Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

"The Eighty One of the Binding Dao: Duan Kong!"

An invisible wall blocked Fukasaku's path, but without the chanting of the Dōkū, it was naturally unable to stop the enraged toad-like sage Fukasaku.

Most of the Hidden Mist ninjas controlled by the toad's song were cut in half.

However, the unusual restlessness finally brought the powerful Mist Villagers, who were trapped in the illusion, back to their senses. Yagura Karatachi narrowly managed to turn to the side, avoiding being dismembered, but his shoulder was still pierced, and blood splattered everywhere.

The intense pain caused Yagura's expression to change slightly, but he quickly noticed Jiraiya, who had been pierced through the throat by Yoru and was already dead, and a look of wild joy immediately appeared on his face.

"Well done, Night!"

The strategic value of Jiraiya, one of the Three Ninja, needs no further explanation.

As a 'general' specially transferred from the Iwagakure battlefield by Hiruzen Sarutobi to oversee the Kirigakure battlefield, Jiraiya represents Konoha's highest combat strength and supreme command on the Kirigakure battlefield.

Killing Jiraiya was undoubtedly a great victory for Kirigakure against Konoha!

"You two toads, you can stay here too!"

A ruthless smile appeared on Yagura's doll-like face as he rapidly formed hand seals.

The two toad sages exchanged a glance, instantly appeared beside Jiraiya's corpse, grabbed it, and vanished in a puff of white smoke.

"Hmph, you're pretty fast."

"Om!!"

Yagura snorted coldly, but the next moment...

A chilling aura rose from afar, instantly drawing the attention of everyone present.

Red and sinister chakra continuously emanated from Kushina's body. The once beautiful and lovely girl now had red hair flying wildly, and several tails rose up behind her one after another.

Everyone present paled and gasped in surprise.

"A Jinchūriki?!"

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Damn it, has Konoha gone mad? They actually sent the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to the battlefield!"

Chapter 44 Kushina's Rampage

Kushina's skin kept cracking, burning, and peeling off.

In the blink of an eye, its body was completely enveloped by the blood-red tailed beast chakra, and even its face was covered by the tailed beast cloak, transforming it into a blood-red half-human, half-beast.

"Jiraiya-sensei..."

"Roar!!!"

The blood-red monster roared to the sky, and the explosive aura generated by the massive amount of chakra made everyone present feel suffocated.

Especially during the night when Kushina was keeping a close eye on him.

Faced with such terrifying chakra that soared into the sky, Ye even felt somewhat suffocated by the suppression.

"The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki..."

Yagura gripped the black grappling hook in his hand and glanced at the situation of the Hidden Mist ninjas around him.

Because of Fukasaku's rage, the Sage Art: Water Slash caused enormous damage to Kirigakure, and even Fukasaku himself was nearly cut off half of his arm.

His gaze fell on Ye: "Can you still fight?"

"The situation is not good; the chakra depletion is too great."

Yoru shook his head. The continuous battles, coupled with the full release of the 90th Kido and the Danku, had left him with very little chakra, even though he had gained several times the energy boost from his Shikai.

If the fighting continues...

"Ok?"

Yoru suddenly looked at Hyōrinmaru in his hand: "You mean, using spiritual power...?"

"boom!!"

A raging gust of wind swept in, and Ye's expression changed slightly. He instantly disappeared from his spot. The next moment, the ground he was standing on was directly shattered and torn apart by this terrifying energy. Countless trees were uprooted, and countless corpses and ice shards were kneaded together along with the rubble.

Kushina's figure instantly broke through to Yoru's front, but after missing her target, she looked directly at Yagura beside her.

The person who killed Jiraiya-sensei, the person who caused Konoha such heavy losses, the person from Kirigakure...

All deserve to die!

Kushina opened her mouth wide, and a massive amount of chakra particles gathered at that moment, which she then swallowed whole.

"not good!"

