"It's useless! Your attacks are meaningless!" Once again evading a coordinated ninjutsu assault, Satori opened its wings and mocked them coldly.
As soon as the words fell, its wings stretched wide, unleashing a storm of sharp black feathers.
Each Konoha shinobi responded swiftly, using their own unique methods to block or dodge. After all, everyone present was a Jonin of the Hidden Leaf—getting hit by such a basic attack was out of the question.
Seeing this, Satori immediately switched tactics. It opened its mouth and spat out several crimson energy orbs. Compared to the black feather barrage, this move possessed significantly greater power.
Reacting swiftly, a team of Jonin collaborated to unleash a large-scale Earth Release technique, creating a towering wall of earth to block the incoming red projectiles.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted as the energy spheres smashed through the earth wall with ease, sending a violent shockwave rolling across the battlefield.
"Everyone, dodge!"
Satori continued to launch energy blasts without pause, as if its chakra reserves were limitless.
Spotting a window of opportunity, Hiruzen Sarutobi extended his Adamantine Staff and prepared to attack—but it suddenly ceased its assault and flapped its wings, gracefully dodging once more.
Hiruzen's expression turned grim. Despite exhausting nearly every available approach, not a single one had landed a decisive blow on the black monster. Its evasion ability was utterly overwhelming.
"Form a barrier!" At Hiruzen's command, four Jonin instantly formed the Four Violet Flames Formation.
A massive cuboid barrier of violet flames materialized, encasing Satori inside and drastically limiting its room to maneuver.
Yet, even within the confined space, Satori continued to evade attacks effortlessly. Only when there was truly no space to escape would it resort to taking the hit head-on.
To their frustration, Satori's defenses proved just as formidable—ordinary attacks barely left a mark. Just as Hiruzen began preparing a high-level jutsu, Aoshi and Tsunade arrived. The barrier opened at a fixed hem, allowing them to enter.
Meanwhile, Kushina, tasked with transporting Toroi's body, had already returned to the village to help stabilize the situation.
"Old man, what the hell is that thing?" Tsunade asked, her voice sharp.
"It calls itself Satori," Hiruzen replied gravely. "It possesses the uncanny ability to dodge nearly every attack. Its stated purpose for invading the village is simple—destruction."
This intelligence had been pieced together from bits and fragments during the fight.
"Dodge everything? Seriously?" Tsunade found the explanation hard to believe. Such an absurd ability had no precedent in her vast medical and combat knowledge.
"No matter what we do, it evades the attacks like it can see the future," Hiruzen elaborated. "If it truly has no escape, it simply ignores the attack altogether."
Tsunade frowned, unconvinced. Still, she leapt high into the air, waiting for the moment Satori was distracted when dodging others, and then attempted a surprise punch from behind.
She believed she had caught it off guard.
But just as her fist was about to land, Satori reacted with frightening precision, as if it had eyes in the back of its head, and nimbly twisted to avoid the blow.
"What?!" Stunned, Tsunade realized Hiruzen wasn't exaggerating. Worse yet, she was now suspended midair with nothing to push off from—making her a sitting target.
Satori noticed too. Its massive clawed hands shot forward, merging into a deadly spear poised to impale her.
If struck, Tsunade would be dead on impact. This wasn't the Tsunade of the future—no Yin Seal, no Creation Rebirth, no safety net. One clean hit, and it was over.
"Tsunade!"
"Tsunade-sama, look out!"
The Konoha shinobi cried out in panic.
Aoshi, however, had already moved into action. Forming a quick series of hand seals, he launched a Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu straight at Satori.
Everyone braced themselves, fully expecting it to evade the attack like all the others. But to their collective astonishment, Satori didn't dodge.
The water dragon struck it squarely and forced it backward.
Hiruzen's eyes widened. "Aoshi… why didn't it dodge your attack?"
Logically, Satori should've evaded it just as effortlessly.
Aoshi shook his head with an innocent expression. "I don't know either. I just acted instinctively—I couldn't let Tsunade-sama get hurt."
A lie. Aoshi already knew Satori's secret. It could predict enemy attacks by reading their negative emotions—primarily fear. So long as the attacker felt fear, doubt, or anger, Satori could "read" them and preemptively dodge.
But someone with a calm, steady heart? It couldn't read them at all.
Now that Aoshi had deduced its mechanics, defeating Satori was a matter of execution.
Because in truth, Satori's raw power wasn't overwhelming. Its only true strength lies in this unsettling ability to read the mind and evade.
And Aoshi wasn't about to explain how he figured this out—he had no logical way to justify knowing it. Fortunately, Hiruzen didn't press for answers. He merely frowned and turned to Tsunade, who had landed safely.
"Tsunade, you were reckless."
She didn't argue. She knew she'd acted without thinking—her frustration at letting the Kumogakure ninja escape had clouded her better judgment.
Now that she had calmed down, she turned toward Aoshi and gave him a grateful nod. He had just saved her life. And to think—barely three months ago, this same boy was studying medical ninjutsu under her.
It felt like a lifetime had passed.
"You're my idol, Tsunade-sama. How could I just stand by and watch you get hurt?" His words were genuine, but they made Tsunade blush slightly. These days, she hardly sees herself as someone worthy of idolization.
Watching the exchange, Aoshi quietly shook his head. Tsunade, for all her strength, could be emotionally impulsive.
He recalled how in the original timeline, during Pain's assault, she had also lost her temper—and one impulsive declaration triggered Pain's devastation of the entire village with a Super Shinra Tensei.
Refocusing, Aoshi turned his gaze back to Satori, now hovering in the air and glaring at him.
"You… why can't I read your heart?!" Satori's voice trembled with disbelief. Never before had it encountered such a thing.
It couldn't fathom how a human, so inherently fragile, could gaze upon it without a trace of fear. It was Satori.
A weapon born during the era of the Sage of Six Paths. Yet this boy stood before it, calm and emotionless, defying all logic.
Aoshi ignored its shouting and began forming hand seals. Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Just as before, he created a clone, and together they formed the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.
Watching this, Hiruzen's eyes widened once more. Even he could feel the overwhelming threat radiating from the jutsu.
"Did you create that technique yourself, Aoshi?"
Aoshi nodded. "It's an evolved form of the Rasengan—Wind Style: Rasenshuriken."
He was also indirectly confirming that the Rasengan itself had been his own invention.
Hiruzen's expression turned serious, yet full of admiration. It was already impressive enough that Aoshi had created the Rasengan. But to push it further and develop an S-rank evolution in such a short time?
Unbelievable.
Indeed, he had been right to send Tsunade to guide Aoshi early on. This kind of talent… belonged at the core of Konoha's strength. With such strength and brilliance, Aoshi was destined to be a future Hokage Candidate.