Of course, even the Five Kage, standing at the pinnacle of the Ninja World, might not possess Madara's composure in the face of change.
Therefore, when the news of this battle reached the major villages, it naturally stirred up monstrous waves once again.
The first to react were the Ninjas of Kumogakure.
Kumogakure's scouts were closest to the battlefield and were the first to witness the snowflakes falling everywhere and the corpses of over a thousand Konoha's Ninjas instantly transforming into ice thorn crosses.
The extremely grotesque and terrifying scene caused a strong mental impact, making their brains roar.
The dozen or so Kumogakure's scouts scattered around the battlefield were scared witless.
They looked towards the battlefield, gazing at the blood-soaked ice thorn crosses, their faces revealing expressions of shock, horror, awe, and even fear.
Conventionally, Kumogakure's Ninjas were warmongers who feared no bloody scenes. Yet, even so, these scouts were still badly frightened by what happened on the battlefield. Some even felt their vision go dark, their worldview on the verge of collapse.
"When did the Yuki Clan's Ice Release Kekkei Genkai possess such terrifying power?"
"The Chakra cost of this technique must be equally horrifying. It probably drains a Kage-level Ninja's Chakra instantly, right?"
"Kage-level Ninja? Probably not that simple. I estimate even the Fourth Raikage-sama doesn't have this capability. Perhaps only the sacrificed Third Raikage-sama in the village had enough Chakra to support this technique's completion?"
"The power of a Tailed Beast is nothing more than this!"
"In fact, even the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki was suppressed. Kirigakure's Yuki Sora's combat power is far more terrifying than imagined!"
"Could it be... a second Senju Hashirama?"
"Not impossible!"
The Kumogakure's scouts all looked towards the direction of the battlefield with fearful and horrified expressions. Among them were Elite Jonin, yet they still couldn't help but feel apprehensive, shocked, and even terrified by what they witnessed.
Some also felt a chill, instantly feeling their hair stand on end. The fine hairs on their arms stood up because of the swiftly attacking cold wind.
…
A slightly later time.
Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
Unlike Kirigakure, which is located on a remote overseas island, Sunagakure was situated in a boundless desert.
Here, the sun blazed all day, the climate was hot, and water was scarce, making it extremely unsuitable for human survival.
Sunagakure, long entrenched in this desert, undoubtedly possessed the weakest overall strength among the great Ninja Villages.
Its characteristics could be simply summarized as: few Ninjas, poor Ninja quality, weak Kage-level fighters. It could be called the bottom tier among great Ninja Villages, the overlord among small Ninja Villages.
Coupled with the sudden death of the Third Kazekage years ago, Sunagakure's already poor situation worsened, adding frost to snow.
If not for the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, having a firm enough grip to stabilize Sunagakure's chaotic situation, the plight of Sunagakure's Ninjas would likely be even more difficult now.
Unfortunately, even though Rasa's appointment as the Fourth Kazekage was enough to turn the tide, Sunagakure, situated next to Konoha and Iwagakure, still couldn't escape the clutches of these two great Ninja Villages.
Both the Third Hokage and the Third Tsuchikage were old and cunning. Before the war even started, they tacitly joined forces to carve out a large piece of flesh from Sunagakure.
Missions, money, mines, Ninjas, territory…
With the signing of one unequal treaty after another, Sunagakure conceded massive benefits to Konoha and Iwagakure.
To avoid raising suspicion from the two great Ninja Villages, they even voluntarily dismantled their defenses, once allowing Konoha and Iwagakure to open their main battlefield within the Land of Wind.
In short, various humiliating and traitorous treaties made Sunagakure's situation even more miserable, even showing signs of becoming a subordinate village to Konoha.
This was something many Sunagakure's Ninjas with passionate hearts simply couldn't accept.
"Why such fate fallen to our once great Sunagakure!"
This was the resentful sigh of a certain Sunagakure's elder, representing the sentiments of countless Sunagakure's Ninjas.
Therefore, on this day,
When Rasa saw the news of Konoha's great rout, he naturally became excited.
"Konoha lost over two thousand Ninjas?"
"Fantastic!"
"Jiraiya, Namikaze Minato, and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki were all beaten?"
"Fantastic!"
"Damn it!"
"Kirigakure's Yuki Sora did a really beautiful job!!!"
