Seeing the elite ninjas of Iwagakure drained of chakra and crushed by the branches of the massive tree, Ōnoki's heart was bleeding with grief.
Casting a sidelong glance at the so-called "Lucky Trio," Ōnoki was so furious that he coughed up blood once more.
These three cowards had clearly been prepared — they had hidden far away the moment Madara Uchiha unleashed his Wood Release. Ōnoki wouldn't believe, even under torture, that they hadn't known Madara could use Wood Release. After all, the existence of Hashirama's cells within Madara was hardly a secret to those who had carefully observed the battlefield.
Suddenly, Ōnoki sensed movement beneath his feet. Startled, he immediately activated the Super-Lightened Boulder Technique to soar into the air and, without hesitation, released his Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique downward.
Almost at the same instant, several massive tree branches burst from the ground, colliding head-on with the Dust Release — and were obliterated into dust.
Though he had won this exchange decisively, Ōnoki felt cold sweat drip down his back. It had been too close. Had he reacted a second slower, he would have been drained dry by the Wood Release and crushed into pulp.
Far away, Madara Uchiha, hands clasped in a seal as he maintained the Advent of a World of Trees, frowned slightly.
His Wood Release was still too weak. If Hashirama himself had used it, that brat Ōnoki wouldn't have escaped at all.
In Madara's eyes, even Advent of a World of Trees — a technique vast enough to engulf battlefields — seemed lacking compared to Hashirama's prowess.
Meanwhile, the Lucky Trio, sensing the worsening situation, slipped away from the battlefield, leaving the Iwagakure forces to suffer catastrophic losses. As for the Third Raikage — Madara's true target — he was still fighting.
The Third Raikage was already entangled by the colossal tree branches. Although he tore through many of them using his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Lightning Body Forging Technique, he was unable to completely escape the onslaught.
In a prolonged battle of attrition, he couldn't possibly outlast Madara, who now possessed Hashirama's regenerative abilities and chakra reserves.
But Madara wasn't interested in winning through a battle of stamina.
Seeing that the Advent of a World of Trees could not subdue the Third Raikage quickly enough, Madara ceased pouring chakra into the technique. After relaxing his hands briefly, he swiftly formed a different hand seal.
An even greater Wood Release ninjutsu erupted.
On the other side, the Third Raikage, noticing the giant trees had stopped growing, felt a surge of hope. He fought with renewed vigor, shattering another thick branch and finally breaking free from the encirclement.
However, before he could catch his breath, he saw a strange wooden dragon with a spiraled snout rushing towards him.
Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique.
One of Hashirama Senju's signature moves — now resurrected through Madara Uchiha.
The Third Raikage immediately braced himself. The lightning around his body intensified, crackling wildly as he prepared to confront the dragon.
Upon impact, both forces clashed fiercely. Though the Third Raikage managed to destroy the dragon's head, he was ultimately overpowered. The momentum of the Wood Dragon hurled him skyward.
"Damn it! This is bad," the Third Raikage thought grimly, realizing midair that he would likely sustain serious injuries.
Yet, the follow-up from the Wood Dragon was surprisingly weak.
It wasn't because of the technique itself.
Madara Uchiha, on the other side of the battlefield, had been forced to shift his attention.
The Lucky Trio, who had previously disappeared, had launched an unexpected assault.
Raiga Kurosuki, using his Emperor's Armored Weapon: Wrath of the Thunder God, unleashed ferocious blasts of lightning from elongated tubes on his arms, attacking Madara head-on.
Jūzō Biwa, having activated a secret technique tied to his Emperor's Armored Weapon, had enhanced his physical strength severalfold and now wielded a massive executioner's blade, engaging Madara in brutal close-quarters combat.
Even Kisame Hoshigaki joined the fray, hurling twin axes named Belvat at Madara in a relentless cycle. Though the damage they inflicted was negligible, their interference was enough to break Madara's focus.
Because of these three, Madara could no longer maintain control over the Wood Dragon Technique at full strength, lessening the pressure on the Third Raikage.
The display of power from these three stunned the Iwagakure ninjas.
Even Ōnoki, floating high above, watched in disbelief. He hadn't expected that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist — once defeated by a single Konoha Genin — still had members this powerful.
Raiga Kurosuki's strength could be explained — he was relying on a powerful ninja tool — but Jūzō Biwa's current monstrous physical might didn't match any intel that Iwagakure held.
With the three restraining Madara and the Third Raikage rejoining soon, there was now, perhaps, a slim chance of victory.
Ōnoki briefly considered staying to fight.
However, he dismissed the idea almost immediately.
Defeating Madara would indeed boost morale — but at what cost? The losses would be unimaginable, and the gains minimal.
Besides, Madara's true enmity wasn't directed toward Iwagakure. Today's battle was already a setup, and the village had paid enough in blood.
Resolving himself, Ōnoki ordered a full retreat toward the Land of Earth.
As for the battlefield and Madara Uchiha?
They would have to fend for themselves.
When the time came, he would sell the information directly to the underground black market and leave the other villages to deal with the consequences.
