The door of the secluded courtyard creaked open.Hanabi Hyuga, practicing her Gentle Fist forms under the faint lamplight, turned just in time to see Neiki stepping inside—carrying a blonde woman with a striking figure over his shoulder.
He carried Tsunade down to the basement.
A minute later, he emerged again.
"Neiki-nii! Will you teach me Gentle Fist today?"Hanabi rushed over, hugging his waist and looking up with hopeful eyes.
"Not today, Hanabi," Neiki replied gently, patting her head. "I have something to finish."
The clone standing before her lowered its chakra presence.
Far away in Kirigakure's direction, Neiki's real body was preparing for battle. After teleporting Tsunade back to the Land of Waves, this clone needed to release itself and return its chakra to the main body.
Since fully integrating Hashirama's cells, Neiki's chakra capacity had multiplied. But today he had fought relentlessly—first Konoha, then Kirigakure, back to back. Even though Flying Thunder God and swordsmanship consumed little chakra, the frequency and intensity of usage drained him severely.
And with another major fight approaching, repeating his Hyuga swordsmanship + Flying Thunder God combination would expose his identity.
Wood Release, the ability he intended to use next, was chakra-intensive—especially because he planned to deploy something far larger than before.
"Brother… a lot of people died today on the island."Hanabi tugged lightly on his cloak.
"…Yes," Neiki answered calmly.
She wasn't stupid.She knew where he was going.She knew what would happen next.
The Land of Waves was small; any big event rippled across the entire country. She hoped Neiki would stay, avoid fighting, remain safe.
But his answer—I know—was final.
"…Then can I come with you?" Hanabi whispered.
"You're too weak."
"Oh."Her shoulders sank. She let go of him.
Neiki formed a seal.
Sword Clone: Release.
The clone dissolved into smoke.
Hanabi stood alone for a long time, staring at the fading smoke trail.Then she wiped her eyes, straightened her stance—
—and continued training.
Northern Forest – Land of Waves
Neiki's chakra returned to the masked Hashirama clone.Beneath the wooden mask, the azure-tinted eyes flickered with renewed power.
His voice carried across the forest, bold and steady:
"Come."
"Flatten me."
Behind him, massive white tendrils erupted from the ground—twisting, intertwining, merging.Two meters.Four.Eight.Fifteen.Thirty.
The tendrils multiplied into a towering mass, like a forest of writhing pale roots.Dozens of small pale eyes opened along each tendril, blinking coldly at the Kirigakure forces.
A monstrous silhouette formed—the shadow of a prematurely grown Byakugan God Tree.
A chill ran down several Mist shinobi.
"…I feel nauseous," one murmured.
"What… is that thing?" Kisame muttered, taken aback.
"Is this also Wood Release?" Mei Terumi frowned deeply. Even with her experience, she had never seen anything like this.
"It feels more like a summoning creature…"
They had no idea what they were facing, but most Kirigakure ninjas clung to a simple belief:
He's just one person.We can win.
How many Neiki-level monsters could possibly exist?
Lightning doesn't strike twice… right?
That thought kept their fear barely restrained.
The masked man stepped lightly onto one of the God Tree's tendrils.
His voice echoed firmly:
"Your fight with Konoha killed many innocent people."
"And now you come to destroy the last hope the Land of Waves has."
"I don't endorse violence… but sometimes violence is the only language the violent understand."
"Sometimes killing is the only way to make men revere life."
"Only when the blade touches their neck… does arrogance bow to death."
He raised a hand.
"In this battle, I ask you to use your blood to console the innocent lives lost today."
He breathed out slowly.
The temporary forced evolution of the God Tree was eating enormous amounts of Byakugan essence. If the essence stored within the sapling proved insufficient, the tree would begin absorbing life force from the citizens implanted with Byakugan seals.
Hashirama didn't want that.Not from mercy—but because impure life force would damage the sapling's growth.
He wanted this battle over quickly.
