For shinobi, a distance of a thousand meters could be crossed in the blink of an eye.
Fortunately, the Kumogakure ninja stationed here were far from ordinary.
The moment they detected Danzō’s group, four figures instantly appeared atop the rocky outcrop.
“It’s Tobirama Senju’s students…”
The dark-skinned Cloud ninja licked his dry lips, violence burning in his eyes.
Beside him, the pale-haired Cloud shinobi narrowed his gaze and grinned.
“Perfect.”
“They’ve delivered themselves right to our doorstep.”
“Attack!”
The instant the order was given, all four Cloud ninja tore open their scrolls simultaneously.
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Clouds of white smoke erupted into the air.
Then—
Thousands of kunai burst forth like a black storm.
The metallic blades reflected the sunlight as they descended from above in a deadly torrent.
A rain of steel.
A killing field.
“Proceed according to plan.”
Danzō’s voice remained calm.
Then, without hesitation, he moved first.
“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!”
His hands flashed through a series of seals.
A moment later, a violent gale erupted from his mouth.
But this was no ordinary Great Breakthrough.
The wind was several times more powerful than anything Danzō had ever produced before.
The roaring airflow swept across the battlefield like a raging hurricane.
Trees bent violently beneath its force.
Branches cracked.
Leaves were ripped from their trunks and scattered into the sky.
It was as though a slumbering beast of wind had suddenly awakened.
The countless kunai falling from above immediately collided with the gale.
Instead of continuing their descent, they abruptly slowed.
Then stopped entirely.
Suspended in midair.
As if they had fallen into an invisible swamp.
The storm held them firmly in place.
Not a single blade could advance another inch.
And that wasn’t all.
The terrifying wind pressure continued building.
Growing stronger.
Stronger.
Until the expressions of the Cloud shinobi finally changed.
Because they realized something horrifying.
The technique hadn’t merely blocked their attack—
It was about to send it right back at them.
With another powerful exhalation from Danzō, the suspended kunai began to tremble.
Then, as if seized by an invisible hand, they abruptly reversed direction and shot back toward the Cloud ninja.
And this time—
They were even faster.
Even deadlier.
“What the hell is wrong with that Wind Release?!”
The Kumogakure shinobi atop the rocks were stunned.
The returning barrage slammed into the stone formations like a storm of bullets.
Rock fragments exploded into the air.
Caught completely off guard, the Cloud ninja were forced into a frantic scramble to avoid being skewered by their own weapons.
“What terrifying Wind Release…”
Hiruzen’s pupils contracted slightly.
Danzō had always been talented with Wind Release, but this was on an entirely different level.
The power he was displaying now far surpassed anything Hiruzen had seen before.
As for Danzō?
His answer was simple:
Overwhelming chakra solved everything.
Madara Uchiha could use a mere B-Rank Fire Release technique to suppress an entire Allied Shinobi Army.
Compared to that, reflecting a few kunai was hardly worth mentioning.
The others were equally surprised, but battlefield opportunities vanished in an instant.
There was no time to dwell on it.
The moment the enemy formation was disrupted, Kagami Uchiha moved.
His figure blurred.
Then vanished.
A black afterimage streaked across the battlefield at astonishing speed.
In an instant, he appeared atop the rocky outcrop.
Three black tomoe rotated within scarlet eyes.
The Sharingan’s eerie power swept outward.
One Cloud ninja met his gaze for only a moment.
That was all it took.
His body froze.
His eyes became vacant.
Like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
“Careful!”
“An Uchiha!”
“Don’t look into his eyes!”
The pale-skinned Cloud shinobi reacted immediately.
He lowered his gaze to avoid eye contact.
At the same time, blue lightning erupted from his ninja blade.
Crackling arcs of electricity raced along the weapon as he lunged toward Kagami, hoping to rescue his comrade.
But someone moved faster.
Hiruzen appeared from the side like a ghost.
The Adamantine Staff in his hands swung outward with overwhelming force.
CLANG!
The Cloud ninja’s blade was stopped cold.
Then the seemingly ordinary staff unleashed monstrous power.
The Kumogakure shinobi was completely outmatched.
Caught off guard, he was sent flying by Hiruzen’s sweeping strike.
