Chapter 95: Battle Against the Nine-Tails, Danzō's Greed
"Quick—notify Jiraiya and the others to use barrier ninjutsu! Don't let the Nine-Tails get near Konoha!"
Seeing the Nine-Tails fully unleashed and beginning to move toward Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately shouted to the nearby Anbu ninja according to the previously planned strategy.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the surrounding Anbu ninja sprang into action, using Body Flicker Technique to rush toward four different directions.
"Summoning Technique."
Hiruzen Sarutobi removed his outer robe, revealing his combat attire underneath. He formed hand seals and summoned his personal summon, the monkey king Enma.
Before the barrier could be raised, Hiruzen needed to stall the Nine-Tails for a while to give them enough preparation time.
"Adamantine Staff—grow, grow, grow!"
Holding the transformed Adamantine Staff, Hiruzen extended the weapon, swinging the forty-meter-long iron rod horizontally toward the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails, consumed by vengeance, didn't react in time and was struck in the abdomen by the Adamantine Staff. Its massive body instantly toppled, carving a deep trench dozens of meters long into the ground.
"ROAR—"
The Nine-Tails roared furiously and rose again. It swept its gaze across the ground, spotted Hiruzen Sarutobi who had attacked it, and immediately leaped toward him.
The Nine-Tails' body was enormous, and its speed was astonishing. After jumping hundreds of meters from the spot, it plummeted toward Hiruzen's position.
"Pathetic insect—how dare you block my path! Die!"
Mid-fall, the Nine-Tails raised two mountain-sized fists and smashed them down furiously toward the target. The wind pressure from the descending fists already snapped trees more than ten meters tall.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had nowhere left to retreat—he could only defend head-on.
"Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon!"
Forming hand seals, Hiruzen instantly summoned three massive fifty- to sixty-meter-tall gates to block in front of him, hoping to stop the Nine-Tails' attack.
But the Nine-Tails' power was overwhelming. The sturdy, gigantic three iron gates shattered like cardboard the moment they made contact. The attack was about to smash into Hiruzen Sarutobi.
In the critical moment—
"Four Red Yang Formation!"
Several low shouts rang out. Four pale red light pillars suddenly appeared in the east, south, west, and north directions. The pillars connected with each other, quickly forming a massive four-sided prism that trapped the Nine-Tails inside and blocked its attack.
The four ninja maintaining the barrier—Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Danzō, and the Hyūga clan head—finally breathed a sigh of relief. If they had been even a second later, Hiruzen might have been in real danger.
With the barrier ninjutsu cast by four quasi-Kage-level ninja on average, it could even block attacks from peak Kage-level fighters. Containing the Nine-Tails for a while was no problem.
But it was impossible to keep the Nine-Tails trapped forever. Not to mention the massive chakra consumption required to maintain the barrier—the Nine-Tails itself was far stronger than an average peak Kage.
If the Nine-Tails unleashed a few Tailed Beast Balls inside the barrier, the containment time would be greatly reduced, and even the ninja maintaining the barrier would suffer severe backlash.
"This can't go on. According to the destructive power of the Nine-Tails, why hasn't Ling Yu come back yet?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at a mountaintop, leaning on the Adamantine Staff with one hand. He watched the Nine-Tails furiously slamming against the barrier, his eyes filled with concern.
"Are you talking about me?"
At that moment, Ling Yu's voice came from behind.
"Ling Yu? Where were you just now?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around and saw Ling Yu—somehow already behind him—sitting casually on the ground, watching the rampaging Nine-Tails inside the barrier with complete lack of urgency.
"I just took Uzumaki Rinne to a safe place. I only just got back."
Ignoring Hiruzen's question, Ling Yu shrugged casually.
In truth, while Hiruzen was fighting the Nine-Tails, Ling Yu had been hiding in the shadows, waiting to see if Black Zetsu would make a move during the Nine-Tails' breakout. If it did, he could catch it in one fell swoop.
But unfortunately, he failed. His Observation Haki scanned a ten-kilometer radius around and found no trace of Black Zetsu. It seemed that after being discovered last time, Black Zetsu had become extremely cautious and wouldn't approach him again anytime soon.
He could only wait for another opportunity—or go find it himself later.
"Alright then. When do you plan to act?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't press further about Ling Yu's explanation. Since the key to stopping the Nine-Tails was Ling Yu, he had to be polite.
"Now."
Slowly standing up, Ling Yu stretched lazily. Once ready, his figure vanished from the spot.
Arriving on the battlefield, the Nine-Tails was now gathering a Tailed Beast Ball. As chakra condensed in its mouth, a purple-black Tailed Beast Ball the size of several dozen meters began to form—aimed straight at the barrier trapping it.
In the next moment—
Whoosh—
The Tailed Beast Ball was released. The energy inside it could instantly destroy a massive mountain. It was about to collide with the barrier.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Ling Yu's figure appeared directly in the path of the Tailed Beast Ball. Activating his Rinnegan, he unleashed an invisible repulsive force that sent the Tailed Beast Ball flying upward.
"Damn insect! You've enraged me!"
Seeing Ling Yu in the sky deflecting the Tailed Beast Ball, the Nine-Tails roared in fury. It gritted its teeth and stared at Ling Yu, wishing it could tear him apart. Its nine tails instantly lashed out, attacking Ling Yu madly.
One after another, ninja tried to block its path. The Nine-Tails—already in a rage—became even angrier.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
Dodging the Nine-Tails' attacks, Ling Yu flashed behind it and formed hand seals.
In the next moment, countless thick trees burst from the ground like conscious tentacles, continuously wrapping toward the Nine-Tails.
Once the Nine-Tails was tightly bound by Wood Release, huge flower buds grew on the thick branches. Under Ling Yu's continuous chakra supply, the buds suddenly bloomed, releasing countless poisonous pollen.
"This really is… the First Hokage's Wood Release. Such powerful ninjutsu… As expected of a body capable of unleashing Wood Release."
Not far away, Danzō watched Ling Yu use Wood Release, shock appearing on his face, along with a trace of greed in his eyes.
Ever since his eye and arm were injured, Danzō had gradually become obsessed with pursuing greater power—and the First Hokage's Wood Release was his primary target.
Through secret research on Hashirama Senju's corpse, he discovered the powerful life force and vast chakra contained within the cells—an undoubtedly top-tier medicine for his injuries.
But no matter how he experimented, the test subjects couldn't withstand Hashirama's cells. Now, Ling Yu's appearance and use of Wood Release gave him hope. A living subject was far more valuable than a dead one.
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