.
An outright freak of nature.
The more Kakui thought about it, the uglier his expression became.
We finally outlived the Senju brothers…
Don’t tell me another monster has appeared.
And that wasn’t even the worst part.
The kid with the staff was just as irritating.
Every swing carried absurd power.
No matter how many times Kakui tried, he couldn’t overcome him in a contest of strength.
One controlled the battlefield from afar.
The other guarded the front like an iron wall.
Together they were a nightmare.
At this point…
Retreat might be the wiser option.
The thought finally entered Kakui’s mind.
He could regroup with the Gold and Silver Brothers.
Finish off Tobirama Senju.
Then return later to deal with these brats.
There was no need to force the issue now.
Just as that thought surfaced—
The suction suddenly stopped.
Kakui blinked.
Everyone on the battlefield looked up.
Baku’s body had swollen enormously.
Having inhaled an absurd amount of air, the giant beast now resembled an overinflated balloon on the verge of bursting.
“I’ve reached my limit, Danzō!”
Baku roared.
“I’m letting it all out!”
The next moment—
It opened its mouth.
And unleashed hell.
The compressed air it had accumulated for so long erupted outward.
Countless shattered rocks and razor-sharp fragments were swept into the torrent.
Together they transformed into a catastrophic storm.
A world-devouring hurricane.
A destructive torrent capable of sweeping away everything in its path.
The sky darkened.
The earth trembled.
The storm exploded across the battlefield.
And at the exact same moment—
The waiting Hiruzen and Kagami moved.
Both leaped into the air.
Both opened their mouths.
Vast quantities of Fire Release chakra surged forth.
“Fire Release: Flame Torrent Technique!”
“Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!”
Twin rivers of blazing orange fire erupted into existence.
Like furious dragons emerging from the sea.
The flames plunged directly into Baku’s raging storm.
Then—
The battlefield changed.
Wind fed the fire.
Fire empowered the wind.
The already monstrous flames expanded instantly.
Tenfold.
Fiftyfold.
A hundredfold.
The inferno swelled beyond imagination.
The hurricane transformed into a sea of fire.
A burning apocalypse.
Endless flames stretched across the battlefield, carried by the storm’s terrifying momentum.
The blazing inferno swept forward like a heavenly disaster.
Covering the sky.
Covering the earth.
Covering everything in its path.
For the Cloud shinobi below, there was only one thought left in their minds:
This isn’t a ninjutsu combination…
This is a natural disaster.
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