At the same moment—
Kagami’s blade flashed.
A silver streak.
A burst of blood.
The hypnotized Cloud ninja’s heart was pierced clean through.
The remaining two enemies’ eyes widened in fury.
They had never expected such a ferocious assault.
The battle had barely begun—
And they had already lost two teammates.
But Konoha’s coordinated attack wasn’t over yet.
Before the Cloud ninja could recover, a deep voice echoed from above.
“Human Bullet Tank!”
The two remaining shinobi instinctively looked up.
A massive shadow was descending from the sky.
Spinning.
Accelerating.
Like a meteor plummeting toward the earth.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen and Kagami had already retreated.
A split second later—
BOOM!
Torifu Akimichi crashed into the battlefield.
The impact resembled a falling asteroid.
The gigantic boulder serving as the enemy’s cover shattered instantly.
A crater formed beneath him.
Cracks spread outward in every direction like a giant spiderweb.
Dust and debris erupted into the air.
Seeing their position compromised, the two Cloud ninja hiding underground could no longer remain concealed.
The earth suddenly trembled.
The ground beneath Koharu and Homura split apart.
Two figures burst from beneath the surface.
“Damn Konoha bastards!”
“Die!”
One of them was wrapped in a cloak of chakra and crackling lightning.
His blade descended toward Koharu with terrifying force.
Koharu immediately raised her hand.
Medical chakra condensed around her palm.
The Chakra Scalpel formed instantly.
She met the strike head-on.
But the clash went poorly.
The impact sent numbness surging through her body.
Several wounds that had yet to fully heal reopened immediately.
Blood seeped through her clothing.
Forced onto the defensive, she retreated.
Homura’s situation wasn’t any better.
His opponent was a rare Earth Release specialist from Kumogakure.
A shinobi named Rui.
Massive quantities of stone covered his body.
Layer upon layer of rock formed a thick suit of armor, transforming him into a miniature giant.
He relentlessly pursued Homura.
Every punch struck with terrifying force.
Each impact blasted a crater nearly two meters wide into the ground.
Although Homura repeatedly countered with Water Release techniques, the elemental disadvantage severely limited their effectiveness.
Combined with the injuries he’d already suffered earlier, he found himself steadily pushed backward.
Dodging.
Retreating.
Struggling.
The composed future elder advisor of Konoha was nowhere to be seen.
At this moment, he looked thoroughly overwhelmed.
Just as he was about to be cornered—
A shadow suddenly appeared beside him.
“Fall back.”
“I’ll handle this.”
A hand settled on Homura’s shoulder.
Danzō’s voice was calm.
Cold.
Steady.
Normally, Homura found Danzō’s attitude unbearably arrogant.
Yet now—
It inspired an unexpected sense of security.
“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!”
Danzō unleashed the technique once more.
But unlike before, this version was on an entirely different level.
Vast amounts of chakra surged through his pathways.
The power granted by the Senju Physique flowed freely through his body.
The gathered chakra erupted from his mouth as a devastating tempest.
Trees were uprooted.
The battlefield vanished beneath clouds of dust and debris.
The raging gale transformed the area into a miniature natural disaster.
“Damn it!”
“How can Wind Release be this powerful?!”
Rui’s expression darkened.
Even beneath his thick stone armor, he could feel the pressure.
The violent currents felt like countless invisible hands tearing at his defenses.
One layer after another—
The rocky armor began peeling away.
Crack.
Crunch.
Crack.
Chunks of stone broke free.
And then Danzō arrived.
“Wind Release: Vacuum Blade.”
A highly compressed mass of Wind Release chakra flowed from his mouth.
It wrapped around a kunai.
The weapon transformed.
A gleaming white blade extended outward.
Calling it a sword would have been inaccurate.
It was closer to a spear.
Because the chakra blade had reached an absurd length—
Five.
Perhaps six meters.
Under Danzō’s icy gaze, the compressed wind chakra spun at incredible speed.
Violent currents roared around it.
The air itself screamed.
Then the enormous blade descended.
Like a divine spear falling.
The Cloud ninja stared in disbelief.
His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
The expression on his face seemed to say only one thing:
“You call THAT a Vacuum Blade?!”