Chiyo and the others didn't dare enter the formation until Hashirama Senju had completely vanished.
The Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel was a pure Buddhist purification array—designed to suppress demons and evil spirits, but harmless to ordinary people.
"Master Bunpuku, you okay?"
Chiyo's voice carried genuine concern.
The old monk had collapsed on his ass, face drained of color—the telltale sign of severe chakra depletion.
Chiyo immediately produced a chakra enhancement potion. Master Bunpuku didn't waste time on pleasantries, popping one pill straight into his mouth.
The third-generation formula worked fast. Within moments, color began returning to Bunpuku's face.
"Whew... finally coming back to life. Truly the God of Shinobi." Bunpuku wiped his brow. "Elder Chiyo, you know what? If he'd kept fighting, I would've had to make the ultimate sacrifice."
The sacrifice was the Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel's nuclear option—burning your own life force to supercharge the formation. Eighty percent chance of purifying the evil spirit... and an eighty percent chance the caster wouldn't survive.
"Relax, old monk. Even if you'd sacrificed yourself, I'd have found a way to drag your wrinkly ass back from the Pure Land."
Chiyo's tone was half-joking.
"Sister, don't joke about this." Bunpuku's expression turned grave. "The Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel doesn't mess around. Once you sacrifice, your life force gets drained instantly—fed directly into the formation. Even with your medical genius, there'd be no saving me."
Chiyo just smiled cryptically, then turned toward the distant Amber Purifying Pot.
"What about the other one?"
Bunpuku shook his head.
"That one needs to wait."
"Wait? Why not just finish this in one go..."
Chiyo was clearly messing with him.
But Bunpuku's face remained dead serious.
"We need to wait. First, I have to recover and get back to peak condition. Second—and more importantly—I believe Tobirama Senju will be a far more dangerous opponent than his brother. We can't take him down without proper preparation."
Seeing the old monk's earnest expression, Chiyo dropped the teasing. (Though she did love a good joke—hell, she'd fake her own death just for the dramatic reveal.)
"What makes you so sure?"
Bunpuku leaned forward.
"Just look at Tobirama Senju's track record. The man's a stone-cold pragmatist with a mind like a steel trap. Iron will, crystal-clear tactical thinking—and he's not just cunning, he's creative. A true innovator.
I read the battle reports from Tsūtatsu Road. Jinghang's first sealing target was Tobirama Senju, and that was absolutely the right call. If that bastard got his hooks in you, even Jinghang might not guarantee a win."
Chiyo mulled it over. Bunpuku had a point.
Despite being a monk removed from the shinobi world, his insights about ninja and ninjutsu were always sharp and objective.
She'd lived through the same era as Tobirama Senju. They'd never crossed blades, but she'd heard plenty of stories.
No bloodline limit. No tailed beast. Just a "civilian" ninja who'd clawed his way to Kage-level strength and maintained Konoha's dominance after Hashirama's death. You had to respect that kind of power.
Tactically, Tobirama was nothing like his brother's overwhelming brute force approach. He favored surgical precision. But when it came to large-scale devastation? He could deliver just as hard. Other people used Water Release—Tobirama practically used Ocean Release. Add in his unpredictable Flying Thunder God teleportation, and you couldn't even land a hit.
With Suna's current forces, they genuinely couldn't take him down.
They needed a real plan. Complete preparation.
Three days later.
Yamashita Tetsu, head of Sunagakure's Intelligence Division, personally assembled every elite jōnin remaining in the village. Led by Chiyo, Ebizō, Monk Bunpuku, and Yamashita himself, ninja after ninja formed a tight perimeter around the Amber Purifying Pot. Blades drawn, hidden weapons ready, puppets deployed—they'd even rigged a massive capture net above the container. Everyone was on hair-trigger alert.
"Ready when you are."
Okua's hand hovered over the seal.
Chiyo paused.
"Wait."
She bit her thumb and slammed her palm to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
White smoke exploded outward. When it cleared, a twin-tailed scorpion the size of a grown man stood before them.
"Whatever comes out of that jar, you sting the hell out of it. Clear?"
The scorpion didn't speak—just waved its massive pincers excitedly, twin tails trembling with anticipation. Keh-keh-keh-keh.
One of Sunagakure's three great summoning sanctuaries—a scorpion from the Poison Enemy realm. Masters of venom. This twin-tailed specimen was elite even among its kind, carrying horse-killing toxin that could drop a warhorse in ten breaths with a single scratch.
"Alright. Do it."
Okua nodded, tore off the seal, and popped the lid.
A fierce wind burst forth.
"Here we go! Drop the net!"
Chiyo barked.
A blue figure materialized before them.
The massive net fell from above. A storm of attacks rained down—kunai, shuriken, puppet strikes—
POOF!
White smoke scattered.
The net caught nothing but air, now bristling with embedded weapons. The scorpion excitedly raised its tails, stabbing frantically at the empty net while purple venom pooled on the ground beneath it.
"Oh shit."
Master Bunpuku slapped his bald head.
"The Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel can't restrict space-time ninjutsu!"
Chiyo's face went dark. She shot the bald monk a look that could kill.
Right now, she wanted to strangle him.
All these people. All this preparation.
They'd performed a ritual that accomplished jack shit.
And now the front lines were in serious trouble.
"Send word to Jinghang immediately—Tobirama Senju has escaped!"
Chiyo's voice cracked like a whip at the Intelligence Division ninja beside her.
Land of Stone - Four Seas Casino
"Bet small!"
In the raucous, smoke-filled casino, Tsunade drunkenly shoved a mountain of chips onto "small," then grabbed her sake bottle and chugged straight from it.
"Lady Tsunade... that's twenty-five big rolls in a row..."
Takenaka Fuyō, clutching chips nearby, offered a careful reminder.
Tsunade burped.
"What do you know? I don't believe it'll hit big twenty-six times. If this one wins, we get everything back!"
"Place your bets—no more bets!"
The handsome dealer flashed a practiced smile.
"Sigh..."
Fuyō exhaled quietly. Whatever. Let her play. With Tsunade's wealth—especially her personal shares in Silver Sand Pharmaceuticals—she could lose like this for months and barely notice. As long as she's happy.
The dealer reached for the dice cup—
White smoke suddenly erupted from the gambling table.
A silver-haired ninja in blue armor appeared standing on top of it.
"I must be really drunk... pretty sure I'm seeing my great-uncle..."
Tsunade drunkenly patted her forehead.
Fuyō immediately stepped in front of her, fully on guard.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Tsunade rubbed her eyes, looking at the newcomer, then at Fuyō.
"Fuyō, have you been drinking too?"
Then she looked at the dealer.
"Hey! What're you standing around for? Open it up!"
The dealer's hands trembled as he lifted the dice cup.
"Four... five... six—fifteen points. Big!"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨patreon.com/DarkGolds]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━