Yagura's expression changed drastically, and he immediately used Water Release: Water Release. A tailed beast form that looked exactly like Kushina appeared in the water mirror.

Two Tailed Beast Balls condensed simultaneously.

Released at the same time!

"Chakra... is exhausted..."

Yagura's face was extremely pale. After using the Water Mirror Technique, his chakra was completely depleted, with not a single drop left.

The Water Mirror Technique can mimic all techniques. A person who looks exactly like the enemy will appear in the mirror, and the user can use the same ninjutsu as the opponent, with the same power.

However, performing this technique requires a large amount of chakra to maintain, and the Tailed Beast Ball that simulates the Four-Tails transformation of a Jinchuriki has already reached its limit for Yagura at present!

"boom!!!"

Two enormous, jet-black chakra aggregates collided violently, unleashing an indescribable, terrifying energy that instantly enveloped the land within a radius of nearly one kilometer in the burst of energy.

At the critical moment, Night appeared behind Yagura in an instant, grabbed him, and disappeared into the range of the energy burst.

Trees, rocks, and the remains of ninjas.

Everything on the ground was forcibly annihilated by this energy at that moment.

……

Having just repelled several Hidden Mist Villagers, Fugaku Uchiha and Shinnosuke Uchiha regrouped.

But they did not relax in the slightest, because dozens more Kirigakure ninjas appeared before them. Among them, the leader not only wielded the new Seven Ninja Swords, the 'Long Sword - Sewing Needle' and the 'Twin Swords - Hiramekarei', but also a top genius who had mastered both 'Boiling Release' and 'Lava Release' bloodlines!

"That highly corrosive acid mist from before must have been released by her... Mei Terumi, the prodigy of the Kirigakure Terumi family."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's expression was grave; the longer the chase went on, the more alarmed they became.

Konoha has never highly valued Kirigakure, even placing it on par with Sunagakure, at the bottom of the Five Great Nations. However, the number of geniuses Kirigakure has displayed has far exceeded Shinnosuke's expectations.

First there was Mizuki Yoru, who emerged out of nowhere and stood alone; now there are so many geniuses, and even the existence of dual bloodlines!

Whether it's Hozuki Mangetsu, Ringo Ameyuri, or Terumi Mei who possesses two bloodline limits.

A genius of this caliber, once fully developed, will undoubtedly become a Kage-level powerhouse in the future!

"The Hidden Mist's combat strength has completely exceeded our expectations. Could this be the effect of the Blood Mist?"

Shinnosuke murmured to himself, "That abnormal environment that they considered an absolute failure, a self-destructive path, has actually produced so many geniuses, even prodigies."

Does this system really have any merit?

It seems I'll have to discuss this with my father after this battle...

"Fugaku, you take the men and retreat first, I'll hold them off..."

"boom!!"

Before the people present could continue fighting, the aftershocks of the Tailed Beast Ball explosion in the distance had already reached this place.

The immense energy burst generated a towering wave of air pressure, sending countless dust and rubble, along with uprooted trees, flying in all directions, leaving everyone present stunned in place.

"How could this be? Kushina actually transformed into a tailed beast?!"

"Just how far did the fight go that Kushina managed to achieve this level of skill as soon as she entered the arena?"

Fugaku and Shinnosuke's expressions changed drastically, as did the Kirigakure side.

Although Kirigakure does not yet have a Jinchūriki, it has had Tailed Beasts in its history, so they are not unfamiliar with the power of this force.

"Damn Konoha, you've actually sent Jinchuriki to the battlefield?"

"The legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki..."

This arrangement caused a chill to run down the spines of everyone present, as they took on the responsibility for Yoru and Yagura's situation.

The energy shockwaves from the explosion slowly dissipated.

Both Konoha and Kirigakure fell silent. Although the enemy was right in front of them, their hearts were simultaneously focused on the distant horizon.

