"Hoh… they're making quite a grand show."
At the same time, the group rushing over from the center of the village were all startled.
Especially Hashirama Senju.
When he saw the densely packed figures standing atop the enormous earth wall in the distance, his face nearly cracked in disbelief.
"So many shinobi? Looks like those villages have recovered pretty well over the years."
He sighed with emotion.
Back when the ninja villages were first established, the goal had been to bring peace and shared governance to the ninja world.
That way, everyone could recuperate and rebuild.
After all, during the Warring States era that had lasted countless years, the population losses had been catastrophic.
Now, seeing two villages casually field so many shinobi—
He couldn't help but feel gratified.
Gratified enough that Nara Shikaku couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes.
"First Hokage-sama… um… is it possible they're here to attack Konoha?"
Such an enormous formation, and no prior intelligence whatsoever.
It was painfully obvious they had come to cause trouble in Konoha.
Yet their First Hokage was standing there looking proud and satisfied!
"If I weren't unable to beat this old man, I'd whip him twice and send him to shovel coal in the boiler room."
Shikaku thought this bitterly while glancing down toward the Forest of Death.
When he saw the numerous "laborers" continuing their mechanical movements without reacting at all, he raised an eyebrow.
That obedient?
Hashirama also raised his brow.
Or rather—
His expression changed drastically.
When he first noticed that the Forest of Death had already been cleared by more than half, his eyelids began twitching wildly.
The vast, perfectly leveled foundation below left him completely dazed.
Since when had Konoha's infrastructure become this powerful?
The Forest of Death was almost as large as the main area of Konoha itself!
Was this… preparation to build another Konoha?
The village's development had left this century-old man utterly bewildered.
And his curiosity toward Uchiha Kai only deepened.
Could all of this truly be accomplished by a boy barely over ten years old?
But when he looked at the two groups of people below, he became even more confused.
So confused that he couldn't help blurting out—
"Holy hell! They're not rioting at all?!"
He exaggeratedly pointed at the Kumogakure and Iwagakure shinobi below.
"They've come to rescue them! How could this be happening?!"
He genuinely couldn't understand.
Based on his experience during the Warring States era, captives would normally be ecstatic in this situation.
After all—
Wasn't home always the best place to be?
But what was happening now completely defied his understanding.
Something about this felt terribly wrong.
Puzzled, he turned his head and looked at the Fourth Raikage A and Ōnoki—who was currently being carried under someone's arm.
His confusion only deepened.
Although he didn't know them well, these were still the leaders of two major ninja villages.
Yet when facing the allied army that had come to rescue them, they didn't look happy at all.
Their faces were downright foul.
Yes.
Foul.
Hashirama could see it clearly.
Both of them looked like someone owed them eight million ryo.
Their expressions were unbelievably sour.
That made things even stranger.
As leaders of their villages, shouldn't they be thrilled when reinforcements arrived?
So why—
Hashirama fell silent.
He even felt the urge to summon Tobirama just to explain what on earth was happening.
Because no matter how he looked at it—
This entire situation was simply bizarre.
Beside him, Uchiha Kai only smiled without saying a word.
They clearly had no idea about the terrifying power of the Spore Deity.
Of course—
It was also about time to give the ninja world a little shock from the industrial assembly line.
…
"Uh… it seems like… our slogan… didn't work…"
Killer B scratched the scarf tied around his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
After their massive shout earlier, aside from the roaring wind and clouds—
There had been absolutely no reaction.
"Hmph, we— hm? That's— Father!"
Kitsuchi had been about to say something when he suddenly looked down.
In the center of the forest, he immediately spotted Ōnoki being carried along while clutching his aching lower back with a grimacing face.
Seeing his father in such a miserable state made his pupils contract instantly.
The normally calm and steady Kitsuchi suddenly had his face filled with fury and concern.
"Iwagakure shinobi! Follow me and rescue the Tsuchikage-sama! Crush the enemy!"
