A shrill wind howled.
Hyūga Neji's gaze locked onto Deidara in the air.
"Taste this!"
The moment Deidara spotted him, he raised two fingers and shouted, "Katsu!"
Explosive Clay: Twin Birds!
A few streaks of light cut through the air—afterimages left behind by insane speed.
But no matter how fast it was, it couldn't fool the Tenseigan.
Neji casually flicked his hand.
Under his control, gravel from the ground shot up into the sky.
Explosions rang out one after another.
Explosive Clay: Bomb!
Deidara knew the Twin Birds wouldn't do much to Neji, so he immediately hurled a sphere at him.
The ball was kneaded from explosive clay, and it was fast—reaching the space above Neji's head in the blink of an eye.
"Katsu!"
Deidara detonated it.
Localised Reincarnation Explosion!
As Neji absorbed the explosive clay bomb, he retreated backward.
The bomb still exploded, but its power was reduced by more than half.
"What a pain!"
Deidara immediately formed hand seals.
A clay doll appeared and crashed down toward Neji.
This was C3: Number 18—powerful enough to destroy an entire village.
Neji sensed danger.
He bit his thumb and slammed his palm to the ground.
In an instant, a massive shadow descended.
A colossal figure stood in front of Neji.
It was the Ōtsutsuki Hamura Stone Statue.
It was as large as a tailed beast.
More importantly, as long as the Tenseigan didn't disappear, the Hamura statue couldn't be eliminated—it had terrifying regenerative power.
The moment it appeared, it reached out and grabbed the clay doll in its hand.
"Blow it up!"
Deidara's pupils tightened as he detonated it immediately.
A deafening roar shook the heavens.
Even the Konoha and Iwa ninja locked in battle instinctively looked up.
The clay doll burst apart like an overinflated balloon.
The Hamura statue's right hand was blown to pieces—but not long after, it regenerated back to normal.
"What… is that thing?"
Deidara was both shocked and baffled.
What Neji used just now was a summoning technique.
So why did a summon this powerful have zero reputation?
Deidara didn't have time to think. He drove the clay giant bird under his feet higher into the sky.
The instant he moved away, the Hamura statue slammed its palms together.
A piercing wind screamed through the air—
But Deidara dodged in time and wasn't turned into meat paste.
He exhaled in relief, then formed seals again.
Another clay doll appeared—but this one was completely different from the last.
This was C4: Garuda.
Inside the doll was a dense swarm of microscopic clay spiders.
Once the doll exploded, the spiders would scatter into the air, get inhaled by the target, and trigger a secondary internal explosion.
Because the range was so lethal, whenever Deidara used C4, he always went extremely high up first.
Neji frowned slightly.
The clay spiders were so small the naked eye couldn't see them.
But his Tenseigan could.
The moment he saw the doll, he knew it was far more dangerous than the previous one.
And the worst part was the sheer number of spiders inside.
Even if he could avoid them, the other Konoha ninja couldn't.
Neji didn't hesitate. He drew the Fatefeather Bow.
Multiple Arrows!
A dense storm of Yin Release arrows shot upward.
Deidara immediately understood what Neji was trying to do:
Force the doll to detonate midair.
"Useless!"
Deidara snorted.
C4 wasn't about the doll—it was about the clay spiders.
Detonating early didn't matter.
Boom!
The clay doll exploded in the sky.
A huge number of clay spiders, carried by the burst of white light, rained down in all directions—covering a wide area and threatening many Konoha ninja below.
At that moment, Neji raised his hand.
Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!
Seven Truth-Seeking Orbs spun rapidly above his head.
When a green ring of light appeared, a massive tornado blasted upward into the sky.
The clay spiders were instantly blown back.
"Damn it!"
Deidara hadn't expected the Tenseigan to have a technique like that.
He pulled his clay bird back while forming seals.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
One wall after another rose in front of him, blocking the returning clay spiders.
But then—behind him—space warped in complete silence.
Neji appeared out of nowhere.
Deidara instinctively turned his head.
The moment he saw Neji, his eyes widened.
Space-time ninjutsu…?
But he clearly wasn't going to get an answer.
Neji raised his hand and drove the Spirit Orb in his palm into Deidara's body.
