The leading ninja, his weathered face set in grim determination, suddenly witnessed a scene that sent chills down his spine—a familiar scene that had already claimed two Kage. The young Uzumaki simply vanished from in front of his eyes, as if he had never existed at all.
BOOM!
A devastating pain erupted from his chin, the impact so severe it almost paralyzed his entire nervous system. The force launched him backward through the air like a human cannonball, his body colliding with several other ninja and taking them down in a chaotic tangle of limbs and weapons.
For a Karma user, even more precious than their raw, overwhelming power was the combat experience that came embedded within the mark itself. This mystical knowledge completely transformed the wielder into a battle-hardened warrior who possessed the fighting instincts and tactical awareness of someone who had fought for thousands of years across countless battlefields.
Elric's movements flowed with perfect efficiency as he swung his black staff toward a ninja running at him from the right. His intention had been simple—just knock the man unconscious and move on to the next opponent.
But the ninja's head exploded on contact, brain matter and blood spraying across the water in a grotesque fountain.
"It seems I'm using too much force," Elric said casually to the headless corpse as it toppled into the crimson-stained sea. "My bad."
What are you doing retreat, use ninjutsu from distance.
A Jonin, quickly formed hand seals and released a massive fireball jutsu toward the young monster. The technique roared through the air, its heat distorting the morning mist.
Elric responded by striking the sea directly with his staff. The impact created a towering wall of water that rose like a liquid mountain—almost reaching the level of a B-rank water release technique. When the fireball collided with the water wall, the entire area was instantly filled with thick white mist, the superheated steam obscuring everyone's vision and turning the battlefield into a nightmarish maze.
In the swirling white chaos, a ninja prepared to release another ninjutsu, his hands moving through familiar seals with practiced precision. But before he could complete the technique, a black rod materialized out of the mist and struck directly into his shoulder with surgical precision.
The chakra-disrupting weapon immediately sealed his chakra pathways, and without that vital energy supporting his water-walking technique, he plummeted directly into the sea below. As he struggled to surface, gasping and choking on seawater, the last thing he saw was a small foot rapidly enlarging in his field of vision.
"Stop! I surrender—" he began desperately, but lost consciousness before he could finish his sentence.
Meanwhile, in Konohagakure
In the heart of Konohagakure, within the Hokage's office, an unusual scene was playing out. Hiruzen Sarutobi paced back and forth with visible impatience, his pipe forgotten on his desk as worry etched deep lines across his weathered features. Meanwhile, Danzo sat calmly on the sofa, sipping tea with an almost serene expression—a complete reversal of their usual roles.
"Sarutobi, don't worry about it," Danzo said, his voice carrying its typical cold confidence. "There's no problem with losing five or six Uzumaki clan members during the chaos of war." He took another measured sip of his tea before continuing. "Those three villages might have already finished their job by now."
The Third Hokage's frown deepened. Something felt wrong about this entire situation, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was bothering him so intensely.
But before Danzo could finish elaborating on his callous assessment, the office door burst open without ceremony. An ANBU operative appeared, his mask failing to hide the urgency radiating from his posture.
"There is urgent news from the ANBU team who was tasked with keeping eyes on the situation!" the masked ninja announced breathlessly.
Sarutobi stopped his pacing immediately, his full attention focused on the messenger. "Say it. What happened?"
The ANBU operative took a deep breath, as if struggling to believe the words he was about to speak.
"The coalition force has been defeated, and most of them have been captured, including all three Kage!"
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
Two identical expressions of absolute disbelief sounded simultaneously in the room, the crude language escaping both the refined Third Hokage and the normally composed Danzo in perfect unison. Their carefully maintained political facades cracked completely under the weight of this impossible news.
The teacup slipped from Danzo's suddenly nerveless fingers, shattering against the floor.