One Piece: I am Imu

Faced with the sudden situation—where it felt as if the entire forest had come alive, turning into a horde of monsters—the hundred elite shinobi present were momentarily surprised, but they each reacted instantly.

Balls of fire the size of soccer balls shot from the mouth of a Uchiha jonin, blasting apart the countless branches attacking from all directions.

Around him, fellow Uchiha clan members relied on the Sharingan's extraordinary visual acuity, swiftly dodging while brandishing swords imbued with Wind Release or Fire Release chakra, cutting down trees to create space and time for the shinobi behind them to form hand seals and cast jutsu.

The other shinobi each displayed their own skills as well.

They used all kinds of techniques, but each managed, at least temporarily, to ensure their own safety.

"Damn it, we can't just keep defending passively—we have to find a way to take him down!"

A jonin from the Shimura Clan, having just sliced apart a cluster of branches with Wind Release, shouted angrily to those around him after seeing even more thick branches quickly regrow.

But before his words even finished—

A pfft sound was heard, followed immediately by searing pain from his back.

Shimura Chūdō looked down in disbelief at the bloodstained branch that had pierced through his abdomen.

"Urgh—!"

Yet it wasn't over.

Before their very eyes, his previously robust body withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into a shriveled, skeletal old man within moments.

The same thing began happening all around them.

Any shinobi pierced by a branch, no matter the size of the wound, had their life force rapidly drained, leaving them emaciated and on the verge of death.

The sight struck terror into all the Konoha shinobi still desperately resisting the onslaught of trees.

"What a vicious Wood Release—this is actually Wood Release?!"

Nara Shikaku glared at Aramaki.

"A swarm of ants trying to shake a mighty tree—"

Aramaki sneered at the shinobi across the field, then threw his arms wide and laughed wildly:

"Struggling so desperately against just a tiny appetizer? Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Rawawa~~"

[Rumble! Rumble!]

Along with his unrestrained laughter, the earth began to shake violently.

In just a few moments—

One after another, newly born trees sprang up from the ground, and the trees that had already existed grew even more thick and numerous branches.

"How can this be…"

The astonishment on Nara Shikaku's face lingered for a long time. Facing such a grand and overwhelming scene, a wave of despair began to rise within him.

"Arghhh!"

"Arghhhh, damn it—!"

The casualties among the Konoha shinobi began to increase rapidly.

Summoning Jutsu!

Minato bit down hard on his right thumb.

As fresh blood splattered, he immediately slammed his palm onto the rough bark surface rising high beneath him.

[Bang!]

A dense cluster of black runes appeared around his hand, and a massive plume of white smoke erupted outward.

He was trying to summon the toads of Mount Myōboku for reinforcements.

However, when the smoke cleared, Minato was dumbfounded.

Because—nothing appeared!

"What's going on?"

But the swarm of incoming branches and giant wooden fists forced him to push aside his shock, teleporting instantly with Flying Thunder God to another location to try again.

Summoning Jutsu!

[Bang!]

Another plume of white smoke erupted—yet still, no toads appeared.

Now Minato felt truly bewildered. Had something happened on Mount Myōboku's side as well?

Meanwhile—

The Konoha elites, determined to stop Aramaki, unleashed their strongest techniques.

"Argh, you've gone too far! I'm seriously angry now! Prepare yourself, you bastard!!"

Super Expansion Jutsu!

Akimichi Chōza, no longer able to contain his fury, unleashed the Expansion Jutsu at full force, inflating his body to a size comparable to a mountain peak.

Now, he was nearly as tall as the Central Tower of Roran.

"Let's see how you handle this!"

Bellowing in fury, Akimichi Chōza swung his colossal fist down toward the scorched earth where Aramaki stood.

He paid no attention to the mass of tree branches climbing up his legs.

The roaring sonic boom, mixed with bursts of compressed air, rolled across the sky in a deafening tide.

Winds howled across the battlefield, sweeping everything before them.

Meanwhile, the massive fist itself resembled a meteor falling from the heavens, with a thick, pale-blue air layer forming around it due to the compressed chakra and wind pressure.

"Interesting! You can actually get this big! Rawawa!"

Despite the terrifying, deathly scene, Aramaki wore an excited, eager grin.

In front of him, two giant wooden palms began to grow.

[Boom—!]

The giant wooden palm on the left forcefully caught the mountain-sized punch of Akimichi Chōza.

In an instant—

A cloud of white mist exploded outward, accompanied by a terrifying roar that shook the heavens.

Even though the collision point was several hundred meters above the ground, the resulting shockwave still snapped and uprooted massive swathes of trees.

Naturally, many Konoha shinobi could not avoid being caught up in the devastation.

Only a small portion of the jonin had been lucky enough to use various defensive ninjutsu in time.

Most others could only watch helplessly as they were swept into the sky, screaming as they were flung farther and farther away.

"This—"

Minato, having used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to a distant location, stood atop a tall tree.

Standing beside him were Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi, whom he had rescued at the last possible moment.

The three of them watched powerlessly as a massive, blackened fist hammered down onto Akimichi Chōza's left cheek.