Deidara was instantly controlled—his eyes going dull and unfocused.
Neji finally let out a breath.
The Tenseigan had many abilities.
Among them was spatial manipulation—creating spatial passages.
Neji hadn't used it before, saving it for this exact moment.
Of course, even without it, he could have beaten Deidara.
After all, aside from suicide bombing, Deidara had basically already used every trick he had.
As for why Neji knew Deidara's limits so clearly—Kitazawa told him.
Deidara's self-detonation had terrifying power, with a blast radius that could reach ten kilometers.
Once it went off, Neji and the others had no reliable way to stop it.
To prevent unnecessary losses for Konoha, Kitazawa had White Zetsu pass Deidara's intel to them in advance.
And beyond that, Kitazawa had another goal: saving Deidara's life.
Deidara's ability still had value—later, he could be used as a demolition expert.
Neji grabbed Deidara and dropped straight down.
After returning to the ground, he called White Zetsu out.
Deidara was an important figure in Iwagakure. Handing him to White Zetsu ensured he wouldn't be rescued.
After securing Deidara, Neji looked back toward the battlefield.
Haku, relying on the Six-Tails' chakra, was trading blows evenly with Kitsuchi.
But what surprised Neji most was Might Guy.
In his fight with Ōnoki, Guy actually had the upper hand—pressing him back.
"Is that the Sixth Gate…?"
Neji studied Guy.
Guy was wrapped in a surging green chakra aura, his presence so overwhelming it didn't lose to Haku's jinchūriki aura at all.
Neji quickly pulled his gaze away.
After a brief pause, he ran to assist Hiashi and the others.
Because for the moment, Haku and Guy didn't seem to need help.
Neji was only one person—but the moment he joined, Konoha went from "slightly ahead" to an absolute advantage.
In Tenseigan Chakra Mode, he could easily fight multiple opponents at once.
Ōnoki glanced over instinctively, his expression turning even uglier.
But even if he wanted to help, he couldn't.
Ōnoki looked at Might Guy.
Long ago, he'd heard Guy's name—not because Guy was famous for strength, but because he was Might Duy's son.
Back then, Might Duy had fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist alone, shattering the first generation of them.
That battle made him famous—and it also made the Eight Gates known across the ninja world.
Naturally, Might Duy's son, Might Guy, had learned the Eight Gates too.
What Ōnoki didn't expect was that the Eight Gates were even more terrifying than he imagined.
"What a battle overflowing with youth!"
Guy clenched his fist and roared, "Asa Kujaku—Morning Peacock!"
Ōnoki immediately felt a surge of danger.
He reflexively formed seals.
Earth Release: Super Lightweight Boulder Technique!
In the next second, his vision was filled with flames.
The "flames" bloomed in the air like a peacock spreading its tail—
But in reality, it was an illusion created by Guy's fists moving too fast.
Ōnoki shot upward.
Most of the flames missed, smashing into the ground below.
The earth immediately cracked like a spiderweb, the fractures rapidly expanding into countless deep craters.
Earth Release: Rock Arm!
The remaining flames were blocked in time by a gigantic stone arm.
Ōnoki used the arm as a foothold and rose higher into the air.
He exhaled shakily, still shaken.
But he didn't dare waste time. He formed seals again.
Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!
A square barrier appeared in his hands.
Aiming it at Guy, the square barrier fired out like a beam.
As it traveled through the air, it expanded, casting a faint shadow over Guy.
"Eight Gates—Seventh Gate… Open: Gate of Wonder!"
Guy wasn't afraid at all. If anything, he sounded thrilled.
The chakra aura around him exploded upward again, his face twisting under the strain.
"Hirudora—Daytime Tiger!"
Guy sprang forward.
He raised both hands, compressing air to the extreme.
A heartbeat later, the air detonated outward, forming the shape of a tiger.
The white tiger, carrying a terrifying shockwave, slammed into the square barrier.
A massive roar shook the heavens.
A brutal shockwave spread in all directions, reaching several kilometers.
Every Konoha and Iwa ninja on the battlefield felt a violent gust batter their bodies.
They instinctively looked up, their faces filled with shock.
