Under the gathering of a massive amount of dense black particles, in just two or three breaths, Yuto's body reformed.
Yuto snapped his eyes open. In an instant, a terrifying and powerful aura erupted forth, flooding the surroundings and carrying an overwhelming pressure that crushed outward in every direction.
Standing guard at his side, Terumi Mei was the first to feel this horrifying pressure. A suffocating sensation surged into her chest.
However!
The moment Yuto opened his eyes, he immediately sensed Terumi Mei's presence beside him.
With a quick thought, the terrifying aura around Yuto's body instantly retracted, as though that alarming presence had never existed at all.
"It seems it worked, huh?"
Yuto lay flat on the ground, chuckling softly.
Then, with a thought, Yuto quickly rose from the ground and turned to look beside him.
When Yuto saw Terumi Mei, he noticed her face was flushed crimson, with wisps of steam rising from her entire body.
"Lord Yuto... um, you..."
Terumi Mei quickly turned around, her face beet red, her tone slightly stuttering.
Noticing Terumi Mei's strange behavior, Yuto suddenly realized—having been resurrected through his severed arm, he was completely naked.
Yuto reflexively covered his vital area while quickly scanning his surroundings.
He found that earth walls enclosed the area on all sides, with only the top left open. Inside this semi-enclosed space, Terumi Mei was the only other person.
Seeing this, Yuto finally let out a slow breath of relief.
After all, they were on a battlefield with countless eyes around. If someone had seen him, it would have been a disaster.
Of course, the main issue was the sheer embarrassment.
The dignified First Mizukage, one of the Warring States Three Greats, appearing naked on a battlefield...
Yuto couldn't even bear to imagine it, and an involuntary chill ran through him.
"Cough, cough... do you happen to have any spare clothes?"
Yuto gave a light cough to cover his embarrassment, looking at Terumi Mei who had turned her back to him. He spoke with a touch of awkwardness in his voice.
However, before Yuto could even finish speaking—
Terumi Mei had already reached into the ninja pouch at her waist, pulling out a small scroll and tossing it behind her toward Yuto.
"Good thing I prepared in advance."
"I never expected Konoha's ninja would push you this far, Lord Yuto."
Terumi Mei still had her back turned, her tone carrying a hint of gravity and worry, though mostly a faint sense of relief.
She had preserved one of Lord Yuto's arms in advance precisely for this kind of worst-case scenario.
To be precise, the preserved arm was merely meant as a backup precaution. She never expected it would actually be needed.
Though Terumi Mei was stationed on this part of the battlefield, she had no way to witness the combat on the other front.
Yet even separated by such a vast distance, she could still hear the massive explosions and terrifying roars from Lord Yuto's clash with Konoha's forces.
From the sound alone, Terumi Mei could fully imagine how fiercely the battle on Lord Yuto's front must have raged!
"Haha, it really wasn't as serious as you think."
"I just got caught up in the moment and played around a bit longer."
"Good thing I didn't overdo it."
Yuto let out a bright laugh while quickly unrolling the scroll.
With a puff of white smoke, a complete set of clothing materialized on the scroll.
As Yuto swiftly dressed, he cast a puzzled glance at Terumi Mei, who still had her back turned to him.
Strange.
Yuto didn't recall ever telling Terumi Mei his clothing size, yet every piece fit perfectly.
Had he simply forgotten?
Yuto shook his head lightly and quickly finished dressing. He rolled his neck, and a crisp series of cracks echoed from across his body.
Terumi Mei seemed to sense that Lord Yuto had finished dressing. She turned around and looked toward him.
"Lord Yuto..."
Terumi Mei was just about to say something.
But she saw Yuto lightly tap the ground, his entire body transforming into a streak of black light shooting skyward, vanishing from her sight in an instant.
A flash of astonishment crossed Terumi Mei's eyes, and the words she had been about to say were swallowed back down.
"Can't you at least let someone finish speaking!"
Terumi Mei let out a soft huff and stomped her foot hard.
Boom!
Terumi Mei raised her fist and shattered the earth wall in front of her with a single punch, walking out with a displeased expression.
