Beneath the cover of raging sand, the wolf pack sprinted forward at full speed.
At the center of it all, Shiraishi, who was controlling the wolves, urgently circulated the Sand-Gathering Technique, repairing the depletion of his chakra as he moved.
In addition to Sand-Gathering, he had also prepared specially modified soldier pills to counter exhaustion. The lingering thirst brought on by continuous slaughter forced Shiraishi into a state of intense self-restraint.
Indulging too deeply in it would only cause him to degenerate into a puppet of darkness.
The chakra itself carried a peculiar spiritual contagion—it could drag a person into endless darkness or drive them toward the light.
Its influence was subtle yet profound.
A person's environment, experiences, and emotional fluctuations all altered their chakra, and that altered chakra would in turn shape the user.
Shiraishi understood this clearly.
If he failed to restrain this bloodlust and craving for killing, it would severely erode his mental state.
A freezing mist spread across his body.
Among the two remaining unactivated skill cards he possessed, one was finally unlocked.
Fine Snow.
Fine Snow was a standard ice-type offensive technique. Unlike Black Mist, which only required mastery of Wind and Water chakra natures, Fine Snow demanded that both nature transformations be refined to a much higher level before it could be cultivated.
Its power and effect were relatively ordinary—closer to a simplified version of the Yuki clan's Ice Release.
Beneath the flowing desert sands created by Sand-Gathering lay Shiraishi's sealed zone.
Within it were countless Azure-Flame Sand Towers, each powerful enough to obliterate all of Kikyo Mountain—or even the entire Revelation Mountain Range.
This was Shiraishi's ultimate trump card.
His final killing move.
Northern Battlefield — Konoha Front
The Hyūga clan was locked in fierce combat with Sunagakure forces.
Countless kunai, projectiles, and explosive tags were deflected or destroyed by the Hyūga clan's overwhelming taijutsu.
The Hyūga were one of Konoha's most powerful noble clans. Their inherited bloodline limit—the Byakugan—was said to originate from Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the mother of the Sage of Six Paths, and was one of the Three Great Dōjutsu.
Because of the Byakugan's value, countless shinobi across the world sought to uncover the Hyūga clan's secrets.
To protect this bloodline from being stolen, the Hyūga divided themselves into the Main House and the Branch House.
The Main House was the true inheritors, responsible for preserving and leading the clan.
The Branch House existed to protect the Main House.
Only one person per generation could become the Main House heir. All others—even siblings—were placed into the Branch House.
Thus, across a thousand years, the Hyūga clan had only ever had a single Main House lineage.
When a Branch House child reached three years of age, a Caged Bird Seal was branded onto their forehead. Through this seal, the Main House could control—or destroy—the Branch House member's brain and chakra system. The seal also prevented the Byakugan from being stolen after death.
And so, the Caged Bird Seal became the deepest internal conflict within the Hyūga clan.
This time, the northern battlefield was commanded by Hyūga Tenmon, working alongside his eldest son, Hyūga Hiashi, and his second son—also the future leader of the Branch House—Hyūga Hizashi.
Together, they led the Hyūga elite against Sunagakure.
Hyūga Hizashi's perception was extremely sharp. His expression changed abruptly.
"Father—large-scale chakra signatures are approaching!"
Under the cover of wind and sand, wolf howls erupted across the battlefield.
Konoha's forces were stunned.
Since when did wolf packs exist around Kikyo Mountain?
"Summoning…?"
Hyūga Tenmon's gaze sharpened instantly.
As the current head of the Hyūga clan, his judgment was ruthless and precise. He quickly identified the direction of the wolves' emergence—it aligned perfectly with a previously abandoned Konoha summoning array.
Sunagakure truly had capable individuals—ones who knew how to exploit discarded summoning formations to create opportunities.
With that thought, Hyūga Tenmon thrust his palm forward.
Empowered by the overwhelming Eight Trigrams Rotation chakra, the strike transformed into a terrifying shockwave that tore straight toward the wolf pack.
The mere sound of the attack was enough for Shiraishi to recognize its power.
Based on intelligence reports, this was Hyūga Tenmon himself.
Compared to Kurama Arashiyama, this man was unmistakably a true Kage-level powerhouse.
The palm wind swept forward—
And suddenly, the ground beneath Shiraishi distorted violently.
In the distance, the Desert Blood Wolf activated the power of the earth itself, altering the underlying strata.
In an instant, the ground beneath the Hyūga encampment began to sink.
This technique—
Iwagakure?!
But wasn't Iwagakure supposed to be fighting Sunagakure in the Revelation Mountain Range?
The chaos of the battlefield made it difficult for the Hyūga to immediately identify the source of the Earth Release, but the purity of the technique carried a distinctly Stone Village style.
Could Black Mist Shiraishi be cooperating with Iwagakure?
The sudden appearance of this unexpected "reinforcement" disrupted the Hyūga offensive formation. The eerie wolf pack alone was enough to raise alarm, let alone the possibility of hidden Iwagakure forces.
"There are multiple Earth-attribute chakra reactions!"
Under the influence of Black Mist, several Hyūga sensory shinobi made misjudgments. Even the Byakugan was not immune to interference when chakra perception was distorted.
But Hyūga Tenmon's eyes narrowed.
If Iwagakure had truly arrived, there wouldn't be such weak, fragmented Earth-chakra signatures.
This was a crude deception.
It wouldn't work.
Hyūga Tenmon struck again.
This time, his palm carried thunderous force, shredding the black mist apart and transforming into a lethal whirlwind that tore straight into the wolf pack.
At the moment he closed in on the Sunagakure prodigy, their eyes met—
And behind Black Mist Shiraishi, a figure clad in heavy armor appeared.
"Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
The armored figure's fist collided head-on with Hyūga Tenmon's strike.
The clash froze the surrounding space.
The armored man staggered back from the impact, retreating alongside Shiraishi as the wolf pack surged forward to cover them.
Was there truly Iwagakure support?
Hyūga Tenmon tore through two wolves with crossing claws, blood mist exploding outward and momentarily obstructing his pursuit.
Within the black mist, the Hyūga Byakugan still functioned reasonably well—but for ordinary Konoha shinobi, visibility and coordination collapsed completely.
A shadow flashed.
A silver blade lunged for Hyūga Hiashi's vital points.
With a thunderous impact, Hiashi shattered a Shiraishi earth clone—only for another clone to complete hand seals, warping the ground once more.
The terrain turned treacherous, like a mudslide.
As the sand softened beneath their feet, wolves leapt in to tear and bite.
The Hyūga stepped forward to engage, fierce battles erupting everywhere.
But Shiraishi had no intention of lingering.
Having successfully disrupted the Hyūga formation, he immediately withdrew toward another direction.
Facing Hyūga Tenmon's lock-on, Shiraishi relied on Black Mist and the confusion over possible Iwagakure involvement to disengage cleanly.
As he retreated, he activated another summoning array, calling forth even more wolves to continue the assault.
Konoha Headquarters
Nara Shikagawa's expression changed drastically.
"Iwagakure joining the war? Impossible!"
Yet with Hyūga Tenmon as a direct witness, even Konoha's greatest strategist hesitated.
Was Black Mist Shiraishi acting alone—or was he mobilizing Iwagakure reinforcements?
Then what was happening in the Revelation Mountain Range?
Had Iwagakure and Sunagakure staged a joint deception?
The user of the Added-Weight Rock Technique had to be someone closely tied to the Tsuchikage's lineage.
Although no large-scale Iwagakure troop movements were detected, Konoha was forced into a state of heightened caution.
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
I will drop 1 bonus chapter for every 50 Power Stones