Chapter 62: Clashing in the Land of Rain
A square wall of violet fire erupted, enclosing the meeting room like a specialized barrier and sealing the space completely. Purple flames, vibrant and almost alive, danced and spiraled across the barrier's surface. The immense energy contained within caused the structure to collapse in an instant; flames flickered amidst a thick cloud of dust and debris.
From the outside, no one could discern what was happening within the fiery prison. They could only see a tempest of overwhelming purple flames churning inside. A scorching heat radiated from the barrier, its sheer temperature forcing the guards from the other nations to retreat again and again.
"What in the world does Konoha think it's doing?!" the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, snarled, abruptly drawing the twin blades from his back.
Hiruzen Sarutobi simply pointed a steady hand toward the barrier, his expression a mask of calm. "I merely wish to have a peaceful and undisturbed talk with the Kage. Surely you don't believe that the esteemed leaders of the great nations, working in concert, would suffer at the hands of our Acting Hokage?"
The guard units from the various villages were struck speechless by his question. Indeed, aside from the god-like figures of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, who in this world could possibly withstand a simultaneous assault from the Kage of the other four great nations?
On Hiruzen's side, the Konoha guards appeared composed, but in truth, every muscle in their bodies was coiled tight, ready for a bloody battle at a moment's notice. Upon arriving in the Land of Rain, an uneasy Hiruzen had asked Stelle how she planned to conduct the negotiations.
Stelle had told him that direct talks would leave them with nothing; only by demonstrating overwhelming military deterrence could they hope to dominate the proceedings. She claimed to have a method to defeat the four Kage, but it came with a significant side effect—she would lose all combat ability immediately after its use and would require their protection.
At first, Hiruzen and the others had felt the plan was far too reckless and refused to agree. But Stelle had invoked the names of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, claiming her secret technique had their explicit approval. After a great deal of hesitation, Hiruzen and the others ultimately relented. They carefully planned a precise evacuation route and stationed a large number of elite shinobi nearby, hidden within the Land of Rain.
Given the current situation, the arrogance of the Four Nations was at its peak. If they made unreasonable demands, a battle would be inevitable sooner or later. It was even possible they would use the perceived vacancy in Konoha's high-level combat power and the blow to its morale as a pretext to make outrageous demands and provoke a war.
Since that was the case, it was better to take the gamble.
After all, this was Stelle—a prodigy personally taught by their four greatest legends. Her strength had already reached a level they could no longer fathom. The last time she was ambushed, she had faced an assassination attempt by three Kage-level experts and an elite shinobi with a Kekkei Genkai, yet she had managed to hold them off for an entire day and night, even killing three of them in the process.
They were willing to believe in her.
At that moment, the space inside the barrier was far from the simple lockdown those outside imagined. Beneath the Kage's feet was a roiling sea of purple lava, leaving only a few precarious footholds. The very air was thick with fine, crackling motes of violet flame. Those flames were constantly multiplying, expanding, and compressing the space available to the four leaders.
One unlucky guard, who had been standing too close to his Kage, had also been trapped inside. His reactions were a fraction too slow; he failed to dodge a gout of purple fire that erupted from a fissure in the lava. In a horrifying instant, he was consumed by the flames, his screams choked off as he was incinerated into ash.
This was the ultimate technique Stelle had developed: the Hell Realm Domain.
Once this domain was activated, she became its absolute master. Any wisp of purple flame within the space could serve as a marker, allowing her to teleport to its location at will, without restriction., every flicker of fire in the entire domain was under her direct control; attack and defense were but a thought away.
"To think you'd try to take on the four of us at once! Do you fancy yourself Uchiha Madara?" one of the Kage bellowed.
Stelle ignored him. Villains died from monologuing; she had no intention of giving them a chance to find a flaw in her domain.
"Flame Release: Great Flame Bullet Barrage."
"Flame Release: Falling Fire."
"Flame Release: Fire Dragon Dance."
In an instant, the entire space was saturated with a dense barrage of purple fireballs and serpentine dragons of flame.
Seizing the moment the Kage were forced to evade her ninjutsu, Stelle's body blurred, dissolving into a flicker of purple fire that merged with the lava sea below, vanishing from their sight.
