"Damn it!" Mōryō shrieked in fury.
Black-purple light erupted from its remaining tentacles, swallowing both Spiral Arrows in an instant.
Crack.
The arrows disintegrated into dust.
"Those… are Yin Release Arrows?" Kitsuchi muttered in disbelief.
"Their destructive power far exceeds normal ninjutsu," Ao said grimly.
Baki clicked his tongue.
What he saw wasn't just strength—it was Konoha's overwhelming wealth and foundations put on display.
Two children wielding weapons that others could only dream of.
The air screamed as Mōryō's tentacles lashed outward again.
Kitsuchi, Baki, and Ao unleashed their techniques in rapid succession. Dozens of tentacles were torn apart—and once more, invisible spiritual shockwaves surged outward.
Before the pressure even reached them, everyone grimaced in pain.
"Shadow Wall!"
Kitazawa raised it again—but this time, the barrier shattered after barely two seconds.
Thankfully, two seconds was enough.
Kitsuchi and the others fell back at full speed.
But the moment they retreated, the Undead Army surged forward in a relentless tide—charging straight for Mount Fūma.
"This can't continue like this!"
Kitsuchi smashed another warrior apart with a heavy punch and shouted,
"Mōryō's spiritual attacks are too difficult to fully defend against!"
"Kitazawa-dono—do you have any other method?"
Ao asked urgently, instinctively recalling the Shadow Wall Kitazawa had used earlier.
"Yes."
Kitazawa's gaze hardened as he stepped forward.
"I will handle Mōryō. You all retreat and secure the entrance to Mount Fūma."
"You? Alone?"
Ao stared at him in disbelief.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
Baki's tone carried a hint of irritation.
"Are you saying we're in your way?"
He already harbored resentment toward Konoha—after all, many of Sunagakure's lost missions had gone straight into Konoha's hands.
"Besides Mōryō, there's still the Undead Army," Kitsuchi said calmly.
"If Kitazawa-dono is confident in suppressing Mōryō, then we'll handle the army."
"Agreed." Ao nodded without hesitation.
"That works as well," Kitazawa replied with a faint smile.
"You'll still be assisting me—just in a different way."
Baki frowned deeply.
To his eyes, those words sounded dangerously close to arrogance. Each of them was an elite Jonin, a pillar of their villages. If this weren't the middle of a mission—and if he weren't absolutely certain he couldn't handle Mōryō alone—he would have already challenged Kitazawa directly.
"As expected of Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, and Hinata showed not the slightest doubt.
They had never once seen the limits of Kitazawa's power.
Yang Release Chakra Mode!
In an instant, Kitazawa's entire body surged with life.
His chakra erupted violently, skyrocketing like a raging tide. Invisible currents of Yang Release swirled around him, distorting the air itself.
Baki, Ao, and the others stiffened.
"What kind of technique is this…?"
An oppressive pressure wrapped around them like a living force.
"Such monstrous chakra…"
Neji's Byakugan was wide open now—and what he saw made his breath catch in his throat.
Kitazawa was no longer shaped like a human in his vision.
He was a mass of condensed chakra.
Hiashi's chakra didn't even reach one-tenth of it.
Hinata unknowingly nodded, awe flashing through her pale eyes.
"This feels like the Lightning Release Chakra Mode…"
Kitsuchi murmured thoughtfully.
He had witnessed it himself during the Third Shinobi World War—the Third Raikage wrapped in lightning, enduring the assault of ten thousand ninja until his body finally collapsed.
The difference now?
Lightning had been replaced by Yang Release itself.
Ao and Baki exchanged stunned glances.
They had never even heard of Konoha possessing such a technique.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Because something far more terrifying followed.
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
Hand seals snapped into place.
Kitazawa clasped his hands together.
The earth roared.
Chakra flooded the ground like a tidal wave—then vines burst upward, twisting, coiling, and expanding at horrifying speed. In seconds, they transformed into towering ancient trees, their branches spreading like the claws of a god.
Every undead warrior caught within their range was instantly bound, lifted, and suspended helplessly in midair.
They would not die.
They would not revive.
They would simply remain trapped.
In a single breath, a primeval forest was born before Mount Fūma.
The Undead Army—once an unstoppable tide—now hung like lifeless ornaments from its branches.
"…How can a mere ant wield power like this?"
Mōryō instinctively drifted higher into the air, staring at the sea of trees with disbelief.
Twice it had broken free.
Twice it had only faced elite Jonin at best.
Never—never had it encountered something on this level.
"W-Wood Release…?"
Ao's voice shook.
There was no shinobi alive who didn't know what that meant.
Senju Hashirama.
The man who crushed the Ninja World beneath his roots.
The founder of the village system.
The God of Shinobi.
That title alone proved how utterly the other Four Kage had once been overwhelmed.
Kitazawa revealing Wood Release here shattered every expectation.
