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"What is that?!"
"Run!"
"Ninjutsu Squad! Where are all the Ninjutsu Squad members?!"
Various roars continuously echoed on the battlefield. The chaos of fear spread like wildfire through this large Iwagakure unit, which was in the middle of an advance and completely unprepared for an enemy appearing from the rear. It caused these experienced Iwagakure Ninja to react instinctively, charging madly in all directions.
However, the woman standing beneath the crimson divine statue merely walked unhurriedly towards the chaotic group.
The blade in her hand, like a pillar reaching the sky, fell continuously.
Each strike left a deep mark on the ground and spread large patches of blood.
Occasionally, a few scattered Ninjutsu would block her path, but they were all like mantises trying to stop a chariot, utterly self-defeating. Just her normal forward steps were enough to crush through the barriers, whether they were Water Release or Earth Release.
At the first sight of the giant divine statue, Roshi recognized its name.
Susanoo.
A few beads of sweat involuntarily appeared on his forehead.
As a Ninja from the same era as Ōnoki, although he was not the disciple of the Second Tsuchikage, as a Jinchuriki, he was privy to many secrets.
For example, the news that the young Second Tsuchikage and that guy Ōnoki were ambushed by Uchiha Madara on their way to the Kage Summit, and that all members of the entire envoy team died except for the two of them.
According to the secret records, in that battle, Uchiha Madara didn't even move a step; he merely relied on that god-like, colossal Susanoo to render all the Iwagakure Ninja present utterly helpless.
It was only after that incident that Lord Mu was inspired to create Dust Release and Earth Release: Clay Giant, among other Jutsu, using Susanoo as his hypothetical target.
Roshi had thought he was already sufficiently shocked when he learned this news.
However, when he actually saw that divine statue appear before him with his own eyes, he realized that he could finally somewhat understand a part of what Lord Mu must have felt back then.
But after a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly reacted.
'Not good!'
'If this continues, that person alone will be enough to defeat our entire unit.'
Thinking of this, he didn't hesitate in the slightest. Wild Chakra surged from his body like flames, forming sticky, floating bubbles.
Tailed Beast Cloak: Three-Tails!
In this state, he still maintained a certain human form, only his arms had become several times thicker, and his overall appearance resembled an ape.
Not only that, but his speed also suddenly increased, and at the same time, he quickly communicated with his partner inside him:
"Son Goku."
"It's time!"
"Leave it to me."
The response from within him was as steady and powerful as ever.
The next moment, Roshi, who had been standing still, shot out from the crowd like an arrow from a bowstring, charging directly towards the crimson giant statue.
While still in mid-air, his thick arm had already begun to swing. As it swung behind him, his already supe arm suddenly expanded by dozens of meters in the form of Chakra, and then, pulled by immense force, it swung out like a spring towards the Susanoo.
"Boom—!"
A muffled sound like an explosion suddenly burst forth in mid-air, and the circular aftershock spreading outwards appeared as pure white shockwaves.
Even the Susanoo, which was nearly a hundred meters tall, paused abruptly for a moment under this heavy and powerful punch. Its feet sank deep into the mud, dragging out two long furrows.
'It worked!'
Noticing this slight reaction, Roshi's heart immediately filled with joy.
However, before he could even be happy for a moment, the overly young woman inside the stagnant Susanoo suddenly raised her head and glanced at him in mid-air.
Her Sharingan eyes, shaped like a four-bladed pinwheel, were deep and dark.
A sense of crisis suddenly rose in Roshi's heart.
Immediately following, the enormous Susanoo, with a speed completely contrary to its size, suddenly unleashed a sword strike so fast that it almost formed a continuous, blazing white arc in mid-air. The mere ripples from the residual wave swept away the surrounding earth and stone, like a storm engulfing the land.
"Son Goku!"
At this moment, Roshi felt thoughts flash rapidly through his mind. He no longer cared about conserving his strength and immediately roared.
Suddenly, his originally short and stout figure rapidly expanded into a giant Four-Tails ape, over dozens of meters tall, with crimson fur covering its entire body, as violent, surging Chakra spread.
However, the wildly striking blade did not pause in the slightest due to the change in his body. Even when facing a Tailed Beast, it mercilessly slashed upwards, tearing through the air with overwhelming force, and viciously struck him on the chest.
"Rumble!"
The immense force and pain that slammed into him left the Four-Tails Son Goku no time to react at all. Its colossal body tumbled away like a collapsing mountain, then its arms quickly propped up against the ground, allowing it to stand up and create distance between itself and the Susanoo.
It lowered its head and saw a hideous wound, extending from its lower abdomen all the way to its right shoulder, on the surface of its strong chest muscles and crimson fur.