At this moment, Kawaki Aoba, hidden amidst the clouds, observed the Iwagakure shinobi, who were preparing to retreat in panic, their movements as slippery as grease. He simply smiled faintly.
You want to leave after doing nothing? It won't be that easy. Even if you're just spectators, you'll have to watch the entire show.
However, the show had only just begun.
Since they were so eager to run, he would let them run—for now.
Kawaki Aoba turned his attention back to the battlefield, raising his digital camera and snapping photos.
This device, far beyond the technological level of the shinobi world, had been obtained by Aoba through a costly sacrifice. It had once gathered dust in storage, but now it proved useful.
Meanwhile, the performance of Kisame Hoshigaki among the so-called Lucky Trio exceeded Aoba's expectations.
This man had silently mastered secret techniques carried within the Imperial Arm and had strengthened himself to the point of briefly clashing with Madara Uchiha.
Of course, utilizing such secret arts came at a heavy cost.
The longer he used them, the greater the backlash.
The moment the technique dissipated, Kisame might even die on the spot.
Kisame is impressive, Aoba mused. He's really putting his life on the line. It might be worth nurturing him in the future.
In contrast, Zabuza Momochi, who loafed around and barely contributed, seemed useless—no value in cultivating him.
As for Raiga Kurosuki, his performance was disappointing, but considering that his opponent was Madara Uchiha, it was hard to fault him.
After another round of observations, Aoba decided it was time to intervene.
If he didn't provide support, the three below—plus the newly returned Third Raikage—would not last long.
Manipulating his Susanoo, Aoba activated the Dimension Array: Shangri-La ability.
A powerful new force entered the battlefield, joining forces with the Third Raikage and the others to besiege Madara.
Manifestation of the Calamity Soul — Awakening of the Fruit
"Finally willing to show yourself?" Madara Uchiha sneered arrogantly, casually summoning a sand wall to block Kisame's attack.
"But why is there only one of you? Where's the other? Too scared to show himself?"
Controlling Susanoo, Aoba answered coldly,
"To deal with a version of you that isn't at your peak, there's no need for our leader to intervene."
With that, Aoba's consciousness fully descended into the Susanoo.
He waved his hand, and a storm of yellow sand swept toward Madara.
"Heh, big words," Madara scoffed. "Even weakened, you think any Tom, Dick, or Harry can challenge me?"
Madara grabbed the Gunbai Uchiwa from his back.
With its power, he unleashed a massive Wind Release, blowing away the incoming sandstorm with ease.
Without pausing, Madara followed up with Wood Release:
Wood Release: Hell's Thorns.
From the ground, not towering trees but sharp, thorn-like vines burst forth at a terrifying speed, covering the battlefield.
However, Susanoo moved swiftly.
Manipulating the yellow sand, Aoba hurled Raiga Kurosuki and Zabuza Momochi out of immediate danger.
As for the Third Raikage and Kisame, their strength allowed them to withstand the Hell's Thorns without being impaled.
Susanoo himself was riddled with countless thorns, but Madara, observing through his three-tomoe Sharingan, noticed something odd:
There was no blood.
Despite the countless spikes piercing him, Susanoo remained unscathed.
Madara narrowed his eyes. A body of sand?
His guess was quickly confirmed.
Susanoo's form dissolved into yellow sand, escaping the entanglement easily.
In his hand, a miniature sand vortex began to form—a swirling mass of compressed devastation.
Recognizing the danger, Madara immediately reacted.
Clapping his hands together, he unleashed another Wood Release:
Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees.
Giant trees erupted from the ground, their massive branches sweeping toward Susanoo with overwhelming force.
But Susanoo remained calm.
As the forest closed in, he hurled the sand vortex forward:
Weight-Type Sandstorm.
The tiny vortex exploded outward, multiplying into a vast, howling sandstorm that swallowed everything in its path—trees, earth, and sky alike.
Watching from afar, Zabuza couldn't help but gasp,
"This… this level... it's completely beyond a ninja's power!"
Raiga, more observant, added grimly,
"The range of their attacks is expanding fast. We need to get out of here now!"
Without waiting, Raiga fled, leaving Zabuza stunned for a moment before following.
Meanwhile, Kawaki Aoba, still controlling Susanoo, frowned deeply.
I underestimated him, he thought.
Despite the sandstorm's destructive power, Madara's Advent of a World of Trees continued regenerating as he pumped more chakra into it, steadily overwhelming the sandstorm.
This isn't good. I need another tactic.
Susanoo moved again.
He spread his hands wide, activating the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit—directly manipulating the underground water veins to transmute the battlefield into a desert.
"Forcing it without full awakening costs too much chakra..." Aoba grimaced.
Five of Susanoo's chakra storage cards were consumed instantly.
But the effect was astonishing.
Desert Sunflower.
The earth transformed into an endless whirlpool of quicksand—an abyssal force capable of swallowing even Madara's giant trees.
Ordinary quicksand would be useless against Wood Release, but the Desert Sunflower devoured everything with a terrifying force unmatched by natural phenomena.
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