Ao, who had been waiting outside for some time, jumped in surprise at the sudden destruction of the earth wall.
"Lady Mizukage... was that Lord Yuto just now?"
Ao seemed to sense his Mizukage's foul mood and spoke cautiously.
Terumi Mei nodded, then looked toward the battlefield ahead, her tone carrying a hint of severity.
"Advance faster!"
Ao quickly acknowledged. He had originally wanted to ask about Lord Yuto's battle, but given the circumstances, it seemed better not to.
Still, from Terumi Mei's tone, Ao could roughly deduce that Lord Yuto's situation was likely no longer an issue.
At this moment—
Having left Terumi Mei's battlefield, Yuto was sprinting at tremendous speed toward his previous battlefield.
Every time Yuto touched down from the air, he instantly reappeared a hundred meters away. Across the earth, he moved as if teleporting, rapidly closing the distance to his original battlefield.
In less than half a minute!
Yuto descended swiftly from the sky, arriving at the center of his former battlefield.
There—
Not far ahead of Yuto lay a long-dead corpse, surrounded by scattered fragments of charred paper tags.
"Namikaze Minato, huh? I told you the same jutsu won't work on me twice. Why throw your life away?"
"It seems the Reaper Death Seal backfired, and the Death God claimed your soul..."
Yuto murmured quietly to himself, withdrawing his gaze and walking forward.
Might Guy's entire body looked like charred coal, standing about ten meters away.
Even though he had long since died, Guy's figure remained firmly planted in place, showing no sign of falling.
Yuto walked lightly to Might Guy's side. Looking at Guy before him, a glimmer of respect from one strong warrior to another shone in his eyes.
In the past, the only ones Yuto considered worthy opponents were Uchiha Madara and that fellow Senju Hashirama.
Now, Might Guy had been added to that list!
Even though Guy was now dead, the impression he left on Yuto far surpassed that of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
"To reach this level with only the qualifications of an ordinary person—Might Guy, you truly are a remarkable man."
"I am not your equal, and neither are those two—Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara."
"Truly... you were so close to winning."
Yuto spoke slowly as he looked at Might Guy, a sigh woven through his voice.
That last remark was no exaggeration—Yuto was speaking the honest truth.
Yuto had absolutely no way of blocking Guy's final kick—"Night Guy."
If Guy's kick had shifted slightly upward at that moment and knocked Yuto unconscious—
Then when Namikaze Minato appeared afterward and unleashed the forbidden Reaper Death Seal, Yuto, in his unconscious state, would have had zero chance to resist.
But unfortunately!
Might Guy had hesitated in that final kick. To be precise, he had held concerns in his heart.
Yuto's current strength was far inferior to Uchiha Madara when the latter wielded the power of the Six Paths.
In the original story, Uchiha Madara—even with Six Paths power—still had half his body destroyed by a single kick from Might Guy.
If Guy had struck Yuto with full force, Yuto would likely have been obliterated instantly by that ferocious power.
After all, against such a brutal, teleportation-like attack, the Black King's power could only absorb a fraction of the force in that instant.
Knowing that Yuto possessed the ability to resurrect, Guy naturally would not allow such a scenario to occur.
If Yuto were blasted to pieces, who knew where he might reappear.
Then Namikaze Minato's Reaper Death Seal would have been impossible to execute.
So in that final strike, Guy had held back some of his power.
Of course, it might also have been because Guy had delayed slightly, and the full power of the Eight Gates had already begun to fade.
But regardless of the reason, in a battle at this supreme level, even the slightest hesitation would disrupt one's combat rhythm.
If Guy's final kick had carried even a fraction more power, Yuto would most likely have been knocked completely unconscious with only a portion of his body remaining.
But unfortunately.
This world has never had room for so many "ifs."
"Earth Release—Earth Coffin!"
With a solemn expression, Yuto formed hand seals and pressed both palms against the ground.
The ground beneath Might Guy's feet shifted rapidly, and from below rose an earth-shaped coffin with a metallic sheen, slowly enclosing Guy within.
With a thought from Yuto, the ground around Guy's position began to rise swiftly.
In the blink of an eye!
