Time seemed to stop at that very moment.
Takayama Haru's lips lightly brushed against hers. The night wind alone could not satisfy the fire burning inside!
"Please… save Grandma Mito!"
With a flushed face, Kyushinai pleaded softly.
Takayama Haru nodded and began forming hand seals.
Suddenly, darkness engulfed the world.
A terrifying aura burst forth, spreading like an apocalyptic tide crashing upon the shore. The entire continent trembled in response.
A towering Buddha statue, a thousand meters tall, rose from the earth. Even the surrounding mountains looked like toy models in comparison.
Thousands of giant Buddha hands reached out, blotting out the sun and sky.
The entire Hidden Leaf Village shook violently.
"What's going on?!"
"Is it an earthquake?!"
"What is that?!"
Everyone in the village awoke in a panic.
They rushed into the streets, looking up—gazing at the immense, many-eyed, thousand-handed Buddha statue rising above the clouds. It was as if the end of the world had arrived.
In the Uchiha compound, Mikoto Uchiha and Obito were hosting a meeting with Clan Leader Fugaku Uchiha.
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. Everyone ran outside.
When Fugaku saw the enormous Buddha, he froze and trembled. "That… that's the strongest jutsu from the First Hokage's era!"
He was just a three-year-old child back then, standing at the village gates, watching the final battle in the Valley of the End from afar. That battle was the most terrifying, most unforgettable scene of his life.
He could never forget that massive Buddha.
"Could it be… Haru?"
The name Takayama Haru came to his mind immediately, but he couldn't believe it.
He hadn't known that one of Orochimaru's test subjects with Hashirama's cells had actually survived.
That child's Wood Release had seemed utterly insignificant back then.
Even when he glanced at Haru before, though powerful, he was nowhere near the level of the First Hokage.
There's a difference between basic Wood Release and the true Wood Style. The original Hokage's Mokuton was the real deal!
Mikoto and Obito's eyes widened.
This Buddha and its thousand hands—they were too familiar.
Wasn't this the same jutsu that Haru had used to let them escape back at the Great Sea Bridge?
Only this one… was ten times larger, right?
"Is it really Haru?" Mikoto whispered, not even daring to believe it herself.
In the Hyuga Clan, the eldest elder, Hyuga Tenjin—a former disciple of the Second Hokage's Sage Arts—fell to his knees when he saw the giant Buddha.
"That's the First's ultimate Sage Wood Technique!"
Behind him, all the Hyuga elders and members couldn't help but kneel in awe, overwhelmed by the miracle.
Hyuga Hiashi, next in line to lead the clan, secretly opened his Byakugan to examine the statue more closely.
He thought he saw a figure standing atop the giant Buddha.
A… wooden figure?
Wait… the wooden figure was the person!
That silhouette—why did it look so familiar?
Suddenly, blood dripped from Hiashi's eye. Everything went black, and he collapsed.
"Hiashi!"
The Hyuga clan was thrown into chaos as their next heir fell.
Elsewhere, clan leaders across the village stared in disbelief.
Several elder ninjas who had been around since before the founding of the Leaf trembled as they saw the Thousand-Hand Buddha.
"My god… thousands of hands?!"
"Impossible!"
"Who the hell is that?!"
…
On the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, two immense chakras suddenly erupted.
Boulders nearby exploded into dust!
In a flash, two figures collided at high speed before separating again.
"Lightning Style — Lariat Blade!"
"Martial Release — Grand Volley Technique!"
The Third Hokage and the Third Raikage clashed with ultimate techniques.
Boom!
A deafening explosion filled the battlefield.
A dark shadow leapt from the wreckage—it was Sarutobi Hiruzen, blood dripping from his mouth.
The Third Raikage remained in place, not pursuing him.
Elsewhere, Tsunade and Orochimaru were locked in combat with Raikage's partner, the semi-tailed beast Fukai.
Even facing two Sannin, Fukai fought evenly without flinching.
Orochimaru was smashed by one punch but crawled up again, eyes gleaming.
The power of a Jinchūriki… he was suddenly very interested in studying it.
Then the ground began to shake—tremors from the direction of the Leaf Village.
"What the hell? An earthquake?" Tsunade cried, glancing uneasily.
Even the Third Raikage frowned. "Fukai! What's happening?"
Fukai's expression twisted. "The Eight Tails… it's reacting! Something's disturbing its chakra!"
