The Third Hokage was forced to retreat repeatedly by the shockwave of the explosion.
The heat even singed off his eyebrows and beard.
His aged face, now bare of hair, looked somewhat comical.
But he didn't care about his appearance. Watching the terrifying explosion unfold, his heart was filled only with endless regret and dread.
Whether or not to reinforce Danzo was no longer even a question worth considering.
As an old Kage-level powerhouse, he seemed to have no way of influencing a battle of this scale.
As for throwing numbers at it? Wishful thinking.
How many people would it take to block even one Tailed Beast Bomb?
Naruto's casual expression as he formed four Tailed Beast Bombs with his bare hands still lingered vividly in his memory.
Moreover, Konoha couldn't afford massive casualties. If it did, the other hidden villages would surely pounce.
As the blazing light from the Tailed Beast Bomb explosion faded, every tree summoned by the Tree World Birth technique was reduced to ash.
Hundreds of meters around had sunk into a massive crater, as if struck by a meteor!
Naruto, cloaked in his Tailed Beast shroud, stood at the edge of the pit with arms crossed.
From his elevated position, he looked down at Danzo—blasted to a pulp at the center of the crater.
At this point, the word "pathetic" wasn't even enough to describe him.
His neck was broken, his grotesque head drooping limply to one side.
Most of his torso was gone, and his limbs had been blown off.
"Wood Dragon Technique, and it still couldn't withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb…"
"This is the jutsu of the God of Shinobi—how could it be so…"
Danzo mumbled in a daze.
Naruto's face was emotionless. "The God of Shinobi using Wood Dragon could indeed withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb. But you? You're nothing but an old dog that hides in the shadows."
Even if Danzo had some redeeming qualities in the original story, Naruto's years of suffering were all too real.
Danzo, provoked by Naruto's words, suddenly burst into laughter.
"You think… you've already won?!"
"Izanagi!"
With a flash of surreal light, Danzo's battered body was restored—standing ten meters tall once more.
All it had cost him was a single Sharingan.
But within his body were hundreds of Sharingan.
"With a technique like this, I can do it hundreds of times. But you? Can you launch hundreds of Tailed Beast Bombs?"
His voice dripped with smugness.
Even if it was only temporary, in this form, he was unbeatable!
Naruto also felt the situation had become a bit tricky.
Izanagi really was overpowered—provided you had enough Sharingan.
But as he looked at the grinning Danzo, a sudden idea struck him.
Once again, he gathered a glowing blade of Sage Mode chakra. With the Nine-Tails' power added, the blade shifted from blue to pale gold.
Form Eight – First Gale Slash.
Naruto's figure turned into a golden streak.
Such speed evoked memories of a name that once swept across the Shinobi world—
The Yellow Flash!
Dozens of meters were crossed in an instant.
Danzo's Sharingan swirled rapidly, but he still couldn't catch Naruto's movements.
In a single flash of golden light, Danzo's entire right arm was severed at the base!
"Heh… Useless. I can regenerate that arm as many times as I want!"
As he spoke, Danzo prepared to activate the Hashirama cells in his body to regrow the limb.
But at that moment, Naruto touched the severed, pale-white hand.
The instant contact was made—he interfaced with the system.
"System, recycle."
[Detected Hashirama Cells. Recycled. Current collection progress: 15/100.]
Danzo watched as Naruto made the severed arm vanish into thin air—but didn't think much of it.
Until, the next second, he suddenly felt that a huge portion of his Hashirama cell base had vanished.
Despite pouring chakra into it, the severed arm refused to regenerate.
"W-What the hell?!"
Danzo was filled with confusion.
Naruto, on the other hand, curled his lips slightly.
'As expected… the system's priority overrides the logic of ninjutsu!'
"You brat… what did you just do?" Danzo blurted out, instinctively asking.
But Naruto had no intention of explaining. He vanished in another flash of golden light.
When he reappeared, he'd already sliced off Danzo's left leg.
Losing a leg, Danzo's massive body instantly lost balance and toppled sideways.
Boom!
He crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Without hesitation, Naruto recycled the leg as well.
"Current progress: 30/100."
Seeing the collection progress shoot up, Naruto's eyes sparkled as he looked down at the fallen Danzo.
That look sent chills down Danzo's spine.
He was about to be chopped up again!
Acting on instinct, Danzo activated Izanagi once more.
But even after reappearing, his body still lacked balance and collapsed again with a thud.
"Izanagi… can't even restore me to peak form? That's impossible!"
The once-unfailing Izanagi now seemed… bugged. Danzo let out a shocked cry.
At this rate, his entire body would be chopped to bits—and vanish!
He tried to activate Wood Release, hoping for one last shot.
But just as he raised his only remaining hand, preparing to impress with one-handed hand seals—
A flash of golden light.
His final arm was severed and flew into the air.
Before it even landed, Naruto had already recycled it.
"Current progress: 45/100."
With nearly half his Hashirama cells gone, Danzo's face began to wrinkle.
His body was visibly losing its vitality.
Golden flashes of sword light continued slicing pieces off his flesh.
Current progress: 56/100Current progress: 64/100Current progress: 98/100
At the final moment, with only his head remaining, Danzo gazed toward the Hokage Rock in the distance, eyes filled with loneliness.
His lips moved faintly, but without vocal cords, no sound came out.
'Hokage… In the end, I still didn't become one…'
The shadow of the shinobi world… finally met his end, leaving only endless regret.
"Current progress: 100/100. Collection task complete."
"Reward acquired: Perfected Wood Release Sage Body."
As the reward was granted, the fatigue from Naruto's earlier chakra depletion vanished entirely.
His body underwent a complete transformation.
Minutes later, Naruto clenched his fist.
His physique and chakra reserves had skyrocketed once again.
Most importantly—he now possessed a new, powerful ability:
Wood Release!
Naruto glanced at his status panel:
Name: Naruto UzumakiAge: 12Physique: 46 → 68 (average human: 1)Chakra: 112.4 → 336Kekkei Genkai: Perfected Uzumaki Sage Body, Perfected Wood Release Sage Body
His physique had increased by over 20 points, and chakra had nearly tripled—over 300 units now.
"At this point, it's no longer 'Chakra'... it's 'Chak-ton-ra'! Not far from 'Chak-zilla' now, huh?"
With his strength soaring once again and the poisonous snake Danzo eliminated, Naruto felt incredibly satisfied.
But while some rejoiced, others grieved.
The Third Hokage's aged figure slowly approached, his wrinkled, liver-spotted face full of sorrow.