As both the interior and exterior of Konohagakure plunged into crisis and unrest,
Other parts of the shinobi world were undergoing their own shifts in circumstance.
In the Land of Wind—
The Iwagakure army, led by the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki,
Had been forced to retreat from the vast golden desert, unable to withstand Sunagakure's puppet forces and their incomprehensible number of explosive traps.
But what puzzled Ōnoki—
Was why there had been no word whatsoever from A and Hanzō for so long.
Now that he thought about it, they hadn't made contact in quite a while.
This left Ōnoki with no choice but to send a few ninja squads to investigate.
What he didn't know…
Was that A, Hanzō, and the others had long since returned to Amegakure with the Third Raikage.
"You have three days to recover. In three days, we launch a surprise attack on Iwagakure. If any Iwagakure shinobi show up before then—stall them first, then eliminate them."
The Third Raikage stood in the position usually reserved for Hanzō,
Overlooking Hanzō, A, Yahiko, and the representatives of Kusagakure and Takigakure as he gave the command.
"Yes, sir!"
Hanzō lowered his head, hiding the unwillingness in his eyes. He then quickly left his room along with the others, leaving only A still standing in place.
Once everyone had left, A hurriedly called out, "Father, you—"
"Shut your mouth first!"
The Third Raikage dropped heavily onto a seat, grabbed the liquor the Amegakure shinobi had served on the table, and took several gulps.
But right after, he showed a face full of disdain. "How come I never realized this sake tastes so awful?"
He then set the bottle down and beckoned his son closer.
"Come here. Get over here!"
Young A lit up with joy and quickly approached, only to see his father take out a small creature from within his robes—one that looked like a snail.
"Here. Quiet your mind. Once you watch this, everything will make sense."
While speaking, the Third Raikage activated his Kenbunshoku Haki to sense their surroundings, and lowered his voice to his son.
"Huh?"
A looked puzzled but still nodded.
And then, when he saw the clear images being projected from the snail's eyes, his own eyes widened instantly.
What was this thing?!
The video that was played made his pupils shake violently.
Looking at his son's face, increasingly frozen in shock, the Third Raikage was inwardly overjoyed.
This foolish boy.
Not even a shred of composure or depth of mind—nothing compared to how calm and collected I was back in the day!
Meanwhile—
At the far northern edge of the shinobi world, within the borders of the Land of Snow.
At this moment—
A platinum-colored airship over 200 meters in length floated above the capital of the nation.
Its lights blazed brightly in the night, illuminating the city below like a miniature sun, making the deep night look as bright as midday.
[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...]
Kazahana Dotō, stood atop the highest tower of the palace, looking out with deep concern toward the fierce battle erupting beyond the city.
...
With a thunderous boom, a savage shockwave swept in all directions, sending snow flying and cracking the frozen earth—hard as steel—into countless jagged fissures.
However—
Mid-air, Tsunade was shocked to see that her full-powered kick,
Had been caught with a single hand—now blackened—and gripped tightly by the woman before her. A woman whose blue hair and eyes were so stunning, even Tsunade had to admit she was otherworldly beautiful.
The violent shockwave released from her kick had only caused the woman's deep-blue hair to flutter.
"I told you… it's useless~"
Esdeath chuckled lightly. "For a woman, your strength isn't bad. But that's all it is—just not bad. You don't even make me want to fight."
"And I can see hesitation and fear in your eyes—though strangely, it doesn't seem like you're afraid of me."
"Hmph!"
Tsunade's expression turned cold. She immediately tried to break free, and Esdeath let go cooperatively.
Tsunade flipped midair and landed steadily, then, without hesitation, bit her thumb and slammed her hand into the cold snow.
"Summoning Technique!"
The earlier exchange had already made her realize that her 'monstrous strength' was no match for Esdeath.
[Poof!]
A massive cloud of white smoke burst forth, and a large white slug with faint blue markings appeared beneath Tsunade.
This sight made Esdeath's eyes light up with interest—as well as those of the spectators behind her: Guren, Akame, and Kurome.
And in Kurome's hand was a young girl's arm—
It was Tsunade's attendant: Shizune.
"Lady Tsunade, I was just about to look for you, I—"
As soon as Katsuyu appeared, she spoke first in a gentle voice.
But she immediately noticed Esdeath and the others standing ahead, as well as the airship hovering in the sky, marked with the insignia 'Hoof of the Heavenly Flying Dragon'. That sight brought her words to an abrupt halt.
"Lady Tsunade, could these people be from the World Government?"
"That's right. That woman who calls herself Esdeath did mention something about the World Government," Tsunade replied after a brief pause, nodding.
"But she even wants the Land of Snow to submit! That's unacceptable—Daimyo Kazahana is the one helping me repay my debts. I have to help him!"
"Hmm..."
After hearing that, Katsuyu fell silent for a long while, then meekly suggested, "Why not try talking to them instead, Lady Tsunade? They don't seem like bad people…"
"Huh?!"
