An invisible shockwave burst from Naruto, and the overwhelming power Lee and the others had unleashed moments earlier vanished instantly—erased as though it had never existed.
For a moment, the entire field fell into absolute silence.
Those who had followed Tsunade here were stunned beyond belief.
Was this… truly power a shinobi could wield?
This level of might reminded them of the legendary shinobi who had once subdued the world's chaos—the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
The thought startled them.
How could Naruto possibly reach Hashirama's realm?
But a frightening possibility rose in their hearts:
What if he really could?
If that were true, then staking everything on Naruto might be the greatest decision their clans ever made.
"Alright, let's continue the drill. Resources for the next phase will be prioritized for Takuma's squad."
Naruto shot Lee a glare.
Lee felt a pang of guilt—rightfully so. He had indeed pushed too far this time.
But if he held back, wouldn't that be letting down the subordinates who trusted him?
Here, combat strength determined resources, and those resources determined how far their teams could grow.
Without ambition and competitiveness, how could anyone remain strong?
Lee just hadn't accounted for Orochi escalating with him, resulting in an unstable buildup.
In truth, he had also banked on Naruto intervening—thus daring to be reckless.
Who said Lee was naive?
The current Lee was plenty cunning.
Orochi offered an awkward smile, while Takuma Genji let out a genuine, hearty one.
His team members exchanged satisfied grins as well.
Thirty percent more resources was no trivial amount. Used properly, it might allow them to break past their current bottlenecks and secure a firm lead over Lee and Orochi's squads.
Their Third Squad had always been slightly weaker overall.
If not for Takuma Genji's experience and sharp judgement, Lee and Orochi would have overwhelmed them long ago.
With more time, they would likely still lose.
Naruto returned to the high platform.
Tsunade leaned in.
"Naruto, do you have anything even more impressive under your command?"
Though Tsunade belonged to Umbrella and held high authority, she seldom saw the combat divisions firsthand.
Most of her time was devoted to medical affairs—and the many responsibilities tied to Konoha—so she wasn't completely aware of Umbrella's full power.
"Of course," Naruto said calmly. "Shikamaru, you explain it to her."
He turned toward Shikamaru.
Not only Tsunade, but every clan head leaned forward, curiosity sharpened.
Tsunade looked at Shikamaru, who grinned slightly—youthful pride rising within him.
Becoming famous at his age… who wouldn't feel a bit smug?
But when his eyes met his father's stern stare, he immediately reined himself in.
"Lady Tsunade," Shikamaru said, "just keep watching.
I'm sure you'll see soon enough."
His words were clearly directed at the clan heads as well.
"You brats… all of you are getting cryptic now," Tsunade muttered with a half-exasperated laugh before turning her gaze back to the field.
Below them, the Martial Arts Formation slowly withdrew. Their pace was unhurried, but their discipline was impeccable, forming an orderly sight that was oddly refreshing.
Shikaku, however, shot his son a very unfriendly glare—as if saying, You disrespectful rascal! How dare you talk like that in front of Lady Tsunade? Even I wouldn't say something like that.
Shikamaru's voice rang out:
"Ninjutsu Formation—enter!"
Immediately, Zabuza Momochi and Uchiha Yu each led a massive formation onto the training field.
Each squad numbered nearly a thousand shinobi—none below Chūnin.
With the entire Shinobi World united behind Umbrella, there were countless geniuses, and many more with above-average talent—enhanced further by Naruto's improved Chakra Refining Technique.
Under identical conditions, Umbrella shinobi could refine twice the Chakra of those from other villages.
Umbrella's current battle-ready force had reached the tens of thousands.
With Chakra Armor and various technological augmentations added to the mix, their combat capability had begun to surpass the Five Great Nations.
"That man… why does he look familiar?"
Shikaku's brows furrowed as he stared at Uchiha Yu.
He knew that face from somewhere.
Yu had been a Jōnin on the night the Uchiha Clan was massacred.
Shikaku knew nearly every Jōnin in the village—after all, Jōnin were Konoha's high-end combatants.
He looked around—and noticed Yamanaka Inoichi also staring unusually intently.
Their eyes met.
"Is that man…?"
"You're thinking the same thing?" Shikaku murmured.
"Uchiha Yu. From the Uchiha Clan."
Inoichi Yamanaka spoke with a trace of disbelief, and his reaction quickly drew the attention of the others.
Tsunade naturally noticed their hushed exchange.
"Since Uchiha Shisui is still alive," she said calmly, "is it really strange that a few more Uchiha managed to survive?"
Her words instantly snapped them back to reality.
Right—Shisui, who was long believed dead, was standing here alive. If Shisui survived, then it made sense that the Uchiha clan may have left behind some contingency plans.
Perhaps Shisui's "death" had been a deliberate strategy by the Uchiha to preserve part of their bloodline.
Hmph… the Uchiha were always plotting something.
Down below, Uchiha Yu remained unaware of Nara Shikaku and Inoichi's speculations.
Instead, he faced the figure standing opposite him—Zabuza Momochi.
The two were comrades in private, but today, they stood as opponents.
Zabuza had surpassed him earlier and even reached a level close to the Five Kage. Yu felt envy—Zabuza had always been a prodigy. In the past, he'd slaughtered his entire graduating class. His brutal reputation as Zabuza the Demon was well-earned.
Yu let out a bold laugh.
"Hahaha! Zabuza, you may be stronger than me individually—but today isn't about individual strength!"
"Form ranks!!"
At his command, the entire formation behind him moved swiftly, taking their positions with precision.
Zabuza grinned.
"I won't lose, Yu-kun!"
"We'll see about that!!"
Uchiha Yu led his entire squad in unleashing a massive Fire Release technique.
Zabuza immediately countered with Water Release, channeling the strength of his whole formation.
The colossal wave of flames was smothered in an instant. A surge of steam erupted skyward, enveloping the battlefield in thick mist.
Not stopping there, Zabuza's entire squad performed the Hidden Mist Technique simultaneously.
A thousand shinobi casting Hidden Mist—
Even the hardened Konoha veterans on the high platform inhaled sharply.
Such a sight was incredibly rare.
Suddenly—
"Ice Release: Dragon — Demonic Ice Crystal!!"
A cold voice echoed from within the fog.
A massive ice dragon—over a hundred meters long—burst from the mist, roaring as it surged toward Uchiha Yu.
Yu could only give a helpless smile.
Facing something that massive, even he felt a headache coming on.
On the high platform, Tsunade and the other clan heads were shaken.
There had always been cooperative Ninjutsu in the shinobi world—like the Nara–Yamanaka–Akimichi trio—but what they were seeing now was completely different.
This wasn't simply cooperation.
Tsunade could feel it:
their Chakra didn't just complement one another—it merged, surging as though they were a single being.
It resembled the martial artists' "vital energy and blood," yet it was still uniquely Chakra.
They could transfer Chakra between each other seamlessly, allowing the power of one person's technique to increase exponentially.
Tsunade turned toward Naruto, eyes full of disbelief.
Naruto didn't tease them this time. He answered directly:
"This is the power of the Military Formation."
"Military Formation?!"
The clan heads echoed the term.
"Yes," Naruto nodded. "A secret technique that unifies the strength of many into one. I call it the Military Formation."
His azure eyes remained steady and calm as he spoke, radiating quiet confidence.
...
TN:
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