The night's ghostly disturbances—sometimes just a single ofuda (talisman) could capture a spirit or destroy a monster.
So, to bring down that witch, he only needed to find the point.
Shigeo pulled out the Uzumaki clan's secret scrolls, searching for a method. He ran countless medical experiments, even tried using Senjutsu (Sage Techniques). Whatever it took—no matter how small the chance—if it could destroy these cursed hairs, he wasn't going to let it slip by.
After repeated tests, he confirmed that many jutsu, senjutsu, and ofuda could indeed destroy the cursed hair—but eradicating them all at once? That still needed deeper research.
"Shaman arts… Senjutsu… Medical ninjutsu…"
Shigeo slumped against the Mokuton (Wood Release) table, brain wracking itself to exhaustion. He sighed softly, eyes drifting to the scattered purple strands on the desk—and suddenly, his eyes lit up.
Even though this "ghost hair" came from shamanistic arts, it still depended on real chakra. And if it's real, if it's a tangible substance—then surely something could be planted within it. Something infectious. Like… a virus.
The thought thrilled him. But just as quickly, reality struck—how could he implement it? He had released all those medical ninja earlier. Who would help him plant the hair now?
Still, given the chaos in Wu Wang City, those ninja probably hadn't gotten far.
Leaving the dimension, Shigeo emerged into a battlefield already aflame. The Five Great Ninja Villages had gathered by the southern seas of the Land of Rivers, surrounding the floating fortress of Wu Wang City.
The witch wasn't dead after all. She led armies of soldiers and ghost-hair warriors against the assault. As for Shennong, he still hadn't appeared—most likely locked away in the underground vault, studying the Zero-Tails.
Shigeo, in disguise, reached the cliffside fortress. After asking Wu Mang for intel, he almost laughed aloud.
The medical ninja hadn't escaped after all. They'd all been rounded up and forced to keep producing ghost-hair warriors in another underground laboratory.
Wu Mang personally arranged for Shigeo—transformed into one of the medical ninja—to be taken inside.
This time, the lab had ghost-hair husks standing guard.
"Get in there and work! If you try to run again, I'll break your legs!"
"Yes, yes, never again!"
Feigning obedience, Shigeo slipped to a workstation. Secretly, he placed a strand of infected purple hair—his "virus"—among the many others prepared for implantation.
The work continued. Hair was grafted into corpses, then dressed in robes, masked, and left to await the witch's forbidden technique.
She arrived quickly, activating a batch of ten husks with her curse before marching them straight into battle.
Perfect. Shigeo vanished from the lab.
Time to watch the fireworks.
From the bell tower, Shigeo stood against the wind. Outside, the Sky Ninja launched another counteroffensive.
Their bombing raids—effective enough against buildings—were useless against individual shinobi. Even with crossbows, their projectiles couldn't match a jutsu like Suiryūdan (Water Dragon Bullet).
"Fūton (Wind Release)! Raiton (Lightning Release)! Suiton (Water Release)! Katon (Fire Release)!"
One after another, shinobi unleashed their ninjutsu.
The witch commanded from within the city, dispatching her ghost-hair husks and mask-men. The husks moved fast, the mask-men wielded jutsu, and their sheer numbers actually pressed the Five Villages back.
These husks felt no pain. Arms severed, bodies mangled—they fought on, like puppets of flesh.
Meanwhile, drugged citizens forced into service were marched like cannon fodder—most plunging into the sea. Some drowned, some flailed helplessly, some even swam but couldn't reach the warships.
Only now did they taste the true cruelty of war—and realize how naïve they had been.
The sea burned red from endless explosions. Fire Release and Lightning Release lit the waves, while Wu Wang's fortress rained arrows, husks, and mask-men in return.
Shigeo scowled, watching civilians flounder at the edge of death.
He had said it before: he wasn't a saint, nor a great benefactor. But he wasn't someone who could stand idly by and watch innocents die, either.
His fingers brushed the small charm in his pocket—the peace amulet that child had once tied around his wrist. With a dry laugh, he tucked it back inside his robe.
"Sentimental fool…"
A flash of movement—and he vanished from the tower, reappearing in the sea.
"Mokuton (Wood Release)!"
Boards surged up from the waves, drifting toward the drowning citizens. They clung to them desperately, finally finding some hope.
"Suiton (Water Release)!"
A massive wave rose, sweeping them safely to the northwest shore.
Soaked and shaking, the survivors stared at the strange wooden planks.
"The ships are iron… the boats are leather… where did all this wood come from? And so perfectly cut?"
"It's Mokuton! I remember! When the witch caught me to threaten the princess, Shigeo saved us with Wood Release!"
Heads bowed in shame.
"We doubted him… mocked him… and still he saved us. We don't deserve it."
"Every word he spoke was right. We were the fools. And now… look what we've brought on ourselves."
They stood on the beach, guilty and humbled.
Shigeo left a wood clone to keep rescuing more—and himself returned to the fortress.
Meanwhile, the Five Villages' captains regrouped, redrawing their strategies. Their numbers weren't large.
From intel reports, each village knew the others' deployments:
● Konohagakure (Leaf): two squads, six ninja, attacking from the south.
● Kirigakure (Mist): nine ninja, covering southwest and west.
● Sunagakure (Sand): six ninja, covering northwest and north.
● Kumogakure (Cloud): seven ninja, focused on the east.
● Iwagakure (Stone): just three ninja, having traveled the farthest, only just arriving.
The true war had only begun.
(End of Chapter)
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