Tsunade looked down at her in disbelief. "They just killed a bunch of snow shinobi! And Shizune is still in their hands!"
"I see. Then… maybe you could try pleading with them? In any case, it'd be better to avoid a fight if possible."
After saying that, Katsuyu looked up at Esdeath.
"Honored guests of the World Government, Lady Tsunade and Lady Shizune pose no threat to you. Would you be willing to spare them?"
Tsunade was dumbfounded.
What was going on with Katsuyu? She'd always backed her in battle without hesitation—no matter who they were up against!
But now she actually seemed afraid of this so-called World Government?
"I'll allow it. I also happen to need a guide in this world~"
Esdeath smile. She had no intention of staying quietly in the Land of Snow—but matters here still needed to be handled properly.
"But before that, you and she both have to fight me—with everything you've got."
...
Within the Land of Fire.
The earth-shattering battle between Aramaki and the Senju brothers had been raging for nearly three full days.
Two colossal wooden giants had torn through nearly half the Land of Fire.
Mountains and rivers were sundered, the earth split open, and vast seas of trees toppled wherever they went.
Even though Senju Hashirama did his utmost to avoid towns along their path, several cities were still caught in the crossfire. Countless civilians lost their homes—and their lives.
This was the tragedy of ordinary people in a world of superhuman powers.
Even if they did absolutely nothing, they could still be dragged into battles between titans at any moment.
Hashirama looked down at Aramaki from atop his wooden giant, his smile revealing how much he was enjoying the fight.
"Now there's something I'd like to show you. I hope you'll offer your critique."
Aramaki said nothing. He didn't answer—but a vague sense of unease began to stir within him.
"You guys call this technique 'Armament Haki,' right?"
"Hah?!"
Aramaki's expression twisted in shock.
The next moment—
To his utter disbelief, the thousands of wooden hands behind Bodhisattva Kannon became covered in a jet-black glow.
While Aramaki stood dumbfounded, Hashirama maintained his prayer-like seal.
"So you've learned Armament Haki, and you think that makes you unbeatable? Don't get cocky!!"
Snapping out of it, Aramaki bellowed back with rage.
He had trained in Armament Haki for over a decade. Ever since joining the World Government, he'd mastered all its advanced applications!
Let's see who should be afraid of who!
In an instant, the Green Bull—nearly 400 meters tall—glowed with blackened arms and a brilliant green aura radiating from head to toe.
His limbs and waist tensed like a fully drawn bow.
Both fists launched a barrage of punches that turned into a dense rain of green meteors, crashing against the thousands of descending palms.
At this moment—
Aramaki poured his entire life's strength into his fists.
He disregarded all energy consumption and activated hardening, projection, and Ryūō simultaneously.
Add in the Mori-Mori no Mi's photosynthetic energy and the Adam wood composition of the Green Bull—
He was going all out.
[BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!]
In that instant, the entire Land of Fire was swallowed in an unrelenting chorus of thunderous detonations!
...
After a while the battlefield area had transformed into an immense lake.
Yet—
Still standing in place was the True Several Thousand Hands, hands clasped in prayer just like Senju Hashirama who sat atop its head.
However, all of its thousand-plus arms had been shattered, making the statue look quite battered.
"Big Brother, how are you? Where's the enemy?"
Tobirama reappeared on the shoulder of the Wooden Avatar in a flash using the Flying Thunder God Technique, only to hear Hashirama burst into hearty laughter.
"He ran off!"
"Incredible! He took my enhanced version of True Several Thousand Hands—and still managed to get away! That's impressive!"
Hashirama praised him sincerely.
"Phew… that's good. I'm glad he didn't die."
Hearing that, Tobirama let out a visible sigh of relief.
Hashirama turned to him in confusion.
"You're… happy he escaped? And what about that plan we agreed on—weren't you supposed to activate the Four Red Yang Formation during my fight with him?"
Tobirama's expression returned to its usual calm.
"The Four Red Yang Formation was our contingency. If you lost, it would've been our last resort to trap him inside a barrier."
"Besides, our best outcome was always to capture him alive—not kill him."
Hashirama pondered this and asked thoughtfully: "You mean we can't kill him… because it might completely provoke the World Government?"
"Exactly."
Tobirama nodded.
"Big Brother, both you and I are already dead—we can't remain here forever."
"And even if we could, based on the intelligence we've gathered so far, unless we have enough power to effortlessly suppress the enemy's top-tier forces, there's no way we can stop an invasion from the World Government."
Hashirama asked, "So what are you saying, exactly?"
"Sigh—"
Tobirama let out a long breath and looked helplessly toward the sky.
"As much as I hate to admit it… our ninja world will most likely become just one of the many regions under their rule in the future."
Senju Hashirama remained silent, his mood heavy.
He had thought the same thing.
"So… what do we do next?"
"We negotiate."
Senju Tobirama's calm gaze turned in the direction of Rōran.
"Now that we've defeated their general candidate, we might have earned some leverage at the negotiation table."
"I say might because we still don't know how high that Aramaki guy ranks within their organization."
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