The Hidden Mist Village had become the heart of the Land of Water. Ninja stationed outside were flooding back to offer support, and even the rogue-nin unit led by Zabuza Momochi had arrived on the scene.
Zabuza's heart pounded as he stared at the colossal wooden golem inside the village. He turned to Senju Tobirama beside him, his voice strained. "That is…"
"Wood Style," Tobirama stated concisely.
Zabuza's mind subconsciously leaped to Senju Hashirama. "The legendary God of Shinobi… has he been revived, too?"
"Hmph. Good that you understand," Tobirama sneered before continuing his explanation. "But my brother isn't the only one. Konoha has another powerful Wood Style user. The Fifth Hokage's Wood Style is every bit as strong as my brother's!"
In fact, all three of Konoha's Wood Style users were in the Land of Water. It was just that the fellow named Yamato was... unimpressive compared to Hashirama and Naruto Uzumaki. If people saw his techniques, it would tarnish the reputation of Wood Style. It would be a complete joke if someone saw Yamato's version and thought that was the limit of its power.
Inside the Mist Village, Naruto sat cross-legged on the golem's head, watching the ninja Chojuro had assembled below. He scratched his head and turned to Mei Terumi. "Lady Mizukage, have you made your decision? They're going to attack in about thirty seconds. Once they do, there's no turning back."
"..."
Mei Terumi lowered her head, remaining silent. Perhaps she still held out a sliver of hope for her village. After all, the Third Raikage, the only one to have fought ten thousand enemies alone, had ultimately been killed in battle. The Mist Village had now gathered over ten thousand ninja. Surely, if they all used a simple Water Shockwave jutsu, they could drown the wooden golem, right?
Chojuro, a disciple taught by Mei herself, shared her line of thinking. He had arranged for ninjas of all levels to use similar types of jutsu. Some would use the Great Exploding Water Shockwave, some would use the Water Formation Pillar, and others would use the basic Water Shockwave. With ten thousand people acting together, a vast ocean would appear in an instant. The impact alone would be enough to topple the wooden golem.
Chojuro scanned the sea of gathered Mist ninja and bellowed, "We will release our Water Style ninjutsu all at once! First, we knock down the wooden golem, then we rescue Lady Mei!"
"Yes, Lord Chojuro!" the Mist ninjas roared in unison. Tens of thousands of them stood on rooftops, in trees, and on the streets, a dense and seemingly endless crowd.
Following Chojuro's cry, the ninja all began to form hand seals, preparing to release their jutsu within seconds.
"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Shockwave!"
"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"
"Water Style: Water Formation Pillar!"
Countless streams of water erupted, merging into a roaring river that surged toward the tall wooden golem. The height of the waves quickly surpassed the golem itself. The massive construct stumbled and fell to the ground with an enormous splash.
But the damage from the water was limited. A moment later, supported by Naruto's chakra, the towering golem stood up again.
"Again!"
There was no despair in Chojuro's eyes. Instead, a hint of joy appeared. Their attack was effective, and the jutsu hadn't consumed much of their chakra. If they continued, they could surely rescue Mei Terumi.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
At Naruto's low shout, towering trees erupted from the ground. Each tree absorbed the chakra from the water on the ground, growing larger and larger until they reached the waist of the wooden golem.
Yamato and the others scrambled up the branches and onto the golem. "Lord Hokage," Yamato pleaded, "the enemy's numbers are too great…"
Torune Aburame slowly took off his glove, revealing a purple arm. "Lord Hokage, I can use a forbidden jutsu…" With just a few corpses, he could use the nano-sized venomous insects in his body to breed a catastrophic plague that would leave the Mist Village littered with bodies.
"That won't be necessary. Just watch over Lady Mizukage for me." Naruto waved them back, signaling for them to stand behind him. He then turned his gaze back to Mei Terumi. "Lady Mizukage," he said softly, "if you still haven't decided, then look up and witness the end of the Hidden Mist."
"..."
Mei looked at him, confused, but her face suddenly turned ugly. "Are you going to use the move from when you first arrived?"
That Great Spiral Wheel. It was powerful enough to destroy half the village.
"No. The deterrent power of that jutsu is far from enough." Naruto shook his head and slowly extended his palm as natural energy surged madly into his body. "Sealing Technique: Devour! Sage Mode, activate!"
His yellow hair flashed to a blood-red, whipping wildly in the wind.
Seeing the color, Mei's face froze. A realization dawned on her, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "That's the mark of the Uzumaki clan…"
"I am a descendant of the Uzumaki clan," Naruto stated calmly, his face unperturbed by her shock. "My mother was the last princess of the Land of Whirlpools… the same Land of Whirlpools that your Hidden Mist Village conspired with others to destroy."
"..."
His words made it sound like there was a deep-seated hatred between them. But that was an old grudge from decades ago. Mei Terumi hadn't even been born when the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed.
"Alright, let's not talk about that," Naruto said with a smile. His red hair wasn't from his Uzumaki bloodline, but from the Sage Art chakra refined by the Nine-Tails.
The young Hokage dismissed the topic. He looked down at the thousands of Mist ninja below and suddenly clapped his hands together. "Wood Style: Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands!"
A shadow blotted out the sun, suddenly enveloping the entire village.
Mist ninja scrambled backward, raw terror overflowing in their eyes.
"Lord Chojuro!"
"Lord Chojuro, look! What is that thing!"
"Lord Chojuro, what in the world is that!"
Hearing his subordinates' panicked shouts, Chojuro's gaze slowly traveled up from the shadow on the ground. His expression went vacant. "That thing… did he use a summoning jutsu?"
The sensory ninja next to Chojuro collapsed to the ground in sheer terror. "This chakra…" he stammered. "We can't win… Run!"
It was a thousand-handed Buddha statue so massive its top couldn't be seen. The wooden golem that had been rampaging moments ago wasn't even as large as a single one of the new statue's many hands. Each of those hands looked like it could obliterate them with ease.
The Nine-Tails inside Naruto couldn't help but snort. Hmph. Let these fools experience the terror of that bastard Hashirama's jutsu combined with my chakra!
Even with only half of its peak chakra, the Nine-Tails could still easily destroy the entire Mist Village. And this thousand-handed statue, with just one of its hands, could hold down the Nine-Tails at its full power.
A golden chakra cloak spread down from the young Hokage's body, enveloping the entire statue.
The True Several Thousand Hands was now covered in a suit of golden chakra armor, transforming it into a giant golden Buddha, so majestic and imposing that no one dared to look at it directly.
-----
Bonus:
Nine-Tails: Hey, Naruto. Ever consider adding armor?
Naruto: What armor? A Susanoo?
Nine-Tails: No, add my chakra to the True Several Thousand Hands!
Naruto: Is that helpful?
Nine-Tails: It'll be a Golden Buddha!
Naruto: ...But is it helpful? The statue is already powerful enough.
Nine-Tails: But it looks cool, alright