For a moment, both sides were at an impasse, until a retreat signal flare appeared on the horizon, at which point the Hidden Mist side disappeared into the thick fog.

"No, Fugaku, you take the men to Misawabashi first, I need to go find Kushina!"

Shinnosuke said in a deep voice. Fugaku hesitated for a moment and then shook his head: "I'll go with you. Kirigakure has already retreated, which means that Kushina and Jiraiya-sama have caused them great losses. I'll go with you to find Kushina!"

"it is good!"

The two figures rushed towards the direction from which the Tailed Beast Ball had erupted, but after only a couple of steps, they froze in place.

A blood-red figure appeared before the two, with six tails swaying behind it, emanating a suffocatingly terrifying aura.

"Kushina!"

"Roar!!"

Chapter 45 Konoha Approaching Its Limit

"What?! Jiraiya actually!"

Konoha.

Inside the Hokage Building office, the Third Hokage suddenly stood up, his aged face filled with extreme shock and astonishment, utterly disbelief.

Not only him, but everyone including Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado did not believe this information.

But they had no choice but to believe it.

Because the person who provided the information was the hermit Fukasaku of Mount Myōboku!

"Immortal Shenzuo, what exactly is this...?"

"It happened so suddenly, I know it's hard for you to accept." The toad master Fukasaku's expression was grave: "After the Kirigakure army arrived at the front line, Kirigakure indeed launched an attack on Tsunan Town. You should be able to get the specific battle report soon."

"The fighting strength of the Hidden Mist faction is beyond imagination. Tsunan Town is simply unable to withstand the Hidden Mist's attack, especially one of the ice-style brats named Mizuki Yoru, who killed Jiraiya."

"Mizuki... Night."

The familiar name resonated in the ears of the four Konoha leaders. The last time this name appeared was just a few days ago when Jiraiya asked them for help.

“Minazukiyo, that guy is just a fourteen-year-old brat, how could he…” Koharu Utatane couldn’t help but say.

Jiraiya perfectly inherited Hiruzen Sarutobi's lecherous nature, and he often messes things up, frequently having to go out to gather materials and then disappearing without a trace.

However, as Sarutobi's disciple and one of the Legendary Sannin of the ninja world, Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, possessed undeniable fighting prowess, a fact well understood by the Konoha leadership.

If he were to activate Sage Mode, few in the entire Hidden Leaf Village could rival Jiraiya.

But at this moment, Jiraiya died at the hands of Mizuki Yoru...

If this information hadn't come from the mouth of the toad-like hermit, the four people present would probably have taken it as a joke.

“That brat is no ordinary brat, and his ice release technique is no ordinary ice release technique either.”

The toad master Fukasaku said, "That guy's ice-style ninjutsu contains the aura of sage chakra, and the techniques he has mastered are extremely strange and terrifying. Even I have never seen them before."

"Jiraiya's Sage Mode was restricted by that guy, and coupled with the combined attack of other Kirigakure ninja, Jiraiya ultimately died at the hands of Mizuki Yoru..."

"I can only warn you to be careful. If possible, you'd better nip it in the bud. Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Having said that, Fukasaku the Toad did not linger in the Hokage Building and vanished into white smoke.

After Fukasaku left, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado both turned their gazes toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, as did Danzo.

This pillar of Konoha was trembling all over. Although he didn't say a word, the pipe he usually treasured had broken in his hand.

They all knew very well the position of the Sannin in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart. For the Third Hokage, the news of Jiraiya's death was not only that Konoha had lost a top fighter and the Hokage had lost his right-hand man, but also that his own child had died on the battlefield!

"Hiruzen..."

Danzo took out a scroll from his robes and placed it on the desk: "This contains all the information we've gathered about Minazuki Yoru during this period. According to the information, Minazuki Yoru indeed did not awaken Ice Release. Not only did he not awaken Ice Release, he also only possessed the Water Release nature. He was expelled from the Snow Kingdom at birth..."