The Raikage quickly backed away. "The seal—is it failing?"
"I don't know… Look over there!"
On the other side of the battlefield, a colossal Thousand-Hand Buddha loomed over the horizon, even larger than the mountains.
"What… is that?!"
Fukai narrowed his eyes. "I can feel fear coming from the Tailed Beasts…"
The Third Raikage looked at the injured Hiruzen, then at Tsunade and Orochimaru.
Just then, a white figure descended from the sky.
"I'm not late, am I?" Jiraiya had arrived. The legendary trio was together again.
Seeing no way forward, the Raikage growled, "We're pulling back!"
Tsunade turned and stared at the Buddha statue, stunned.
Orochimaru smiled. "So this… is Konoha now?"
Jiraiya's eyes widened. "A Thousand-Hand Buddha… is that the Wood Golem Technique? No, it's… even bigger?!"
Hiruzen, though weakened, looked clear-eyed toward the statue. "No… that's not the Wood Golem. We must return immediately!"
As a direct disciple of the First and Second Hokage, Hiruzen recognized it instantly.
"That's Hashirama's ultimate jutsu… and Haru is the only one it could be."
But his mind flashed back to Danzo's strange smile before leaving the village.
"Danzo… don't stir up trouble now…"
…
In the Mist Village, the disappearance of the Third Mizukage and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had thrown everything into chaos.
All eyes were on the vacant Mizukage's seat.
Just then, a colossal Buddha statue rose from the direction of the sea, terrifying the entire village.
"What the hell is that?!"
They were stunned.
It was in the direction of the Leaf… Was it some kind of forbidden jutsu?
…
In the Stone Village, Onoki was listening to his subordinates' reports about the Raikage's clash with the Hokage. He planned a blitz attack from the rear to take revenge for their losses in the Second War.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
Onoki stepped to the window and froze at the sight of the Thousand-Hand Buddha.
"Am I seeing things?!"
He rubbed his eyes. His pupils nearly popped out.
"Go! Investigate immediately! What the hell is happening in the Leaf?!"
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"
Three elite squads left Iwagakure at once, heading for the Leaf.
In Onoki's heart, he still believed he was young, even after forty years—still able to walk as Iwagakure's representative… now heading to Konoha to pay respects.
…
In the Sand Village, the Third Kazekage stared dumbfounded at the giant Buddha on the horizon.
That size… bigger than a mountain?!
He tried to comprehend it—only to realize he was inside a genjutsu.
An empty desert. Nothing in sight.
"Where am I?"
Two figures appeared before him.
One, a boy around ten with short orange hair, handsome and robed in black.
The other—an old man with terrifying eyes.
Mangekyo Sharingan!
An hour later, the Kazekage's eyes were wide with disbelief. He had been killed… by two people he didn't even know.
Dark red blood soaked into the sand, engulfing his body.
And then, he vanished.
Akatsuki's Sasori and Uchiha Yataro had succeeded in their assassination—and took his corpse with them.
The Kazekage was gone. The Sand Village plunged into chaos!
Takayama Haru hadn't expected that his use of Hashirama's strongest Wood Release, the Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands, would shake the entire ninja world.
Nor did he realize he had unintentionally aided Sasori and Uchiha Yataro's mission.
The flap of a butterfly's wings from Haru had triggered a storm across the Five Nations.
The Kazekage's sudden disappearance—this would be the spark that ignites the Third Great Ninja War.
…
BOOM!
The entire continent trembled.
The epicenter was the training ground on the outskirts of the Leaf Village—now reduced to ruins.
"Hope you enjoy your stay," Haru muttered.
The Thousand-Hand Buddha extended a giant hand—blocking the sky, shaking the earth.
Its oppressive chakra made the Two-Tails and Nine-Tails shudder in fear, hairs standing on end.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
A massive purple-black chakra orb formed instantly in Yugito's mouth.
In a flash, it launched—distorting the air with sheer destructive power.
It could have flattened a mountain!
But the Buddha's giant hand, like a five-fingered mountain, was wrapped in a protective layer.
The Tailed Beast Bomb exploded—but only some wooden splinters fell.
"No way!" Yugito screamed in panic.
BOOM!
The shock was like another quake.
The dust cleared.
The Two-Tails didn't dare move. It trembled—crushed under that enormous hand.
Just like being pinned beneath a mythical Five-Finger Mountain.