Deep within the forest, the ninja forces of Iwagakure were advancing their front line.
Standing atop a tree, Hanzō of the Salamander watched from above. Beside him were Amegakure's Anbu—he hadn't brought many people this time.
"Hanzo-sama, are we really going to help Iwagakure?"
"I don't quite understand… why are you taking part in this war?"
Hearing the question, Hanzō gave a cold laugh.
"Do I need to report my actions to you?"
"I—I wouldn't dare!"
The Anbu's whole body trembled. In Amegakure, Hanzō was a god. No one dared to question his words.
Hanzō didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, he looked into the distance, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Of course, he had his own calculations.
Konoha might be powerful, but every war they fought had them facing enemies several times their number. This time, they'd been attacked one after another by Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure.
Though the situation seemed stable, wars didn't just consume manpower—they also devoured supplies. The Land of Fire was vast and rich, but even it couldn't endure endless depletion.
Besides, Hanzō had heard that the daimyō of the Land of Fire had some… other ideas. That meant Konoha was under pressure from both inside and out.
Striking now might just bring him a great deal of profit.
And with Ōnoki's promise of supplies, a double harvest of gains—how could he resist?
"Keep close watch on the situation," Hanzō ordered his Anbu. "We don't have many troops. Wait until Iwagakure leads the charge—then you move."
He might have come to "help," but he wasn't stupid.
Konoha had Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the Twin Stars on their side—he wasn't about to waste his own village's strength for nothing.
...
At the same time, battles were breaking out all across the forest.
The entire forest had become a battlefield.
Both sides fought in squad formations—skirmishes were erupting everywhere.
"Roar! Damn that Yellow Flash! If you've got guts, come out here!"
"Hmph!"
Two roars echoed at once—and in the next instant, Son Gokū the Four-Tails and Kokuō the Five-Tails appeared on the battlefield, unleashing a terrifying wave of pressure that swept through the entire forest.
Their rage burned hot and wild.
Seeing both tailed beasts appear at once, Gekko Chizan, standing beside Konoha's top combatants, couldn't help but smirk.
"Minato, what on earth did you do to them?"
"Why do they hate you this much?"
Namikaze Minato smiled faintly, twirling his special kunai between his fingers, his eyes full of fighting spirit.
"Come on, Chizan, it's the battlefield—why are you still talking so much?"
"If you slack off, I'm not paying you for your explosive tags."
Tsunade shot the brat beside her a glare. At a time like this, he still had the nerve to joke around.
Chizan chuckled—and vanished before them.
"Chizan's on the move. Let's start too."
"This forest is huge, but we can't just let the tailed beasts rampage unchecked."
Jiraiya clenched his fists, fighting spirit surging.
"Yeah, let's go. Minato, you take one—we'll handle the other."
The three of them moved at once.
"Summoning Technique!"
Two massive clouds of smoke erupted within the forest.
Katsuyu and Gamaken appeared on the battlefield.
Jiraiya stood atop Gamaken's head.
"I'm counting on you, Gamaken. Our mission is to hold off one of the tailed beasts!"
"I'm clumsy, but… I'll do my best."
Gamaken was one of the toads of Mount Myōboku, brother to Gamabunta and Gamahiro. Unlike his brothers, his personality was awkward, but his strength was great—especially his defense.
He swung his steel trident, eyeing the two tailed beasts in the distance.
Katsuyu positioned beside him, though Tsunade herself didn't appear atop her. After all, Tsunade's main role was commanding the battlefield and treating the wounded—she wouldn't join the first wave of battle.
"Hmph!"
Without any hesitation, the two tailed beasts—having suffered losses countless times—immediately began forming Tailed Beast Bombs.
Terrifying chakra gathered in the air.
Seeing this, Jiraiya's face twitched.
"Damn it, that's just unfair! Opening move and it's already a Tailed Beast Bomb?!"
"Minato! Hurry up!"
Even with the heavily armored Gamaken, Jiraiya didn't think he could withstand two Tailed Beast Bombs.
Those things were absurdly destructive.
Fortunately, Minato didn't disappoint. Just as the orbs were about to fire—Four-Tails vanished in an instant.
Leaving only the lonely Five-Tails, still charging its Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Nice! Beautiful work, Minato!"
"Gamaken-san! Block that one!"
With one bomb gone, Jiraiya's confidence returned! He wasn't afraid of getting hurt—after all, Tsunade was here.
And if he did get injured, he'd have a good excuse to be treated by her—no, no, focus! Now wasn't the time for that kind of thinking!
He needed to focus on the fight in front of him.
The next instant, Jiraiya's vision warped—and a violent shock hit the ground.
"Huh?! What did I land on?"
"Boom!"
Gamaken's dumbfounded voice and a heavy crash rang out at once.
"Heheheheheh…"
A sly laugh echoed. Jiraiya finally saw what had happened.
He and Gamaken had literally fallen from the sky—straight onto the Five-Tails. Gamaken, one of the biggest toads of Myōboku, wasn't exactly light.
That single drop sent the Five-Tails crashing face-first into the ground.
"You bastards!"
The Five-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb was almost finished—and Gamaken's butt had just squashed it out of existence.
"Chizan! You little brat!"
"Gamaken-san! Attack!"
Jiraiya's face turned red with fury, but he had to admit—this move was brilliant. Not only did it interrupt the Tailed Beast Bomb, it also let them launch a surprise assault right on the Five-Tails' head.
Gamaken's steel trident slammed down wildly on Kokuō's skull. At the same time, Jiraiya opened his mouth wide and spat out a Great Fireball.
[Ding! Detected that host used Jiraiya and Gamaken to ambush Five-Tails Kokuō! A toad cavalry descending from the heavens enraged Kokuō to the extreme while terrifying Jiraiya—double impact, great effect!]
[Ding! Special Reward: Swordsmanship! One-Sword Style! Lion Trembles!]
Indeed, this whole chain of chaos was orchestrated by Gekko Chizan. He'd previously left his kunai on both Jiraiya and Tsunade.
But when he saw the reward, Chizan froze completely.
One-Sword Style? Lion Song? Wait—did he just cross into another series? Wasn't that some green-haired guy's move?!
[Ding! Host, you're overthinking. Your sword art is called: One-Sword Style, Lion Trembles!—not Lion Song!]
As for the effects… well, please test them yourself.
Chizan stood there, completely dumbfounded.
Trembles?
Seriously? How cowardly did he have to be to keep getting rewards like this?
Every single one of them was something ridiculous!