Hiashi Hyuga, a renowned Hyuga clan leader, had just been beaten to death.
Not good.
Fugaku watched Hiashi's corpse fall from the sky, eyes blazing with fury. He was about to activate the River of Three Paths.
But Heiyan acted faster.
Buzzing sound.
From Heiyan's right eye, intense ocular power waves surged again. As he focused his gaze on Hiashi, the latter's heavily damaged body and torn clothes began visibly regenerating at an incredible speed.
Bang.
When Hiashi hit the ground, all his injuries were gone, and his clothing looked completely intact once more.
Opening his eyes, Hiashi stood up with a look of relief.
His last memory was being crushed by countless black fists. That helpless feeling, that despair — it all made him realize just how far behind he was compared to Heiyan.
"Fu—thank you, Fugaku..."
Instinctively turning to Fugaku, Hiashi started to express his gratitude but noticed Fugaku shaking his head and pointing toward Heiyan instead.
It was Heiyan who saved him.
"Well then, do you want to try again?"
Facing their gazes, Heiyan smiled and asked.
"No need."
Hiashi shook his head with a bitter smile.
During their previous battle, he had realized how unbelievably tough Heiyan's body had become. Even with all Eight Gates opened, his strikes felt like hitting steel plates, leaving not even a scratch.
No matter how many times they fought — a hundred or more — the outcome would always be the same.
So after saying this, Hiashi exchanged glances with Fugaku. Then both stepped aside, clearing the path in front of Heiyan.
On televisions and screens, countless viewers sat stunned in silence.
This clash between Six Paths-level shinobi gave billions their first glimpse into just how far human strength could reach.
Fugaku and Hiashi's might alone should've warranted global admiration and reverence, yet neither could match Heiyan.
Uzumaki Heiyan truly deserves his title—legendary within the world of shinobi and a ruler of an entire era.
Thump... Thump... Thump...
Heiyan strode forward between Fugaku and Hiashi, continuing toward Tsunade-sama. His pace remained calm and steady. Each step echoed like a massive drumbeat, reverberating straight into every spectator's heart.
"Heiyan! If you want to take Tsunade-sama, you'll have to get through me first!"
Hanzo overcame his fear and coldly shouted. However, before he even began forming hand seals, a shockwave of chakra casually released by Heiyan sent him flying away.
Danzo's expression changed drastically upon seeing this. Realizing pretending was no longer possible, he turned and fled.
But the next second, a black Truth-Seeking Ball smashed into Danzo's legs, sending him screaming to the ground.
Soon enough, Danzo fearfully discovered that his Edo reincarnated body couldn't regenerate after being attacked by the Truth-Seeking Ball.
In other words, his legs were paralyzed—he'd been left disabled.
Considering Danzo still held potential value, Heiyan refrained from delivering a killing blow, choosing instead to leave him alive like the dog he was.
Now, nothing else stood between Heiyan and Tsunade.
Reaching a spot roughly five meters away from Tsunade, Heiyan halted his steps.
"Come with me."
His gaze was as gentle as water. Reaching out to her once more, his voice soft as ever.
Under Heiyan's gaze, Tsunade felt momentarily dazed. For a fleeting moment, she nearly gave in to the impulse to accept his offer.
Deep within her heart, she had imagined more than once what it would be like to abandon all the troubles of the shinobi world and travel with him to the ends of the earth, living a peaceful life just for two.
But the weight of duty in reality bound her, forcing her to bury her desires and choose the path of sacrifice for the sake of shinobi peace.
At this moment, Tsunade clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her skin, the tendons on her hands standing out clearly.
"Give up. I... won't go with you."
She gritted her teeth and forced out the words, rejecting Heiyan once again.
"It's okay. Let me help you choose."
Heiyan could already see her true feelings in her eyes, so he hesitated no longer. As his words fell, he stepped forward to take her hand.
Just at that moment,
Zwoosh! [SFX]
A massive surge of chakra suddenly erupted from Tsunade's body, sending Heiyan stumbling backward several steps.
Sage facial markings appeared across her face.
But Tsunade knew that even Sage Mode alone wouldn't be enough. So immediately after repelling Heiyan briefly, she swiftly performed Hand Seals and executed the Summoning Jutsu.
Rumble!
The ground trembled violently. At Tsunade's command, a thick tree trunk—several meters wide—shot up from deep underground, piercing the sky.
This was a limb from the God Tree of Shikkotsu Forest.
It extended upward like the Ruyi Staff, continuously growing until it slammed forcefully into the barrier Heiyan had set up.
Crack!
