With One Blade, Overturning Konoha!

Unlike the bodies found before, this one was discovered on a small road a kilometer away from Iwagakure.

The cause of death was the same—killed in a single strike.

Gritting his teeth, Ōnoki clenched his fists as he stared at the corpse. This was one of the men he had sent out to patrol and search for traces of the enemy.

Someone from Iwagakure had been killed, and the body dumped at their own village gate. That meant the enemy couldn’t have gone far.

So sending out pursuit units was necessary.

But he never imagined that this elite squad—one he had personally trained—would be wiped out so easily.

He could still recall how energetic and confident these subordinates were when they accepted the mission.

And now they were dead.

The grief in his eyes ignited into fury, his chakra flaring wildly.

“Who did this?!”

The roar of an old man carried a sharp, gut-wrenching pain.

But the moment the words left his mouth, a primal sense of danger shot through him. Without a shred of hesitation, Ōnoki blasted upward into the sky.

The next instant, a streak of black-crimson light tore through the air.

Everything in its path—stone or soil—was erased into nothingness.

A black-crimson sçash of the blade.

The Hollow power unleashed through Hakken after Hollow White gave him the mask.

BOOM.

The earth trembled. Space itself warped under the pressure. The Iwagakure ninja who failed to react in time vanished completely.

The force of this Cero was terrifying—true annihilation.

The only unfortunate part was that after the blade’s Hollow Flash tore forward and shattered a distant mountain peak, a lone figure still floated in the sky.

Ōnoki of Both Scales.

The Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. Check latest chapters at novel★fire.net

He had sensed the danger and immediately taken to the air. But the escort squad that came with him… they weren’t so lucky. A single swing had wiped them out.

If Ōnoki had hesitated even slightly, or if he had tried to block with something like Earth-Style Wall, Hakken was certain that the man would be dead or severely injured.

After Hollowfication, Hakken wielded both Shinigami and Hollow power. That blade, capable of erasing everything, wasn’t something ordinary Earth Release could stop.

That was his confidence.

Dead…

All of them… dead…

Suspended in the sky, Ōnoki stared blankly at the devastation, completely unable to believe what he was seeing.

What kind of monstrous power was this?

Hakken shouldered his Zanpakutō and stepped upward as though walking on air, approaching the old man.

Ōnoki of Both Scales—an unquestionably respectable Tsuchikage when viewed from the outside.

But standing on the opposite side, such respect meant nothing to Hakken.

“Who are you?!”

Someone capable of such overwhelming destruction could never be a nobody.

Ōnoki knew that much. Burning with fury and confusion, he roared the question at Hakken.

“Iwagakure has no quarrel with you. Why would you do this?”

No quarrel?

That was his logic?

They could attack others first, but others weren’t allowed to strike back.

Everyone in this world lived by double standards. No point debating it.

Hm?

He finally noticed something.

Ōnoki’s gaze dropped to Hakken’s arm.

There—tied firmly—was a Konoha genin forehead protector, practically mocking Ōnoki’s eyesight.

A brat from Konoha?

Wait.

A brat who fought with a sword—and with this level of power…

“You’re that Konoha’s Kenpachi?”

Ōnoki snapped back to full awareness as rage flooded through him.

The brat hadn’t even tried to hide his identity.

Ōnoki wasn’t a fool. As the Third Tsuchikage, he kept close attention on ninja world rumors.

He’d heard the stories about Konoha’s Kenpachi.

But rumors were rumors. No one believed them literally.

Yet after witnessing that terrifying strike just now, Ōnoki understood.

This kid was at least as strong as the rumors claimed—if not stronger.

“Why!”

Ōnoki gritted his teeth, fury twisting his face as he forced out the question.

Why invade the Land of Earth? Why attack Iwagakure’s people?

“Why?”

Hakken paused. They already knew who he was, but they still asked why?

So attacking Konoha was something that could just be glossed over?

And he had the nerve to ask why?

“Why attack Iwagakure? Aren’t you afraid of starting a war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth?”

Ōnoki’s eyes flickered.

He wasn’t as clueless as he acted, but the attack on Konoha had involved all the great ninja villages.

By logic, even if Konoha knew Iwagakure had participated, they’d still have to swallow the loss.

They didn’t have proof.

If they retaliated, the targets would be all three great villages—excluding Kumogakure.

Any large-scale retaliation could even spark a Third Shinobi World War.

Konoha didn’t have the resolve for that.

“Times have changed, Mr. Ōnoki.”

“The weak Konoha you remember is gone. It seems you all forgot what I said before.”

“Allow me to remind you…”

“As long as I stand here, Konoha is the number one village. No one is allowed to provoke it.”

Hakken let out a long breath, then a mocking smile spread across his face as he leveled his Zanpakutō at the old man.

“You said war, didn’t you?”

“Fine.”

“As the Commander of Konoha’s ANBU, acting under Hokage authority—”

“I hereby declare, on behalf of Konoha, a unilateral war against Iwagakure. To the death.”

For as long as history remembered, it had always been other villages declaring war on Konoha.

But now Konoha had taken the initiative, flipping the roles entirely.

War.

Was he serious?

Ōnoki froze.

Did this brat understand what that word meant?

It meant that from this moment forward, the two villages would be locked in full-scale conflict—people would die.

And the casualties would be far, far more than the few who died around Iwagakure today.

“Brat! Don’t be so arrogant in front of an elder.”

“Show some respect—and never underestimate the Tsuchikage!”

“Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!”

Placing his hands before his chest, the distinctive expanding white light formed.

Dust Release.

Hakken narrowed his eyes, instantly soaring higher.

The Kenpachi template had already unlocked nearly a third.

Right now, he was a true Shinigami.

With the physical might inherited from Kenpachi layered atop his own, his speed had skyrocketed. A movement faster than Body Flicker allowed him to dodge attacks like this with ease.

Dust Release was a Kekkei Tōta—far beyond ordinary bloodline limits. Its destructive force was immense.

Yet in the original world, it had only killed a handful of people.

The reason was simple: unless used in an enormous, area-wide blast, hitting a fast-moving target was extremely difficult.

Hakken was a Shinigami.

And Shinigami were beings who stood above the sky.

Flight was only one of many abilities.

After Ōnoki unleashed the Dust Release, he looked up—and saw Hakken floating even higher than he was.

“I’d advise you to stop raging. That thing won’t hit me.”

“And as a gift to commemorate your new war—why not look behind you?”

Hakken pointed his Zanpakutō past Ōnoki, a radiant smile on his face.

“A full-powered Tailed Beast Ball from the complete Nine-Tails. Please accept it.”

BOOM.

The earth trembled.

Disaster had arrived.