In the 14th year of Konoha, during the scorching month of May, the First Great Ninja War was raging in full swing.
In the Water-Earth War, Kirigakure and Iwagakure fought fiercely, battling to the point of utter chaos and destruction.
Kirigakure went all out, nearly emptying their village to launch a massive invasion through the Land of Birds into the southern part of the Land of Earth. Iwagakure, refusing to back down, even unleashed rampaging tailed beasts on the battlefield. Both sides clashed in brutal, bloody combat, suffering devastating losses.
The Fire-Lightning War truly lived up to the saying 'like lightning striking fire, unstoppable once ignited.' Both sides poured nearly all their forces into the two northeastern fronts, with losses on each side too staggering to estimate.
On the northern front, ever since Uchiha Kagami joined the battlefield in his new form, the situation has completely turned one-sided.
Unable to withstand the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release, Kinkaku was forced into continuous retreat. The Konoha vanguard not only reclaimed some of their positions but also managed to dispatch reinforcements to the eastern front, establishing a blockade that significantly alleviated the pressure on Uzumaki Mito.
Over the course of several months, Kagami gradually adapted to the new power within him, mastering Wood Release with increasing ease. Thanks to his heroic efforts, the morale of the Konoha forces soared, driving the invading Cloud ninja all the way back to the northern regions.
Just as they were mustering their strength to drive the Cloud ninja completely out of their territory, Kumogakure finally played their trump card.
When the Konoha forces broke through the Cloud's blockade and charged into the enemy's stronghold, what they faced were not exhausted, desperate Cloud ninja making a last stand, but... two colossal creatures!
One was a gigantic cat demon wreathed in blue chakra flames, its mere breath stirring waves of scorching heat!
A massive, towering bull with twin horns, yet from the waist down, it writhed with eight octopus-like tentacles!
"Retreat now! It's a tailed beast!"
"Not good!"
"Aaaaaah! Those lunatics from Kumogakure!"
The Konoha troops were instantly terrified out of their wits. Two mountain-like behemoths loomed before them, their thick and dense chakra as unfathomable as an abyss, brimming with pure savagery—utterly incomparable to the tailed beast chakra Kinkaku had released earlier!
Facing monsters of this caliber was nothing short of suicide!
However, this was war, and the tailed beasts wouldn't give them a chance to flee—after all, their sole purpose was slaughter!
The Two-Tails was the first to open its maw wide, strands of scorching heat instantly converging into an enormous fireball that shot through the air, hurtling toward the Konoha forces!
Faced with a fireball as massive as a small mountain, the group didn't even entertain the thought of blocking it, immediately scattering in all directions.
A dazzling golden light flared among the crowd, followed by a colossal skeletal hand thrusting forward with a forceful press. The fireball abruptly halted, sending out waves of blistering heat.
Clad in a golden skeleton, like a war god descended from the heavens, his clear and commanding voice reached every ear: "All troops, retreat to defensive positions at once. I will hold them off!"
As if responding to his leader-like authority, golden light erupted violently. His skeleton expanded midair, transforming into a colossal half-bodied skeleton. With a fierce tearing motion of its skeletal hands, it ripped the fireball apart, scattering it into dissipating streams of flame.
No one dared to hesitate—monsters were best left to monsters to deal with.
They were well aware of their limitations—80% of the frontline troops' achievements today could be attributed to Uchiha Kagami alone. Without this commander, they might not even have been able to hold Kikyō Pass.
Therefore, as long as they stood here, they would carry out every one of Kagami's orders without hesitation.
If he told them to charge, they would throw themselves into the fray without regard for their lives; if he told them to retreat, they would never look back!
How could the Two-Tails sit idly by and watch its prey escape? It pushed off the ground with its hind legs, effortlessly leaping over the half-skeleton before it, displaying an agility that completely defied its massive size.
"Fire Rat Jade!"
A flash of sapphire-blue light streaked as it launched a rat-shaped fireball from its mouth. In the blink of an eye, the flame dispersed into countless blue homing projectiles, spreading out like a fishing net to envelop the group in a dazzling display.
Kagami did not turn back, for the Eight-Tails seized the moment to charge forward as well. Susanoo raised its skeletal arms, and four colossal palms clashed together, beginning a contest of strength!
Standing within the initial stage of Susanoo, Kagami pressed his hands together and slammed them onto the ground, shouting deeply, "Wood Release: Super Wooden Wall!"
The earth and rocks loosened, and suddenly, hundreds of meters behind, countless enormous wooden vines erupted. They grew rapidly, intertwining and connecting with each other, transforming in an instant into a massive, sturdy wooden wall stretching hundreds of meters long.