The barrier, which should have been indestructible, let out a sharp sound before fracturing inch by inch, eventually forming a large hole where the tree trunk struck.
Swoosh! [SFX]
Tsunade sprang into action, leaping skyward and escaping through that opening, heading straight out beyond Leaf Village.
Heiyan frowned slightly and quickly followed pursuit.
Behind the two, Gamamaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Onoki, Hiashi Fugaku, and others, along with reporters and spectators at the scene, all chased after them one by one.
"Tsunade-sama, are you retreating?"
On television screens everywhere, many people exchanged bewildered glances, completely surprised that the last hope of the world—the strongest shinobi in the world of shinobi—would flee without fighting when confronted by the villain Heiyan.
Actually, Tsunade wasn't fleeing; rather, the jutsu she needed to use next simply couldn't be unleashed within the village.
Zwoosh! [SFX]
After leaving Konoha's boundaries, she flew through the air using natural energy until finally landing on an open lot more than ten kilometers away.
"Huff~"
Tsunade drew in a steady breath, her expression fierce as Heiyan landed across from her.
More than anyone else, she understood Heiyan's strength. After all, both of them possessed Sage Transformation, except Heiyan's version had evolved to a perfect stage far surpassing hers.
There was only one way to defeat him: summon the complete God Tree and use its power.
Without hesitation, Tsunade performed Hand Seals once again and pressed both palms onto the ground.
Rumbling.
With a tremor more violent than before, the three-hundred-meter-tall God Tree was summoned from thousands of miles away and appeared into this world.
Then, right in front of Heiyan, Tsunade leapt forward, melting into the tree trunk itself. She vanished, entering a state of perfect unity between human and tree.
Just like Hiashi who had opened the Death Gate, she too briefly stepped into the threshold of the Six Paths Tier.
Tsunade deeply understood that this strongest form of hers could not last long. Without delay, she unleashed a furious assault on Heiyan after obtaining the power of the God Tree.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Under her control, countless thick branches of the God Tree transformed into over a hundred wooden dragons, roaring through the sky as they all lunged at Heiyan.
These wooden dragons weren't just powerful—they could also absorb enemy chakra and unleash the sealing might of Sage Art Wood Release.
Tsunade was confident that even Heiyan would suffer imprisonment and massive chakra loss if he were careless enough to be struck by these wooden dragons, thus losing his combat ability.
Heiyan saw how formidable this technique was.
Therefore, he didn't take it lightly. Instead, he extended his right hand, and a black sword emerged from his sleeve, rapidly growing in size amid the wind until it stretched beyond ten meters.
Facing the swarm of over a hundred charging wooden dragons,
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Heiyan flew into the air, wielding his sword with the elegance of a sword immortal dancing gracefully, continuously releasing streams of black blade auras.
Those blade auras wove together midair, forming an enormous net of darkness flying straight ahead.
Wherever this net passed, blade auras slashed mercilessly, completely annihilating every single wooden dragon without exception.
Thus, amidst cries of agony, over a hundred wooden dragons were sliced apart—heads crashed onto the battlefield like rain from the sky.
Hundreds of dragons falling—this sight was both awe-inspiring and heart-wrenching—a true spectacle befitting a legendary clash. It happened just in time for arriving reporters, who captured the entire scene with video cameras stationed on distant hillsides, broadcasting it across the world of shinobi.
What a fortunate day for all beings in the world of shinobi—to witness the battle of Immortal Sages between Heiyan and Tsunade.
Had she failed?
Indeed, such an attack still wasn't enough to defeat Heiyan.
Hiding within the God Tree, Tsunade did not feel discouraged seeing Heiyan's graceful, effortless display of swordplay. Instead, her eyes sharpened, and she unleashed an even stronger Ninjutsu.
Under the gaze of countless spectators, the three-hundred-meter-tall God Tree underwent a shocking transformation.
Its trunk reshaped into a humanoid torso; its branches became limbs; its foliage turned into hair.
Finally, a towering wooden giant arhat, hundreds of meters high, stood upon the battlefield.
It was an enhanced form of the wooden golem technique:
[Jin'gang Fumo no Jutsu]
"Roar!"
Upon its appearance, the wooden arhat let out a furious roar toward the heavens, then charged at Heiyan, each step thunderous, its fists swinging down like crashing meteorites capable of destroying everything.
At that moment,
Swoosh!
A brilliant light burst forth from Heiyan's body, illuminating nearly half the sky.
Once the radiant glow faded,
"What's happening?"
Reporters at the distant hills quickly adjusted their camera angles, focusing once again on the heart of the battlefield.
