"Damn it… Sasori's dead?"
Watching his crumbling form, the others' hearts sank to rock bottom. But their reaction was swift.
"Now's our chance!"
Without hesitation, all except Nagato attacked at once.
Obito didn't bother with Fire Release this time—he knew it would be useless. Instead, he directly unleashed Wood Release.
From beneath Kitagawa Gen, towering trees coiled upward, their razor-sharp trunks alone enough to strike fear into the heart.
Kakuzu instantly drew together his Wind, Fire, and Lightning Earth Grudge Fear masks into his right arm. The violent chakra roared to life—
—and in the next moment, a blazing blue beam blasted forth!
Hiruko formed seals at lightning speed. In the sky, thunder gathered within black clouds, then cascaded down toward Kitagawa Gen in a thunderous strike.
And at that very moment—without anyone noticing—Uchiha Itachi had already appeared behind him.
"You act so high and mighty—let's see if you can withstand this!"
The crimson Susanoo covered his body, its form pushed into the third stage by the force of his eyes.
With its long blade drawn, Itachi slashed downward without hesitation.
"Not bad teamwork."
Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but nod faintly at the sight. So this was the coordination of top-tier shinobi.
Even though two of their comrades had been slaughtered in an instant, they still seized upon this fleeting chance.
"And you even tried to provoke me while at it… how amusing."
He chuckled softly, and in the next heartbeat, a terrifying repulsive force erupted from his body. Visible energy surged outward in all directions, spilling and expanding without restraint.
"Damn it—"
Itachi's face darkened in shock. His blade couldn't fall, and he watched in horror as Susanoo's sword splintered piece by piece, crumbling into fragments!
"How foolish."
Kitagawa Gen's cold voice rang out. The repulsion formed a vast ring that crushed the Wood Release below, scattered the ninjutsu ahead, and even obliterated the lightning above.
With a single turn and slash, he split apart Itachi's third-stage Susanoo!
"Remember this well—never seek aesthetics in battle."
In a flash, his figure appeared before Hiruko, his blade already descending.
"Damn it!"
Hiruko's face twisted in alarm as his hand shot up, dark chakra exploding forth.
"…And never seek virtue in death."
Kitagawa Gen's voice fell as his blade swept clean through Hiruko's body, sending him hurtling backward.
"Nor should you cling only to preserving your own life."
In an instant, his figure flickered again—now he was before Kakuzu. The Earth Grudge Fear barely had time to react before being struck down!
"Ahh—"
A searing, rending pain tore through Kakuzu as the blade's force sent him flying.
"If you truly wish to protect what is worth protecting…"
In the instant Kakuzu was sent flying, Kitagawa Gen was already standing before Uchiha Obito.
"Too fast—!"
Obito immediately tried to activate Kamui, but the thought had barely formed before the Sword of Totsuka's genjutsu made his vision blur.
A heartbeat later, searing pain tore through him!
And in that same moment, Kitagawa Gen silently appeared behind Nagato, swinging the Sword of Totsuka once more.
"Go on—cut down the one you so desperately wish to defeat from behind."
But just as his blade descended, chakra suddenly erupted from Nagato's body.
"Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
...
Within Konoha, the battle atop the high platform still raged.
Shimura Danzō, kunai in hand, pressed his attack relentlessly, while Sarutobi Hiruzen was forced back step by step.
"Hiruzen, to think you'd end up like this!"
"Danzō—you've already lost!"
Hiruzen cursed under his breath. Victory was certain—of that he had no doubt. The problem was that Shimura Danzō simply couldn't be killed.
No matter how many techniques he unleashed, Danzō always clawed his way back to his feet.
"Tch… but Orochimaru isn't having it easy either…"
Even as he fell back, his hands flashed through seals, and from the corner of his eye he glanced at the other battlefield.
On the other side, Kitagawa Gen held an overwhelming advantage.
Alone, he was holding his own against the Fourth Raikage, the Fourth Kazekage, and even Orochimaru—trading blows as though they were equals!
"Gen… has he already grown this strong?"
What he didn't know was that Kitagawa Gen's Divine Tree Clone was feeling a twinge of frustration.
'I underestimated these three a bit.'
Even though the clone carried much of the original's power, in real combat the gap between clone and body was undeniable.
Even with Lightning Release: Chakra Mode and Sage Mode stacked together, he could pound the three of them into submission.
But they still managed to find openings to counter, especially while Kitagawa Gen kept his focus locked on Orochimaru.
After all, he couldn't risk giving Orochimaru any chance to summon more Edo Tensei—even if he didn't truly fear it!
'Forget it. A clone will always fall short of the original. This outcome is normal.'
Kitagawa Gen shook his head lightly, perfectly clear-eyed about the limits of his own strength.
Besides, once the chance came, he would still strike to kill without hesitation.
"…Hm?"
Just then, his brows arched slightly—he had sensed something.