At this moment, large clouds of smoke were rising under the propulsion of the massive Tailed Beast Chakra, continuously healing towards the center.
"Hmm?"
Only then did the woman enveloped within the dark red Susanoo raise an eyebrow, murmuring thoughtfully:
"It's quite a bit tougher than the Seven-Tails."
Roshi, inside the Four-Tails, could no longer hold back and roared through Son Goku's mouth:
"Uchiha Hikari!"
"Our Iwagakure has no grievances with your Takigakure. Why do you interfere in our war at this time?!"
Roshi was not just confused now; he was completely unable to comprehend.
According to their intelligence, Uchiha Hikari of the Moon Organization clearly had some deep hatred for that guy Sawara Kiri, so much so that she even single-handedly broke into Konoha and fought Sawara Kiri.
Logically speaking, the enemy of my enemy should be my friend.
We are on the same side!
Why are you attacking my Iwagakure?
However, Uchiha Hikari merely listened quietly, then spoke in a calm tone:
"Rather than letting you die in vain at Sawara Kiri's hands, it's better for me to take action and accept this great gift of the Land of Earth."
"At least you'll be contributing a little to world peace."
After these seven years, Uchiha Hikari's growth was not limited to just her height and measurements.
To make up for her lack of knowledge during childhood, and also to understand the long-cherished wish Sawara Kiri wanted to achieve, in these years, besides handling the affairs of Takigakure and the Moon Organization, she spent most of her time on studying.
During this long and painful learning process, she gained a deeper understanding of the true nature and workings of this world.
At the same time, she also became more aware of the undeniable fact of Sawara Kiri's invincibility.
Therefore, long ago, she understood that she could neither defeat Sawara Kiri through conventional means nor could she swallow up other countries under Konoha's nose and thus complete her Engraved Tsukuyomi plan.
Since that was the case, there was only one route she could choose.
To seize an opportunity while Kiri began the process of conquering the world.
Because of this, when Konoha began its war preparations, if there was anyone more nervous than the other three countries, it was probably Uchiha Hikari.
Fortunately, her plan had no issues and was proceeding quite smoothly.
Driven by this good mood, she didn't mind answering some of the guy in front of her's doubts.
However, this answer, upon reaching Roshi's ears, naturally left him utterly bewildered.
"World… peace?"
"And we contributed?"
He simply could not understand what this madwoman in front of him was saying!
"That's right."
Uchiha Hikari, hearing this, suddenly broke into a smile.
Unbeknownst to him, the four-bladed pinwheel Mangekyo in her eyes seemed to subtly rotate.
The next moment, under Roshi's terrified gaze.
The Iwagakure Ninja who hadn't completely died in the previous assault all had a pale purple pattern, identical to the pattern in Uchiha Hikari's pupil, appear around their necks.
Yachihoko.
Besides sharing and gathering Chakra, it had another function.
That was, to control the minds and Chakra of all Ninja branded with the engraving, regardless of distance.
Because of this, this Mangekyo Dojutsu was once regarded by the Uchiha Clan as the ultimate trump card for conquering the world.
At this moment, the injured Iwagakure Ninja who had fallen around them showed strange lights in their eyes, gathering around Uchiha Hikari like the most fanatical believers.
They were both her shield and her spear.
The moment he saw this scene, Roshi felt a cold sweat break out.
This bizarre Jutsu was simply not something that human power could contend with.
Must retreat!
However, almost at the instant he felt the urge to retreat, Uchiha Hikari seemed to have completely seen through his thoughts. She suddenly looked up at him, a mocking smile appearing on her face.
Suddenly, an intense Chakra reaction immediately erupted from the surface of the crimson Susanoo. From the back of the Susanoo, which already resembled an armored divine statue, two bone-like wings suddenly unfurled along with the surging Chakra.
Roshi's internal alarm bells immediately rang. His ape mouth opened wide, condensing a pitch-black Biju Bomb.
However, before the Biju Bomb in his mouth could fully form, the Susanoo suddenly burst forth with a speed more than double its previous speed, accompanied by a booming sonic boom. It abruptly appeared before him, opening a giant palm covered by gauntlets, and forcefully pressed it against the Four-Tails Son Goku's face.
The terrifying power was so great that even Son Goku, a Tailed Beast, was completely unable to resist and was immediately forced backward.
Its other hand, utilizing the Susanoo's height advantage—which was twice that of a Tailed Beast—suddenly raised the long blade, and under Roshi's terrified gaze, swung it down.
In the center of the Susanoo.
Uchiha Hikari, observing this scene quietly, had a gentle look in her eyes.
