Enormous trees surged from the ground, with roots as thick as one to two meters coiling like serpents, instantly binding the outstretched arm of the Gedo Statue.
Boom!
Though the Gedo Statue was massive, its attack was halted under the entangling power of the Wood Release. Thanks to Tsunade infusing it with Sage Chakra, its strength was significantly enhanced.
"That's... Wood Release!?"
Ōnoki, in the sky, was stunned to see the Slug Princess using Wood Release to restrain the Gedo Statue. His thoughts were mixed. While it was a good thing that she could stop this monstrosity, Iwagakure and Konoha were only allies by necessity—their fundamental positions remained adversarial.
Now that Tsunade had shown she could wield Wood Release... what would that mean for Iwagakure?
Though Ōnoki knew he shouldn't dwell on this while facing a common enemy, he was nearing seventy, and his successor, Kurotsuchi, had already been killed. Iwagakure had no future leaders left.
Tsunade, however, was not yet fifty. With her youthful appearance and formidable power, she could easily serve another twenty years as Hokage. What then for Iwagakure?
"Tsunade-sama awakened Wood Release!?"
Unlike Ōnoki's wary doubts, the Konoha shinobi were instantly uplifted by the appearance of Wood Release. Their fear turned into joy.
To them, Wood Release was the strongest kekkei genkai—even more so than the three great dōjutsu like the Sharingan or Rinnegan.
Senju Hashirama had quelled the warring era with Wood Release, earning the title of the God of Shinobi. Tsunade, his granddaughter, now wielded that same power. This was a sign—Konoha would rise again.
"Roar!!"
The Gedo Statue let out another thunderous howl, raising its other massive hand and slamming it toward Tsunade with overwhelming force.
Anyone facing such a behemoth would feel fear—Ōnoki included. Though unafraid of death, he had no idea how to stop such a summoned monster.
"Don't think so! Take this!"
Tsunade formed hand seals and roared. Several more massive roots erupted from the earth, wrapping around the Gedo Statue's second arm like giant pythons, binding it tightly.
"Good chance—Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
Seeing the opportunity, Ōnoki gathered a vast amount of chakra and released a three-meter-wide conical energy beam that struck the bound arm of the Gedo Statue.
Boom!
A huge explosion and brilliant flames erupted. But seeing this, Ōnoki's heart sank. Dust Release should disintegrate targets—explosions like this shouldn't happen unless the target was immune, like the Second Tsuchikage who also used Dust Release.
As the smoke cleared, Ōnoki's eyes widened—the Gedo Statue's arm was completely unscathed. His Dust Release had been no more effective than a few smoke bombs.
"So that's the Wood Release used by the God of Shinobi... but it alone can't stop the Gedo Statue."
Nagato, forming hand seals, spoke coldly.
No one knew the true power of the Gedo Statue better than him. Even without tailed beasts inside, it remained immensely difficult to control fully.
With more chakra channeled from Nagato, the Gedo Statue roared and flexed its arms, tearing apart the roots that bound it.
Even the distant Konoha camp saw the commotion. The towering Gedo Statue and its thunderous roar resembled a force of nature.
The sheer scale of the spectacle terrified ordinary shinobi. If not bound by duty, they would've fled the scene.
"That's..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the nearly 100-meter-tall Gedo Statue in the distance, heart shaken. Had Tsunade not arrived, he would've had to face this monster alone.
Back on the battlefield, Tsunade bit her lip seeing her Wood Release broken.
Other shinobi tried to help, but their ninjutsu had no effect. Only Earth Release had a minor delaying effect, and even that required coordination among Iwagakure's elite.
"Earth Style: Core Shift!"
Ōnoki created a massive pit, trapping the Gedo Statue inside.
Nagato jumped off the invisible chameleon and onto the Gedo Statue within the pit. "This should make controlling it easier..."
From this vantage, Nagato could also use the Rinnegan's abilities more effectively—like now.
"Earth Style: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"
Ōnoki followed up the pit with a massive boulder, sealing the hole shut.
"Shinra Tensei."
Nagato wasn't about to let himself be sealed in. While the Gedo Statue could jump out, controlling it consumed vast amounts of his chakra.
Given how taxing the Rinnegan was, he needed to eliminate his enemies quickly.
Boom. Boom.
With a push from both arms, the Gedo Statue leaped from the pit.
Ōnoki had spent considerable chakra creating that deep crater, only for it to prove nearly useless.
Boom!
The Gedo Statue once again loomed before Tsunade and the others. Nagato stood atop its head, gazing down like a god.
"Bastard..."
Do you think you're Hyūga Mirai, looking down on me like that!?
Infuriated by Nagato's gaze, Tsunade quickly formed seals. "Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
A surge of chakra erupted, forming a massive wooden humanoid nearly as tall as the Gedo Statue. Even with her chakra doubled, summoning it was no small feat. Without Sage Mode's ability to draw in natural energy, she couldn't have done it.
Seeing a construct nearly the same height, Nagato's eyes turned cold. He commanded the Gedo Statue to strike with its massive palm.
Tsunade responded in kind, controlling the wood giant to counter the blow.
Boom.
The massive fists collided, unleashing a shockwave like a natural disaster.
"Ahh—!"
Even shinobi hundreds of meters away couldn't hold their footing, flung by the hurricane-force blast. Ōnoki, flying, was sent back nearly a kilometer before stabilizing.
The clash of these titans left a barren wasteland hundreds of meters wide. Every tree and rock in the area was obliterated.
"Fall back—get further away! It's not safe here!"
Though the shockwave hadn't caused serious injuries, only Tsunade's chakra infused in Katsuyu had kept some alive. But now, she could no longer spare the effort to protect them.
