Genryusai's palm tightened around the hilt.
Then let strength do the talking.
"Hashirama-sama! Madara-sama! This old man is absolutely no simple opponent—the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years. Fight him together!" Shinju sent the message at top speed.
To the Captain-Commander, the very word "alliance," spoken by an outsider from another world, was itself a form of contempt toward Soul Society.
He needed no words, no negotiation, and certainly no so-called allies.
The dignity of Seireitei, the glory of the Gotei 13—there was only one thing that could defend them.
Absolute power.
"Old man—Yamamoto Genryusai, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13."
"State your names."
Hashirama folded his arms, feeling the pressure slam into him head-on, and the hearty grin on his face only grew brighter.
He liked the strong. He respected the strong.
This way of speaking—no nonsense, no extra talk, only strength—suited his tastes perfectly.
"Old man Senju Hashirama! The First Hokage of Konoha!"
Beside him, Madara's Rinnegan tomoe rotated slowly. He wasn't in the mood for Hashirama's enthusiasm, only spitting out two cold words.
"Uchiha Madara."
"Good." Genryusai gave a slight nod.
A name was only a label.
What he wanted to see was the weight carried behind that label.
He didn't say another word.
"Banbutsu Ippai, Mina Hairetsu—Ryujin Jakka (All Things in the Universe, Turn to Ashes—Flowing Blade-Like Flame)!"
The moment the release phrase rang out, the sky ignited.
It wasn't that flames rose upward—rather, the sky itself became an ocean of fire.
Orange-red inferno replaced the heavens, pouring down endless heat.
Roofs across Konoha began to smoke. The stone paving in the streets cracked under the unbearable temperature with brittle, tortured sounds.
The moisture inside every ninja's body was being forcibly steamed away; needle-like pain stabbed across their skin.
This was the strongest, most ancient heat-type zanpakuto.
It didn't need to burn any specific target—its very existence was a calamity that smothered heaven and earth.
From a distant communicator, Shinju's voice sounded calm.
"Madara-sama, Hashirama-sama—your opponent is strong. Please go all out, and let him experience… the Shinobi World's founders' 'hospitality.'"
Hashirama's smile vanished.
He slammed his hands together. Vast natural energy surged into him, and Sage Mode activated instantly. The orange pigmentation around his eyes gave him a sacred, imposing presence.
"Senpo: Mokuton: Mokuryu no Jutsu (Sage Art: Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu)!"
The earth convulsed violently.
A wooden dragon—dozens of times larger than any summoned serpent—burst from the ground. Patterns that could absorb chakra coiled across its body. It roared and charged straight into the sea of fire without hesitation.
The instant its massive body touched the flames, it caught alight with a violent crackle—yet it didn't stop. Enduring the agony of being consumed, it forced its way upward against the torrent, jaws gaping wide as it lunged for that tiny figure in the sky.
Madara's response was even simpler.
Blue chakra surged into the heavens, constructing colossal bones around him. Flesh and sinew formed over them, and in an instant, it grew into a gigantic, silver-armored Kanzen'tai Susanoo (Perfect Susanoo), a chakra war-god tall enough to stare levelly into the burning sky.
In its left hand was a gigantic gunbai.
"Uchiha Gaeshi (Uchiha Reflection)!"
The massive war fan swung forward, forming an invisible barrier.
The overwhelming flames—hot enough to evaporate rivers—smashed into it, only to be forcibly twisted aside and hurled back, even more violently, toward their owner!
Wood Dragon charging. Inferno reversing.
Genryusai stood at the center of the fire sea. Facing two utterly different attacks, his aged face didn't twitch in the slightest.
He simply held his blade one-handed and gave the incoming Wood Dragon a light, casual sweep.
"Nadegiri (Caressing Slash)."
A slash condensed to the absolute extreme.
No blade light. No flying sword aura.
The Wood Dragon's enormous body was sliced smoothly from head to tail—cleanly split into two halves.
There wasn't even a hint of scorching on the cut. The surface was polished-smooth, like a mirror.
The severed Wood Dragon lost all force, breaking apart in midair into countless burning chunks that rained down.
Then he turned his blade toward the wall of flames that had been reflected back.
"Kabon Jōkaku (Blazing City Ramparts)!"
The flames around him surged, swelling into a gigantic ring-shaped fire wall that sealed him safely within.
The returned inferno slammed into that wall like waves battering a reef—spitting up fiercer sparks, but achieving nothing.
In only one exchange, the battlefield in the sky was torn wide open.
And below, the destruction had already spread through the entire village.
Byakuya appeared above the Hokage Rock. His opponent was the Fourth Hokage known as the "Yellow Flash," Minato.
