After listening to the report from her subordinate, Tsunade slumped weakly into her office chair.
Then, clinging to her last shred of hope, she asked:
"Not all of it's gone, right? There should at least be something left? ∑(✘Д✘๑)"
The messenger shook his head and replied,
"Everything's gone.."
"Fortunately, because of the recent disappearance incident involving bloodline limit shinobi in this area, there weren't many people around. Otherwise, there would've been massive casualties." The messenger said with some relief.
Tsunade nodded. That much was indeed fortunate… but the compensation still had to be paid! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)
The Mountain range stretched over 300 kilometers along the border of the Land of Earth, rich in forestry, agriculture, and mineral resources!
And now… Shinju had blown it all up in one go!!
This would probably strip Konoha of every last reserve it had!
There was no way to pay it all back. Absolutely impossible! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)
...
At the same time.
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was a short, elderly man, even older than Konoha's late Third Hokage.
At this moment, the bald old man with a prominent red nose sat in the Tsuchikage's office, breathing heavily as he tried to calm his agitation.
By the Tsuchikage's desk stood a beautiful young woman with long legs.
She was Onoki's granddaughter—Kurotsuchi.
Seeing her grandfather so worked up, Kurotsuchi placed a cup of warm water gently on his desk and tried to comfort him:
"Grandpa, even though the entire Mountain range has disappeared, at least no one was killed. That should be something to be glad about."
Onoki's eyes widened.
"Glad about this?!"
"Do you not realize how many outposts our Iwagakure had stationed there?!"
"Do you know how much manpower and resources it took to establish those bases…?"
"And now, all of them—wiped out overnight! (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ)"
"Have you found out who's responsible?"
Then, with a wave of his hand, Onoki barked angrily:
"Forget it, who cares who did it—just blame Konoha! (′д｀σ)σ"
"That Hiruko, the one who abducted our village's bloodline limit shinobi, is from Konoha!"
"He was always hiding in there!"
"This whole disaster must be tied to him!"
But Kurotsuchi analyzed calmly from the side:
"Grandpa, forget compensation for now—don't you think what's really terrifying is the jutsu itself? Something powerful enough to flatten the entire Mountain range… (°ー°〃)"
Onoki lowered his head at her words.
"You're right."
"To level everything within a hundred kilometers in an instant…"
"Even the God of Shinobi back then couldn't have done something like this. T_T"
"Wait!"
"During the Third Shinobi World War, I remember a clan that wielded a strange secret technique. It wasn't as powerful as what happened, but the scene it created was similar…"
Kurotsuchi leaned forward, sensing a lead:
"Which clan? Uchiha? Senju?!"
Onoki shook his head.
"No, neither. It was an obscure little clan… something Spider… My memory isn't what it used to be…"
"That's it! The Tsuchigumo clan!"
Kurotsuchi frowned, thinking hard.
"I think I've heard of them… didn't they form some kind of alliance with Konoha?"
"Yes." Onoki nodded. "Anyway, no matter what, Konoha must be involved in this! (′д｀σ)σ"
"We'll just make them pay!"
...
Meanwhile.
At the center explosion, Shinju looked around in confusion.
"Eh?!"
"When I activated the jutsu just now, I was inside the mountains, wasn't I? Where are the mountains? Why don't I see a single one nearby?"
"Everything's been turned into flat land?! ╭(°A°`)╮"
Very quickly, Shinju realized… this was all probably the result of his own Fury!
Shinju: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
He had thought the claim that Fury could devastate a hundred kilometers around him was just an exaggeration.
After all, when saving Tsuchigumo Hotaru back then, Shiranami had used it, and the damage range was only a few hundred meters at most.
So just now, he figured as long as it covered the whole Mountain, it would be enough.
But looking at it now, the power of "Fury" really wasn't an exaggeration at all!!
After that, Shinju summoned his summoning hawk and circled the ruins.
To his horror, the hawk flew for over ten minutes without leaving the blast zone!
Looking down at the freshly exposed brown soil, stripped bare by the chakra wave, Shinju felt a chill run through his body like he'd fallen into an ice cave.
"This… I'm going to have to pay a lot for this, aren't I?! ∑(✘Д✘๑)"
And there was no way to hide it. If Naruto found out the Mountains had disappeared, he'd definitely rat him out—and brag about it too…
...
Land of Fire, Konoha.
Guy's team of three sat in a circle, discussing the matter.
Lee was the first to speak, brimming with excitement:
"Have you guys heard the latest shocking news? The Mountain range in the Land of Earth was turned into flat land in an instant!"
Tenten said,
"Wasn't that Hiruko hiding in this Mountain? Guess this is divine punishment! ୧⍢⃝୨"
Neji frowned.
"Divine punishment? No, this was clearly man-made."
Tenten nodded.
"That makes sense… but looking across the entire shinobi world, who could have the power to flatten hundreds of kilometers of mountains in the Land of Earth?"
As soon as she finished speaking, all three of them fell silent.
In their hearts, the same name surfaced.
Shinju.
Although Shinju had never shown a jutsu with that kind of destructive scale before, he was the kind of ninja who constantly shattered people's understanding of what was possible.
Just then, Naruto poked his head out, arms crossed.
"Ahem. No need to argue. Shinju was the one who did it! ୧⍢⃝୨"
Tenten asked skeptically,
"Really? Did you see it with your own eyes?"
Naruto shot her a look.
"Think, would I still be alive standing here if I'd actually seen it happen? (||๐_๐)"
Tenten pressed,
"Then why are you so sure? You can't just make claims like that. →_→"
Naruto grinned.
"Because, before using the jutsu, Shinju worried I might get caught in it, so he deliberately sent me back to Konoha."
"My being here in Konoha is the best proof. (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ"
After hearing Naruto's explanation, the three exchanged glances.
If it really was Shinju… well, that was easy enough to accept.
Not far away, someone overheard their conversation. That person quickened their pace in a certain direction…
...
Hokage's Office.
Tsunade looked at the mountain of bills sent by the Land of Earth spread across her desk and helplessly scratched her head.
"Shizune, how much money does Konoha have left on the books?"
Shizune replied,
"A little over a billion."
Tsunade: (´இ皿இ｀)
That amount… was nowhere near enough to cover the compensation!!!