At this scale, even getting close was life-threatening for ordinary shinobi.
The Gedo Statue's roars were like thunder itself.
Its massive size granted it terrifying power. Every clash of the giants caused disaster-level shockwaves.
The Gedo Statue's durability far exceeded that of the wood giant, even one infused with Sage Chakra. Fortunately, Tsunade could repair it with Sage Chakra and continually bind the Gedo Statue with more roots—otherwise, her creation would've been destroyed long ago.
"I can't let Tsunade stall me like this any longer."
Nagato's chakra was depleting fast. Even as an Uzumaki, this level of output was unsustainable. Worse, controlling the Gedo Statue drained his life force.
Though his body had recovered somewhat, it was now showing signs of emaciation. If this dragged on, he wouldn't have the strength to face the combined Konoha and Iwagakure forces even if he defeated Tsunade.
"Hah!"
Nagato increased his chakra output, and the Gedo Statue responded, its shriveled arms wrapping around the wooden giant, squeezing until its arms groaned under the pressure.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
Tsunade responded with another jutsu—a massive wood dragon burst from the wooden giant, lunging at Nagato.
"Shinra Tensei."
Nagato's pale purple Rinnegan glinted. He repelled the dragon with a blast, but his chakra reserves were dangerously low now. He had to end this.
"Tsunade, be careful. Don't approach the Gedo Statue carelessly." Hyūga Mirai's voice came through the nano earpiece.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, pausing briefly, but still leapt toward Nagato.
In the distance, Mirai smacked his forehead. "Too late… this impulsive woman."
He had only just realized Nagato was preparing a new attack. When he saw the Gedo Statue's mouth move, he realized it might be the Chakra Dragon.
Nagato wasn't fazed. Though Shinra Tensei was still on cooldown, he calmly formed seals and controlled the Gedo Statue.
"Roar."
Purple light glowed in the Gedo Statue's mouth—then a dragon-shaped chakra beam surged forth.
Tsunade's instincts screamed danger. She quickly formed seals, causing dozens of wooden pillars to sprout behind her, creating footholds mid-air to dodge.
"Let's see how long you can dodge..."
Nagato commanded the Gedo Statue to push away the wood giant, destabilizing Tsunade's footing. The Chakra Dragon loomed above—her situation grew increasingly perilous.
"Damn it!"
Seizing a chance to get close, Tsunade punched the Gedo Statue with all her might. Even in Sage Mode with Strength of a Hundred Seal active, the punch only left a faint crack.
And the Gedo Statue was regenerating.
Grabbing the crack, Tsunade used all her strength to tear off a small piece of its flesh.
"Die!" Nagato's cold voice rang out.
Tsunade's spine froze—she sensed immense danger. The Chakra Dragon suddenly split into countless smaller ones, sealing off every escape route.
"Damn it, it can split!?"
She hadn't expected this. A single dragon was avoidable—but this many?
Just then, a sharp pain flared at her cursed seal. A familiar spirit form emerged from it.
As the dragons closed in, the spirit charged forward and collided with them, bursting into dazzling light.
Tsunade reflexively shut her eyes from the brilliance, but heard Hyūga Mirai's voice in her earpiece:
"Get away from the Gedo Statue—good thing I didn't extract all my chakra from your curse seal."
Mirai's spirit clone, empowered by advanced Yin-Yang Release, interrupted the Chakra Dragon technique. The backlash caused Nagato to cough up blood.
"Cough, cough..."
Nagato's body thinned further. Controlling the Gedo Statue was taking too heavy a toll, and now his jutsu had been forcefully interrupted.
Rustle rustle—
Paper sheets gathered around him. Within seconds, Konan's paper clone formed beside him.
"Nagato, are you okay?" she asked, worried.
"I'm fine... cough cough."
Nagato coughed again. "Didn't expect the Fifth Hokage to awaken Wood Release... she's harder to deal with than I thought."
"Let's call it a day, Nagato. Even if you kill Tsunade, you won't have the strength left to face the remaining shinobi army. Ōnoki and the Konoha forces are still nearby."
Konan feared he might be overwhelmed. No matter how powerful the Rinnegan was, it needed chakra to function.
Seeing Nagato hesitate, she brought up Yahiko's dream to persuade him.
"If anything happens to you here, who will realize Yahiko's dream? Let's go. After this battle, Konoha won't dare invade the Land of Rain again."
Hearing that, Nagato's gaze softened. "Fine. But only if we're not pursued."
Then, seeing Tsunade atop the wood giant, Nagato gathered more chakra and commanded the Gedo Statue to deliver one final, massive punch.
Unlike before, this strike was truly dangerous. Tsunade immediately countered with a defensive jutsu—Wood Release: Ranking Shield—summoning a ghostly mask to protect herself.
Boom!
The impact was like divine wrath. A thunderous roar echoed like the world's end.
Even two kilometers away, Ōnoki and the others were sent flying by the shockwave. As they tumbled helplessly, a thought crossed their minds: Was this the battle of gods?
Boom!
Amid the explosion, smoke billowed, then quickly cleared.
Aside from Hyūga Mirai in the distance, no one noticed—high above, a winged figure carried another person away at speed.
"Truly decisive..."
Mirai clicked his tongue. Likely Konan had persuaded him—otherwise, that arrogant Nagato would've fought to the death.
Then, before anyone else could react, Mirai dashed toward Tsunade's fallen body.
The final blow from the Gedo Statue had left her unable to continue fighting. Her Sage Mode and Strength of a Hundred had both dissipated. If Nagato hadn't retreated… Mirai feared what he might've had to do next.
(End of Chapter)