At the same time, thousands of miles away—
Inside the Tsuchikage council chamber of Iwagakure, smoke filled the air.
Around a massive war sand table sat several elders and high-ranking officials. Every face carried excitement and anticipation.
"Huangtu's boy really works fast," a fat elder puffing on a pipe said while tapping the table. Greedy light flickered in his narrow eyes.
"By now Konoha must already be surrounded on all sides."
"With two thousand elites plus three thousand from Kumogakure, even in a frontal battle Konoha shouldn't be able to resist, right?"
A senior official beside him nodded with a chuckle.
"Exactly. And don't forget the chaos inside Konoha caused by Sunagakure. Add in Otogakure and… heh heh."
"Hahaha, and don't forget that lunatic Deidara and Kumogakure's Eight-Tails Jinchūriki!"
"I heard that Eight-Tails Jinchūriki is the strongest among all Jinchūriki!"
"One or two people don't matter."
Across the table, a thin elder with a goatee who had been sitting with his eyes closed suddenly knocked on the table and interrupted.
"Konoha already suffered the Nine-Tails disaster not long ago. And recently they've been fighting among themselves—I heard many died."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi is old and senile now. He's no longer the mighty ninja he once was."
"So this is Konoha's weakest moment."
"Strike while they're sick and finish them!"
"This time, we'll make Konoha bleed!"
"Heh heh, bleed?" a young elder in the corner rubbed his hands greedily. "I've long hated those hypocrites in Konoha! And I heard their Scroll of Seals contains countless powerful techniques! And the Hyūga clan's Byakugan—on the battlefield that's practically cheating! We must capture a few this time!"
"The most important thing is resources and status," said the acting Tsuchikage seated at the head of the table—Huangtu's uncle—tapping the edge of the sand table proudly.
"Once news of this victory spreads, missions across the ninja world will come to Iwagakure."
"Konoha?"
"Just a roadside dog."
"Hahaha! Come, come! Drink some tea!"
At that moment the meeting room was filled with greed and excitement—
Until a sensory ninja rushed in.
"Report!"
"The Iwagakure–Kumogakure allied army… has suffered a crushing defeat!"
CLANG!
In the next second—
Teacups shattered across the floor.
—
Konoha, outside the Forest of Death.
Uchiha Kai raised his hand slightly.
The white Susanoo—no, the Giant of Light—climbed directly onto the body of the Six-Tails cloak.
Crack.
Crack crack!
Segments of white armor layered themselves over the red chakra cloak like glowing scales.
It looked as if the crimson Six-Tailed demon fox had donned a suit of lightning-leaking luminous armor.
Armored Susanoo.
After decades—
It appeared once again.
Seeing this, Hashirama Senju looked dazed.
"Armored Susanoo…"
"That really brings back memories…"
"Madara… I wonder how you're doing over there."
The more he watched Kai, the more surprised he became.
This young man never stopped surprising him.
"With the strength he has now…"
"Even me at my peak might not be able to defeat him."
Hashirama shook his head and finally relaxed.
If you can't beat him, and you can't reason with him—
Why bother worrying?
Might as well just stand here quietly and watch the show.
At the same time, Uchiha Fugaku blinked in disbelief at the glowing six-tailed figure crackling with lightning.
"Susanoo… combined with the Nine-Tails?"
"So the Sharingan still has this many unexplored techniques…"
For the first time he realized his own Mangekyō development was far inferior to that of the younger generation.
He silently resolved to train his Mangekyō harder when he returned.
On the other side of the Forest of Death, three figures slowly emerged.
One tall, two small.
Shisui Uchiha still had a bandage over one eye. His remaining crimson Sharingan spun slowly.
"A glowing Susanoo…"
"Kai has pushed Susanoo to this level already…"
"He truly is Itachi's younger brother."
Behind him, the two children exchanged glances.
The pale, delicate boy smiled softly.
Sai whispered,
"Brother Shisui… is this technique really that powerful?"
Shisui nodded.
"Very powerful."
"At least in Konoha… no one can stop it."
"Wow!"
Sai's smile widened even more.
Shisui instinctively rubbed his temple.
Sai seemed strangely happy whenever someone praised Uchiha Kai.
That… was probably not a healthy sign.
—
BOOM!
CRASH!
CRASH CRASH CRASH!
Outside the Forest of Death, the battle of giants shook the earth.
The stone titan's punch smashed the ground open like a meteor strike.
A bottomless crater formed instantly.
But Kai's half-completed Armored Susanoo, though smaller, moved far more flexibly.
It easily dodged the descending fists.
Meanwhile the six chakra tails moved like six giant arms, stabbing repeatedly into the lightning-armored stone titan.
Sparks exploded everywhere.
The already charred earth grew even darker.
At one point a tail struck so hard it pierced deep underground—
And groundwater burst out.
Water quickly began filling the massive crater.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The battle continued.
Most of the observers had already gone numb.
Including Kai himself.
After punching the stone titan back, he looked at his own hands and legs with surprise.
"So…"
"I'm fighting two entire villages alone?"
"More than four thousand elite ninja?"
"And I'm not even struggling… I'm doing it effortlessly?"
Realizing this—
Kai's mindset finally shifted.
He knew he was strong.
But before, his strength mostly came from mechanics.
Abilities like his golden invincible body or low-presence stealth.
Even Flying Thunder God and Kamui worked similarly.
But now—
He was relying purely on raw power.
Facing the combined might of four thousand shinobi head-on.
How ridiculous was that?
Even Madara Uchiha in Edo Tensei probably couldn't pull this off.
This was pure stat power.
No tricks involved.
Ten minutes later—
Some Iwagakure shinobi collapsed from exhaustion.
Thirty minutes later—
A third of the Kumogakure forces were completely drained.
Crack.
The hundred-meter stone titan had shrunk to seventy meters.
Then sixty.
Finally it stabilized around fifty.
"Ahh… that was a satisfying fight."
Kai stretched lazily and looked down at the exhausted shinobi—some lying on the ground, some half-kneeling.
He raised his voice.
"I'll give you one more chance."
"My previous offer still stands."
"Will you work willingly…?"
"Or will I force you?"
The stone titan froze mid-swing.
Thousands of allied shinobi began seriously considering the possibility.
Drip.
Drip.
After a moment, Kai suddenly raised his hand.
"Actually… I'm not a very patient ruler."
Dark chakra slowly flowed across his palm.
CLANG!
CLANG!
Four massive black chains erupted from the ground.
Each tipped with a red pillar that shot toward the battlefield.
Divine Law Chains — Infinite Lock.
Then—
White spores began falling from the sky like snow.
A rain of spores blanketed the battlefield.
Spore Heavenly Descent.
There was one thing Kai hadn't said clearly.
Either way—
A price had to be paid.
Alive…
They would become black mercenaries.
Dead…
They would become black laborers.
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