Baki's face turned pale.
Sunagakure had warred with Konoha in both the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars.
They lost.
Again and again.
If Konoha produced another God of Shinobi, would the Hidden Sand even survive?
For the first time, true fear took root in his heart.
Kitsuchi felt it too.
Iwagakure had never desired an overpowered Konoha.
The Land of Fire was too close to the Land of Earth.
And old grudges still remained.
Ōnoki's failed alliance.
Madara's brutal rejection.
The near-fatal humiliation.
In that moment, the ninjas of Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and the Hidden Mist all harbored different, unspoken calculations.
Yet—Kitazawa was not Hashirama.
Not yet.
For now, all of it remained speculation.
But one truth had become undeniable:
The balance of the Ninja World had just trembled.
"What kind of binjutsu is that?"
Naruto scratched his head in disbelief.
"Why've I never seen anything like it before?"
"Of course you haven't," Neji said slowly, drawing a steadying breath.
"That… is the Wood Release of the First Hokage."
Naruto's eyes widened as he finally processed it.
"He created an entire forest in one move?! That's insane!"
He had grown up hearing legends of Senju Hashirama—but seeing Wood Release with his own eyes shattered every expectation.
"The Forest of Death outside Konoha," Sasuke said quietly, finally regaining his composure,
"was left behind by the First Hokage."
Hinata hesitated, staring at the endless trees.
"Then… doesn't that mean Kitazawa-sensei's strength is already close to the First Hokage's?"
"I don't know," Sasuke admitted after a pause. "But this forest doesn't feel weaker than that one."
Naruto scratched the back of his head in disappointment.
"So… we're basically out of a job now?"
Every undead warrior was bound by Deep Forest Emergence. There was nothing left for them to fight.
Only now did Kitsuchi, Baki, and the others truly understand why Kitazawa had said he would handle this alone.
Hidden in the shadows, Itachi felt his chakra ripple—so violently he nearly exposed himself.
Wood Release…
He understood its meaning better than anyone present.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that with this power revealed, the next Hokage was all but decided.
No one in Konoha could rival Kitazawa now.
Konan's thoughts drifted to Nagato.
Hashirama was called a god because of Wood Release.
Nagato called himself a god because of the Rinnegan.
If those two powers ever collided… who would truly prevail?
For the first time, even Konan couldn't be certain.
Before Mount Fūma, silence fell.
Even Mōryō had been stunned by the sudden birth of a primeval forest.
Only the suspended undead warriors continued to writhe helplessly.
Then—Mōryō recovered.
And its fury erupted.
Black mist boiled violently from its body. The writhing tentacles surged outward.
The next instant, dense purple-black chakra descended from the skies like falling stars.
Kitazawa stood atop the treetops and casually flicked his wrist.
In response, the forest moved.
Branches exploded outward, weaving together into an enormous living net in the blink of an eye.
The falling chakra smashed into it—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted, and invisible mental shockwaves blasted outward.
"Everyone, retreat!" Kitsuchi roared.
Ao instantly pulled the Mist ninja back.
Sasuke, Neji, and the others followed without hesitation.
Even Baki was forced to disengage, teeth clenched in frustration.
For the first time, the Jonin realized—They had become spectators.
Kitazawa activated his invisible Sharingan.
He saw the invisible mental shockwaves perfectly.
Instead of avoiding them, he simply stared them down.
The rippling Sharingan suppressed them instantly.
In Yin Release alone—no one outmatched the Uchiha.
"Impossible!"
Mōryō reeled in disbelief as its attack was effortlessly shattered.
"Is that all you have?" Kitazawa asked calmly, a faint smile on his lips.
"Ant!" Mōryō roared with madness.
"I'll make you beg for death!"
Its chakra condensed violently, transforming into a terrifying mass of pure spiritual power.
The sky itself darkened.
Kitazawa's eyes narrowed.
This is similar to Itachi's Mangekyō suppression…
If struck, he wouldn't just be injured—he would become a puppet.
The same method Mōryō used to control Yomi… and its entire Undead Army.
But ninja battles were intelligence battles.
Now that he understood it—Kitazawa vanished.
The devastating attack slammed uselessly into the forest.
He reappeared elsewhere in a flash.
"Damn it!" Mōryō hissed.
"If I still had my physical body, you would've died ten thousand times already!"
Kitazawa chuckled.
"Then let's remove that excuse."
He turned slightly.
"Itachi—find Shion. Release Mōryō's physical body."
"What?!" Mōryō froze.
"Lord Kitazawa!" Ao shouted in alarm.
"Please reconsider!"
"If Mōryō regains its body, its power will explode!" Kitsuchi warned grimly.
"If this goes wrong," Baki added coldly,
"Konoha will bear full responsibility."
Inside Mount Fūma's cave—Shion was arranging the sealing formula when Itachi appeared before her in a blur.