The entire process seemed to slow down.

They could clearly see the fat on Chōza's face being compressed into layers of folds under the force of the giant fist, his huge head tilting sharply to the right.

Finally, his massive body crashed into the green ocean of trees below, stirring up a vast curtain-like cloud of dust.

"They're not even on the same dimension of existence..."

Nara Shikaku muttered in despair.

Now he fully understood: before absolute power, all tactics, plans, and strategies were meaningless.

Yamanaka Inoichi, holding his forehead in disbelief, added, "Even if the First Hokage himself were still alive, it wouldn't be much different from this, would it?"

"Exactly because of that, we must find a way to stop him from reaching Konoha!" Minato said, his expression firm.

Hearing this, Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi fell silent.

How were they supposed to stop him?

"I'll take you both back to Konoha first. Please, inform the Third Hokage of everything that's happened here—every detail!"

Minato's expression was serious, but his voice remained calm and steady: "After that, I'll find a way to hold him off, to buy as much time and gather as much intelligence as possible!"

Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi met Minato's resolute gaze and nodded heavily.

"Understood."

"But if possible, please, try to save Chōza," Nara Shikaku added sincerely. "Please, Minato."

"Of course. I will do everything I can to save every comrade of Konoha!"

With those words, Minato placed his hands on their shoulders—and with a shoom, the three of them vanished from the treetop.

Meanwhile—

As Akimichi Chōza, having lost consciousness, shrank rapidly in size, the two colossal hands formed from countless trees clenched together in midair, merging visibly before everyone's eyes.

In the blink of an eye, a gigantic wooden ox appeared, its body covered in fresh green leaves, and topped with two long, sharp horns. It threw back its head and let out a resonant bellow that shook the entire sea of trees.

Dressed in a black coat that fluttered in the wind, Aramaki stood proudly atop the broad forehead of the giant ox, arms crossed, gazing in the direction of Konoha.

Behind him—

About twenty Konoha shinobi all critically injured and unconscious, were wrapped tightly by thick branches and laid out on the ox's back.

These were the ones Aramaki had deliberately spared because he considered their strength noteworthy.

He understood well: the World Government's goal was not destruction and slaughter, but conquest and dominion.

Thus, these defeated enemies, once they understood the truth, would more easily develop fear toward the World Government—and thus, more readily submit.

"Rawawa! This is what it means to have the mindset of a general! That guy Crocodile is still far from it! Rawawa~~"

Aramaki laughed wildly into the raging wind.

Beneath him, the wooden ox moved forward, step by booming step, heading toward Konoha.

"Konoha will be subdued by none other than Lord Aramaki!"

"That's not going to happen."

At that moment, a calm voice rang out.

"Hmm?"

Aramaki glanced sideways—and saw Minato, now adorned with orange sage markings around his eyes, standing atop the tip of the ox's left horn.

In his right hand, he held a massive pale-blue sphere of energy nearly ten meters in diameter.

Sage Art: Super Giant Rasengan!

"Sage Art?"

In that instant, the concept of senjutsu techniques flashed through Aramaki's mind.

At the same time, he prepared to smash the attack apart with his fist once more.

"Hmm?!"

Just as he was about to raise his right hand, Aramaki's expression froze for a moment—then he immediately halted his movement.

[BOOM!!]

However, Minato's Super Giant Rasengan showed no hesitation whatsoever, slamming directly into Aramaki's position, blasting apart the entire massive ox head along with him.

"Did it work?"

A flicker of joy crossed Minato's heart—but he quickly remembered that someone as powerful as Aramaki couldn't possibly be defeated that easily.

Sure enough—

From the severed surface of the ox's body, sharp, elongated wooden spikes shot out like cannon blasts, each one trailing shockwave ripples.

They moved at terrifying speed—but Minato's reflexes and speed were even faster.

All the wooden spikes pierced only a flash of yellow light—by the time they arrived, Minato's body had already relocated to the rear of the ox's back.

Yet the moment he materialized—

Two thin, sharp wooden spikes, as if anticipating his appearance, shot up from the ground an instant earlier.

They pierced straight through the soles of his feet, sending blood splattering everywhere.

Minato's pupils contracted into pinpoints. Almost at the exact moment the pain registered, he activated Flying Thunder God once again—vanishing without a trace.

"Hmph. Now that your legs are crippled, let's see how you keep flashing around!"

Aramaki emerged slowly from another section of the ox's back, a cold sneer on his face.

He had truly intended to kill Minato this time, preparing to impale him completely.

But Minato's reaction speed was simply too fast—before the wooden spikes could drill upward through his ankles, he had already escaped.

Meanwhile—

Inside a warm and cozy house within Konoha Village, Minato, his feet drenched in blood, suddenly appeared in the middle of the living room.

"Ahhh!!"

Now that he had returned, his nerves seemed to relax all at once. Clutching his wounded legs, he let out an uncontrollable cry of pain.

"Minato!!!"

Kushina, who had been in the kitchen simmering a pot of meat broth, saw the scene and instantly screamed, throwing away the ladle as she rushed toward Minato in a panic.

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