Han entered the Tailed Beast Cloak state. His face was no longer human—only three round holes remained: two eyes and a mouth.
The Tailed Beast chakra rapidly repaired his injuries, but the blood sprayed across the ground proved that Han had already taken severe damage.
The closer he moved toward Hatake Sakumo, the more dangerous the White Fang's blade light became.
Provoked and enraged, another tail burst out behind Han.
When the fourth tail appeared, his features became even less human.
A hard horn made of Tailed Beast chakra grew from his forehead.
The Five-Tails was a pure white beast formed from the fusion of a dolphin and a horse, with five rigid horns on its head.
Han charged toward Hatake Sakumo again.
But he still could not break through the White Fang's blade light.
Each slash from Sakumo's blade cut through Han's flesh.
Every strike wounded him, weakening him further.
After two more blows landed on his body, Han finally lost control completely.
Madness overtook him.
Five tails erupted behind him, and his power surged explosively.
The Five-Tails Jinchūriki had gone berserk.
Unable to restrain the immense power within him, Han threw his head back. Black and crimson Yin-Yang chakra gathered before his face, condensing into a Tailed Beast Ball.
Lowering his head, Han prepared to launch it at his most hated enemy—White Fang.
But while Han was condensing the Yin-Yang chakra, Hatake Sakumo had already used the Body Flicker Technique to close the distance.
The White Fang's blade light slashed toward Han's shoulder.
Fearing the terrifying blade, Han had no choice but to jerk his head aside to avoid it.
The Tailed Beast Ball flew off course.
The sphere—about the size of a human head—shot toward the distant grasslands.
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Then came the explosion.
The earth shook like an earthquake.
This has to be suppressed quickly, Sakumo thought grimly. If the Daimyō's eldest son gets hit by a Tailed Beast Ball, Konoha will never receive mission contracts from the Land of Grass again.
Elsewhere, the battlefield was equally fierce.
Yamashiro summoned crows and used a scattering crow technique, disrupting the vision of the Iwa shinobi.
Moving among the birds like a phantom, he repeatedly struck from blind spots in the enemy's field of view.
His taijutsu was solid, and the technique consumed very little chakra.
Yet his killing efficiency was astonishing.
Whenever large-scale ninjutsu appeared, the crows would immediately gain altitude to evade it.
Meanwhile, Hayama Shirakumo used Wind Release: Vacuum Blade.
Forming seals with one hand, he swung his sword, sending blade after blade of wind slicing through the air.
After mastering one-handed seals, he no longer needed to stand still to release ninjutsu.
His other arm remained free.
He could fight while constantly moving.
Namikaze Minato's two teammates were still genin and had not yet mastered powerful combat techniques.
Working together, the pair stayed on the outskirts of the battlefield, doing what they could.
Shinma's blade burned with flame, increasing its attack range.
He didn't even need perfect accuracy—any hit could severely injure an enemy.
His eyes constantly darted around, carefully observing every detail of the battlefield.
Shimura Kōhi was not fighting with his full strength.
He held back deliberately, always keeping an eye on the First Prince, ready to intervene if danger approached.
Amid the stalemate, Shinma noticed a large boulder flying toward him.
The rock was nearly two meters wide.
The speed…
Maybe I can take it?
Shinma braced his foot.
The boulder slammed into him.
His body flew backward—straight toward the First Prince.
The stalemate instantly cracked open.
Iwa shinobi surged through the gap Shinma had created, charging up Evergreen Divine Mountain toward the First Prince of the Land of Grass.
At the summit of the mountain, the First Prince saw the ferocious Iwa shinobi rushing toward him.
His legs trembled uncontrollably.
He gripped the reins of his horse tightly, trying to hide his fear.
A guard beside him said, "Your Highness, there's no need to be afraid. What the Hidden Stone Village and Konoha Village are fighting over is our nation's mission contracts. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't harm you."
Hearing this, the First Prince relaxed slightly.
Right.
They wouldn't harm him.
After all, shinobi could not remain outside their villages for long.
Leaving one's village meant risking assassination from rival villages at any time.
The ninja world was a dark forest filled with killers.
Every shinobi stood in absolute darkness with a kunai in hand—always ready to kill or be killed.
During the Warring States era, a ninja clan had once controlled a small country and become its Daimyō.
But ruling required appearing in public.
Before long, the once-powerful clan was gradually wiped out by endless assassinations.
Shinobi being restricted to their villages was not imprisonment.
In a way, it was protection.
It was said that Konoha had pioneered assassination manuals.
Soon every village compiled their own.
The culture of assassination spread wildly.
The casualty rate of shinobi skyrocketed.
In the Land of Grass, one or two Jonin died every month.