Now, there would be two Tailed Beasts.
After listening to the full account of the Iwagakure's encounter, Tsunade dismissed the other Jonin Squad members, leaving Sawara Kiri and her other confidantes to continue their small meeting.
Tsunade sat in the main seat, looking at him and Orochimaru with a solemn expression, and said seriously:
"You two must give me an explanation this time."
"Did you two see any of this there?"
Orochimaru was already accustomed to Tsunade's fiery temper; he had been beaten countless times since childhood and didn't take this threat seriously at all.
He merely glanced at the other side.
Seeing that he wasn't taking the bait at all, Sawara Kiri could only say helplessly, "Lady Fourth Hokage, the Near-Future Lens can only see fragments of the future, not an omniscient prophecy mirror. We just found out about this too."
Orochimaru could play it cool, but he couldn't.
Otherwise, he might be given the cold shoulder by Tsunade one night.
"Really?"
Tsunade emphasized her tone.
Sawara Kiri raised his hand solemnly: "I guarantee it on my Ninja honor."
Tsunade gave him an exasperated glance.
Ninja honor, huh? Didn't the Three Ninja Prohibitions say no womanizing?
You, who kiss your superior's mouth every day.
However, such words were naturally not suitable for public discussion, so Tsunade could only move on to the next question:
"So what do we do now?"
The original war plan only targeted the Three-Country Alliance, and to prevent them from becoming desperate, a gradual approach was adopted to avoid the three Ninja Villages breaking up into scattered units as much as possible.
But now it was different.
Everyone present was aware of the Moon Organization's objective.
Engraved Tsukuyomi.
This Ninjutsu, capable of controlling Ninja over a vast area, could not be allowed to be completed.
Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze turned towards Sawara Kiri.
For such a mission, Sawara Kiri naturally did not back down, immediately stating with a calm expression:
"Three days from now, I will lead the newly established First Air Transport Division to the Sunagakure front line to quickly deal with the invading enemy."
"I hope the front-line command will cooperate with my actions."
The reason for not choosing Uchiha Hikari's direction was twofold: first, to let the Moon Organization and Iwagakure fight each other temporarily, saving Konoha some military strength; and second, to prevent the four parties from uniting under Konoha's pressure.
Eliminating the threat of their wings naturally became the top priority.
Although everyone was well aware that this quick and swift method would inevitably carry a certain risk later on.
"That's good then."
Tsunade nodded steadily.
The decision was thus made.
Three days later.
Sawara Kiri arrived at an open space in Konoha's western suburbs, cleared deep within the Forest of Death.
Parked in the center of this open space were several elliptical, disc-shaped transport vehicles, resembling fortresses.
Before him, Konoha Ninja, robust in build and resolute in expression, stood tall and straight. They were all clad in neat Prototype Exoskeleton Armor, with large backpacks on their backs and universal capsules attached to their sides.
This was an experimental unit Konoha had established in recent years.
Konoha's Newly Established First Air Transport Brigade.
The entire brigade consisted of 126 individuals, all of whom were at least Fourth-Class Jonin level. They were equipped with enough military rations and combat weapons for over half a month, organized into three-person squads, and had undergone over two and a half years of training.
As for the rows of vehicles behind them, they were Chakra-powered flying discs built over the years by excavating and imitating the ruins and data of the former Sky Ninja Village. They boasted excellent endurance and stealth capabilities; although their speed was not fast, it was sufficient.
Sawara Kiri came before this unit, scanning each person's face with a solemn expression.
Finally, he brought his fist heavily to his chest in the Konoha military salute, and loudly declared:
"Konoha!"
Everyone present simultaneously performed the same action, their synchronized chest thumps forming a single sound, and almost in unison, they responded:
"Loyalty—!"
Sawara Kiri nodded with satisfaction, then gave the order:
"This is the first battlefield mission executed since the establishment of our newly formed First Air Transport Division. The target is Sunagakure across the sand sea, and the mission requirement is to swiftly and heavily strike all invading enemies."
"For Konoha, I hope you will not disappoint the Village's expectations."
The fervent faith and unwavering resolve caused everyone present to light up at the moment they heard this command.
Whether it was the special treatment they received or the education they underwent during their training period over the years, all made them willing to dedicate everything to Konoha.
Therefore, the response to Sawara Kiri could only be one answer:
"Yes—!"
When the sound faded, a leading Jonin at the very front stepped forward, looking at him with eager eyes, and loudly said: "Lord Sawara, please give your command!"
"Very good, full of spirit."
Sawara Kiri clasped his hands behind his back and said:
"First Air Transport Division, move out!"
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones=1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr | 16 novels being updated, I can't read all comments