Chapter 131 (Patreon)

BOOM!

The Ranged Slash surged forward with unstoppable force.

It tore through the earth wherever it passed, while the pressure spilling from its edges stung the faces of the nearby shinobi.

A seventeen-to-eighteen-meter Ranged Slash was nearly as tall as a building.

Compared to it, a person standing barely two meters tall appeared as insignificant as an ant.

The roaring Ranged Slash swallowed several White Zetsu that had been sent flying through the air before engulfing those on the ground who had failed to escape its path.

In a single instant, twenty to thirty White Zetsu were obliterated.

Once the dark-red light dissipated, not a single intact White Zetsu corpse remained on the level ground. Numerous mangled white forms could only be seen scattered throughout the ravine.

“So they really don’t give any experience points...” Mihawk murmured.

He had already suspected that killing White Zetsu might not grant him any experience.

Although Mihawk did not know the exact reason, perhaps it was because they were products of the Infinite Tsukuyomi and were not considered true living beings by the system.

The first Ranged Slash he had sent into the sky had already confirmed most of his suspicions.

The second removed any remaining doubt.

Although Mihawk was disappointed, he did not care too much.

After he released that second Ranged Slash, his comrades finally turned their full attention toward him.

Only then did they realize that the dark-red attack that had soared into the sky earlier had also come from him.

“Is he really that young...?”

The shinobi unfamiliar with Mihawk were first stunned by his appearance.

“So strong... The rumors were true. He can unleash an S-rank attack whenever he wants, and the power of those slashes surpasses even most ultimate techniques.”

Those who already knew about Mihawk, including Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi, were still deeply shaken after witnessing his strength firsthand.

“Everyone, listen!” Kiba shouted. “Do not enter Mihawk’s attack range!”

“Understood!”

The shinobi from Konoha immediately answered him.

Even without Kiba’s warning, none of them would have ignored Mihawk’s order.

He was one of the heroes who had saved Konoha.

As for the shinobi from the other nations, even the slowest among them now understood that the silver-haired young man was extraordinarily dangerous.

Everyone standing near Mihawk quickly moved away.

Before long, not a single member of the Allied Shinobi Forces remained in front of him.

“Hinata, continue,” Mihawk said calmly.

Since the White Zetsu did not grant him any experience points, he would simply consider this an opportunity to clear them from the battlefield.

“Yes.”

Hinata immediately responded.

The Tenseigan’s extraordinary vision allowed her to see through almost every obstacle. At the same time, her gravitational control far surpassed the Rinnegan’s Universal Pull.

An invisible force spread across the battlefield like countless chains, binding dozens of White Zetsu in the distance.

Their feet were ripped from the ground, and their bodies flew through the air toward Mihawk.

SHING!

Mihawk did not even need to move from where he stood.

He merely raised the sword in his hand and swept it downward, cutting through the lines of death within the surrounding airflow.

Another astonishing Ranged Slash erupted from his blade.

The several-meter-tall attack instantly engulfed every White Zetsu flying toward him.

The overwhelming efficiency of Mihawk and Hinata’s combined abilities once again attracted the attention of their comrades.

“What kind of ability is that, Hinata...?”

Riding on Akamaru’s back, Kiba stared at her in confusion before his eyes suddenly widened.

“Wait! What happened to her eyes?!”

“They have undoubtedly changed.”

Standing behind him, Shino displayed a rare look of shock.

“Could the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan possess an evolutionary path similar to the Sharingan?”

“Lady Hinata...”

Neji continued cutting down the White Zetsu around him, but a trace of concern appeared in his eyes.

A member of the Hyūga main family had awakened an unfamiliar dōjutsu.

He had no way of knowing whether that change was a blessing or something dangerous.

Neither Mihawk nor Hinata noticed their reactions.

The two were completely focused on eliminating the White Zetsu through their seamless coordination.

After her Byakugan evolved into the Tenseigan, Hinata had truly become capable of supporting Mihawk in battle.

There were approximately twenty thousand White Zetsu.

Even if Mihawk continued killing them for an entire day, he would not be able to eliminate them all by himself.

Without Hinata, he would have been forced to move constantly across the battlefield, wasting a considerable amount of stamina on these creatures.

With Hinata assisting him, Mihawk did not even need to leave his position.

Not only did this conserve his stamina, but it also allowed him to cut down the White Zetsu with ease.

Using gravity and repulsion did not consume much of Hinata’s Chakra.

As long as she did not extend her power across an excessive distance or unleash a large-scale attack comparable to the Super Shinra Tensei, her Chakra reserves could sustain her for a very long time.

BOOM!

A sudden explosion erupted behind Mihawk.

Several White Zetsu had burrowed beneath the ground and circled around Hinata, intending to eliminate her first.

However, the Tenseigan had detected their movements long before they reached her.

The instant they emerged from the earth, a powerful repulsive force struck them like a massive hammer, crushing half of their bodies into flattened masses.

Mihawk glanced at Hinata.

“Hinata, don’t waste unnecessary Chakra on enemies like these.”

“Leave anyone who approaches us to me.”

“Yes.”

Hinata nodded and returned her attention to drawing more White Zetsu toward Mihawk.

For the remainder of the battle, dazzling dark-red light continued flashing across the plain outside the forest.

Ranged Slashes of varying sizes repeatedly tore through the earth.

The original ravine, which had only been several meters wide and deep, gradually expanded into a hideous abyss.

No one knew how many pale corpses had accumulated inside it.

While Mihawk and Hinata mercilessly harvested the White Zetsu before them, the situations on the other battlefields were far less favorable.

Unlike the Second Division, whose opponents consisted only of approximately twenty thousand White Zetsu, the other divisions faced more than the White Zetsu Army.

They also had to confront the dead whom Kabuto Yakushi had brought back through Edo Tensei.

From the moment the call to war sounded, shinobi were dying with every passing minute and second.

The First Division faced an especially dangerous battle.

Its forces were responsible for defending the western coast of the Land of Lightning and preventing the enemy from reaching the shore.

Their opponents included five thousand White Zetsu, Kinkaku and Ginkaku—the Gold and Silver Brothers whose forces had brought about the death of the Second Hokage—as well as several other renowned shinobi from the past.

Kakashi Hatake’s Third Division was also locked in battle against the reanimated Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Meanwhile, the Fifth Division under Mifune’s command continued moving between the different battlefields, supporting whichever allied force required assistance.

Only the Fourth Division led by Gaara had yet to enter battle.

The Fourth Shinobi World War would become the largest war in history, with the highest casualty rate and yet the shortest duration.

And this was only the first day.

Everything that had happened so far was merely the opening act—a culling of the weak before the true battles began.