A combat plan targeting a single enemy, with intelligence from firsthand witnesses, allowed Nara Shikaku to quickly formulate a strategy.
According to Shikaku's plan, Sarutobi Hiruzen mobilized ten elite squads. Each squad comprised one shinobi skilled in Earth Release, two experts in ninja tool manipulation, and one Hyūga branch family member.
Adding Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, plus Shuji and Tenzo wearing ANBU masks, the force was complete.
The team had traveled barely an hour's distance from the village when a messenger hawk, carrying an urgent whistle, landed on Sarutobi Hiruzen's arm.
Removing the encrypted message and scanning it once, the Third Hokage's expression grew exceptionally grave.
He raised his hand, making a concise gesture. The advancing team immediately halted. All eyes focused on him.
Shuji and Yamato landed beside him.
"The situation has changed."
"Latest intelligence indicates Satori is carrying the Box of Ultimate Bliss and heading toward the village."
What Sarutobi Hiruzen did not mention was that border outpost shinobi had attempted interception, all ending in failure with heavy casualties.
He could not understand why Satori's target would be Konoha. Kusagakure had killed Kazuma. Kusagakure had also offered Sora to the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Or perhaps, Kazuma, your resentment has already influenced that child's will...
Regardless, Satori absolutely could not approach the village.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's sharp gaze swept across the assembled shinobi, rapidly adjusting deployment based on new intelligence. He ordered the ten squads to immediately disperse, establishing a first defensive line utilizing terrain.
"Hyūga clan shinobi are responsible for tracking and early warning! Earth Release users, the moment Satori shows attack intent, immediately use Earth-Style Wall for cover and create obstacles."
"Remaining personnel, execute long-range harassment tactics. Maintain maximum distance. After one volley, immediately relocate. Absolutely prohibit close combat engagement! Your mission is attracting and dispersing its attention!"
"That is an enemy capable of sensing hostility. You absolutely cannot approach for attacks!"
Orders were swiftly transmitted. Shinobi silently scattered into mountain forests, each rapidly proceeding to their battle positions.
Shuji quietly formed seals at this moment, leaving a shadow clone concealed among trees. His main body followed Sarutobi Hiruzen, leaping onto relatively open high ground.
Satori did not keep them waiting long. In the distant sky, a black dot rapidly appeared, enlarging at astonishing speed.
Almost simultaneously, Hyūga shinobi scattered in various locations issued warnings nearly in unison!
"Target appears! Extremely high altitude, directly ahead偏东, very fast!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's form shot forward first. Shuji and Yamato followed closely.
First to contact Satori were interception squads already in position.
Countless kunai and arrows wrapped with explosive tags shot toward that black shadow from different positions and angles.
Satori reacted extremely quickly. Its massive wings beat fiercely. Its form suddenly gained altitude, nimbly evading most attacks. Explosive tags detonated continuously beneath it. Fireballs and thick smoke churned, yet struggled to touch its body.
However, this successful provocation had already enraged the monster.
Satori's pair of pitch-black wings vibrated. Over a dozen black feathers shot downward toward the attack sources.
"Scatter!"
Thanks to Byakugan's advance warning and strict tactical discipline, Konoha shinobi had already changed positions beforehand. Heavy Earth-Style Walls rose from the ground at opportune moments, blocking this lethal counterattack for several shinobi whose withdrawal had been slightly slow.
"Attack effective! Successfully drew attention!"
"Second and third teams, continue suppression!"
During this offensive-defensive exchange gap, Satori hurled the Box of Ultimate Bliss beneath it toward forest land. That heavy box smashed through trees, embedding deeply into the ground.
Immediately after, its massive form eerily hovered mid-air. The giant mouth in its chest cavity suddenly opened wide. Heart-palpitating dark red chakra began madly gathering.
At precisely this moment, the adamantine staff in Sarutobi Hiruzen's hands extended at incredible speed, stabbing straight toward Satori preparing its attack in the air.
For this strike, the adamantine staff-transformed Enma completely emptied his thoughts, evading hostility sensing.
Caught unprepared, Satori was solidly struck between chest and abdomen by this strike containing tremendous force despite lacking warning.
"Roar—!"
Accompanied by an agonized, enraged roar, its massive body was sent completely off balance by this tremendous force, tumbling backward like a violently struck top, heavily crashing toward the forest below.
A succession of tooth-aching crashes rang out. Countless giant trees were snapped at waist height. Smoke and wood fragments shot skyward, as though draping that forest area in a yellow curtain.
Without requiring any orders, just as Satori's fall stirred up dust that had yet to settle, Shuji's hands had already come together.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground shook violently. Countless thick trees burst from the earth.
Yamato beside Shuji fully mobilized his chakra, injecting it into the ground beneath, desperately catalyzing the tree realm's expansion speed, making this forest grow more dense and aggressive at astonishing rates.
Countless violent branches and tenacious vines, as though possessing life's tsunami, densely wound toward, lashed toward, and stabbed toward Satori's fallen location. The entire area instantly transformed into a death cage filled with vitality.
Satori, just struggling to rise, immediately fell into this sea of trees' fury. Its claws danced wildly, easily tearing apart the thickest vines that first entangled it. Its giant mouth opened, spitting dark red chakra energy orbs that instantly destroyed large swaths of surging trees ahead.