"ROOOAAAR!"
With that command, two thousand Iwagakure shinobi roared in unison.
The enormous wave of sound, mixed with the heavy scent of dust and earth, pressed down on everyone below like a mountain.
"Kumogakure Thunder Tigers! Follow me and rescue the Raikage-sama! Blow the enemy apart!"
Boom!
Boom rumble—!
Crackle! Crackle!
The three thousand Kumogakure shinobi under Killer B's command showed no intention of being outdone.
On one side—
Three thousand raging thunder tigers.
On the other—
Two thousand earth-shaking stone dragons.
After their battle cries, the two massive forces surged forward like unstoppable torrents, charging straight toward the Forest of Death.
Whoosh—
The heavy rain that had already slowed suddenly got swept upward by the violent air currents.
Above the Forest of Death, layers of white mist formed, obscuring the ground below.
This sight forced the bustling "assembly line" in the Forest of Death to grind to a halt.
The Uchiha clan members didn't care at all.
In fact, their obsessive nature made them eager when they saw this scene.
Only one thought filled their minds—
If they killed this many enemies, would their names be recorded in the clan genealogy?
But the other overseers and the Konoha workers assisting them were completely terrified.
Earlier, they hadn't been able to see clearly because they were deep inside the forest.
But now—
Seeing thousands of raging shinobi charging toward them, everything became crystal clear.
Some people immediately began trembling and tried to run.
But—
Even more people stood in place and shouted together.
"Lord Kai!!!"
"Lord Kai!"
The voices rose wave after wave.
Across the construction site, more and more people joined the cry.
It wasn't that the workers weren't afraid.
It was just that—
They trusted the man who had changed their lives.
After all—
Across the entire ninja world, what village leader would ever allow shinobi to serve workers?
None.
Absolutely none.
For people like them, who lacked talent for cultivation, they could only rely on craftsmanship and technical skills.
But in a world dominated by shinobi—
That still made them inferior.
Shinobi usually treated them with either beatings or insults.
Sometimes even whipping them like slaves.
But now—
Ever since Lord Kai took power—
They were actually commanding two hundred powerful shinobi to produce materials!
They had risen in status to become true technicians.
Therefore—
In their hearts, Uchiha Kai's status had already surpassed that of the Hokage.
And because they shouted so passionately—
Even the captured laborers working under them began unconsciously shouting as well.
"Lord Kai! Lord Kai!" a Kumogakure captive shouted loudly.
"Lord Kai!" an Iwagakure captive shouted as well.
Across the construction site with hundreds of people, their voices might not have been as loud as the allied army's—
But their momentum was not weaker in the slightest.
Meanwhile—
Kitsuchi and Killer B were completely dumbfounded when they saw this scene.
Especially Killer B, who almost fell out of the air.
Looking at the crowd below, a thought suddenly appeared in his mind.
"What kind of brainwashing drug did Konoha feed our Kumogakure shinobi?"
It was one thing for Konoha's civilians to shout.
After all, they were from the same village.
But—
More than a hundred elite captives from his own village were shouting along as well?!
"No… no… could it be that I've been caught in a genjutsu?"
Killer B frowned, his body instantly tensing.
"Who would've thought Konoha has someone so powerful that they could drag me into a genjutsu without me noticing!"
He was genuinely shocked.
And confused.
With the Eight-Tails inside him, how could he possibly fall under genjutsu so easily?
Especially when he saw his own brother rush over shouting—
"B, don't resist uselessly! Take the men and return immediately!"
That moment completely confirmed his suspicion.
He had been caught in genjutsu.
Then—
Seeing the furious figure charging toward him while carrying Ōnoki—
Killer B's eyes flashed.
His speed exploded instantly.
With the Eight-Tails' chakra empowering him, he transformed into a streak of blue lightning and slashed forward with his blade.
"What a powerful genjutsu! You dare impersonate my brother right in front of me?! I'll cut you down!"
Raikage A: ???
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