Chapter 448: Dawn of Victory

"Sealing Squad ninjas, gather here at once..."

At Tsunade's command, a large number of ninjas skilled in sealing techniques quickly assembled. They immediately began working to undo the seal Sasuke had cast. While breaking a seal was usually not difficult, Sasuke's sealing techniques were anything but ordinary. Moreover, the amount of chakra Sasuke had poured into the seal was far beyond what an average ninja could muster. Even with the entire Sealing Squad working together, it would likely take a considerable amount of time to undo Sasuke's seal.

Meanwhile, the battle in the distant crater continued to rage on.

Sasuke's body slid backward rapidly, carving a trench over ten meters long in the ground before he finally came to a stop. He looked up to see Tobirama and Hiruzen launching a relentless barrage of attacks at him. Earlier, they had been briefly trapped by the black rods, but it didn't take long for Nagato to free them. Now, with Hashirama and Nagato working together, and Tobirama and Hiruzen coordinating their attacks, they formed a relentless cycle of assault. As the battle progressed, Nagato seemed to be getting a grasp on Sasuke's movement patterns. With the advantage in numbers, Nagato found it easier to suppress Sasuke.

Adding to the pressure, Tobirama, Hiruzen, and Hashirama were all top-tier ninjas. Hashirama, the God of Shinobi! Tobirama, the master of ninjutsu, who had developed numerous secret techniques! His "Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tag" technique had nearly taken Sasuke out. If not for Sasuke's timely use of the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape, he would have been blown to pieces. As for Hiruzen, he was essentially the pinnacle of what an ordinary ninja could achieve. Without any Kekkei Genkai or secret techniques, he had mastered all five basic nature transformations. While he was far inferior to Sasuke in terms of chakra, understanding of techniques, and mastery of nature transformation, his dazzling array of ninjutsu was enough to give Sasuke a headache.

In a one-on-one fight, Sasuke could easily overpower any of them. But when they coordinated their attacks, Sasuke had little time to think. This relentless assault was indeed wearing him down.

Sasuke blocked Tobirama's attack with his Kusanagi Sword, while a burst of Lightning Release deflected an incoming strike from Hashirama. He continued to retreat, tossing out two lumps of explosive clay that transformed into white snakes, lunging toward the two opponents. The moment the snakes coiled around their bodies, Sasuke formed hand seals and shouted, "Explode!"

Boom! Boom!

The explosions erupted, flames bursting forth as shockwaves rippled outward. Sasuke transformed into lightning, using Lightning Release: Thunderous Instantaneous Movement to appear right in front of Hashirama. His Chidori Blade shattered Hashirama's Wood Release, and with a backhanded motion, he unleashed Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique, melting Hashirama's body at close range. A single punch sent Hashirama flying.

But in that instant, the sound of whistling wind filled the air. Black rods shot toward Sasuke, cutting off all his escape routes. With no other choice, Sasuke activated the Flying Thunder God Technique again, reappearing in another location. However, Tobirama was already there, attacking with his Water Release: Water Severing Wave. Sasuke was forced to defend once more.

Even without Minato, their coordination was seamless, compressing Sasuke's reaction time. What had once been a situation where Sasuke could suppress his opponents had now turned into one where he was being suppressed.

Nagato, meanwhile, had finished forming a Tailed Beast Ball and hurled it directly at Sasuke. Tobirama dodged out of the way, and the Tailed Beast Ball appeared right in front of Sasuke. The overwhelming chakra fluctuations threatened to engulf him. Using the Preta Path's chakra absorption was out of the question it would leave him immobilized, making him an easy target. While absorbing a Tailed Beast Ball would take less than three seconds, for these enemies, three seconds was more than enough time to tear Sasuke apart.

He had no choice but to use another method to block it.

"Summoning Technique!"

"Fivefold Rashomon!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of massive Rashomon gates appeared, blocking the Tailed Beast Ball's impact. The first gate was destroyed instantly, followed by the second, then the third. By the time the fourth gate was shattered, the Tailed Beast Ball's speed had significantly slowed. When the fifth gate was struck, it let out a deafening roar, but the Tailed Beast Ball's power had been greatly weakened. Sasuke used this opportunity to escape.

Boom!!!

Another massive explosion rocked the crater. The towering mushroom cloud sent shivers down the spines of every ninja on the battlefield.

Sasuke landed amidst the flames, using Water Release: Water Wave to extinguish the fire in an instant. As the water dissipated, Tobirama, Hashirama, Hiruzen, and Nagato also landed, all four of them staring intently at Sasuke.

Sasuke's expression was grim. Despite the continuous, intense fighting, his chakra fluctuations showed no signs of weakening if anything, they seemed to have grown stronger. This puzzled Nagato. How could Sasuke's chakra remain so abundant? It was as if he never ran out. However, a faint weariness could be seen in Sasuke's eyes. The high-intensity battle was clearly taking its toll.

Sasuke was indeed tired. But for him, this level of fatigue was nothing. The real issue was that he needed to deal with Nagato as quickly as possible. Compared to Nagato, Sasuke was far more concerned about Naruto. He needed to finish analyzing the Asura chakra, push his Yang Release to the fifth level, and then figure out how to further advance his Yin-Yang techniques. He was already feeling the strain, and if more enemies joined the fray, Sasuke wasn't arrogant enough to believe he was invincible. There were times when he had to admit defeat.

"Sasuke! If before I couldn't see any hope of victory... now, I can see the light of triumph!" Nagato's face finally broke into a rare smile. Behind him, Konan also let out a sigh of relief. If Sasuke truly couldn't be defeated, her only option would be to find a way to escape with Nagato.

"Victory?" Sasuke chuckled. "You're that confident? Just because you've managed to suppress me, you think you've already won? You're underestimating me too much."

Sasuke gave a cold laugh. "Do you really think you've got this in the bag?"

Nagato smiled without responding, as if the answer was obvious.

But in the next moment, Sasuke also nodded with a smile. "Well then... it's about time I ended this battle."

"Oh, and don't think you're the only one with backup."

What did that mean? Nagato was momentarily stunned. Was Sasuke planning to bring in his subordinates? While it was true that Kimimaro and Jugo were powerful, with strength comparable to Kage-level ninjas, they were still far inferior to the likes of Hashirama and Tobirama. At best, they could only hold off Hiruzen. Hashirama and Tobirama were Nagato's greatest assets.

Sasuke raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

In the next moment, the ones who appeared were not Kimimaro and Jugo, as Nagato had expected. They were currently being held back by Sasori, Deidara, and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, so they wouldn't be able to join the battle anytime soon. Instead, what appeared before them were... strange figures clad in black. Were these the members of Sasuke's Wood Release army?

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