"Not long ago, I received intel that you were capable of using my grandfather's Wood Golem jutsu, but..."
Tsunade frowned, her eyes locked intently on Jokichi.
"Do you really think that alone makes you invincible?"
"I didn't think you were such an arrogant person. Just what the hell did you go through to turn out like this?!"
With those words, Tsunade raised her fist and charged forward fiercely.
She had interacted with Jokichi when he left the village.
At that time, he wasn't swayed by fame or fortune, nor did he grow arrogant from the praise of others. He was low-key and humble.
She couldn't understand why he had become so conceited after leaving the village for less than a year.
Among everyone present, who wasn't at least a Jonin?
And how many were powerful experts capable of exchanging blows with Kage-level combatants?
Not to mention the Five Kage themselves and Jiraiya were also present.
Where on earth did he get the confidence to spout such arrogant words?
The more Tsunade thought about it, the angrier she got. Blue chakra flared like flames around her fist.
"W-Wait..."
Jiraiya's face turned completely pale with fright.
Because he was standing quite close to Jokichi and his companions, it looked as if Tsunade was charging straight at all of them.
He knew exactly how devastating Tsunade's punches were.
That explosive physical strength was no weaker than any A-rank single-target ninjutsu, and its destructive capability easily rivaled an S-rank technique.
He knew firsthand what happened to a person who got hit by that fist.
"Get out of my way!"
Tsunade roared. The floor shattered beneath her feet as she accelerated.
Jiraiya scrambled out of the way, leaping upward and pressing himself against the ceiling like a toad.
Nagato and Itachi also leaped away in perfect synchronization.
Since Jokichi had made a bet with the Five Kage, it wasn't their place to interfere.
"Wake the hell up!"
Tsunade closed the distance in an instant. Her chakra-wreathed fist swung forward, carrying a howling gale and overwhelming momentum.
Jokichi stood perfectly still. He made no move to block or dodge, standing there as if paralyzed by fear.
But not a single person present believed he was scared stiff, because his calm, unruffled expression radiated absolute confidence.
Everyone's eyes were glued to the scene, not missing a single detail, right down to the fluttering of their hair.
However, the fist stopped dead right in front of Jokichi.
The wind pressure whipped his hair back and pressed his clothes against his body, yet the fist halted mere inches from his face.
Tsunade's expression was incredibly grave, her fist trembling slightly.
What's going on?
This scene left everyone utterly bewildered.
Tsunade's trembling hand was definitely not out of fear. It looked more as if she were bound by something invisible, struggling against it with all her might.
"I heard the Hokage is a medical ninja. It seems she's indeed lacking in combat methods!"
Terumi Mei slammed a hand on the table and stood up, her gaze seductive and enchanting.
"Looking closely, aside from that pervert, the men of Konoha are quite handsome!"
"It would be a pity to just destroy them like this."
However, despite speaking of pity, Terumi Mei showed absolutely no hesitation when attacking.
Her hands flew through a few simple seals, and her small mouth puffed out.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
A massive wave of highly acidic, viscous liquid spewed from her mouth, crashing down from above like a giant overturned bowl, engulfing both Tsunade and Jokichi in its area of effect.
"Lady Hokage!"
Kakashi was startled. The three tomoe in his Sharingan instantly morphed into the shape of a shuriken.
But before he could use Kamui to save her, a mirror of ice materialized behind Tsunade. A pale, delicate hand reached out from within.
The small hand grabbed Tsunade's collar and yanked her violently into the mirror.
A split second later, the corrosive, viscous liquid crashed down.
Did she get him?
Everyone watched intently. Just when they thought the attack had succeeded, the thick acidic liquid halted mid-air above Jokichi. Then, as if struck by an invisible, massive force, it exploded violently outward in all directions.
Everyone immediately deployed their own defensive techniques, stepping in front of their respective Kage to block the splashing acid.
"This place is too small. You can't fight properly here. Let's change the venue!"
Jokichi swept his gaze over the crowd. He brought his left index and middle fingers together and held them vertically in front of his chest.
"Watch out!"
Onoki shouted a warning, and everyone's hearts tightened.
In the center of the room, a tiny, swirling black dot—no bigger than a pinhole—appeared.
Just as everyone was bracing themselves against this pinhole, it suddenly expanded explosively, swallowing everything in its vicinity.
It was only then that everyone realized this small dot was actually a spatial portal.
But by the time they realized it, it was too late. The portal had expanded to a massive size, swallowing the entire conference room whole.
Everyone felt as if they were plunging into a bottomless abyss, before finally spilling out from another exit.
They hurriedly checked their surroundings, realizing the environment and climate had completely changed.
Beneath a gloomy, gray sky stretched an endless, barren desert, dotted with towering, dry stone pillars.
"This is the desert plains of the Land of Frost!"
Onoki, vast in his experience, instantly recognized their location.
"Terrifying... To instantly teleport so many people this far away!"
"I'm starting to believe he actually destroyed Kumogakure all by himself."
"I knew anyone daring enough to do such a thing wouldn't be weak, but I never imagined he'd be this strong."
The crowd began murmuring amongst themselves.
The Five Kage stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their expressions grave as they watched Jokichi slowly descend from the sky.
For the first time, they felt that Jokichi's earlier words might not have been empty arrogance.
"It's spacious enough here, and there's no one else around. Come at me with everything you've got. Don't go looking for excuses when you lose."
The Five Kage exchanged glances and nodded in silent agreement.
"Then let us show you what we can do!"
The Raikage and Tsunade charged forward simultaneously from the left and right.
At the same time, a surge of sand and a massive water dragon launched from behind, catching up and matching their pace.
Tsunade and the Raikage glanced at the sand and water dragon beside them and leaped onto them.
Tsunade rode the wave of sand, while the Raikage was engulfed within the head of the water dragon. Using Gaara's and Terumi Mei's ninjutsu, the two of them soared into the sky.
Simultaneously, the earth trembled violently.
A colossal rock golem erupted from the ground behind Jokichi, swinging a massive hand that blotted out the sky to smash him flat.
A coordinated pincer attack from the front, back, left, right, and above.
Even though it was the first time the Five Kage had fought together, their immense strength and wealth of combat experience allowed them to execute a flawless, seamless combination attack.
"Hmph!"
Jokichi scoffed coldly.
Without him even making a move, the ground shuddered far more violently than before. A gargantuan hand burst from the earth, slamming Onoki's rock golem into the ground and crushing it instantly. Then, pressing firmly against the earth, a massive upper body dragged itself out of the ground.
It was an even more colossal wooden golem. Its upper torso alone was as massive as the Hokage Rock.
Its gigantic frame blotted out the sun, casting a massive shadow over the land.
And Jokichi, floating calmly in front of the colossal golem, looked like a demonic overlord, causing everyone's hearts to sink even further.
The water dragon and the wave of sand carried Tsunade and the Raikage back to their starting positions.
The five of them stood side-by-side, their brows locked in tight frowns as they stared up at the gargantuan monstrosity.
"Even though I could defeat you with a single glance, to give you a more intuitive understanding of the absolute gap in our power, I'll let you experience 1% of my strength firsthand."
Jokichi landed atop the wooden golem's head, looking down at the ant-sized people below.
"Not just the Five Kage, all of you can come at me together. You don't even need to defeat me. As long as a single attack touches me, I will admit defeat and immediately abandon my plans."