On the grassland, Kitsuchi rode atop a white clay bird, observing the formation of the Stone's main force below.
For some reason, Konoha's troops had suddenly become proactive. During the previous two months of war, Konoha's forces had remained on the defensive.
Something major must have happened somewhere Kitsuchi did not know about. Otherwise, Konoha would never have launched a counteroffensive.
He did not know whether Konoha was bluffing, using an attack to create an opportunity to retreat, or whether their forces had received reinforcements.
The Sannin were difficult to deal with. If the three of them joined forces, even a tailed beast would not gain an advantage.
However, Kitsuchi was not afraid of Konoha. Iwagakure not only had greater numbers, but their four Kage-level ninja were also far from weak.
The Stone force's position had already been exposed. Bakura said he had seen Longspear Egrets.
Those were extremely rare flying summons. They had to be Konoha's summoned beasts.
Since their position had been exposed, then they would fight.
On the ground, eighteen thousand Stone ninja carefully arranged their defensive lines.
Earth-Style Walls rose one after another like a maze, and underground fortifications existed beneath the surface as well.
Aside from the frontal force, two Jinchūriki, Han and Rōshi—
As far as Kitsuchi knew, Konoha only had a little over five thousand frontline troops.
This time, they would make sure none of them returned.
In addition to the eighteen thousand Stone ninja under his command, the two Jinchūriki, Rōshi and Han, were leading two thousand Stone ninja in a flanking maneuver.
Once the two released tailed beast chakra, they would not distinguish friend from foe, so they had not brought too many troops.
In Kitsuchi's plan, as long as he and Bakura held Konoha's frontal force in place, Rōshi and Han's flanking troops could strike from the front and rear, completely crushing Konoha.
Bakura suddenly descended from the sky.
"Kitsuchi! They're here! More than two thousand Konoha ninja have appeared to the southwest!"
After thinking briefly, Kitsuchi said, "It seems Konoha has also split its forces. A mere two thousand men—we'll swallow them in one bite, then go find the other Konoha force."
Kitsuchi dropped from the clay bird and landed on the ground.
His Earth Release could not display its full advantage in the air.
A few minutes later, Bakura found Kitsuchi again.
"Kitsuchi! Konoha's commander isn't one of the Sannin. It's Fox from ANBU! I saw that fox mask!"
"No need to fear," Kitsuchi said. "What we feared was not knowing why Konoha had launched a counteroffensive. Now that we know the intelligence, we can respond accordingly.
No wonder Konoha dared counterattack. So Fox has come to the front.
We haven't received intelligence from Akatsuki in quite some time. I wonder whether Lord Tsuchikage and the Raikage will seize this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Konoha Village."
Intelligence traveled slowly in the shinobi world.
Ōnoki was already dead, yet the Stone ninja on the front knew nothing.
Akatsuki had already abandoned the anti-Konoha alliance. The alliance's war was about to fail and had no further value, so they no longer wasted time informing Kitsuchi and the others.
Kitsuchi stood atop an Earth-Style Wall over ten meters high, gazing at the distant Konoha force.
Across the nearby grassland, Earth-Style Walls and tunnels were everywhere.
Kitsuchi thought that even if Sarutobi Hiruzen personally came here, he would not be able to do anything to the Stone in a short time.
After delaying for a while, the two Jinchūriki would deal Konoha's forces a devastating blow.
From far away, Kitsuchi heard a voice.
"Forbidden Technique: Gold Dust Severing Wave!"
Kitsuchi's heart tightened.
Was Fox using a forbidden technique?
A muddy water beam suddenly appeared from the side, slicing horizontally like a water blade.
Kitsuchi hurriedly leapt up.
The dense defensive network of tens of thousands of Earth-Style Walls he had been so proud of was actually cut apart by that water blade.
Why was this Water Release so powerful?
Even the legendary Second Hokage was only about this level, wasn't he?
Fox was still more than two hundred meters away from the Stone ninja.
The agile Stone ninja either dropped flat or leapt up, dodging the water blade. But the slower ones were unlucky—their bodies were split cleanly in two.
With a single forbidden technique, many Stone ninja died.
Kitsuchi's heart bled.
Fox seemed even stronger than before. According to the intelligence, Fox's Water Release was indeed powerful, but it should not have remained lethal at a distance of two hundred meters.
High in the sky, Bakura rode his clay bird and began diving.
The clay bird's talons held a clay pillar more than ten meters long.
The clay pillar smashed toward Fox.
A wooden hand broke through the earth and caught the clay pillar in midair.
Boom!
The explosion created a violent cloud of smoke, rising over a hundred meters high.
However, the smoke suddenly churned.
A wooden hand swept the thick smoke aside, revealing the completely unharmed Threefold Wood Golem.
Standing atop the Wood Golem's head, Yako looked at Bakura as he pulled higher into the sky.
Unless there were surprises, this man should be Deidara's father.
Explosive clay was too troublesome. It had to be dealt with first.
Yako took out a Flying Thunder God kunai and threw it at Bakura with all his strength.
Bakura was more than a hundred meters away from Fox. Hearing the sharp sound behind him, he hurriedly dodged.
The kunai brushed past his shoulder.
"Flying Thunder God Slash!"
Bakura's head flew into the air.
Blood sprayed, forming a glittering crimson film high above.
Seeing an important Kage-level fighter on his side killed in one move, Kitsuchi felt a sense of dread. Something had gone terribly wrong.
Were Kage-level ninja no longer capable of resisting Fox?
Kitsuchi's eyes locked onto Fox in the sky, only to see him suddenly vanish.
His scalp tightened.
He feared Fox would use some secret technique to ambush him next.
When he found Fox again, he saw that Fox had returned to the top of the Wood Golem.
Kitsuchi slammed both hands against the ground.
"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Jutsu!"
Two Earth Release half-spheres appeared on either side of the Threefold Wood Golem, clamping toward the center.
The half-spheres had enormous momentum and were even taller than the Threefold Wood Golem.
The Threefold Wood Golem's six arms each braced outward, holding back the Earth Release half-spheres.
Yako looked beyond the pale earthen hemispheres.
Not far away, Kitsuchi was doing his utmost to maintain the jutsu.
"Feel despair, Kitsuchi…"
Hearing Fox's murmur, Kitsuchi remained unmoved.
He was an Iwagakure jonin who had inherited his father's Will of Stone. Even when placed at an absolute disadvantage, he would never despair.
Yet several seconds later, Kitsuchi's body swayed, and his eyes went blank.
Despair…
So this was despair.
Facing Fox, Kitsuchi had not despaired.
When Bakura was killed, Kitsuchi had not despaired.
When the Threefold Wood Golem proved stronger than expected, Kitsuchi still had not despaired.
But how could he not despair at the sight before him?
A glowing barrier had appeared in Fox's palm.
That barrier was unmistakably his father's Dust Release.
Had Father already attacked Konoha?
Had Father already been killed by Konoha?
Had the memories inside Father's corpse and brain already been obtained by Konoha?
Otherwise, there was no explanation for why Fox could use Dust Release.
Kitsuchi had studied Dust Release, but had never grasped its essence. His father had also said his talent did not lie in Dust Release and told him to focus on Earth Release instead.
Fox could not have obtained Dust Release for long.
So why could he already use it so skillfully?
The Dust Release barrier expanded, disintegrating Kitsuchi's Earth Release half-spheres into dust.
Kitsuchi slowly stood from the ground.
Inside his sleeves, his hands could not stop trembling.
Should he give the order to give up?
Should he order a retreat?