"Chire, Senbonzakura (Scatter, Thousand Cherry Blossoms)."
His blade vanished, and countless tiny blades—too fine to see clearly—caught moonlight with cherry-colored glints, forming a dazzling storm of death that swallowed Minato whole.
Minato gripped a special kunai, his expression grave.
He didn't try to tank it. His figure vanished from where he stood and reappeared beside another kunai he had set in advance—Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique).
The Yellow Flash darted through the sea of cherry blades again and again. Each time he appeared, a cluster of blades was erased; each time he vanished, he slipped past a lethal encirclement by the narrowest margin.
A battle of speed versus range was unfolding atop Konoha's highest point.
On the other side of the village, Shunsui and Jushiro stood shoulder to shoulder.
"This is going to be a real headache, huh…" Shunsui pressed down on his straw hat.
"Let's finish it quickly, Shunsui." Jushiro coughed lightly and tightened his grip on the paired blades.
Tobirama formed seals. The moisture in the air rapidly condensed.
"Suiton: Suiryu Dan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu)!"
A massive water dragon formed from nothing, roaring as it crashed toward the two captains.
At the same time, golden chakra chains burst from Kushina's back—living serpents in all but name—sealing their routes of escape from every direction.
"Hana Kaze Midarete, Hana Kami Naki; Ten Kaze Midarete, Tenma Warau—Katen Kyokotsu (Flower Wind in Turmoil, Flower God Wails; Heavenly Wind in Turmoil, Heavenly Demon Laughs—Bone-Crazed Flower Heaven)!"
"Sui Ten Gyakumaki, Uo no Kotowari Aida ni; Shissō Ryūha, Ware ga Yaiba to Nare—Sōgyo no Kotowari (Waters of Heaven Turn Backward, Reason of Fish Intertwined; All Currents Flow, Become My Blade—Twin Fish Principle)!"
Their zanpakuto released together—two utterly different powers weaving into one as they met the water dragon and the sealing chains head-on.
At the training grounds, the air had grown suffocating.
Kenpachi hefted his chipped zanpakuto and bared a beastlike grin.
The excitement in his eyes was practically spilling over.
Across from him stood a man in a green bodysuit—Guy.
"You're strong." Kenpachi's voice was hoarse.
"Youth must burn!" Guy snapped into stance.
No extra talk.
Kenpachi vanished in an instant.
In the next moment, he was right in front of Guy, his massive blade roaring down from above, tearing the air apart.
Guy didn't dodge.
"Konoha Gouriki Senpu (Leaf Strong Whirlwind)!"
He spun at an impossible angle—his right leg like a battle axe—kicking up from below to strike Kenpachi's blade dead-on with pinpoint precision.
Metal and flesh collided with a deafening boom.
The ground beneath them caved in, spiderweb cracks racing outward in every direction.
Toshiro's opponent was Itachi.
"Sōten ni Zase, Hyorinmaru (Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, Ice Ring)!"
The strongest ice-and-snow zanpakuto released.
A massive ice dragon formed behind Toshiro. Brutal cold flooded outward, frosting everything around them.
Itachi's expression didn't change. In his crimson Sharingan, three tomoe rotated slowly.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu)!"
A gigantic fireball blasted from his mouth, smashing into the ice dragon.
Ice and fire clashed, creating a massive surge of steam that swallowed the entire area in an instant.
And within that rolling mist, a pair of eerie Mangekyo Sharingan quietly lit up.
On the ruins of the medical division, two legendary medical kunoichi faced each other.
Retsu—the first Kenpachi.
Tsunade—Hashirama's granddaughter.
Neither spoke. They simply watched one another in silence.
The diamond mark on Tsunade's forehead—Byakugō no In (Strength of a Hundred Seal)—had been released, and countless markings spread across her body.
Retsu undid the braid at her chest. Her long hair fell loose, hiding the scar at her throat.
The gentle aura she once carried vanished without a trace, replaced by killing intent that sank into the bones.
Tsunade drew a slow breath, focusing all her chakra into her right fist.
"Gōriki Musō (Unmatched Monster Strength)!"
The Espada each found their own opponents.
Ulquiorra faced Kakashi.
Grimmjow faced Jiraiya.
Nnoitra faced Orochimaru.
All of Konoha was already no longer a place of peace.
Shinju stood atop a high tower no one noticed, looking down over everything.
Genryusai, Hashirama, Madara—this battle between the three would decide the direction of the highest tier of power.
The captains' slaughter against Konoha's strongest would decide whether the backbone of both sides lived or died.
(End of Chapter)
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