However, under Shuji's continuous chakra infusion, destroyed trees almost instantly regrew, becoming even thicker, more violent, successively and endlessly strangling toward Satori, attempting to completely devour and bury it.
Seeing the situation unfavorable, Satori released several smaller chakra orbs consecutively, attempting to clear a path. Taking advantage of trees' brief regeneration gap, it struggled to beat its wings, wanting to break free from restraints and climb upward.
"Don't even think about it!" Sarutobi Hiruzen manipulated the retracted adamantine staff, timing another fierce thrust, targeting the wing roots Satori was struggling to flap, attempting to knock it back into the tree realm's cage.
Konoha shinobi below also exerted full effort throwing ninja tools. Explosive tag detonations continuously bloomed around Satori, attempting to firmly trap it in that deadly forest.
However, sensing danger, Satori suddenly rotated its body, actually actively using its relatively hard wing edges to meet Sarutobi Hiruzen's adamantine staff, attempting to borrow force to bounce backward and escape the tree realm's range.
"Tch!" The Third Hokage reacted extremely quickly. With a thought, the originally extending adamantine staff instantly retracted into his hands, making Satori's borrowing plan fail.
Attempt failed, yet Satori showed no hesitation. It forcibly endured several explosive tags' close-range blast impacts. Its wings beat madly, forcibly climbing upward.
Explosion shockwaves slowed its speed. Several abnormally thick, sharp branches seized the opportunity to coil around its ankles like giant pythons.
Satori angrily spat a chakra bullet downward, temporarily forcing back pursuing branches below while simultaneously slashing with its claws, severing the ankle restraints.
"Detestable... Konoha..."
Satori released an enraged roar. Immediately after, it issued another command.
The grounded Box of Ultimate Bliss had relief mouths wriggling and opening on its walls. This time, dozens of shinobi with empty eyes, stiff movements, and wearing Kusagakure forehead protectors slowly emerged.
Initially stumbling, their movements quickly became swift yet bizarre as they charged toward Shuji and Yamato maintaining the tree realm.
The tree realm shifted according to Shuji's will, splitting off some branches and vines to bind, entangle, and crush the attacking puppets.
However, Satori also seized this brief gap, successfully climbing to altitudes where the tree realm could not effectively reach. It looked down vexedly at those shinobi concealed in the forest.
Konoha shinobi were prepared. Satori's greatest weapon against enemies—thought reading—proved difficult to activate under such attacks.
From the Box of Ultimate Bliss, people continuously emerged. These were converted Kusagakure shinobi and Hozuki Castle prisoners.
They began consciously dispersing, flanking around, attempting to bypass the tree realm's core range to attack those scattered Konoha shinobi in various locations.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to wield his adamantine staff, transforming into a solid barrier, smashing these painless, death-fearing puppets one by one.
Satori circled overhead, continuously firing small-power chakra bullets toward densely populated ground areas or Shuji and Sarutobi Hiruzen's directions, conducting suppressive harassment and interfering with tree realm maintenance.
"Tenzo, I leave this to you."
"Yes!" Yamato responded briefly, focusing even more intently on manipulating Wood Release, shouldering the burden.
Shuji dispelled his distant shadow clone. The natural energy collected during its brief existence instantly returned to his main body.
In that instant, beneath the ANBU animal mask, black markings quietly emerged. Sage Mode, activated.
Sensing the power surging through his body, Shuji raised his head, locking onto that circling monster in the sky.
One Body Flicker. Shuji's figure appeared atop the tree sea's highest branch, hands forming seals again.
Sage Art: Myriad Spiraling Wind Prison!
With Shuji as the center, surrounding airflow instantly erupted violently.
As though invisible giant hands madly stirred the air, originally stable atmosphere instantly became violent and chaotic. Countless turbulent flows of varying directions and strengths spontaneously generated, colliding and tearing at each other, forming an extremely chaotic airspace.
Satori in the high altitude immediately became a small boat amid this violent airflow. Those massive wings, at this moment, no longer proved advantageous but instead became the greatest burden, torn and battered by turbulent flows from all directions. Its form violently swayed, unable to maintain stability, much less fly freely.
Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen no longer concerned himself with Box of Ultimate Bliss-controlled puppets. His figure flashed, landing on another giant tree branch beside Shuji. He drew a deep breath. His chest swelled. Seals completed.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Three massive fire dragons roared from his mouth, not charging straight at Satori but skillfully following the violent windflow Shuji created. Instantly, fire borrowed wind's momentum. Wind aided fire's威!
The three fire dragons' bodies explosively grew, churning and interweaving, transforming into a flame storm covering the sky, completely engulfing Satori struggling amid turbulent flow!
Scorching flames devoured its feathers and body. The air immediately filled with a burnt stench.
Agonized roaring violently transmitted from within the flame storm.
After the blazing wind storm passed, Satori's body emitted black smoke, swaying precariously from the chaotic airspace, finally powerlessly falling diagonally toward the forest below. Simultaneously, those who had emerged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss suddenly froze, remaining rigidly in place.
Shuji lightly landed from the branch. His hands pressed toward the ground again.
More and thicker trees covered with tenacious vines burst from the earth, swarming toward Satori's landing point. Layer upon layer, they wound, wrapped, and compressed. In moments, they had completely swallowed its massive body, forming a huge, still slightly wriggling wooden cage.
The battlefield temporarily fell into an eerie silence.
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild