"Minato, explain what happened."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Minato Namikaze calmly recounted everything. By the time he had arrived, the battle was already over.
The room fell silent.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen… defeated by Kazuki alone?
And Might Dai had opened the Eight Gates and taken one of them down himself?
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in a low voice.
"Good. We underestimated Might Dai's talent."
"When he returns, bring me to see him."
But Hiruzen had more pressing matters. Raikage would not stay silent, and Danzo still needed safe passage back to Konoha.
He left the office with Orochimaru following behind.
Not long after, another ANBU rushed in.
"Where is Hokage-sama?"
Homura Mitokado stood.
"Hokage-sama is occupied. What is it?"
"Lord Homura, something major has happened in the Land of Water!"
"What now?"
"Jiraiya-sama has lost contact. The Third Mizukage personally attacked Kazuki and the others."
Homura and Koharu froze for a split second—
Then faint smiles tugged at their lips.
They hadn't expected Kazuki's luck to run out this quickly.
The Third Mizukage himself had moved?
Kazuki was finished.
Koharu asked calmly,
"When did this occur?"
"Approximately thirty minutes ago."
Homura sighed theatrically.
"That's unfortunate. Hokage-sama isn't here, and our elite jōnin are on missions."
"Our manpower is limited."
"We can only hope Kazuki escapes."
"Send reinforcements."
The ANBU's eyes widened.
Reinforcements?
To that battlefield?
He swallowed hard.
"Yes… Lord Homura…"
As he left, he nearly cursed aloud.
Sending him into a battlefield involving the Mizukage and thousands of enemies?
These elders were ruthless.
Homura and Koharu exchanged a look.
If Kazuki died—
Danzo's return would restore balance.
Konoha would return to "order."
Border of the Land of Fire and Land of Water
Half the bridge had collapsed into the sea.
Waves roared violently.
White Zetsu swarmed toward Kazuki, who stood at the center of a forest realm.
Outer trees cracked.
Collapsed.
Inner roots were torn apart by sheer numbers.
On the other side—
The Third Mizukage, his face swollen from multiple blows by Kazuki's clones, finally gained distance.
He unleashed continuous Water Release.
Sea water twisted into dragon after dragon.
"Water Release — Water Dragon Bullet!"
BOOM!
One of Kazuki's clones was obliterated instantly.
But at the same time—
Kazuki created three more.
He didn't split further.
Three clones meant each retained one-third of his current strength.
Any more would dilute their power too much.
Kazuki brought his hands together.
Chakra surged violently through his body.
His eyes flashed.
"Wood Release — Wood Golem Technique!"
RUMBLE—
The earth beneath him exploded.
A massive wooden statue head erupted from below.
Kazuki stood atop it.
The statue continued rising—
Towering higher and higher—
Until it stood like a mountain between heaven and earth.
Behind it—
Layer upon layer of enormous wooden arms unfolded in a circle.
A monstrous thousand-handed wooden figure.
Not far away—
A masked eye narrowed.
This was Madara's projection.
His true body remained connected to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, barely able to manifest a clone.
He had come to assess Kazuki personally.
"What…?"
Looking at the colossal wooden figure stretching into the clouds—
Madara's clone took a step back.
"This is Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands?!"
His voice trembled.
"Impossible."
"He doesn't possess a Sage Body. How could he use Sage Wood Release?"
Then his gaze sharpened.
"No… this isn't the Thousand Hands Buddha."
"It's the Wood Golem Technique."
The trauma of Hashirama Senju was etched deep into Madara's soul.
Even this lesser technique triggered instinctive fear.
"Could Hashirama have faked his death like I did…?"
Madara stared hard at Kazuki.
His eyes strained, almost bleeding.
But no matter how he looked—
This wasn't Hashirama.
"…Then kill him while he's still young."
Madara prepared to act—
When the earth shook again.
Another massive thousand-handed wooden golem rose from the ground.
And atop it—
Another Kazuki clone.
The shaking intensified.
The land cracked even wider.
A third colossal wooden golem burst upward.
Three towering thousand-handed wooden giants stood upon the battlefield.
The sea trembled.
The sky darkened.
Even the Third Mizukage's expression changed completely.
This wasn't a prodigy anymore.
This was—
A natural disaster.
And Kazuki stood at the center of it all.