SHUNK!
After killing Genji, Ren flickered back onto the battlefield in a few blinks.
"They ran?"
Sensing that Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage A had already escaped, Ren frowned slightly.
He genuinely hadn't expected those two to drop their pride so cleanly—turn and flee without a shred of hesitation, even abandoning the Five-Tails and Eight-Tails jinchūriki.
And if you counted the Three-Tails too…
This "war" had basically delivered three tailed beasts straight into Konoha's hands.
The Nine-Tails was already in the village.
Add Three, Five, and Eight—
Konoha would be holding four tailed beasts.
Ren's mouth curled.
"Heh. I'll let you two live… for now."
Honestly, he couldn't even be bothered to chase them.
The Four Great Villages had traveled all this way to "punish" Konoha—
only to bring Konoha a gift instead.
After the purge of Hiruzen's faction, Konoha's overall strength had truly dipped.
But now?
With the Three-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails on the table, Konoha wasn't just back to full strength—
it was stronger than before.
Right now, Ren had only one priority:
Break the tailed beasts' arrogance. Make them submit.
As for the jinchūriki?
Kill them if needed.
B, Han, Yagura—none of them were Konoha's people. There was no world where Ren would bet Konoha's future on their loyalty.
"They ran…?"
"We… we won?"
"The Four-Village Allied Army just got wiped out?!"
"Am I dreaming?!"
Konoha shinobi finally processed what had happened—and emotion detonated across the ranks.
Some laughed until they shook.
Some went glassy-eyed.
Some just stood there with tears trembling at their lashes.
It was terrifying how close it had felt.
But now the truth was undeniable:
As long as Ren stood here, Konoha wasn't falling.
At the front, Fugaku, Hiashi, Shikaku, and the other clan heads exchanged looks… and all exhaled at once.
After this battle—
Konoha wasn't merely "surviving."
It was about to take off.
"Bastard—idiot—Gyūki, wake up!!"
On the shattered battlefield, Killer B was still fighting for control after covering Raikage A's retreat.
Then—
A strange pulse of ocular power rippled out.
The Sharingan marks inside the eyes of the Eight-Tails, Five-Tails, and Three-Tails vanished at the same time.
"I— I finally wrestled control back—"
But it was too late.
The tailed beasts' rage instantly skyrocketed.
"THAT EYES AGAIN!"
"KILL HIM—TOGETHER!!"
They were tailed beasts—proud, ancient, violent by nature.
And yet they'd been genjutsu-snapped like toys.
That humiliation was unbearable.
Bijū chakra erupted from their bodies like a stormfront.
They roared and charged Ren, each step shaking the ground. The pressure alone made Konoha shinobi scalp-prickle.
"Good."
Ren's expression didn't change.
"Let's beat you into submission."
He calmly released the Eternal Mangekyō, clenched his fist—
and rushed forward.
A man versus three monsters.
And yet, the moment Ren threw a punch into the air—
the air cracked.
tremor-force surged outward and blew the Three-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails back like they were weightless.
That was only the opening bell.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!
Ren's fists hammered into their bodies again and again. The tailed beasts were driven into continuous retreat—crashing into the earth, rising, crashing again.
They tried to answer with Bijūdama.
It didn't matter.
Every time a Bijūdama touched Ren's fist—
it got smashed apart.
Explosions rolled across the battlefield. Shockwaves stacked on shockwaves. The already-ruined ground broke further, cratering and splitting like it was being punished.
Watching Ren fight them barehanded—
Konoha shinobi were beyond "shocked."
They were going numb.
Might Guy's eyes, on the other hand, were practically on fire.
"That physique…!!"
His whole body vibrated with battle intent.
After this is over, I'm doing extra push-ups tonight.
One minute.
Ten minutes.
Thirty minutes.
Finally—
after a full hour, the Three-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails collapsed onto the ground, completely drained of their earlier savagery.
They didn't roar anymore.
They didn't rush anymore.
Their eyes had the blank, traumatized look of beasts that had learned a hard rule:
Don't challenge that human.
Inside them, Yagura, Han, and B tried to force chakra out again—
but the tailed beasts refused to cooperate.
The jinchūriki could only sit there, pale and shaking, drowning in helpless rage.
"How… is this possible…?"
"The tailed beasts… got scared?"
"We're… dead…"
Ren glanced at the three of them, indifferent.
"Good. That's done."
He'd used Armament Haki layered with tremor-force and raw physical dominance, pounding them until they understood reality.
When he had time, he'd extract the Three-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails from their hosts.
Meanwhile — Mount Myōboku
Deep inside an ancient temple, an enormous surge of senjutsu chakra rose.
Three coffins stood in a row.
Then—
three figures rose from within.
Hashirama Senju.
Tobirama Senju.
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Great Toad Sage—wearing his scholar's cap—slowly withdrew his chakra, his expression heavy.
It worked.
Using the bodies of three living toads as sacrifices, he had successfully performed the forbidden technique—
Edo Tensei.
Hashirama stepped out and scanned the temple, eyes settling on the Great Toad Sage.
"Great Toad Sage… you summoned me with Edo Tensei?"
"The village is in trouble," the Great Toad Sage said, voice low. "Konoha has completely changed. It faced a Four-Village siege…"
He paused.
"…and it may already be gone."
Hashirama's mind went white.
"What…?"
"My Konoha… is gone?"
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