The next second, space warped. She reappeared directly behind Suiren, the Mizukage. She slammed a Spiral Flame Explosion into his back.
It was too fast. She had materialized without any warning, as if she had been standing there all along. It was a fatal blow. Suiren had no time to even begin to react before his body was torn asunder by the devastating technique. As he fell, a look of pure shock was only just beginning to surface in his eyes, as if he couldn't believe he had died just like that.
He was, after all, the Mizukage.
Before the sound of the explosion had even faded, Stelle vanished again. By the time the others caught sight of her, she had already appeared behind the Second Raikage. The Spiral Flame Explosion, radiating a terrifying, scorching heat, smashed toward him.
The Land of Lightning was renowned for its speed and power, and the Second Raikage, A, was a paragon among them. His reflexes were far superior to those of the Mizukage, who had been utterly suppressed by the elemental disadvantage of the Flame Release domain. A's combat instincts were razor-sharp. The very instant Suiren fell, he sensed the impending crisis and immediately moved, anticipating another elusive attack.
He didn't hesitate for a second, not even certain if he was the next target. Activating his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he shot away from his original position.
When Stelle appeared where he had been standing, he had just managed to evade the bizarrely swift attack. The bomb of fire smashed into the ground. Nearby, the Tsuchikage and Kazekage reacted instantly, launching a counterattack of their own ninjutsu.
Poof!
The Stelle they struck dissolved into a puff of smoke. It was a Shadow Clone.
A scream tore through the air. The Tsuchikage and Kazekage whipped their heads around, only to see that the Second Raikage's chest had been pierced clean through by a chakra blade. Blood gushed from the wound as he fell straight backward.
Stelle had used the Shadow Clone as a feint. The moment she saw the Raikage's escape path, she had instantly marked his destination. The instant A's feet touched down, Stelle used the Flying Thunder God Technique to appear at that exact spot, materializing just as he arrived.
The Second Raikage saw only a flash of crimson light before his eyes. His body, which had been preparing to counterattack, went rigid as his heart was impaled.
Another Kage had fallen?
The Tsuchikage and Kazekage could scarcely believe it. Uchiha Madara's disciple was this terrifying?
'This isn't the Body Flicker Technique... it's a Space-Time Ninjutsu,' the Tsuchikage, Mū, realized with dawning horror.
Her technique was nearly flawless. She had sealed the space in advance, leaving them nowhere to run. She could displace herself at will using the surrounding flames to launch surprise attacks. There should have been a delay, a moment needed to place a mark. But by transforming into fire herself and hiding within the domain, she completely masked that slight, exploitable flaw.
The flames continued to press in, consuming any physical matter they touched and relentlessly shrinking their living space. They had no doubt that if this continued, the fire would eventually surge up from the cracks in the lava and devour them completely.
What kind of monstrous ninjutsu was this?
Senju Tobirama's Flying Thunder God still required special kunai to serve as markers for his short-range spatial jumps and was limited by the terrain. If truly outmatched, one could find a way to escape, alter the battlefield, or deal with the marked kunai. In any case, if they were fighting Senju Tobirama four-on-one, they certainly wouldn't be this panicked.
But here, locked in this space, there was no escape.
What was even more terrifying was that Senju Stelle had killed two Kage in such a short time, and they still hadn't found a single weakness in her technique.
The two remaining Kage immediately moved back-to-back, instantly becoming the most loyal of allies, trusting each other with their lives.
Seeing Stelle dissolve into flames and merge with the lava once more, Mū spoke hurriedly. "Wait! We can talk! The Land of Earth had no major conflicts with Konoha in the last war. We can establish friendly relations and sign a permanent peace treaty!"
"The one who suffered last time was my Land of Wind!" Reto, the Kazekage, added desperately. "You, Konoha, suffered no major losses! Why don't we stop here? The Land of Wind is also willing to sign an absolute peace treaty!"
Space fluctuated slightly. Senju Stelle appeared silently beside Reto like a phantom, the cold glint of her blade flashing as it stabbed toward his throat.
"Flying Thunder God Slash: Stelle Version!"
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