Shinichi stood at the center, looking at the four people easily suppressed by his chakra. His eyes were indifferent as he repeated, "The signal."
"Or rather..." His gaze fell on the captain, who was struggling to lift his head. "Do you need me to send it for you?"
Hearing that, the captain clenched his teeth.
"Damn it…"
Humiliation and duty warred inside him, but reason told him that resisting an enemy who could stop him from moving with chakra alone would be pointless.
'I don't know what his goal is… but I have to send the message back!'
Trembling, he raised the arm that could still barely move and reached for the special cylinder behind his waist. His fingers hooked the mechanism, and with the last of his strength, he pulled it upward.
Swoosh!
A piercing red flare tore through the heavy chakra pressure, shot into the sky, and exploded above Iwagakure.
It formed the highest-level warning signal... 'powerful enemy invasion'.
Shinichi looked up at the exploding signal. Then he withdrew his chakra.
The heavy pressure vanished at once. The three team members collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, while the captain staggered and nearly fell from exhaustion.
"You have some skill."
After leaving those words, Shinichi turned toward the depths of Iwagakure, facing the tallest building in the village. At last, something worth looking forward to appeared in his eyes.
"Now then… let's begin."
"Let this place serve as the battlefield.... A battlefield between me… and a nation."
Shinichi raised both hands and pressed them together before his chest. The moment his fingers interlocked...
"Wood Release: Three Dragons Technique!"
The earth shattered, and three giant dragons burst from the ground.
The first had a massive wooden body wrapped in violet patterns: the Magnet Wood Dragon.
The second was dark red all over, with a lava-like sheen along its edges. The intense heat around it warped the air. This was the Lava Wood Dragon.
The third Wood Dragon raised its head. Its body was a muddy gray-white, covered in slimy mucus. As the mucus dripped to the ground, the rocks immediately began to hiss, releasing green smoke as they corroded into pits.
This was the chakra of Saiken, the Six-Tails.
The Corrosive Wood Dragon.
The three giant dragons raised their heads and opened their mouths. With his hands still pressed together, Shinichi poured the vast chakra inside him into them without holding back.
Three huge orbs expanded, and their energy fluctuations made the ground around them tremble.
The next second -
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Three giant energy spheres, each over fifteen meters wide, drew separate paths through the air and roared toward Iwagakure.
"Look northwest…"
"Is that a signal flare?!"
"That is…"
"Enemy attack!"
Inside Iwagakure, the Iwa shinobi who saw the signal rising into the sky and the three massive attacks shouted at the top of their lungs.
Their roars and the explosions sounded almost at the same time.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground shook violently. Three attacks struck three different areas, leaving devastation behind.
The piercing alarm sirens wailed from every corner of the village and echoed into the clouds.
Woooo-woooo-woooo!
All of Iwagakure entered a full alert state.
Shinichi stood at the center of the newly formed rocky platform, watching dust and flames rise from the village. Faint cries of alarm and the sounds of people running reached his ears.
The corner of his mouth curved faintly.
Overwhelming a nation by himself.
"Not bad." He muttered to himself in a pleased voice.
Not far behind him, the four Iwa shinobi barely held themselves up. As they watched the columns of smoke rising from the village, all color drained from their faces.
The captain trembled. He wanted to roar, charge forward, and fight to the death, but the memory of being crushed by that terrifying chakra still lingered in his body. His legs felt like lead.
He could only watch the black-clad figure standing with his back to them. Shinichi did not even spare them a glance, as if they were no different from the rubble and dust around him.
His gaze stayed fixed on the tallest building deep inside Iwagakure.
He was waiting for that short figure in the red robe to appear.
Waiting for the full power of Iwagakure to answer him.
Inside the Tsuchikage's office, Kurotsuchi swayed, the color draining from her face. Listening to the commotion outside, she could hardly believe what was happening.
"Someone… is attacking Iwagakure?!"
Akatsuchi's huge body tensed at once. He stepped in front of Onoki protectively and said in a low voice, "Lord Tsuchikage!"
Onoki sat in his chair, unmoving. But every wrinkle on his face had tightened. His eyes, always sharp and shrewd, were now deep and cold, like two pools of frozen water.
How many years had it been?
From the time he became Tsuchikage until his hair turned white, he had polished and strengthened the stone called Iwagakure bit by bit. He had lived through two Ninja World Wars and countless schemes.
Yet no one had ever attacked his doorstep and caused such a disturbance in his own backyard.
This was not just an attack.
This was a slap to Onoki's face.
Onoki stared at the northwest sky for a few seconds, looking at the distant place where thick smoke was rising from the village. Then he stood up from his seat.
He was short, but the moment he straightened his back, the majesty of a Kage filled the room.
"Kitsuchi."
"Here."
"Quickly assemble the jonin division," Onoki said, each word heavy. "Prepare to meet the enemy."
"Yes!"
Then Onoki turned to Kurotsuchi.
"Kurotsuchi, go to the evacuation department. Help move the non-combatants into the underground shelters."
Kurotsuchi's face was still pale, but she quickly nodded.
"…Understood!"
Finally, Onoki looked at Akatsuchi.
"Akatsuchi."
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
"Follow me."
Onoki floated into the air and flew toward the office door, with Akatsuchi following close behind. Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi glanced at each other, then hurried out in different directions.
When the door opened, several Iwagakure Anbu were already kneeling in the hallway, waiting for orders.
Onoki's gaze swept over them. His anger could no longer be suppressed.
"Pass down my order."
"Iwagakure is entering a state of total war. All combat personnel are to assemble according to the Level 1 combat readiness plan."
His voice turned cold.
"As for the enemy…"
He paused for a moment, then shouted,
"Leave none alive!"
The Anbu jolted and responded in unison.
"Understood!"
Onoki did not stay any longer. His figure suddenly accelerated, turning into a red shadow as he flew straight down the hallway toward the exit on the outer wall.
Akatsuchi gave a low roar, his chakra erupting as he followed close behind with a speed that did not match his massive body.
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