"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"
Nara clasped his hands together, and black tendrils quickly crept up the giant trees.
Kairen glanced around—the flames in the forest had already spread far enough.
The black tendrils lashed out toward him, but Kairen's movements were swift. He dodged each strike and then leapt onto the treetop, overlooking the five Root Jōnin below.
By now, all their masks had been shattered, revealing scorched faces covered in soot and ash.
Shimura Naoto pointed up at Kairen and burst into arrogant laughter.
"Look at you now! Only one hand left—how are you going to fight back? Tell me, Moku Kairen!"
He then sneered viciously.
"In Konoha, anyone who offends Danzō-sama is destined to die. You're no exception."
"What a pity… you're only ten years old. You still had a bright future ahead of you. But you were too arrogant."
Kairen listened quietly, then suddenly clutched his stomach and broke into uncontrollable laughter.
"Hahaha…"
The laughter grew louder, wilder—until tears began to roll down his cheeks.
Shimura Naoto glared at him, the sound of that laughter making his fists clench in rage.
"What the hell are you laughing at?!"
"Haha… cough!"
Kairen's laughter was cut short by a mouthful of blood. He wiped it away, then slowly raised his right hand. His gaze sharpened like a blade as it swept down upon his enemies.
"Tell me… does Fire Release have forbidden techniques?"
Shimura Naoto froze. Fire Release's highest level was B-rank—what forbidden jutsu could there be?
"Flame, rise!"
A burst of fire ignited in Kairen's palm.
At the same time, in the burning forest, his three shadow clones performed the same hand seals. Flames bloomed in each of their hands.
The forest fire responded to their chakra, the flames converging upward into the sky.
"Not enough! Not enough! Still not enough!"
Kairen roared. He needed more chakra—far more—to control this forbidden technique.
He clenched his flaming right hand, lowering his stance as he let out a guttural growl.
"Ahhhh—!"
With his current body, opening the Eight Gates to release a forbidden jutsu was suicide. The poison still corroded his cells, already spreading into his heart.
"Cough… cough…"
He spat blood again but kept roaring madly.
"Eight Gates of Release—First Gate, Gate of Opening—Open!"
The first chakra gate in his brain snapped open.
"Second Gate, Gate of Rest—Open!"
The second gate burst open as well.
"Third Gate, Gate of Life—Open!"
"Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain—Open!"
Green energy flared around his body, surging skyward. The force blasted away the bandages that wrapped his severed arm.
"Nine-Tails Chakra—burst!"
Chakra erupted from his heart, the Nine-Tails' crimson power spreading throughout his body.
Kairen looked up and roared into the heavens.
"Fire God, lend me your power!"
The flames of the forest surged upward, rising with visible speed as they condensed in the sky.
"ROOOAARRR!"
A dragon's roar echoed through the air.
A colossal dragon of flame appeared above the forest. Its eyes burned with divine brilliance—filled with fury and pride, like the wrath of a god from legend.
It was as if Kagutsuchi, the Fire God himself, looked down upon the pitiful mortals below.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!"
Pitcher Plant stared up at the fiery dragon in shock—it was enormous, divine, mythic.
On the other end of his jutsu link, thousands of miles away, an old man nodded in admiration.
"This Fire Release… even the Uchiha, the clan of fire itself, could never produce something like this. What a strange descendant of the Senju."
"And smart too—he used the natural flames of the forest to amplify his power. Fire feeding on wood, just like Fire borrows strength from Wood!"
"In terms of ninjutsu mastery, he's like that troublesome Senju Tobirama."
Shimura Naoto's face went pale. The massive fire dragon above them roared again, and the heat waves crashed downward. The lush forest instantly withered, the green fading into scorched yellow.
"T-this… this is a forbidden jutsu!"
Nara shouted, "What are you waiting for?! Run!"
The Jōnin scattered at once, fleeing like frightened rabbits.
"Hahaha… too late!"
Kairen leapt down from the sky.
"Wherever the leaves dance, fire will burn. That's the true Will of Fire!"
His flaming right hand slammed against the ground, linking him to the fire dragon above.
"ROOOAARRR!"
The dragon screamed as it dove downward, the tyrant of flames descending upon the forest.
When it struck, it exploded.
A sea of fire erupted, sweeping across the land like a tsunami.
"Fwoooosh!"
Flames surged a hundred meters high, painting the entire world in crimson light.
"Damn it, why is it always me?!"
Orochimaru's eyes went wide. Abandoning the giant snake beneath him, he transformed into a white serpent and burrowed into the ground.
The brown snake froze midair. Σ( ° △ °|||)︴
...
Outside the wire fence surrounding the Forest of Death—
Jiraiya stood atop Gamabunta's head, eyes wide as he stared ahead.
"This is…"
Minato and Kushina appeared nearby in a flash, frozen in place as they stared at the blazing inferno before them.
Around them, numerous clan leaders, elders, and Jōnin gathered, all staring in shock at the surging wall of fire.
In that moment, silence fell. Before such natural power, humanity seemed utterly insignificant.
"Summoning Jutsu—Monkey King: Enma!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared first, summoning Enma, who swung his staff and shattered a massive tree.
"Quick! Tear down the trees on the perimeter! Stop the flames from spreading!"
The surrounding Jōnin unleashed ninjutsu in unison, holding back the raging sea of fire like a flood.
When the roaring finally ceased, only smoldering embers and the crackle of burning wood remained. Thick smoke spiraled skyward from several spots.
"…"
Danzō stood frozen, staring ahead in disbelief.
So this… was what happened when you cornered a madman.
"The Forest of Death…"
Kushina covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes trembling.
Before them, the entire forest was gone—nothing left but ruins.
The central tower stood exposed, a hollow shell scorched black by the flames.
A ten-kilometer radius of the Forest of Death had been reduced to ash under the fire dragon's strike.
Jiraiya turned on Danzō, shouting angrily.
"What the hell happened?! Who was your Root attacking?!"
Danzō said nothing. His heart pounded with fear.
If that fire had erupted in Root's underground base, everything—every facility, every ninja—would've been annihilated.
Sarutobi Hiruzen wiped the soot from his forehead.
To eliminate one Moku Kairen, Root had lost fifteen Jōnin… and an entire forest.
Was it worth it?
And worst of all—after the sea of fire passed, Kairen's body couldn't even be found. His Smoke Transformation Kekkei Genkai had been completely destroyed.
Meaning the mission was a total failure.
All that effort, all those lives—for nothing.
Even the upcoming Chūnin Exams would now be affected.
A flash of gold streaked across the crowd, diving straight into the smoking ruins.
Jiraiya recognized the figure and shouted, spreading his arms.
"Tsunade! Don't go in there!"
The ruins still burned with embers, radiating scorching heat.
Tsunade ignored him, dashing straight into the fire. Flames burst up around her, but she dodged them one after another.
As she ran, her voice trembled with desperation.
"Brat… you're not dead… you can't be dead!"