Rasa waved the intelligence report in his hand, roaring with excitement: "If the battlefield weren't so far away, our Sunagakure would definitely go help out against Konoha!!!!!"
"Konoha lost over two thousand people?"
"Kirigakure's Yuki Sora made his move, the Sannin, the Yellow Flash, and the Jinchuriki were all defeated?"
The emergence of these two pieces of news was like a bolt from the blue, leaving the Sunagakure's higher-ups present dumbfounded.
Petrified.
Stupefied.
Terrified.
No one could have imagined that the seemingly invincible Konoha would suffer such a great loss at the hands of Kirigakure!!!
Everyone was in shock.
"Is Yuki Sora really that strong?"
A Sunagakure's elder advisor said with a trembling voice, "If the intel is true, this Yuki Sora is a bit too ridiculously strong, right? Is the intel confirmed accurate?"
"It must be accurate."
Rasa also said with a horrified gaze, "Before this, this Yuki Sora already single-handedly defeated Konoha's Yellow Flash and Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, also slaughtering over seven hundred Konoha's Ninjas. This time…"
"One can only say Konoha had rotten luck, provoking an enemy they shouldn't have!"
To be honest, when Rasa first saw the intel, he also felt somewhat skeptical.
Snow falling from the sky, ice thorn crosses, instantly killing over a thousand Ninjas!??
Something that sounded so outrageous was truly terrifying to the point of being hard to believe.
In Rasa's impression, even for a Kage-level Ninja, a Ninjutsu covering a few hundred meters was already considered top-tier.
But for Sora in the intel, with a technique range easily affecting several kilometers… that was a bit too absurd.
In Rasa's view, perhaps only two people in all of Ninja World's history possessed such power.
Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara…
At this moment, the names of two supremely domineering figures flashed in Rasa's mind.
'Could it be that this Yuki Sora had already reached legendary levels!???'
"Kazekage-sama!"
"This is also a god-sent opportunity for the village!"
A Sunagakure's elder advisor suddenly stood up, speaking with extreme excitement, "If this terrifying Yuki Sora can single-handedly suppress Konoha, then it might lead to Konoha and Kirigakure mutually exhausting each other. When Konoha's rear is undefended…"
"It might be Sunagakure's moment to reverse our future!!!"
"Right!"
Hearing this, another Elite Jonin said excitedly, "When the snipe and clam grapple, the fisherman profits. If we seize the opportunity, we might achieve Sunagakure's revival, the greatest revival!"
"Beat the Konoha dogs! Then our village won't have to follow Konoha's lead anymore!!"
"Those who do injustice will be ruined by injustice. This monster Yuki Sora might be the retribution god sent for Konoha!"
"The opportunity has come!"
"If Konoha and Kirigakure fight to a stalemate, our village will definitely laugh last, becoming the biggest beneficiary!"
"!!!!"
The Sunagakure's higher-ups all became agitated. They discussed amongst themselves, their expressions growing more and more excited the more they talked.
At this historical juncture, if they could seize this opportunity to make Sunagakure rise again, their names would be recorded in history, immortalized!!!
Rasa was also frowning in thought.
'It sounded…'
'Quite promising!'
'Anyway, no matter how powerful that Yuki Sora is, Konoha is the one taking the hit. This fire won't burn Sunagakure no matter what.'
'Since the risk isn't great, why not give it a try?'
'Fortune favors the bold!'
'Besides, this is originally Konoha vs. Kirigakure's war. As long as that monster Yuki Sora inflicts enough damage on Konoha's fighting strength, it's nothing but beneficial for Sunagakure.'
The more he thought about it, the more reliable it seemed.
Rasa was a Kazekage with great political ambition. Proud and bearing Sunagakure's future on his shoulders, how could he willingly kneel and be Konoha's dog forever.
After pondering for a long time, Rasa finally made up his mind. He raised his head and issued a firm command:
"Notify the village's Anbu to keep a close watch on Konoha and Kirigakure's intelligence. Report any unusual movements immediately!"
"Once Konoha suffers a fatal blow from Yuki Sora, our Sunagakure will directly declare war on Konoha…"
"Launch war!!!"