"Since you won't come to me…"He spread his arms.
"…I'll flatten you instead."
The tendrils unfurled like a massive white fan.The dozens of eyes focused.White needles accumulated in their pupils.
"Byakugan: Needle Strike."
Countless white needles shot toward the Mist shinobi like a storm.
"Not good—MOVE!" Mei Terumi shouted as she dodged backward.
But the needles predicted her landing.A cluster shot toward the back of her head.
At the last moment, she twisted her wrist, deflecting them with a kunai by sound alone.
Others weren't so fortunate.
Screams erupted.
The needles weren't overwhelmingly powerful—but they were horrifyingly accurate.
They adjusted their angle mid-air.They waited for openings.They predicted landings.
Some ninjas avoided the first volley—only to be struck by needles lying in wait for where they would land.
Others used ninjutsu to block—but needles attacked the moment their defensive jutsu ended.
The forest echoed with agony.
"A second wave—!!"
"HELP!"
One ninja screamed as a needle pierced his thigh.In seconds, small white roots sprouted from the wound, anchoring him to the earth.
He hacked desperately at the growing roots—
—but the next wave of needles descended.
Mei Terumi's expression twisted.Every ninja hit by the first volley was suffering the same parasitic root infection.If they didn't act fast, the second wave would slaughter them.
"WATER RELEASE—GREAT WATERFALL TECHNIQUE!"
A massive wall of water surged upward, blocking many needles—but Mei quickly noticed needles weaving through gaps, still skewering her men.
She turned back—eyes widening at the God Tree's tendrils still full of staring, blinking eyes.
She finally understood.
"The eyes… can think independently."
Time.Angle.Trajectory.
They were all calculated autonomously.
This wasn't a jutsu.
It was a network of Byakugan minds.
A third wave gathered.
"We can't let him fire again!" Mei roared.
She commanded the others to maintain the water barrier while she sprinted straight toward the masked man.
Hashirama watched her calmly.
An "ant" running toward a wildfire.
A faint mockery flickered behind the mask—but then faded.His gaze softened, becoming gentle, compassionate.
He reminded himself:
Hashirama was a good person.
"Do you regret killing so many innocents in the Land of Waves?" he asked her.
"I only regret not killing more!" Mei shouted back.
"Then I hold no guilt."
Hashirama nodded once—
—and unleashed the third volley of needles on the injured Mist ninjas below.
Mei inhaled deeply, gathering chakra.
"BOIL RELEASE: SKILLED MIST TECHNIQUE!"
Superheated corrosive mist erupted toward Hashirama and the God Tree.
The God Tree prepared its attack—leaving defense to him.
Hashirama placed a hand on the tendril beneath him.
"Wood Release: Ranking Technique."
Meanwhile — Western Border, Land of Rain
While the Land of Waves trembled, another war was raging.
Iwagakure had publicly declared their intent to annihilate Konoha—igniting the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The battlefield lay in the Land of Rain.A perpetually soaked nation, already torn apart by civil war even without the influence of major powers.
Now, hidden hands were gathering what remained of the Land of Rain's scattered strength—much like Neiki had done in the Land of Waves—preparing to strike both Iwa and Konoha.
"Konoha's temporary command post is in the southeast," Konan reported to the man sitting in the dark."Led by Jiraiya. Including recent reinforcements, over three thousand ninjas are deployed—five hundred of them mercenaries."
She paused.
"This is unprecedented for Konoha. Even in stalemates, Konoha never relied on foreign mercenaries."
"These mercenaries weren't hired by Konoha," she continued."They were hired privately by various Konoha clans using their own money."
"They fight only for the clans—not for the village."
The man's purple Rinnegan-like eyes opened.
Konan's tone darkened.
"After Neiki and the Uchiha rebelled, Konoha is like a drowning man, clinging to anything it can."
The man tapped the table, slowly.
"This is a rare opportunity."
"Konoha is desperate."
"And we, the Akatsuki… are a mercenary organization."
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