Once the strongest Edo Tensei corps joined the battle, it was clear that the First Division was about to face utter calamity.
War was always cruel; human lives were reduced to little more than numbers too vast to tally.
With just a single thought, Orochimaru could decide the fate of tens of thousands of shinobi. Yet this power over life and death was not what he truly sought.
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
"You all be careful, I'm about to use Deep Forest Emergence!"
Controlled by Orochimaru, Hashirama shouted a warning even as his hands came together in a seal, unleashing his signature Wood Release without hesitation.
The ground split open, and countless massive roots burst forth, lashing at the shinobi locked in combat with the clone army.
Even with Hashirama's warning, in the chaos of battle there was no way to avoid the wide range of the technique.
Like living serpents, the roots surged into the densest clusters of fighters, entangling allies and clones alike... hundreds of shinobi ensnared in an instant, then crushed to death.
The First Division, which had just suppressed the clone army, lost hundreds of men in a heartbeat.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
The Second Tsuchikage, Mū, wrapped head to toe in bandages, floated high above the battlefield. White light flared between his palms, and in a flash, a cylindrical beam shot downward. The light erased dozens of shinobi instantly, vanished without a trace, as though erased by a giant eraser.
With Hashirama's Deep Forest Emergence and Mū's Dust Release opening offensive... despair spread through the First Division.
Compared to those two overwhelming forces, the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, seemed almost gentle. He strolled leisurely toward the heart of battle, right hand shaped like a gun, index finger pointed at his targets. Droplets of water fired from his fingertip, each one striking precisely at a vital point.
"So weak…" he muttered in dismay as shinobi kept dropping from his Water Gun. "Not one of them can dodge?"
The Third Kazekage stood aloof, expression cold, riding upon a platform of iron sand. Like Mū, he floated in midair, then controlled countless spears of sand to rain down, skewering shinobi to the ground below.
"…" Hanzō of the Salamander summoned his giant salamander without a word and immediately blanketed the field in a wide cloud of poison gas.
Their allies were disposable clones and deathless Edo Tensei bodies. Whether it was Deep Forest Emergence or poison gas, Orochimaru had no need to worry about friendly casualties. The only one he bothered to protect was Kimimaro.
Thus, wide-area killing techniques could be unleashed without restraint.
The sickly green poison spread through the ranks of the Allied Forces. Anyone who inhaled it was dead within ten seconds.
With just a few Kage-level legends taking the field, the tide turned instantly. And this was before the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and other renowned masters even joined the fray.
Boom!
Elsewhere, Guy and Kimimaro had been locked in combat for some time, the two already drawn far from the center of the battlefield.
"Bone hardening, is it…"
Guy's expression grew serious as he faced Kimimaro, who had activated the second stage of the Cursed Seal of Heaven. Green energy radiated from Guy's body, the power of the Sixth Gate surging around him.
At this level, his strength and speed were vastly enhanced. Against most taijutsu specialists, even if they could follow his speed, their bones would shatter and their bodies collapse under his power.
The Eight Gates gave him strength no ordinary human could resist.
And yet, this young boy was still holding his ground against him.
"The Sixth Gate is the best choice for now. It won't damage my body too badly, and the boost to power and speed is enough. There's no need to use the Seventh Gate, not unless I'm fighting Teacher Ye Zi."
Guy's eyes burned as he faced the half-human, half-monstrous Kimimaro. After so long trading blows, his resolve was unchanged.
He could open all eight gates now, but in real battle he rarely went beyond the Sixth. Not because of arrogance, but because he had yet to meet an opponent worthy of the Seventh.
After all, opening the Seventh Gate inflicted serious damage on his body. Unless absolutely necessary, he would never unleash it.
There had only been one moment in the past when he might have used it, but he hadn't yet mastered the technique.
Now, in this war, that time might finally come.
"So strong!"
Kimimaro panted lightly. In just ten minutes, Guy had taught him what true taijutsu meant. Without the Sharingan, he would never have kept up, he'd have been pummeled mercilessly. Even with the Cursed Seal in its second form, every ten exchanges, Guy landed one clean hit.
The Shikotsumyaku was supposed to be a natural counter to taijutsu users. By extending bone spikes from his fists or legs, he could wound anyone who struck him.
But against Guy, this advantage meant nothing.
He was simply too strong.
Kimimaro was forced to use his bone techniques defensively. Without the Sharingan to track Guy's movements, he'd already be on the ground. Without the bone-hardening ability to reinforce his body, Guy would have flattened him with a single blow.
Only by combining both could he barely hold on.
"In the end… I'm still too weak."
Kimimaro drew a deep breath, recalling what Ye Zi had said the day he left Konoha during the invasion.
That day, he had been cast aside, useless, without value, too weak to matter.
And now? Was it still the same?
"Even if I'm weak… at least I must clear one obstacle for Lord Ye Zi!"
Bone wings unfurled from his back, razor-sharp and glinting with icy menace.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern!"
Wings spread, he skimmed low across the battlefield, closing the distance to Guy. Pressing both hands to the ground, he unleashed a torrent of chakra.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
Countless sharp bones erupted from the earth without warning, blanketing a full kilometer in jagged spikes.
"Use the Dance of the Seedling Fern to seize the terrain, trap him, and find the chance to kill him in one strike!"
The Dance of the Seedling Fern consumed enormous chakra. To Kimimaro, it was the gamble of victory, the foundation for a decisive blow.
Guy reacted instantly. As the forest of bone spears shot upward, he leapt into the sky, then unleashed Morning Peacock downward. Blazing fists of flame smashed into the rising spikes, shattering them before they could impale him.
Smashing aside the bones in his landing zone, Guy dropped back to earth, only to find himself surrounded on all sides by a towering, ghastly-white forest of bone.
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Currently on Chapter 623 - Legends Clash Once More