No one responded to Hoshiyomi's words, making the atmosphere feel a little awkward.
It wasn't that they were being disrespectful—rather, the scene before them was simply too shocking. They honestly didn't know what to say.
Shinku was the first to snap out of it.After having seen plenty of Hoshiyomi's miraculous feats before, he'd built up some resistance. Swallowing hard, Shinku pointed at the ground beneath Hoshiyomi's feet and said in disbelief:
"Did you do this? My God, this power is even more exaggerated than Tsunade's."
Hoshiyomi made a deliberately humble gesture.
"Just a technique I came up with on a whim. Consumes too much chakra—pretty useless in actual combat."
Shinku rolled his eyes and didn't bother taking the bait. Hoshiyomi was undeniably strong, but he was also shameless—and as a former teammate, Shinku wasn't about to fall for his nonsense.
By this time, the others behind them had gradually come to their senses. Among them was Senju Kōhei. In fact, the only reason the squad had managed to arrive so quickly was because he'd found Shinku right away and helped gather reinforcements.
"Hoshiyomi-sama just said 'stragglers'... Masaka, could it be that all members of the Burrowing Unit have been wiped out?"
Given what Hoshiyomi had said, Kōhei immediately considered the possibility. Glancing at the shattered earth, a chilling image of their likely deaths flashed through his mind. He shivered and quickly turned to shout behind him:
"Earth Release Squad, dig up everything underground—now!"
A dozen Earth Release users stepped forward obediently and began forming hand seals in unison.
Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld.
Earth Release: Moving Earth Core
As their jutsu activated, the ruined earth slowly transformed into a vast, muddy swamp. Then, with the rise of the moving earth core, the contents hidden beneath gradually began to surface.
After draining a portion of the mud, everyone could faintly see streaks of bright red bleeding into the swamp. And beneath the blood-tinted muck emerged twisted, broken bones still clinging to scraps of flesh.
The remains were so mangled they no longer resembled anything human. Only the warped steel helmets on their heads offered a clue to their identities—these were the bodies of the burrowing unit that had caused Konoha so much trouble.
Seeing this, the entire Konoha reinforcements was struck speechless, eyes filled with disbelief. Shinku and Kōhei immediately instructed the others to begin counting the corpses.
The count didn't take long. Between the bodies sunken in the mud and those already lying above ground, the total was exactly twenty.
Which meant—not a single member of the burrowing unit had survived. They had all been annihilated by Hoshiyomi alone.
Realizing this, the others looked at Hoshiyomi with even deeper awe and admiration.
As expected, Hoshiyomi-sama's strength was truly unfathomable.
...
Iwagakure – Tsuchikage's Office
From behind a mountain of paperwork taller than himself, Ōnoki straightened his aching back with great effort. The strain from long hours hunched over documents had severely impacted his lower back muscles.
He rubbed his sore waist and, letting out a sharp breath, muttered in frustration:
"So this is what aging feels like… I used to go sleepless for days handling paperwork without issue. Now I've barely gotten through a stack, and I'm already falling apart."
Glancing at the towering pile of reports in front of him, Ōnoki scowled and angrily swept them all off his desk.
"Funding, funding! all they know is to ask for funding! The daimyo's holding the purse strings tight—what do they expect me to do? Pull money out of thin air?"
He let out a bitter laugh.
"Speaking of which, I do have a unit that turns resources into money—the burrowing unit. All the effort I put into training them was worth it after all. The damage they've done in this war must have given Konoha a serious headache."
He sighed again.
"It's just a shame we don't have enough manpower. If only we could bring all the burned supplies back to Iwa instead."
As he grumbled, a subordinate suddenly burst in, panic written all over his face.
"Tsuchikage-sama, urgent news!"
"What is it?"
"A critical report from the front—the entire burrowing unit has been wiped out!"
Ōnoki froze.
For a moment, his expression shifted visibly—from a calm smile to sheer rage. His red, bulbous nose looked as if it was about to start steaming.
He subconsciously reached out to grab the man's collar, but his subordinate was too tall compared to his own height. Enraged, Ōnoki immediately activated the Light–Heavy Rock Technique, lifting the man into the air.
Hovering the man just within reach, he grabbed at the air where his collar would be and growled:
"Say that again. What did the frontline report say?"
The man gulped, cold sweat pouring down his face, but he still answered honestly:
"An-urgent-report-from-the-front—th-the burrowing unit… was completely wiped out."
Ōnoki was so furious he nearly threw the man out of the room. He restrained himself only because the subordinate was one of his own.
He stared the man down, teeth clenched.
"Who did it? Don't tell me the Third Hokage got involved personally?!"
The subordinate was drenched in cold sweat now, but he dared not wipe it. He forced the words out, trembling:
"According to intel from our spies… Konoha's front lines are saying that the entire burrowing unit was taken out by a single man—Konoha's Silver Moon."
"They're practically worshipping him over there."
Hearing the name Konoha's Silver Moon, Ōnoki's brain buzzed with rage.
That damn Gekkō Hoshiyomi again!
Was he really that powerful?
Ōnoki hesitated, recalling something.
Hadn't Yōgan speculated before that Gekkō Hoshiyomi had once taken out 37 shinobi during the mission to capture Tsunade?
And now, he'd wiped out an entire burrowing unit. Ōnoki knew just how strong that unit was—no ordinary jōnin, not even an elite jōnin, could destroy them so thoroughly.
Could this Gekkō Hoshiyomi have broken through to the Kage level?
How old is he?
If the reports were correct, he should be only 26 this year. (That was using data which assumed he was two years older than the typical Chūnin Exam candidates. In reality, both Hoshiyomi and the Sannin are 24 right now.)
A Kage-level shinobi at 26? That's even more terrifying than I was at that age.
Konoha already has the Third Hokage at the Kage level, plus the Nine-Tails.
If they add Gekkō Hoshiyomi, another Kage... No, this Gekkō Hoshiyomi absolutely cannot be allowed to live.
He had initially thought the assassins from the black market could take him out, but it seemed he had miscalculated.
If that's the case, then he would have to pay a heavy price. Thinking this, Onoki let go of his subordinate and said, "Go and get Yōgan for me."
...
Moments later, Yōgan appeared and knelt respectfully before him.
"Tsuchikage-sama, please give your orders."
By now, Ōnoki had regained his composure. He looked out the window and said in a cold voice,
"Didn't the Explosion Release unit keep making noise about wanting to join the battle? Fine. Let them go."
"From this moment forward, Iwagakure and Konohagakure will officially start a full-scale war."
"You'll accompany the Explosion Release Unit into battle. You'll have one mission on the battlefield—Gekkō Hoshiyomi."
"No matter what it takes… bring him down!"