Natsuki could actually understand Gaara's thoughts very well.
Ever since Gaara crawled out of his "darkened" past, he had completely changed. He was not only gentle and kind, but also deeply responsible.
For the sake of winning the battle, he had "shamelessly," as he put it, decided to hide at Myōbokuzan and leave the fighting to everyone else. Then this happened, and his brilliant move instantly turned into a terrible one.
More than anything, he felt he hadn't protected the Kohaku no Jōhei properly, and that was what led to the current situation.
That was why he was full of self-blame, and why he apologized.
But this really wasn't his fault. Even if Natsuki had been the one in Gaara's shoes, he might not have done any better.
Natsuki didn't know how to comfort him—and honestly, he wasn't all that bothered either. In war, you win some and you lose some. Yesterday the allied side had dominated, and today the enemy had forcefully pulled one back. That was completely normal.
What mattered most was that the war wasn't over.
They hadn't decided victory or defeat yet, so there was still time to fight for the win.
Right now, instead of blaming themselves, they needed to push harder, defeat the enemy, and crush their plan. That was the only thing that mattered.
"You're right. We can't just stare at a loss!" Gaara rallied himself. "Then I'll make up for my mistake. First we win, then we talk!"
As he spoke, he formed seals again and fired off another "Fūton: Renkūdan (Wind Release: Drill Air Bullet)" straight at Hashirama.
Hashirama's battle lust had already been stirred. He clapped his hands together, and Wood Release condensed into an enormous Buddha statue. A mere Renkūdan couldn't harm it at all. The Buddha's massive hand reached straight for Shukaku's head.
"Wah! What the hell is that?! Gaara, dodge!" Shukaku instinctively grew wary.
"Okay…" Gaara didn't really know how strong the Buddha was, but sensing Shukaku's fear, he could only retreat.
But the wooden hand still kept reaching forward.
In the next second, Natsuki suddenly sprang off Shukaku's shoulder and landed on the wooden arm.
With a single kick, he snapped the arm off.
At the same time, he complained, "Shodai-sama, you need to keep yourself under control. Don't get carried away and forget you're on our side. This is a war. You can't just get hyped up and start brawling—every second you delay, more people die!"
"Sorry, sorry. Seeing a tailed beast made my hands itch," Hashirama said with an embarrassed grin. "I'll try to control myself, but don't expect too much."
Natsuki wasn't expecting much in the first place. If Hashirama could break free of Edo Tensei control, he would've done it back during the first Chūnin Exams. He wouldn't have just watched Hiruzen fight for his life.
What Natsuki feared was the opposite—if Hashirama genuinely wanted to fight from the bottom of his heart, it would only make things worse for the allied side.
But now that Hashirama had already brought out the Buddha, Natsuki couldn't beat him without showing real skill.
So Natsuki clapped his hands together as well.
"Mokuton: Senju Kannon (Wood Release: Thousand-Hand Kannon)!"
In the next instant, several towering trees burst from the earth and fused into a tall Kannon statue—smaller than Hashirama's Buddha by one size.
That was only normal. Natsuki's chakra reserves simply couldn't compare to Hashirama's.
And besides, Hashirama was an Edo body right now—his chakra was basically infinite. Comparing size was meaningless.
"Haha! So you can use this too? Then let's measure ourselves!" Sure enough, Hashirama's itch kicked in. He directly commanded the Buddha's giant hand to seize Natsuki.
It wasn't just fast—it carried an overwhelming pressure. Even standing atop the wooden Kannon, Natsuki felt as if the sky were collapsing.
But Natsuki wasn't easy prey.
He had the Kannon's two hands clamp onto the Buddha's wrists, while the other wooden arms hammered down in a frenzy.
But when it came to Wood Release mastery, no one could surpass Hashirama. His Buddha had far more hands. In nearly an instant, they moved—each one grabbing the Kannon's arms until the whole scene became awkwardly locked.
Fortunately, Gaara acted.
A massive claw suddenly shot out, lunging straight at Hashirama.
But the Buddha still had hands to spare. One massive wooden hand caught Shukaku's claw, and then another reached over and clamped down on Shukaku's head.
For Hashirama, capturing a tailed beast was like play.
So even if Gaara was a perfect jinchūriki, in Hashirama's eyes he was still just a brat.
Natsuki abandoned the wooden Kannon entirely. The moment the Buddha ran short on spare hands, he instantly used a high-speed movement technique to flash right in front of Hashirama, his fists whipping out in rapid-fire strikes.
Hashirama was forced to retreat.
As long as Hashirama had to split his attention, controlling the Buddha cleanly would become difficult.
Sure enough, in the next second, Shukaku broke free of the restraint and began spitting out one small air bullet after another.
"Small" was only in reference to Shukaku's scale—those air bullets were already finishing moves by Wind Release standards for many shinobi.
Under Shukaku's chakra, though, they were merely petty sneak attacks.
Hashirama continued dodging them. His strength might be monstrous, but a shinobi's body was still fragile—if an air bullet landed, he would definitely take damage.
And Natsuki coordinated with the air bullets, repeatedly striking from Hashirama's blind angles as Hashirama evaded.
It actually forced Hashirama into a frantic rhythm.
Maybe he was acting. But for now, Natsuki treated it as real.
Then Natsuki saw Hashirama reveal an opening—but instead of attacking, he sidestepped away.
Because right behind him, Ōnoki was floating in the air without anyone noticing.
Ōnoki fired off a Dust Release at Hashirama, the ambush fast and perfectly timed.
But Hashirama was Hashirama. He clapped his hands together, and a line of Wood Release rose in front of him. The Dust Release didn't do the slightest bit of damage.
"As expected of a shinobi on par with Madara," Ōnoki said. "My Dust Release is completely useless."
He said it, but he wasn't discouraged.
Ōnoki knew exactly how terrifying Madara was—and Madara had held Hashirama in the highest regard. That alone proved Hashirama's strength was extraordinary. So he wasn't particularly bothered that Dust Release hadn't achieved anything.
Natsuki looked at him. "Tsuchikage, why are you the one here?"
Ōnoki laughed. "Hahaha! Because I'm the strongest among the Five Kage, of course! And against the God of Shinobi, long-range attacks are the safest. If you get caught, you won't be escaping."
It was completely reasonable.
And also completely depressing.
The enemy was too strong. For the moment, they truly didn't know how they were supposed to win.
And the more they thought that way, the more painful it became to remember how Natsuki's earlier "Fūinjutsu: Mafūba (Sealing Technique: Demon Sealing Wave)" had failed. If Orochimaru hadn't interfered, the situation wouldn't be this grim.
Damn Orochimaru.
He needed to die sooner rather than later.
Natsuki took a deep breath. "Looks like I have to gamble again… like I did against Madara."
(End of Chapter)
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