The Ancient Fortress of Senju was the largest city in the central hinterland of the shinobi continent and the economic lifeblood of the Land of Fire.
Along with Konoha Village and the seat of the Land of Fire's Daimyo, it was known as one of the three core cities of the nation.
In the first year of Konoha, after the Senju clan migrated from the Ancient Fortress of Senju to the newly built Konoha Village, this place transformed into a purely economic metropolis.
Most of the building roofs throughout the Ancient Fortress of Senju featured a specialized golden beast-headed tile. It was said to represent a shachi—an imaginary animal shaped like a golden fish—and decorating the rooftops with it was intended to pray for protection against fires.
In front of the city stood a fortress known as the High Palace Tower, situated on a cliff roughly 40 meters above sea level. Judging by the topography surrounding the structure, it was a fortress positioned squarely between the hills and the plains.
Presently, the massive vanguard of Sunagakure was amassed along the outer perimeter of the High Palace Tower, their vast puppet legions launching a fierce, unrelenting assault against the frontline fortress.
"To think that after a mere sixty years, Konoha would be backed into such a corner by an enemy, to the point where even our ancestral home is dragged into it."
Gazing at the ancient city before them, Senju Tobirama let out a sigh filled with emotion. Beside him, Senju Hashirama narrowed his eyes to observe the battlefield.
Both of them were veterans who had lived through the grand chaos of the Warring States Period and had witnessed the subsequent establishment of the Five Great Nations and the one-country, one-village system.
Their battlefield experience was incomparably rich, yet both found themselves feeling a bit squeamish at Sunagakure's method of offensive warfare.
Three colossal mechanical puppet dragons continuously circled in the sky, occasionally spitting out Tailed Beast Bomb energy blasts that bombarded the High Palace Tower.
The vast array of defensive installations was completely incapable of impeding the Tailed Beast Bomb energy projectiles.
On the ground below, the mass-produced variants of the Hunter puppets featured a specialized chakra-absorbing apparatus in one hand and an instantaneous, seal-less Rasengan offensive device in the other, beating the defending Konoha shinobi into a steady, demoralized retreat.
"There doesn't seem to be any exceptionally massive chakra reaction appearing; it looks like that Kazekage hasn't shown up on the battlefield personally. Still, this paradigm of warfare is truly difficult to contend with."
"We must destroy those three puppet dragons in the sky first."
Reflecting on this, Senju Tobirama abruptly materialized at the apex of the High Palace Tower. The instant his hand seals were completed, a water needle condensing a powerful explosive shot out with extreme velocity, aiming directly for the mechanical dragons in the sky.
However, possessing reinforced defensive armor plating, the puppet dragons did not fear a mere water needle in the slightest.
After a minor impact, the Reincarnation Cores within the puppet dragons' eyes locked onto Senju Tobirama atop the tower, projecting a dazzling beam of destructive light downward.
Utilizing Flying Thunder God once more to reappear beside his elder brother, Senju Tobirama shook his head, having accurately gauged the defensive parameters of the puppet dragons.
"Then leave this to me to handle."
Namikaze Minato proactively volunteered for the task. Though both utilized the Flying Thunder God, his mobility and speed were a cut above Senju Tobirama's.
Combined with his mastery over a wide array of sealing arts, he was the absolute best countermeasure to deal with the airborne puppet dragons.
Meanwhile, on the lower battlefield, alongside the several Hokages, Tsunade had utilized the Impure World Reincarnation to summon a batch of powerful historical shinobi from Konoha. Among them was the man whose name had once struck absolute terror into the hearts of Sunagakure—Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.
When the White Fang flashes with light, it becomes a sharp tooth that eradicates the darkness!
Hatake Sakumo held his specialized chakra short-sword. It was slightly heavier than an average blade and wasn't particularly long, but its exterior radiated a pristine white chakra light.
It was Hatake Sakumo's most trusted weapon, utilized to execute countless high-stakes missions in the past.
The former elite Jonin of Konoha had long, silver-white hair tied into a ponytail, and his left shoulder bore a distinctive white sleeve insignia.
Renowned throughout the shinobi world under the moniker of Konoha's White Fang, he was a genius shinobi whose prowess historically eclipsed even that of the Legendary Sannin, moving forward with absolute valor.
He possessed both the cold detachment required to sacrifice for regulations and a deep, profound affection for his comrades.
