Rustle-
An Anbu's member struggled to climb out from a pile of dirt, shaking off the soil covering him. He squinted towards the distant battlefield still smoking and whispered to his companion, "Is it my imagination? Or does it feel like... the Nine-Tails was beaten until it cried?"
The Anbu next to him, who was patting the dust off his clothes, paused and said in a low voice, "Impossible, right? The Nine-Tails is a legendary calamity beast."
"A legendary calamity beast?" Another Anbu wearing an eagle mask couldn't help but interject. "Then what does that make Setsuna-sama, who can beat it until it cries?"
The Anbu wearing a tanuki mask stopped adjusting his forehead protector, his eyes behind the mask shining with admiration. "Perhaps the natural disaster itself."
Hiruzen's gaze swept over this unrecognizable battlefield. The scorched earth emitted faint smoke, every fissure several meters deep… shattered rocks had turned into fine gravel, flowing slowly in the heat waves… the once dense forest was now reduced to a few charred tree stumps, pointing towards the sky in twisted postures.
This was exactly the scene after a natural disaster, and the most terrifying kind at that.
"Truly a terrifying battle," Hiruzen's voice was somewhat hoarse as he looked at Setsuna and asked, "By the way, Setsuna, that power that suddenly erupted earlier was...?"
The surrounding Anbu's member also pricked up their ears, clearly filled with both awe and curiosity towards the terrifying strength Setsuna had displayed.
Setsuna shook his wrist and spoke nonsense with a serious face: "That was the Eight Gates."
"The Eight Gates?"
Setsuna, with the intention of promoting Duy's reputation, explained: "This is a technique taught to me by Might Duy-senpai. It can greatly enhance one's combat power. When the Eight Gates are trained to a very high level, it can manifest combat wills similar to a White Tiger or a Divine Elephant. That 'demon' was the manifestation of my combat will."
Hiruzen seemed to understand vaguely, but he grasped at least one point: "So, Might Duy also possesses this power?"
"Although Might Duy-senpai's power when opening the Eight Gates is not as strong as mine, if he opens the first five gates, he can still be stronger than most Jonin," Setsuna said lightly.
He had helped regulate Duy's body, so opening the first five gates no longer had much impact on Duy.
The surrounding Anbu looked at each other, 'That Might Duy, who wore green spandex all day and was joked about as the [Eternal Genin], actually hid such formidable strength!'
Several Ninjas who had previously teased Duy were already breaking out in a cold sweat, trying to remember if they had said anything excessive to Duy's face.
Hiruzen shook his head with a bitter smile: "It seems these old eyes of mine truly lack the ability to recognize talent."
Just as the atmosphere eased slightly-
Whoosh!
Setsuna's finger suddenly lifted, and a blue energy wave instantly shot through the air, blasting towards a distant clump of trees.
Boom!
The explosive shockwave kicked up a cloud of dust. A black figure scrambled out from the smoke, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow but still sent flying several meters by the residual force.
"Who's there?" Setsuna's voice was cold as ice.
As the dust settled, a slightly disheveled Danzo appeared, a drop of cold sweat sliding down his temple.
Danzo initially wanted to sternly rebuke this act of 'insubordination from a subordinate' as usual, but thinking of the scene of the Nine-Tails being brutally beaten, he wisely swallowed the angry shout at the tip of his tongue.
What a joke? The guy in front of him was a monster who could grind the Nine-Tails into the dirt, and that bizarre demon... he didn't believe that nonsense about a combat will for a second.
"It's me… it is I, Shimura Danzo." He forced out an ugly smile.
"So it's Elder Danzo. What a pity… oh no, I mean, how terrifying. I almost mistakenly killed a good person." Setsuna's face was full of regret.
Seeing Setsuna's indifferent attitude, Danzo got angry, then got angry again twice over, and then miraculously became calm: "Haha, Commander Setsuna's vigilance is very high, truly a model for us Ninja."
Hiruzen frowned at his old rival's unusual behavior: "Why have you returned? How is the situation on the front lines?"
"Don't worry, there are no problems on the front lines." Danzo glanced around at the Anbu, a flicker of hesitation in his single eye.
According to convention, such talks involving strategic secrets should be conducted in private. But considering Setsuna's presence… he decisively abandoned that idea and said directly, "While engaging Kirigakure, I discovered traces of the Soragakure's Ninja."
"The Soragakure's Ninja?" Hiruzen's face changed.
"That destroyed Ninja Village seems to have become active again along the coastal areas." Danzo's voice turned cold again. "Their flying ninja tools and fortress technology are more troublesome than before. And they are suspected to be in contact with Kirigakure. I need more support."
Hiruzen's brow was tightly locked: "The Land of Sky arrogantly challenged the status of the Five Great Nations simultaneously during the Second Great Ninja War, only to be jointly destroyed. They've learned their lesson this time, knowing they can't provoke the Five Great Nations at once, so they've focused their hatred on us alone..."
Setsuna commented silently in his heart, 'Daring to simultaneously provoke the 'Five Permanent Members', the previous leader of the Land of Sky was probably the Ninja version of Gaddafi.'
Danzo sneered: "That's not surprising. To obtain their technology, we contributed the most effort in that war."
Setsuna glanced at Danzo, his expression seeming to smile but not: "The war on my side might end at any time. How about… I come over to help then?"
Danzo's pupils contracted sharply, instinctively taking half a step back. He quickly shook his head: "That won't be necessary. I suddenly realized that mere Soragakure's Ninja, even allied with Kirigakure, won't be a match for us."
What a joke? Letting this jinx come to his side? What if he 'accidentally' blasted both him and the Soragakure's Ninja to smithereens?
Hiruzen looked thoughtfully at Danzo, pondered for a moment, and said, "In that case, I will dispatch an additional batch of Anbu to support you."
Setsuna just shrugged.
Although in his impression, the energy source of the Soragakure's Ninja's fortress seemed to be something called the [Zero-Tails], for him now, never mind the [Zero-Tails], even the Nine-Tails' value was only so-so.
Speaking of the Nine-Tails, Setsuna looked at Minato: "Minato, notify me when Kushina wakes up. I plan to have a good talk with the Nine-Tails."
"Ah? Talk with the Nine-Tails?" Minato was very surprised.
Setsuna nodded: "After this battle, I found that it isn't impossible to communicate with the Nine-Tails. If problems can be solved through communication, Kushina won't have to fear the Nine-Tails in the future."
Minato was very tempted. He knew Kushina had always wanted to live a carefree life, free from surveillance. "But what if communication fails?"
Setsuna raised his fist: "If reason doesn't work, then I'll use the method of physical communication."
Minato was left speechless, then laughed. His concern had made him forget that in front of Setsuna, the Nine-Tails was the disadvantaged party.
Looking at this young man with his bright smile, Minato felt a trace of... sympathy? for the Nine-Tails.