"Can the Eight Gates… really reach this level?"
Neji felt that even his Tenseigan might not be able to stop an Eighth Gate Guy.
"Guy-sensei!"
Rock Lee trembled as he shouted, "So this is the power of your youth?! It makes my blood boil!"
"Guy is really this terrifying…?"
Hiashi and the others stared in disbelief.
To them, Guy had always been the quirky taijutsu specialist with a very particular vibe.
If someone claimed he could rival a Kage-level powerhouse after opening the Gates, they wouldn't have believed it.
But what was happening right in front of them forced them to.
"Damn it…"
Ōnoki felt his breathing tighten.
Even after Dust Release stopped most of its power, the massive white tiger of compressed air still hadn't lost its momentum.
Ōnoki had no choice but to fly even higher.
"Burn, my youth!"
Guy shot toward Ōnoki like a meteor. "Omote Renge—Primary Lotus!"
Ōnoki's vision blurred.
Countless fists appeared around him.
Then came pain—pain all over his body.
Boom!
A colossal impact hit Ōnoki like nothing he'd ever felt.
He lost control and crashed downward, hitting the ground and falling unconscious.
Seeing that, Guy immediately eased off and landed beside him.
"Guy-sensei!"
Neji had kept his Tenseigan active, so he noticed right away.
He knew the Eight Gates came with terrifying side effects, and to prevent Guy from being targeted by other Iwa ninja, he rushed over.
"He's yours," Guy said—and then dropped onto the ground, sitting hard.
If his willpower weren't so strong, he would've passed out on the spot.
"White Zetsu."
Just like before, Neji had White Zetsu temporarily guard Ōnoki.
He was about to call for a medical ninja to treat Guy when Kitazawa suddenly appeared.
"Go handle your side," Kitazawa said.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei."
Neji immediately relaxed, turned, and went to support Hiashi and the others.
"Th… thank you, Hokage-sama," Guy panted.
"It's nothing."
Kitazawa extended his hand.
Soft green chakra rapidly enveloped Guy.
The side effects of the Eight Gates were severe—but as long as the Eighth Gate wasn't opened, it wasn't fatal.
And for Kitazawa as he was now, even if Guy had opened the Eighth Gate, he could still save him.
But Ōnoki wasn't strong enough to push Guy to that extent.
In the original story, only Ten-Tails Jinchūriki Uchiha Madara forced Guy to open the Eighth Gate—
And Guy's Night Guy nearly killed him.
A moment later, Kitazawa withdrew his hand.
Guy stood up, stunned.
He understood the backlash of the Gates better than anyone.
He'd expected to be bedridden in Konoha Hospital for a while after opening the Seventh Gate.
Yet in the blink of an eye, he was almost fully recovered.
"Hokage-sama!"
Guy said immediately. "I'm going back to help them!"
He dashed off toward the battlefield again.
Kitazawa smiled but didn't stop him.
He remained where he was, quietly waiting for the war to end.
With Ōnoki and Deidara gone, Iwagakure no longer had the strength to resist. Their defeat was only a matter of time.
"White Zetsu," Kitazawa called after a moment.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
White Zetsu popped out from the ground.
"Spread the results of this battle," Kitazawa ordered. "Especially Guy, Neji, and Haku."
Even though those three truly were the biggest contributors to the victory, Kitazawa still emphasized it deliberately.
After all, it involved his system missions.
In less than half an hour, Iwagakure officially declared surrender.
Akatsuchi, Kurotsuchi, and the other jōnin were captured.
"Hokage-sama."
Hyūga Hiashi walked up to Kitazawa.
"Bring the jōnin back to Konoha. Release the chūnin and genin back to Iwagakure," Kitazawa said after a brief pause. "And I have another task for you—go take control of the Land of Earth."
Hiashi instinctively looked stunned.
What did that mean?
But Kitazawa didn't explain further, and Hiashi didn't dare press.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Hiashi steadied himself and answered.
[Current Mission: Defeat the Four Great Ninja Villages.]
[Mission Reward: 80% of Senju Hashirama's physique.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
In an instant, Kitazawa felt a massive surge of chakra rise within his body.
~~~
Almost Finished!
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