A pitch-black Susanoo giant descended upon the ninja world.
The Uchiha clan members were moved to tears.
"This is the true power of Kamito."
"Hahaha, as expected, our Uchiha clan is the strongest."
"When we get back, I'm going to train hard. I'll become someone like Kamito too."
On the Senju side, their expressions were grim.
Even though they were all from Konoha, that was an Uchiha powerhouse.
If Senju Hideki were still here, they would definitely congratulate him, because they firmly believed that Senju Hideki was absolutely the strongest young man of this generation, someone who could even rival Lord Hashirama in the future.
But in the current situation, even the most optimistic Senju clan members didn't dare imagine that after those two earth-style techniques that completely exceeded comprehension, Hideki could have survived without paying any price.
Being alive would already be the greatest stroke of luck.
But judging from Uchiha Kamito's furious roar just now, the chances were probably slim.
Come to think of it, it was rather strange—why did the strong members of their Senju clan always have such good relationships with members of the Uchiha clan?
On Konoha's side, they still had the leisure to think about such things.
On the Hidden Stone Village's side, they were completely numb.
Was that just a mini Hashirama earlier?
And now who was this?
A mini Madara, or the real Madara?
Wasn't this supposed to be an ordinary ninja war?
How did it suddenly turn into a peak-tier battle?
Not to mention the Hidden Stone ninja on the ground—even Ōnoki in the air was stunned.
Good heavens, where exactly had he ended up?
How could he possibly see "Hashirama" and "Madara" again?
"Ōnoki, you've probably never seen a Susanoo that can cast ninjutsu, right?"
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation."
A massive sea of flames swept across the Hidden Stone camp.
"Not good!"
Ōnoki was just about to use Dust Release to block it when—
"Tsuchikage-sama, let me handle this."
"Earth Style: Earth Core Movement."
An even larger rock wall than the one raised earlier by Hanzan Yūga surged upward, perfectly blocking the sea of flames.
Kitsuchi finally had a chance to display his strength.
Before, the opponents were too weak, so he didn't need to act.
Later, the opponents were too outrageous, so he couldn't act.
Now was just right—he could finally show what he was capable of.
Otherwise, did they really think that he, Kitsuchi, the grand commander of the Hidden Stone, was just for show?
After blocking the flames,
Kitsuchi turned his gaze toward the Susanoo giant.
"Earth Style: Mountain Technique."
Two semicircular masses of earth rose up, about to crush the Susanoo giant between them.
The Susanoo giant braced both sides with its hands, stabilizing the incoming pressure.
"What incredible strength. Earlier, Hideki was restraining you, so it wasn't obvious. As expected of the Hidden Stone… but the me now is no longer the same as before."
The Susanoo giant pushed outward with both arms—
Then—
"Susanoo."
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique."
The great battle erupted once more.
But this time, it was Uchiha Kamito against the entire Hidden Stone force.
...
Coastal front,
2,000 meters underground, 1,000 meters behind the battlefield—the true body of Aburame Shiken was hidden there.
A bug suddenly died, delivering a piece of intelligence in the form of a scroll.
"Which idiot is showing off their achievements again? Seriously… I shouldn't have mass-produced these bugs in the first place. Sure enough, when something becomes too common, people stop valuing it."
Grumbling, Aburame Shiken opened the scroll in front of him.
Bang—
"Hideki, what stupid thing have you done now? And Kamito—you better not be in trouble too."
Immediately, Aburame Shiken sent the information to Hyūga Hiyasu and Inuzuka Ryoha.
"Something's wrong with Hideki and Kamito. Get there immediately."
After finishing all this,
Aburame Shiken frantically connected with the Phase Exchange Insects buried across various locations.
"Wait for me."
He rapidly rushed toward the battlefield where Hideki and Kamito were.
Meanwhile, along the coastline, the Aburame Shiken clone that had been coordinating defensive tasks with Aburame Shikuro and Aburame Shibi suddenly scattered into a swarm of insects.
"What happened over there with Shiken? His insect clone control range is extremely far."
Aburame Shikuro said worriedly.
"Maybe it's not Shiken—maybe something happened to someone else."
Aburame Shibi replied.
"Damn it, who could be in trouble?"
Having grown up with few friends, Aburame Shikuro treasured that bond formed at the dining table deeply.
"I'm not sure. But Shikuro, now that Shiken is gone, we must hold this defensive line."
"Understood. I'll stay on the front line until Shiken returns."
"Good. I'll go too."
...
Land of Rivers, Konoha camp—
"Woof! Woof!"
A massive ninja hound suddenly appeared.
"Eimaru, full speed ahead!"
"Woof! Woof!"
Inuzuka Ryoha kept urging forward, while silently praying in his heart—
Please don't let anything happen. I shouldn't have gone back to rest earlier… I should have gone straight to Hideki and Kamito.
Could it be they ran into—
"Ryoha, wait for me!"
Turning back, Inuzuka Ryoha saw Inuzuka Rinko standing atop Sumimaru's head, catching up.
"Wherever you're going, take me with you."
Her tone was firm.
"This time, it might be extremely dangerous. The kind you don't come back from."
Ryoha's voice was grave.
In his understanding, at this point in time, only if Uchiha Madara made a move could Hideki and Kamito run into serious trouble.
And facing Madara as he was now,
Ryoha honestly wasn't confident.
Encountering one of the strongest endgame bosses while still in mid-development—that was truly a headache.
"I don't care. Even if you're heading to the underworld, don't think about leaving me behind."
Rinko remained resolute.
Ryoha pulled her into his arms.
"If we really die this time… then I've wronged you."
"There's nothing to apologize for. Walking toward death with you—that's what a wife should do."
Ryoha said nothing, only tightened his embrace around her.
...
Fire-Lightning battlefield—
Through constant kiting, wearing down, and evasion,
Hyūga Hiyasu had nearly exhausted the Two-Tails' stamina.
In just a little while, the Two-Tails would fall by his hand.
If he couldn't kill the Eight-Tails, killing the Two-Tails still counted as completing the mission, right?
Just one word difference—hardly a big deal.
After all, as a qualified enforcer, the most important thing was to perfectly complete the task assigned by command.
At that moment, a scroll on his body suddenly activated.
"Shiken, this impatient? Already rushing me?"
As for Aburame Shiken asking for help—that possibility never even crossed his mind.
He believed that if everyone in the ninja world were to die, Aburame Shiken would definitely be the last one standing.
He opened the scroll.
Someone might ask—with the Byakugan, why bother opening a scroll?
Can a scroll block x-ray vision?
Of course not.
But a scroll is rolled up—
to the Byakugan, it just looks like a jumble of overlapping symbols.
Who could possibly make sense of that?
The moment Hyūga Hiyasu opened it—his chakra surged.
With one punch, he sent the Two-Tails—who had been about to ambush him—flying.
The Two-Tails was blasted a great distance away, reverting to human form.
But Hiyasu no longer had time to care.
With Lingbo Microsteps fully activated, he sped toward the Land of Grass at top speed.