Even elite Jonin from the Five Great Villages—terrifying figures to the Land of Grass—could die at any moment.
As for visible ninja forces like the Daimyō's Guardian Captain and his guards…
Many of Konoha's assigned guardians had died one after another protecting the Daimyō.
Watching the distant explosion of the Tailed Beast Ball, the First Prince thought bitterly:
Why are shinobi so addicted to killing?
Some nomads even claimed the Daimyō family's sacrificial rituals were cruel.
But compared to shinobi?
How many people could the Daimyō's rituals even kill?
"Don't be afraid, Your Highness!" another guard said. "The Iwa shinobi are charging toward you only because they know Konoha must come to rescue you!"
Sure enough, Konoha shinobi abandoned their opponents and rushed up Evergreen Divine Mountain to intercept the attackers.
Instantly, the Konoha forces fell into chaos.
They were surrounded on both sides by Iwa shinobi.
Hatake Sakumo glanced toward the mountain.
"Minato! Go up the mountain and assist!"
Minato immediately turned and sprinted uphill.
The mountain was low and gently sloped.
Earth Style techniques filled the battlefield—Earth Flow Walls, flying gravel, stone pillars, and earthen spears everywhere.
Minato weaved swiftly through the chaos of ninjutsu.
Experimenting, he condensed Wind Release chakra onto his shoulders and hips.
The result was excellent.
With a mere thought—without preparation or physical exertion—he could shift sideways instantly.
This will make my taijutsu far more unpredictable.
Meanwhile, Shinma shoved the boulder off his body.
Multiple fractures ran through his bones, and blood filled his mouth.
Seeing Yamashiro and the others forming a second defensive line halfway up the mountain, Shinma's eyes spun rapidly.
Dodging several Earth Style attacks, he retreated toward the summit.
Arriving before the First Prince, he shouted:
"Your Highness! Quickly take off your noble robes! Put on a servant's clothes and escape down the mountain!"
The prince stared at the battered Konoha shinobi before him.
One arm hung uselessly—clearly broken.
His chest was sunken.
Blood filled his mouth.
The Konoha side is at a severe disadvantage…
Exchanging a glance with his guard captain, the man's earlier confidence vanished.
Who knew if the shinobi would remain rational once the fighting grew intense?
If the prince were injured…
The guard captain would never survive the consequences.
The Daimyō might not be able to deal with Konoha—but wiping out his tribe would be effortless.
Fear crept into the prince's heart as well.
The fighting between Konoha and Iwa grew increasingly brutal.
One of the guardians he recognized was crushed into meat paste by stone pillars.
The Iwa shinobi died horribly as well.
It was too cruel.
Even slaughtering dozens of cattle would make a person uneasy.
But these shinobi killed people as casually as drinking water.
Without hesitation, the First Prince dismounted.
He hid behind the horse, exchanged clothes with a servant, and fled.
Watching this, Shinma thought calmly:
I only warned him out of kindness. If he dies… that's just his bad luck.
He turned and charged back down the slope to continue fighting.
Clashing blades with an Iwa squad captain, their swords nearly touched each other's noses.
Shinma snarled viciously.
"Our people have already gone to call reinforcements! Your arrogance won't last long!"
The Iwa captain turned his head.
Four or five riders were fleeing down the opposite side of the mountain.
Those damn Konoha shinobi!
Disguising themselves as noble servants and escaping on horseback!
With a powerful shove, the captain knocked Shinma away.
Then he signaled two nearby Iwa squads.
The squads immediately rushed off in pursuit of the fleeing riders.
After doing all this, Shinma still wasn't satisfied.
Dodging several attacks, he staggered toward Hatake Sakumo.
Sakumo's Body Flicker Technique was extremely fast.
At the moment, Sakumo and the Five-Tails Jinchūriki were evenly matched.
If Sakumo realized what had happened and flickered over to intercept the pursuers…
That would be troublesome.
Along the way, another kunai struck Shinma in the back.
"Lord Sakumo! We can't hold them! There are too many Iwa shinobi!"
Sakumo turned and saw Shinma's miserable condition.
His left arm was completely broken.
His chest had caved inward.
A kunai stuck out of his back.
Looking toward the slope, Sakumo saw the large number of Iwa shinobi surrounding the Konoha forces.
He frowned.
According to Shimura Kōhi's intelligence, only one elite squad of Iwa shinobi had been deployed.
Sixteen enemies.
Sakumo had brought seven reinforcements, plus two guardian ninja.
That should have been enough.
But the intelligence was completely wrong.
Two entire Iwa battalions had arrived.
Another Tailed Beast Ball shot toward them.