"Priestess" he said swiftly.
"Lord Kitazawa orders that Mōryō's physical body be released."
Shion froze.
"That's impossible!" she shouted.
"No one in their right mind would give such an order!"
Itachi's gaze hardened.
"My apologies."
His Mangekyō Sharingan spun.
Shion's mind slipped into emptiness.
Her body moved against her will.
Hand seals formed.
The ancient seal shattered.
With a deafening roar, Mōryō's physical body tore through the mountain wall—
And shot straight toward its waiting soul.
"What… what have you done…?"
Shion finally snapped out of her trance. She collapsed onto the ground, staring at Itachi in a daze. There was no anger left in her eyes—only hollow despair.
"Priestess, there's no need to panic," Itachi said calmly.
"Lord Kitazawa will handle Mōryō."
He trusted Kitazawa completely.
And he trusted the power of Wood Release.
"How could that possibly be…?"
Shion whispered, unable to believe his words.
At that moment, Mōryō's soul fused completely with its physical body.
A colossal tentacled monstrosity rose into the sky, its purple-black chakra churning like a living storm.
"It's over…"
Shion stared at the fully restored Mōryō, her face drained of all color.
Even if she sacrificed herself now, she wasn't sure it would be enough.
After all—she was still so young. She couldn't compare to her mother, Miroku.
"Wait…"
Shion suddenly froze.
When had Mount Fūma been covered in a forest?
"Hahahaha!"
Mōryō's thunderous laughter shook the battlefield.
"Ant! Though you are foolish beyond measure—you've done me a great favor!"
"Is that so?"
Kitazawa exhaled quietly in relief as he observed Mōryō's complete form.
Its aura was powerful—but not overwhelmingly so.
At most, it rivaled Satori from the Box of Paradise.
It was nowhere near the level of the Nine-Tails.
"Submit to me," Mōryō growled confidently. "and I'll spare your miserable life!"
"I'm not interested."
The moment Kitazawa spoke, his hands were already forming seals.
Mōryō's instincts screamed danger.
That forest—that absurd Wood Release—had already shaken it once.
Now, it gathered every shred of its chakra without hesitation.
Terrifying purple-black energy surged violently, wrapping around its body like a raging tide.
"Trouble…"
Kitsuchi's expression darkened.
"That chakra… it's no weaker than a Jinchūriki's."
He had seen the power of Iwagakure's jinchuuriki with his own eyes. That suffocating scale of chakra was unmistakable.
"If he can't win, we pull out,"
Baki snorted coldly.
"This disaster exists because of him."
They were temporary allies—abandoning the battlefield now would not violate any rule.
"Wait a little longer," Ao said quietly.
He had witnessed Kitazawa's strength with his own eyes.
After all—The Fourth Mizukage had fallen to him and Tsunade.
"Kitazawa-sensei will win!"
Naruto clenched his fists, eyes blazing with certainty.
Sasuke, Neji, and Hinata all nodded without hesitation.
"You kids don't understa—"
Baki's words stopped abruptly.
Because at that instant—
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon!"
Kitazawa completed his hand seals.
All of his chakra surged into the seed before him.
The seed struck the ground—Took root—Sprouted—And in the next breath, it burst upward into the sky, transforming into a colossal Wood Dragon over fifty meters long.
Its body was wrapped in massive thorned coils as it roared toward Mōryō.
"What?!"
Mōryō froze in shock.
A Wood Dragon…
Bigger than its own body?!
It opened its massive jaws and unleashed an overwhelming mass of purple-black chakra—like a collapsing mountain.
The Wood Dragon charged head-on.
The collision sent the dark chakra flying backward as though it were nothing more than mist.
Before Mōryō could recover, the Wood Dragon coiled around it violently.
Leaves burst forth across its entire body.
Mōryō felt an irresistible binding force seize it.
It struggled.
The dragon tightened.
Worse—Wherever the Dragon's body touched it, its chakra was being forcefully absorbed.
"Screeeeeech!"
Mōryō screamed in agony.
It had regained its physical body.
It was immortal.
But it could still feel pain.
Shion's eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat.
"What… is this…?"
The scene before her was burned into her soul forever.
The invincible Mōryō, the ancient calamity of the Land of Demons, was completely helpless within the coil of the Wood Dragon.
Baki, Kitsuchi, Ao, and the others stood frozen in stunned silence.
They had fought Mōryō's soul.
They knew its terror.
And yet—now that both soul and body had reunited…
It was being utterly dominated.
Inside Naruto's seal, Kurama slowly opened its eyes.
The disturbance from the Wood Dragon was impossible to ignore.
That familiar power… That suffocating presence… Although Kitazawa's Wood Dragon was far from Hashirama's—Mōryō was also far from being worthy of comparison.
Kyuubi exhaled slowly.
"…How pitiful."
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