Ten minutes passed in a blur as Kaien got to experience the overwhelming power first hand along with the agonizing strain. Even Kaien's unusually massive chakra reserves hit rock bottom. Just as he hovered on the brink of fatal chakra exhaustion, a wave of heat surged through his veins. Son Goku, recognizing the danger, flooded his own tailed beast chakra through Kaien's network, forcefully tearing open the three locked nodes and relieving the deadly pressure build-up on the First Gate.
Sweat poured off Kaien, but it instantly evaporated into steam against the scorching heat of the Tailed Beast's chakra. As the fiery chakra circulated through him, a realization sparked in Kaien's mind: with Son Goku's chakra flowing through his system, the power of Lava Release was finally within his reach.
Focusing his intent, Kaien began molding the molten chakra deep in his chest and brought it up into his mouth.
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!"
He spat out a massive volley of liquid rock and in mid-air, the molten mass solidified into heavy glowing boulders that ripped through the forest with terrifying speed. Upon impact, the superheated rocks melted straight through thick trunks like wax. Kaien stared at the smoking destruction, stunned. "The destructive power is off the charts," he muttered, catching his breath. "I need to make Lava Release a core part of my offensive training."
Eager to test his new limit, he pushed further, experimenting with various Lava Release jutsu until Son Goku's borrowed chakra finally ran dry, allowing his own natural reserves to slowly trickle back into his system.
"Thanks for the assist, Beast-san," Kaien said.
But Son Goku mused. "Pointless, why didn't you just disrupt the technique from the start? Hinata showed how to stop the flow... you could've done the same."
"If I had, I wouldn't owe you one," Kaien added with a faint smirk. "Besides, I wanted to figure out your true intentions as well."
"Oh? And what's the verdict?" Son Goku mused back.
"You had the perfect chance to take advantage of my weakness and overwhelm my mind with your chakra will, but you passed."
"Well, dying on me would be boring... I'd miss all the front-row entertainment and the sceneries in here," Son Goku replied casually, leaping from one skyscraper to another within the vast expanse of mindscape. "Just don't go expecting any more chakra than what I just gave you. Your body isn't ready to handle any more than that."
Kaien spent every waking hour pushing his chakra to the absolute brink, acutely aware that the line between survival and death in this war was drawn at the threshold of the elite jounin tier. He could not afford to be dead weight on the front lines. In a conflict of this scale, being merely competent was a death sentence.
~~
Kumogakure found itself besieged on three fronts by Iwagakure, Konohagakure, and Kirigakure. It was not a reckless and all-out charge, but a slow siege. None of the invading nations committed their full might to a decisive slaughter. Each village kept one eye on Kumo and the other on their allies, terrified of exhausting their own forces only to be devoured by the survivors.
To worsen Kumo's predicament, the legendary Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths... once the village's ultimate deterrent had been rendered nearly obsolete. Iwa had uncovered the secrets of activation and weaknesses of the tools, selling the intel to the Konoha and Kirigakure. The enemy elites now knew precisely how to evade and counter the ancient tools, stripping Kumo of its greatest trump card.
Across the front lines, the nature of the war differed.
Iwagakure's aerial terror proved catastrophic. The terrifying tandem of Deidara's explosives and Muu's terrifying masks along with their flight left Kumo's ground formations practically helpless along with their monster like commander Kitsuchi.
The only grace for Kumogakure, was the sudden intervention of Kakuzu, a rogue ninja from Takigakure. Obsessed with hunting Muu for using his signature technique and expand his monstrous Earth Grudge Fear technique, the mercenary's relentless assaults inadvertently kept Iwa's aerial vanguard from completely overrunning the Kumo's north-western fortifications.
To the southwest, the border with Konohagakure remained surprisingly stable. Konoha's younger generation talent was remarkably thin, whenever Leaf platoons advanced, they found themselves decisively countered by the lethal prowess of Kumo's Uchiha and Chinoike clan. Unless one of the legendary Sannin or Danzo's zombie guards personally descended onto the battlefield to turn the tide, Kumogakure firmly held the upper hand against the Leaf.
The true nightmare for Kumogakure lay along the mist-choked east coast. Kirigakure had transformed the foreign shorelines into an impenetrable butcher's yard. Guided by Ao's Byakugan and the information from Dan, the Mist shinobi adapted to the terrain with terrifying speed, coming to know the rocky covers better than Kumo's own shinobi.
Every scouting unit Kumo sent into the dense fog vanished without a trace, their throats slit before they could send a single signal flare. Kumo was fighting blind against an army whose true numbers and deployment remained completely unknown even now.
Inside the Raikage's office, everyone stood tensed. Maps covered in red markers lay sprawled across the central table as the village's top jounin and chunin stood in silence. The Raikage slammed his heavy palms onto the table and rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping across the assembled shinobi.
"The coastal blockade ends now," the Raikage barked. "Your primary objective is reconnaissance and penetration. You are to pierce that damn mist, and return with count of Kirigakure's ranks, commanders, and deployment strength."
He pointed at the newly formed strike force. "Kaien, Itachi, Jugo, Ruri Fuma, Guren. You will operate as the vanguard unit, under the joint command of Pakura and Yugito Nii."
The Raikage paused as his eyes narrowed. "I have high expectations on this squad. Itachi, Guren, Pakura, Yugito... I pulled you four from the Konoha border because I need overwhelming force and precision to break the Mist's stranglehold. Do not make me regret that decision."
Turning his gaze toward two seasoned shinobi standing by the back wall, the Raikage delivered his final orders. "Yushiro, Sayami. You two are deploying to the Konoha front immediately. We cannot afford to leave the defensive line weakened in their absence. Move out!"
Everyone in the room had the same lingering question except Kaien of course, why weren't Killer Bee and the Raikage making a move?, as he was the one who suggested not to.
They had tried mobilizing toward one of the fronts before, but within minutes, Dan Kato had alerted Konoha, Iwa and Kirigakure. Since it would take the Raikage at least three hours to reach the front lines, the enemy always had ample time to prepare, while the remaining two fronts retaliated by ruthlessly slaughtering Kumo shinobi.
As for Renga, Kumo deliberately kept him in reserve. They couldn't risk exposing his identity or abilities to the world... not while Dan Kato hovered near Bee and the Raikage, keeping a safe distance of ten kilometers while maintaining constant surveillance.
~~
A/N: So, just like that whenever Kumo's 5-star pushed to one front, the other two would strike badly leaving countless deaths.
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