Both of these traits could cause him to waver, but in the end, he chose to save his companions. He was a shinobi who ultimately perished in the chasm between structural regulations and the emotional bonds of comrades.
Deliberately stationed within the vanguard mobile division, Hatake Sakumo's presence was intended primarily to deal a heavy blow to Sunagakure's morale.
Kakashi stared at his reincarnated father with a highly complex expression. However, in this Shinobi World War, the reincarnated individuals were genuinely fighting for the survival of Konoha, so Kakashi deeply treasured this rare moment of father-son reunion.
"Kakashi, watch out!"
Hatake Sakumo's tone was warned with extreme gravity. Even as Kakashi's heart jolted in alarm, a streak of cold light descended from the heavens, transforming into a terrifying shockwave of blade pressure.
The short-sword rapidly intercepted the strike as Hatake Sakumo attempted to use a single counter-slash to neutralize his opponent. Yet, much to his misfortune, the person striking out this time was Unohana Retsu!
As someone who prided herself on mastering the eight thousand styles of the sword, Unohana Retsu rarely encountered a proficient blade master within Konoha.
Naturally, her sword-heart grew restless, and utilizing Shunpo, she materialized directly in front of Hatake Sakumo in the blink of an eye.
The moment her blade fell, the tyrannical force generated caused the bones across Hatake Sakumo's entire body to let out a series of strained, creaking groans.
What overbearing power...
The instant Unohana Retsu struck, she successfully arrested the attention of both Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.
"That woman..."
"Supposedly, she is the head of Sunagakure's Medical Corps, but to think her blade-craft would be this terrifying..."
Unohana Retsu's public profile designated her merely as the director of Sunagakure's Medical Department.
Because she operated within logistics, Konoha had gathered very little intelligence on her. They had never anticipated that an inconspicuous medical ninja could harbor such horrific combat capability.
The Blade of Pure Mind!
Confronted with a blade master of Hatake Sakumo's caliber, Unohana Retsu felt the joy of finding a worthy adversary.
Her opening strike was the most profound and esoteric technique of her single-blade style—The Blade of Pure Mind. The suddenly generated flash of her sword seemed to completely lock down everything within the surrounding space.
Hatake Sakumo felt as though he were facing a cataclysmic foe. He had not expected that after all these years, Sunagakure would produce such a transcendent powerhouse of the sword.
The blade carved a dazzling, freezing arc through the mid-air. Unohana Retsu's sword abruptly pierced straight through Hatake Sakumo's chest. However, relying on the immortal characteristics of the Impure World Reincarnation, the latter's body rapidly began to reform as if untouched.
"Possessing the Impure World Reincarnation, you cannot truly kill me."
"Heh."
With a swift twist of her blade, Hatake Sakumo was stunned to find that the injuries across his body were actually not healing completely.
"If your soul is erased along with it, the Impure World Reincarnation will naturally unravel."
Unohana Retsu lightly licked the edge of her Zanpakuto, completely shedding her gentle, maternal image within Sunagakure.
She resembled a literal demon from the living hell; even the surrounding Sunagakure shinobi felt compelled to step backward, leaving her ample space to unleash her full prowess.
Simultaneously across the other sectors of the battlefield, Uzumaki Tomoki's squad was locked in a fierce slaughter against Konoha's forces. Aoki Shigeru, Gaara, and Uzumaki Tomoko operated as the strongest trio of the new generation, and the destructiveness they unleashed was exceptionally horrifying.
Virtually no one could withstand their synchronized combinations of ninjutsu. Just as a sky full of white bones was on the verge of impaling a Konoha shinobi, a colossal fireball abruptly plummeted from the high atmosphere, blowing the immediate landscape completely apart.
Uchiha Itachi!
Dressed in traditional Konoha Anbu attire, Uchiha Itachi materialized cleanly at the scene. Having activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, he stared dead-on at Sunagakure's Team 9.
Regarding Uchiha Itachi, Gaara maintained an extreme degree of wariness. However, Uzumaki Tomoko, possessing the Tenseigan, seemed to harbor absolute fearlessness toward the Mangekyo Sharingan within Itachi's eyes.
During their mutual gaze, the Tenseigan upon Tomoko's forehead slowly parted open. In an instant, a surge of ocular power that was not a single bit inferior to the Mangekyo Sharingan completely flooded the entire battlefield.
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