All those fire rat jades were intercepted by the wooden wall, transforming into clusters of blue flames that spread and burned, yet not a single fireball managed to break through the blockade.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Konoha forces quickly retreated, distancing themselves from the battlefield.
The Two-Tails slowly turned its head, a pair of enormous vertical pupils eerily fixed on Uchiha Kagami behind it, hot distorted breaths puffing from its nostrils.
A towering wooden wall, a hundred meters high, altered the terrain, completely dividing the battlefield like an ancient colosseum, leaving only Kagami and the two rampaging beasts.
"Crack, crack!"
The skeletal hand emitted the sound of unbearable strain, as Kagami immediately erupted with chakra. Golden light transformed into tangible flesh that spread and grew, piece by piece, arming him with armor. In one breath, he elevated the Susanoo to its third stage!
At that moment, the howling wind sounded from behind—the Two-Tails' sharp claws came swiping down with tremendous force!
Kagami swiftly turned his head and stretched out his palm from a distance, "Wood Style: Great Forest Technique!"
Countless vines surged forth from the entire arm, their tips sharp as spears, piercing directly from within the Susanoo to entangle and bind the Two-Tails' cat-like claws!
The Two-Tails immediately cried out in pain, instinctively attempting to break free with brute force. Yet, the wooden vines were not only incredibly tough but could also continuously grow. Caught off guard, half of its body became ensnared by the trees.
"Wood Release—" Kagami swiftly retracted his right hand while forming hand seals with both hands, "Thorn Killing Technique!"
The wooden vines bulged with knotted roots, then rapidly expanded as thick wooden pillars burst forth one after another, tightly ensnaring the Two-Tails' body like a cage.
At the same time, the Susanoo raised a single hand, golden light coalescing into form as a massive kusarigama swung down in a horizontal slash. The Eight-Tails hastily retreated, but not fast enough—a small section of its tentacle was severed.
Enraged, the Eight-Tails pounded the earth wildly, hurling shattered rocks at the Susanoo. As the mirror-wielder swung his sickle to smash the debris, the beast coiled all its tentacles into a spherical formation, countless suction cups densely packed together in a grotesque and unsettling display.
"Eight-Tails Coiling Whirlwind!"
It violently twisted its body, causing the earth to tremble. In an instant, a massive storm formed, with layers of shockwaves rippling outward, leveling the ground inch by inch!
Under the intense impact, Kagami decisively dispersed the Susanoo, while the Mangekyō Sharingan in his left eye spun rapidly, allowing the storm to sweep over him.
With the Eight-Tails' assistance, the Two-Tails also seized the opportunity to break free from its restraints—this damned Wood Release was just too effective against the Tailed Beasts.
The thick smoke gradually dissipated, revealing a completely barren and flat battlefield, where the once dense forests and wooden walls had vanished without a trace.
The Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails both turned their heads, cautiously staring in one direction.
A person walked out from there.
Uchiha Kagami pressed a hand to his slightly sore left eye, slowly raising his gaze.
Completely unharmed!
"Bzzzt!"
Without hesitation, the two tailed beasts raised their heads, their long tails gathering like kneading dough near their mouths as deep and immense chakra slowly condensed.
They decisively unleashed their ultimate weapon—this was no half-baked technique like the one Kinkaku had used before. A pitch-black sphere, as large as an izakaya, materialized with overwhelming weight!
The two Tailed Beast Balls suddenly contracted before being swallowed by the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, then launched through the air with tremendous force!
This direction was not only Uchiha Kagami's path, but also the escape route of Konoha's forces.
"There's no other way. We'll have to try that move."
Kagami slowly exhaled, suddenly clapped his hands together, his face contorted in a fierce expression, "Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
The ground shook violently as two massive wooden dragons burst forth, coiling upward and opening their jaws to precisely intercept the two Tailed Beast Balls.
But they held on for only a second before the dragon heads suddenly exploded into fragments.
Fortunately, Kagami had previously accumulated enough energy. Empowered by this energy, two more wooden dragons erupted from behind, swiftly biting down on the Tailed Beast Balls.
"I absolutely won't... let you... hurt my comrades!!!"
"Aaaaaaah!"
Amidst Kagami's powerful roar, four wooden dragons tore through the earth in succession, spiraling to bite down on the Tailed Beast Bomb, finally halting their momentum.
He swiftly changed hand seals, pouring all the previously absorbed kinetic energy into the Wood Dragon, actually managing to counterattack the two Tailed Beast Balls.
A deafening explosion shook the heavens and earth, as the storm once again swept across the battlefield.
...
On a distant cliff, Kamihane stood with his hands behind his back, gazing intently at the figure fiercely battling two tailed beasts, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Push harder, little brother. This level of adaptation is still not enough... I can't wait to reel in the net..."
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