…
In this battle-
Sora, with his unbelievable, insane battle record, truly made his name shake the Ninja world. The mere mention of his name could now make the Five Kage tremble, and ordinary Ninjas turn pale at the sound.
Yuki Sora!
Single-handedly defeated Konoha's aces Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, and Jiraiya! Killed over two thousand Konoha's Ninjas!!!
This terrifying, almost heaven-defying battle record was enough to elevate Sora's fame to its peak, making him an extreme powerhouse standing at the Ninja World's apex, a super myth among myths!!!
…
Yet at this moment, Sora, who is at the center of the storm, stood poised beside a clear lake.
Clad in his white haori, with his eyes closed, he was listening to the series of system notification sounds continuously ringing in his ears.
[Ding!]
[Special Challenge Mission 1, Completed]
[Special Challenge Mission 2, Completed]
[Special Challenge Mission 3: Defeat Konoha's Ninja, Jiraiya, Completed. Reward: Reiatsu +50,000 points, Hakuda Skill Level +1, Zanjutsu, Shunpo, Kido Skill Experience +1000]
[Special Challenge Mission 4: Kill 2000 Konoha's Ninjas, Completed. Reward: Reiatsu +100,000 points, Hado #78, Zangerin, Zanpakuto: Kyoka Suigetsu (Shikai)]
[Hado #78: Zangerin: Releases a ring-shaped blade of light from around the user. Upon hitting the target, it inflicts massive damage.]
[Zanpakuto: Kyoka Suigetsu: Shikai version. Can completely hypnotize all tangible and intangible entities with energy levels lower than the user's, dominating the target's five senses.]
[Special Note: As the host already possesses Hyorinmaru, the newly obtained Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu's abilities have been completely integrated into Hyorinmaru. Zanpakuto for Kyoka Suigetsu has thus become an intangible existence. If needed, the host can materialize Kyoka Suigetsu again at any time.]
[Host's Reiatsu level has been raised to Rank 6. Reward: 200,000 points of Reiatsu. Bankai's Reiatsu combat power multiplier increased from 2 to 3, allowing the burst of triple combat power.]
…
'Rank 6 Reiatsu, Hado #78, Zangerin, and…'
'Kyoka Suigetsu!??'
As the notification sounds faded, even the usually calm and composed Sora couldn't help but show a clear look of joy on his face.
Because, this time's rewards were simply too abundant.
They even caused his already monstrous combat power to increase insanely by another notch.
Rank 6 Reiatsu!
It's undoubtedly high Kage-level!
At this level, only a handful of figures existed!
Nine-Tails Chakra Mode Naruto, Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke, Fourth Great Ninja War Rinnegan Obito, Six Paths of Pain…
Each one was a true powerhouse capable of fighting ten thousand alone, an invincible figure sufficient to reverse the entire battle situation!!!
Now, Sora had also stepped into the threshold of high Kage-level. The extremely powerful Rank 6 Reiatsu had already elevated him to a completely new level of life.
In an instant, Sora could clearly feel the Reiatsu within his body, boundless like an ocean. The energy consumed in the fierce battle was directly restored to its peak state.
Light!
A faint golden light even seemed to emanate from his body. It was a kind of strength impossible to describe with words.
Golden patterns spread on Sora's right hand.
Immediately after, he drew the Zanpakuto at his side and swung it forward.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The blade tip cut through the air.
Then, the originally calm lake water before him suddenly became turbulent.
Boom!
As the waves rolled, they emitted earth-shattering roars. And right in the midst of this roaring, the lake stretching over ten kilometers suddenly split down the middle, revealing a vacuum area.
Splash~ Splash~ Splash~
The water churned violently.
Abruptly, on both sides of the vacuum area, water walls over a hundred meters high instantly surged up, still climbing towards the sky at an unbelievable speed.
In the direction Sora's Zanpakuto had slashed, the vacuum area formed by the Kenatsu grew wider and wider.
The lake water there was parted by the powerful sword pressure, revealing the dry, messy riverbed below.
Splash splash~ Splash splash~
A moment later, the sky-high water waves slowly fell, and the lake surface returned to calm.
At this time, Sora slowly sheathed Hyorinmaru.
'This…'
'Is this the power of the Rank 6?'
Sora's face was as calm as still water. He pondered slightly, then suddenly smiled: 'In the current Ninja World, it seems I… have no opponents left.'