Sakumo swung his blade.
Dozens of meters away, the brilliant blade light struck the Tailed Beast Ball.
It exploded instantly.
The shockwave surged toward Sakumo and Shinma.
Sakumo grabbed Shinma and leapt away.
After a brief hesitation, he decided to rescue Yamashiro and the others first.
The Five-Tails Jinchūriki could rampage a little longer.
"Shinma, your injuries are too severe. Retreat and stay back. I'll handle the rest."
Seeing Sakumo rush to rescue the others without noticing the fleeing noble servants, Shinma secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Wherever the White Fang's blade light went, nothing could stop it.
Earth Flow Walls and stone spears shattered like dry branches.
In just a dozen seconds, Sakumo killed two Iwa squads.
Just as he turned to intercept the Five-Tails Jinchūriki again—
A horn suddenly sounded from the mountain.
"The First Prince is dead! The First Prince has been killed!"
Sakumo froze.
Confusion and horror flashed in his eyes.
The warriors of the Land of Grass were charging frantically toward a distant location.
Several riders fled down the opposite side of the mountain.
Shimura Kōhi suddenly appeared.
"Hatake Sakumo! In order to save Shinma and Yamashiro's group, you allowed the Iwa shinobi to kill the Daimyō's eldest son!
How will Konoha receive mission contracts from the Land of Grass in the future?!"
Yamashiro's heart jolted.
The death of a noble alone was nothing.
But losing the Land of Grass' mission contracts?
That accusation was enormous.
But…
Why had the prince appeared there?
Even the Iwa shinobi were confused.
Beside the corpses of five horses lay five bodies dressed in ragged servant clothing.
An Iwa shinobi compared the corpse's face with a portrait on a scroll.
It was unmistakable.
The First Prince of the Land of Grass.
They had killed the Daimyō's eldest son.
The Konoha shinobi were truly sinister.
They had claimed those riders were going for reinforcements.
Instead they had tricked them into killing the prince.
They had fought desperately against Konoha to compete for mission contracts.
But now?
How could the Land of Grass trust them after this?
An Iwa squad leader suddenly shouted:
"We must capture the Konoha shinobi who spread the false information alive! He must be presented to the Daimyō as evidence!"
The report quickly reached the battalion commander.
"Capture that Konoha shinobi alive!"
Chaos erupted across Evergreen Divine Mountain.
The berserk Five-Tails Jinchūriki fired Tailed Beast Ball after Tailed Beast Ball.
To protect the Konoha forces—and the remaining nobles of the Land of Grass—Hatake Sakumo had no choice but to devote his strength to intercepting the attacks.
Meanwhile, the Iwa shinobi charged uphill like madmen.
Their target was Shinma.
Yamashiro shouted an order:
"Escort the nobles of the Land of Grass and retreat!"
Aside from the First Prince, two tribal chiefs had also attended the ceremony.
The prince was already dead.
Konoha had to demonstrate responsibility by ensuring the safety of the other chiefs.
Sakumo led the retreat, fighting while falling back.
The withdrawal was messy and humiliating.
The Iwa shinobi failed to capture the Konoha ninja who had spread the false information.
Instead, they captured several noble servants.
A brief interrogation was enough.
Everything was revealed.
A Konoha shinobi had told the First Prince to flee.
Only then had he left Evergreen Divine Mountain.
If he had simply remained where he was…
No Iwa shinobi would have attacked him.
The Iwa commander looked toward the distant battlefield.
Hatake Sakumo stood there like a lone gatekeeper, holding off thousands.
Nearby, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki Han rampaged wildly.
After a moment of thought, the commander said:
"Stop the pursuit. Take these servants—and the prince's body—to the Capital.
Their testimony and the intelligence extracted from the corpse will prove that Konoha framed us.
To frame us, they even sacrificed the prince's life.
If they can kill their own employer… what wouldn't Konoha dare to do?"
The Iwa forces halted their advance.
They still had to suppress the rampaging Five-Tails Jinchūriki.
Seeing the enemy withdraw, Sakumo and Yamashiro escorted the remaining nobles away.
Along the road, both men wore grave expressions.
They tried to discuss the situation with Shimura Kōhi.
But he angrily refused.
His attitude made it seem as though Sakumo and the others had personally caused the prince's death.
Shimura Kōhi accused Sakumo of making a catastrophic decision—saving Yamashiro's team instead of prioritizing the prince.
Shinma remained unconscious from his severe injuries.
Meanwhile—
In the Capital of the Land of Grass.
A Hyūga guardian had already activated the Byakugan, watching the returning procession from afar.
His expression suddenly changed.
Why could he see the two tribal chiefs…
But not the First Prince?