And it wasn't only him. The others had noticed it as well.
In the next instant, a thunderous roar erupted, so sharp and piercing that it made everyone's ears ache.
And with that roar came a tremor even greater than before, rippling across the land.
"What… what is happening?"
Countless shinobi of Konohagakure looked up in shock, while those who had already taken shelter turned their gazes outside in confusion.
Even atop the high platform, every eye was drawn instinctively toward the distance.
And in that fleeting moment, horror spread across all their faces.
Far beyond Konoha, a vast cloud of dust had risen, blotting out the sky. Within that haze, they could faintly make out a colossal beast roaring without end.
With every sweep of its body, the beast unleashed destruction akin to an earthquake.
And high above, a single glowing point of chakra shone.
Compared to the massive beast, that light was insignificant—yet it circled relentlessly, striking at the monster again and again.
In the swirling dust, it was as though a formless giant sword was slashing down at the creature.
Each blow forced the beast into another shrill, agonized howl.
The mountains around them had already been leveled, the very earth beneath their feet pressed down into craters. The scene was terrifying enough to chill every heart.
"What kind of battle is this…?"
From atop Konoha's tallest buildings, Kakashi and Guy stared in shock at the distant horizon. They both knew a battle was raging outside the village—but what kind, they could not fathom.
Yet something told them this was no fight that belonged to human beings.
...
"Cough—cough—damn…"
Outside the village, Jiraiya had only just arrived when an invisible shockwave slammed him through the air.
Dazed, he raised his head to take in the sight from afar, and in that moment he began to understand the Great Toad Sage's words.
"So that's… Ōtsutsuki Genshiki?"
"Is that truly a human…?"
...
Back on the high platform in Konoha, Kitagawa Gen was the only one not surprised. He knew perfectly well what was unfolding.
And while the others were still distracted, in the blink of an eye—he moved!
"Damn it—!"
Orochimaru, Rasa, and the Fourth Raikage snapped back to their senses, but already the violet short blade had been swung.
Kitagawa Gen never denied one simple truth.
Though he had never considered Senju Tobirama to be a good man, Tobirama was undeniably the one who most embodied the very concept of a shinobi.
Gen had always believed this was what a shinobi should be like—otherwise, he wouldn't have told Kakashi, upon graduation, about "the essence of a shinobi."
Even so, he had never particularly liked Tobirama.
'Maybe people just dislike those who are too much like themselves?'
Gen muttered inwardly. But his strike was merciless. The White Fang short blade in his hand suddenly flared with crackling lightning as he slashed toward the three before him!
Though Orochimaru and the others had been momentarily distracted by the bizarre scene outside, they were still among the top shinobi.
Almost the instant Gen moved, they reacted!
With a single hand raised, Rasa unleashed a burst of chakra, summoning a torrent of gold dust to shield himself.
His defensive tactic was sound—but ultimately, it came too late!
The gold dust, gathered in haste, was too thin. The White Fang blade had already swept through.
[Slash—]
In a flash of violet lightning, his shoulder was split open, a fresh gash tearing into his arm.
The purple current surged from the wound, spreading throughout his body, leaving him instantly numb all over!
"A perfect chance!"
Though Rasa had been struck hard, Orochimaru and the Fourth Raikage seized the opening at once.
The Raikage roared. His remaining right arm surged with endless Lightning Release chakra, forming a hand-blade that slashed heavily toward Gen.
"Fast speed."
Gen's voice sounded directly in front of the Raikage—yet in the next heartbeat, it came from behind him instead.
"But have you forgotten what I'm best at?"
[Buzz—]
The shinobi blade fell without warning. But at that very instant, the Fourth Raikage let out a thunderous roar.
"You really think I can't keep up with your speed?"
With his bellow, his body twisted sharply, moving with inconceivable quickness to evade Gen's strike.
At the same time, his lightning-charged hand-blade swung back with overwhelming force, slashing toward Gen.
"Hm?"
Gen arched a brow, but he wasn't surprised. After all, this was the man who could evade even the instantaneous blaze of Amaterasu.
With his full focus, avoiding Gen's blade was not strange at all.
"Not bad. In that case—"
Gen paid it little mind. Compared to the Raikage, his true focus was on Orochimaru.
Even though this was only a clone, and he feared no Edo Tensei, he had no desire to invite unnecessary trouble.
[Boom—]
In an eye-blink, his figure flickered away. The Raikage's hand-blade smashed into the ground instead, sending a web of cracks spidering out in every direction.
"Damn it."
At that moment, Orochimaru saw Gen rushing straight toward him, and he cursed under his breath.
Feeling the violent surge of lightning bearing down, his fingers raced through seals. Yet even so—
[Slash—]
The blade's edge had already swept across his body!
His body split cleanly in two—yet in the next instant, it dissolved into nothing but sludge.
Earth Substitution.
The more critical the moment, the more useful a technique like this became!
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