A three-hundred-meter-tall headless giant appeared on the camera screen, locked in a fierce struggle with the Wooden Giant Arhat, neither yielding.
It was the War God Xingtian.
Compared to the Wooden Giant Arhat, the War God Xingtian summoned by Heiyan through his own chakra looked even more imposing and majestic. It wielded a tower shield in its left hand and gripped a massive axe in its right, red chains coiling all over its body like a heavenly deity descending into the mortal world.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Controlled respectively by Heiyan and Tsunade, Xingtian and the Arhat engaged in an intense battle. Wherever they clashed, shockwaves leveled nearby mountain peaks and obliterated vast stretches of forest.
On the battlefield below, countless birds and beasts scattered in panic. The spectators watching from afar had retreated more than ten kilometers away, too frightened to do anything but watch the two giants' deadly confrontation from a distance.
Capable of shaking the heavens and shattering the earth.
After some time passed.
Suddenly, the War God Xingtian seized an opening. Stepping forward, he slammed his tower shield powerfully into the opponent, sending the wooden Arhat staggering backward, losing balance.
Seizing the opening created by this misstep, Xingtian swung his colossal axe downward with brutal force into the wooden arhat's chest.
Crack.
That enormous axe, heavy as a mountain, not only sank deeply into the wooden Arhat's body, but its tip also emitted dazzling red light, unleashing highly destructive Heavenly Release chakra energy that prevented the wooden figure from self-repairing.
Clearly, Tsunade had fallen into a disadvantageous position, and the situation looked extremely grim.
Though filled with anxiety, the Konoha ninja observing from a distance could only stare helplessly, completely unable to interfere or assist her in turning the tide.
"Great Toad Sage, please lend Lady Tsunade your strength. I beg you!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly approached Gamamaru and bowed respectfully.
"Sorry, even though I want to help, I'm just an old man and utterly powerless when it comes to battles between such powerful beings."
Gamamaru sighed helplessly.
As for whether those words were true or not, only he himself knew.
Tsunade hadn't expected anyone else would come to her aid.
"Guess it's time to finish this with my ultimate technique..."
Backed into a corner by Heiyan, she murmured softly to herself, determination burning in her eyes.
Her final move: [Sage Art Wood Release: Thousand Hands Manipulation Force: Thrust - Summit Enlightened Thousand-Armed Cannon].
Once used by Hashirama Senju himself, it was the most powerful Wood Release technique ever seen. Now, in Tsunade's hands, it would surpass its origin and unleash an even more terrifying power.
Next moment.
The retreating Wooden Giant Arhat finally steadied itself. Then, extending one hand, it forcefully pulled out the enormous axe embedded in its chest.
Following this, Tsunade reappeared, now standing atop the Arhat's forehead.
"Haa!"
Letting out a crisp cry, she clasped her hands together, unrestrainedly unleashing every last bit of chakra within her body as well as chakra drawn from the God Tree.
In an instant.
The Wooden Giant Arhat, originally over 300 meters tall, underwent a sudden explosive growth, increasing tenfold to an unbelievable height of over three thousand meters.
It had become a three-thousand-meter-tall Buddha statue.
Its head pierced the endless clouds above, its torso towered over the tallest mountains, and its feet stood grounded on the vast earth below.
This colossal Daibutsu was so massive that even from ten kilometers away, it blotted the sky and swallowed the land whole, its scale beyond imagination. No one doubted for a second that with just one casual step, it could flatten an entire city, continuing on to destroy a nation.
[Summit Enlightened Thousand-Armed Cannon]!
Tsunade bellowed once more. From behind the giant Buddha suddenly sprouted thousands of arms, layering upon each other as they spread outward in a half-circle fan formation.
It was awe-inspiring and magnificent.
Under Tsunade's command, the colossal Daibutsu surged forward, its massive form kicking up waves of dust across the battlefield. At the same time, the thousand arms behind it shot forth like machine-gun fire, unleashing a violent storm of attacks on Xingtian.
At this moment, from the nearby Leaf Village to the farthest reaches of the world of shinobi, every person on Earth had the towering image of that Daibutsu reflected in their eyes.
There was no doubt—Tsunade, the one controlling that three-thousand-meter Daibutsu, was nothing less than a god.
"Hiss."
Even Gamamaru sucked in a sharp breath, realizing now how much he had underestimated Tsunade's true power.
How would [Heiyan] respond?
His strategy was simple: if she grew big, he would grow even bigger.
Hiss.
Almost the instant the Daibutsu took form, the War God Xingtian himself transformed in an instant, rising upward until he too towered at three thousand meters.
Rising to pierce the heavens and grounded deep in the earth.
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