A roughly ten-meter-tall artificial mound shaped like a thumb appeared before Yuto, while the coffin holding Might Guy's body slowly sank beneath it.
Yuto pushed off lightly with his feet, leaping into midair. He reached out and swiftly inscribed characters onto the thumb-shaped mound:
"Konoha's Proud Azure Beast!"
"The Grave of Might Guy!"
As a warrior acknowledged by Yuto, he naturally deserved the respect befitting one.
Yuto certainly would not allow Might Guy's body to be casually abandoned on this battlefield.
After completing all of this—
Yuto turned and walked toward the edge of the battlefield.
Before long.
Yuto appeared before a modestly sized boulder. If he recalled correctly, this boulder's location had once been a hill.
However, after Yuto and Might Guy's fierce battle, the entire battlefield had been practically leveled into a flat plain.
Tsunade was currently leaning against this boulder, her body covered in blood, her face deathly pale.
When she saw Yuto appear, a flush of anger suddenly rose in Tsunade's pale, weakened face. She glared fiercely at Yuto, her eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Oh my, I thought you had died during our battle."
"Didn't expect you to still be alive and well. As expected of someone with that fellow Hashirama's bloodline."
Seeing Tsunade still had some fight left in her, Yuto spoke in a flat tone, though with a hint of teasing.
"Cough..."
At Yuto's words, Tsunade opened her mouth but couldn't suppress a cough, hacking up a mouthful of blood.
After catching her breath for a moment—
Tsunade looked at Yuto and spoke in a weak voice. "You won..."
"You exhausted every means at your disposal and still couldn't do anything to me. Naturally, I won."
Yuto glanced at Tsunade, his tone remaining flat as he continued:
"Who performed the Edo Tensei, and where are they now?"
Yuto stared at Tsunade with an expression of calm.
"Cough... do you think... I'd tell you?"
Tsunade glared at Yuto, her voice weak but unwavering.
Hearing Tsunade's response, Yuto furrowed his brow slightly.
Yuto could roughly guess who had cast the Edo Tensei, but he had no idea where that person was hiding.
And then there was the Four-Tails' chakra that Yuto had been wanting to obtain.
However, judging from Tsunade's current attitude, extracting any information from her seemed highly unlikely.
"Since the Hokage refuses to cooperate, I'm afraid you'll have to suffer a bit."
Yuto shrugged, paying little mind to Tsunade's defiance.
After all, Kirigakure was currently invading Konoha—they were enemies. Expecting a warm attitude from her was obviously impossible.
If Tsunade actually answered every question asked of her, that would be truly bizarre.
"What you're hoping for right now is nothing more than Senju Hashirama defeating Uchiha Madara."
"Of course, that's also Konoha's only chance. Truth be told, I also hope that fellow Hashirama wins."
Yuto looked at Tsunade, who despite admitting defeat, still had unwavering determination in her eyes.
He naturally understood that what sustained Tsunade now was the belief that Senju Hashirama would be victorious!
The measures that Tsunade, Senju Tobirama, and the others had specifically prepared to deal with him had all come to nothing.
The only one left who might stand against him was probably Senju Hashirama alone.
Hearing Yuto say he hoped Hashirama would win, a look of bewilderment involuntarily appeared on Tsunade's face.
But Yuto's next words instantly made Tsunade realize—this bastard was certainly not that kindhearted!
"Because that way, I can kill that fellow Senju Hashirama with my own hands."
Yuto let out a soft laugh, radiating an unmasked battle intent and killing desire.
"I believe in my grandfather! Konoha will absolutely not lose!"
Despite facing a string of defeats, Tsunade's ashen face remained filled with resolve.
Yuto glanced at Tsunade, not bothering to waste time on such pointless matters.
Before long, everything would be decided!
Still, both Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Naruto possessed a power that made people trust them unconditionally.
Was this the power of Asura?
"Let's go. You're my prisoner now."
As soon as Yuto spoke, he reached out and yanked Tsunade up from the ground, lifting her into midair without the slightest hint of gentleness.
The next instant, Yuto had vanished from the spot with Tsunade in his grasp.
(End of Chapter)
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