Chapter 277: A Divine Reinforcement Descends!

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly.

In such a short amount of time, he hadn't recovered much chakra at all.

As for Koharu Utatane , there was even less to say. She had already reached her absolute limit. The fact that she could still remain conscious was purely due to her strong will—she no longer had the strength to continue fighting.

Homura Mitokado moved solemnly, stepping forward to shield both Hiruzen and Koharu behind him.

Although he still had the ability to fight, Shimura Danzō was essentially his natural counter. Even under normal circumstances, Homura had little chance of defeating him—let alone now, when Danzō possessed that grotesque arm granting him such strange abilities.

"In that case… Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

Seeing their condition, Danzō stopped wasting words. Opening his mouth, he unleashed several scythe-like blades of compressed wind toward the three of them.

"Weapon Manipulation: Guard!"

Homura reacted instantly.

With a swift motion of his arm, he unfurled a sealing scroll. With a bang, a massive iron shield was summoned before him.

The moment the shield was raised, Danzō's Vacuum Serial Waves slammed into it.

A shrill metallic screech echoed through the battlefield.

The impact blasted Homura backward through the air.

His face darkened. With a quick flick of his arm, he fired out a metal chain, anchoring it into the ground. Using the chain's tension, he twisted midair—abandoning the shield and hurling it away.

Under normal circumstances, flying backward with the shield and creating distance from Danzō would have been Homura's best option.

But the situation was different now.

If he retreated, Hiruzen and Koharu, who had no ability to resist, would be completely exposed to Danzō.

Homura had no choice but to hold the line.

However, doing so inevitably placed him within Danzō's combat rhythm.

And reality unfolded exactly as he feared.

Just as Homura stabilized himself, Danzō had already closed the distance.

A wind blade formed in his hand, slashing down toward Homura's head.

Homura barely managed to block the strike with the Sword of the Thunder God, flipping his wrist desperately.

Even so, the sheer force knocked him crashing toward the ground.

Danzō's attacks followed immediately, relentless and overwhelming, leaving Homura no chance to raise his head.

After several exchanges, Homura finally managed to adapt to Danzō's rhythm.

But by then, a bloody gash had already appeared across his body.

Homura's eyes flickered.

The Sword of the Thunder God danced wildly in his hand while his feet subtly began stepping backward.

Most of Homura's techniques were large-scale destructive ninjutsu.

With Hiruzen and Koharu nearby, he simply couldn't use them.

His only option was to lure Danzō away first.

But at that moment—

Danzō suddenly stopped.

A strange smile crept onto his lips.

Homura's heart sank.

This is bad!

With a sweeping slash, Danzō forced Homura back.

Then he flicked his arm, launching several Wind Release shuriken toward Hiruzen and Koharu.

"Watch out!"

Homura's pupils shrank as he rushed to save them.

But Danzō's cold voice rang out behind him.

"You should worry about yourself first."

A flash of wind.

The wind blade cut cleanly through Homura's wrist.

His right hand, still gripping the Sword of the Thunder God, was severed instantly.

Homura let out a muffled groan of pain.

But he paid no attention to his severed hand.

Instead, he turned his gaze toward Hiruzen and Koharu.

Fortunately, Danzō's casual attack had not succeeded.

At the last moment, Hiruzen forced himself to stand, dragging Koharu with him as they barely escaped the wind shuriken's range.

But that was all.

Hiruzen hadn't recovered much chakra.

Combined with the massive blood loss from Homura's severed arm—

After dodging the attack, he collapsed to the ground again, gasping heavily.

"It seems you care about them quite a bit."

"For that reason… I'll let them die right in front of you."

For some reason, seeing this scene filled Danzō with dissatisfaction.

With a flash, he charged straight toward Hiruzen and Koharu.

"Weapon Manipulation: Binding Meteor!"

Homura threw out several sealing scrolls again.

From them emerged dozens of massive chains, whipping through the air toward Danzō and sealing off his movement.

"Hmph. Such trivial tricks dare to show off before me?"

"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"

Danzō snorted coldly and fired a compressed wind sphere from his mouth.

The incoming chains were blasted backward instantly.

Taking advantage of the opening, Danzō slipped through the blockade and continued rushing toward Hiruzen and Koharu.

"NO!"

Homura's eyes split with rage.

He no longer had time to save them.

Danzō appeared above the two elders.

"Farewell, Hiruzen. Farewell, Koharu."

"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves—"

Hand seals formed rapidly as multiple scythe-like wind blades shot downward.

"…Danzō."

Hiruzen looked at the incoming wind blades.

Suddenly, his body stiffened.

In his eyes, the entire world seemed to freeze.

Everything slowed.

Only Danzō's figure moved clearly before him.

But in Hiruzen's eyes, that figure gradually changed—returning to the image of Danzō in their youth.

Memories flooded his mind.

Birth.

Growth.

Meeting each other.

Joining Konoha.

Becoming disciples.

Rivalry and cooperation.

The Shinobi Wars.

Their teacher's death.

Becoming Hokage.

Watching over the village together.

Conflict and rivalry again.

Turning against each other…

All the events of Hiruzen Sarutobi's life flashed before his eyes.

Then finally—

Everything returned to the present.

So this is truly the end…

Though filled with countless regrets, Hiruzen knew there was no way to reverse the situation.

His body relaxed.

He no longer had the will to resist.

The frozen world resumed its normal flow.

The Vacuum Serial Waves had already reached his face.

BOOM!!!

"AHHH!!"

At that instant, a powerful shout rang out.

A figure descended from the sky with unstoppable force, crashing down onto the Four Violet Flames Formation.

The barrier shattered instantly.

Dust and debris exploded into the air.

Then—

THUD!

Danzō's body flew backward out of the smoke, slamming violently into the ground.

Everyone present froze.

The sudden turn of events left them stunned.

Danzō flipped upright from the crater he had created.

Blood dripped from his mouth and nose.

His chest had visibly collapsed inward, and his expression turned incredibly ugly.

The attack had come far too suddenly.

He hadn't even had time to activate Izanagi before being blasted away, suffering severe injuries.

And Izanagi could only rewrite reality after its activation.

Therefore—

The injuries currently on his body could not be undone.

Danzō glared furiously at the figure standing within the smoke.

Grinding his teeth, he spat out a single name.

"Tsunade!!!"

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