The samurai general nodded and waved the banner, passing the order down.
The archery unit, the crossbow unit, and the catapult unit also joined the battlefield.
Flaming arrows, crossbow bolts, and catapult stones were hurled toward Kairen.
They did not care at all about the samurai charging together with Kairen. Perhaps they believed those samurai were merely consumables—so long as they could kill Kairen, the sacrifice was worth it.
...
Konoha Village was in utter chaos at this moment.
Konoha had stationed liaisons in the capital of the Land of Fire, and the moment Kairen fought Kakuzu, the information had already been transmitted back to Konoha.
Inside the Hokage Building, every high-ranking official wore an anxious expression.
Sarutobi Hiruzen paced back and forth, smoking, deeply troubled, not knowing where to even begin!
Utatane Koharu pointed at Tsunade and scolded: "It's all your fault! Don't you know Moku Kairen's temperament? And you still sent him to protect the daimyō!"
"Now look what's happened—the daimyō's son and wife were killed by Moku Kairen. The daimyō will definitely resent Konoha. Without his support, the village will starve."
Tsunade said nothing.
She had ultimately underestimated Kairen's patience. He never had a ninja's tolerance; he had never been a qualified ninja.
The moment Kairen arrived at the capital of the Land of Fire, he cut down the daimyō's wife and child—truly savage.
Beside them, Mitokado Homura said: "I propose removing Tsunade from her position as Hokage's assistant. She no longer has the qualifications to serve the village."
The clan heads raised their hands one after another:
"I agree!"
"I agree!"
"We disagree!!"
Suddenly, a heavy rumbling surrounded the Hokage Building, and everyone turned toward the windows.
Over a dozen massive beasts of steel crushed the road, slowly rolling toward the Hokage Building, their cannons aimed at them—WWII German Tiger Tanks.
Behind them were armored vehicles filled with Heavy Machine Guns, and overhead came the spinning blades of helicopters—dozens of armed helicopters.
Kairen's Shadow Clone army surrounded the Hokage Building, giving Tsunade their support.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped and turned to Tsunade, furious: "You are truly my good disciple. Tell me—what should we do now?"
Tsunade thought for a moment. She also had no solution.
The daimyō was the sovereign lord of the ninja. Never in ninja history had anyone dared utter words as rebellious as "Could nobles and generals be anything but born alike?"
In the ninja world, nobles' status was immovable. Though uprisings occurred, they were always crushed instantly by the nobles' tool—ninjas.
"Click!"
A group of Kairen's Shadow Clones pushed open the Hokage doors. A Kairen wearing a cloak walked in and said: "Since we've already offended the current daimyō, we might as well go all the way—abolish him and choose the young daimyō to ascend the throne. That way he's easier to control."
"Impudent!" Utatane Koharu pointed at Cloud Kairen and cursed: "Do you know what a daimyō represents? They are Heaven's chosen rulers! How could we interfere in their family affairs?"
Cloud Kairen curled his lip: "You old hag, as the village's liaison with the daimyō of the Land of Fire, haven't you received plenty of benefits from him?!"
"You, you, you—!" Utatane Koharu trembled, pointing furiously at Cloud Kairen, completely enraged by his words.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed: "All we can do now is wait for Jiraiya and Orochimaru's news."
At the moment the crisis erupted, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already dispatched his two disciples to the capital of the Land of Fire to stop the worsening disaster.
Cloud Kairen glanced disdainfully at the high-ups and clan heads, sneering:
"You possess supreme power yet still serve worldly grasshoppers. In the end, you are nothing more than a group of natives."
Cloud Kairen flicked his cloak and slowly walked out of the Hokage Building.
Tsunade stood there in a daze as Kairen's Shadow Clones pushed her out of the building.
...
Capital of the Land of Fire.
Kairen no longer knew how many people he had killed.
He was covered in blood.
His face, his hair—everything was red.
He had become a man of blood—not his own, but that of the samurai.
He had fought through more than ten rounds within the army lines, the air thick with the stench of blood.
Yet the samurai still showed no signs of retreat.
A samurai rushed at Kairen, slashing down.
"Die, traitor!"
Kairen looked at the murderous expression on the man's face.
The samurai's blade struck Kairen's chest. Though it hit him, the blade became stuck between Kairen's ribs.
He yanked hard, trying to pull his sword free.
Kairen murmured: "Is it worth it? To serve that useless waste?"
"Go to hell!"
The samurai abandoned his sword entirely and punched at Kairen.
Kairen quickly pulled out the sword stuck in his ribs. Like a crescent slash, the blade cut the man in two. His fevered eyes slowly closed.
Around him, the samurai swarmed again like a black ocean—endless, tireless.
Kairen sighed. His hands were numb from chopping. He inhaled deeply, chakra surging within him like the sea.
"Hundred Transformations: Black Dragon Transformation!"
"Roooar—"
A burst of white smoke exploded into the air. A dragon's roar swept it aside, and then a massive black dragon, as large as a small mountain, soared into the sky.
Its scales gleamed black, shining with killing intent.
Kairen flew upward to the top of the wooden palisade, his golden dragon eyes overlooking the battlefield. Yet his mountainous dragon aura did not make the samurai hesitate.
The samurai army launched their catapults and ballistae.
Stones and heavy bolts struck Kairen's massive body.
Gradually, Kairen accumulated enough experience—3,000 points from the samurai.
He inhaled deeply, gathering all his chakra into his chest—Evil Dragon Roar.
"Roooooar—!"
The dragon's roar burst forth like thunder, sweeping violent winds downward and echoing throughout the capital. Thousands of families stayed hidden in their homes, silent, praying for the chaos to end.
Kairen's roar also contained high-frequency chakra vibrations, killing at least a hundred men.
Yet they still did not tire nor fear. Like ants, they continued charging at Kairen, as if he were merely a winged lizard.
Kairen flapped his wings and soared upward.
"Curse Mark Stage One—open!"
"Curse Mark Stage Two—open!"
In an instant, Kairen activated both stages of the curse mark, and natural energy gathered around him.
His dragon-like body swelled larger, his horns grew fiercer, and purple energy engulfed him.
Kairen inhaled sharply, fire-natured chakra filling his chest.
"Fire Release: Majestic Flame Destruction!"
He exhaled violently. A massive wave of fire swept downward, covering over 500 meters.
"Aaahhhhh—"
Screams filled the field as hundreds of samurai burned to death, returning to purity amid agony.
Kairen rampaged like a fire dragon for seven or eight rounds. Finally, the samurai felt fear.
"I'm going home!!"
One samurai stripped off his armor, dropped his weapon, ran into an alley, and fled. More followed.
The strings in their hearts snapped one by one beneath Kairen's assault.
Kairen didn't bother chasing them. He flapped his wings and flew back to the top of his wooden palisade.