Gari's Explosive Clay birds were the first to dive towards the ground, exploding around the Konoha shinobi and creating chaos.
In the distance, the fully transformed Two-Tails, its owl-like head wreathed in blue flames, tilted back. A Tailed Beast Ball over ten meters in diameter formed in front of its head. The surrounding Kumo-nin had long since retreated, not daring to approach due to the terrifying chakra fluctuations of the Tailed Beast Ball. The massive boulders on the ground were pushed aside by the sheer pressure of the sphere, its momentum awe-inspiring.
In the sky, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, Han, became enveloped in a Tailed Beast Cloak, with four tails erupting behind him. A Tailed Beast Ball also formed in front of Han's head.
Omoi, reputed to be the strongest Lightning Release shinobi in the world, formed hand seals and unleashed his most powerful Lightning Release jutsu.
Lightning Release: False Darkness!
Kitsuchi also formed seals, unleashing a massive-scale Earth Release: Flying Rubble!
Sarutobi Shinnosuke had just dodged the explosion of the clay birds when he saw the terrifying attacks flying towards him! The black and red glow of the Tailed Beast Balls, the piercing blue light of the Lightning Release, the shockwaves brought by the Earth Release...
He quickly formed hand seals, creating four Shadow Clones.
Seeing the two major villages targeting Shinnosuke so specifically, Sarutobi Hinotama urgently created four Shadow Clones of his own.
Both of them used the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack!
Sarutobi Hinotama dealt with the Two-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball skimming across the ground.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke dealt with the terrifying attacks descending from the sky.
Sarutobi Hinotama's eyes were filled with despair. That Tailed Beast Ball was over ten meters wide; it was simply not something he could handle. Perhaps if the Hokage-sama were here, he could stop it. But himself... He could only hope Orochimaru would step in to help them.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke and his four Shadow Clones launched the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack upwards.
However, to Shinnosuke's despair, Kitsuchi and the others had clearly studied him well. Kitsuchi's Earth Release: Flying Rubble headed straight for Shinnosuke's Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique. Omoi's Lightning Release: False Darkness headed straight for his Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique. Two of the techniques in his Five Elements Unrivalled Attack were being countered. With two techniques countered, the power of the Five Elements Unrivaled Attack plummeted.
Shinnosuke was forced to prematurely cause the five nature chakra to conflict, triggering the secondary explosion of the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack early. This hasty response resulted in his Five Elements Unrivalled Attack being far less powerful than intended.
The explosion of the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack created a cloud of thick smoke in the air.
However, the Tailed Beast Balls, the Earth Release: Flying Rubble, and the Lightning Release: False Darkness broke through the explosive smoke cloud, heading straight for Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Orochimaru instantly appeared behind Sarutobi Shinnosuke, his eyes also filled with disbelief. If it were only the Kumo-nin or only the Iwa-nin, Sarutobi Shinnosuke would certainly not be in mortal danger. But Shinnosuke, a recently rising star, was actually taken so seriously by two major villages.
Orochimaru formed hand seals and slammed his palms on the ground.
"Double Rashōmon!"
The two Rashōmon gates did not appear vertically but formed a slanted surface like a roof, protecting him and Sarutobi Shinnosuke beneath them.
Leaving aside whether two Rashōmon gates could block so many attacks from the sky, the Two-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball had already shattered Sarutobi Hinotama's Five Elements Unrivalled Attack and was heading straight for Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Sarutobi Hinotama shouted: "No!"
Orochimaru watched as Sarutobi Hinotama was engulfed and shattered by the Two-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball, leaving only bewilderment in his heart. Why target Sarutobi Shinnosuke so specifically? Knowing the context, one would think Uchiha Madara went to Konoha and killed three elders. Not knowing, one would think Sarutobi Shinnosuke went to Iwagakure and Kumogakure and killed three of their elders each. Where did this hatred come from?
Tailed Beast Balls, roaring thunder, flying rubble... the terrifying attacks covered an extremely large area. Body Flicker Technique, Substitution Technique – all escape jutsu were useless against such a wide area of effect.
The explosions seemed to last an eternity.
As the thick smoke slowly cleared, Kitsuchi and the other five formed a semicircle, cautiously staring into the smoke.
Dodai's tone was puzzled: "Something's not right... Sarutobi Shinnosuke doesn't seem as strong as the intelligence suggested."
Kitsuchi added, "His Five Elements Unrivalled Attack was only so-so. But all the intelligence indicates that Sarutobi Shinnosuke's strength should be at least top three in Konoha."
Han said, "The pressure he gave me is far less than Konoha's White Fang. They're not even on the same level."
Omoi said, "Then I have reason to suspect Konoha was previously building up his reputation, creating hype for Sarutobi Shinnosuke."
Pakura said: "So, you're saying we went to all this trouble, sending so many elites and high-ranking officials, only to kill a fraud with an inflated reputation?"
"Not entirely useless," Dodai said. "The Five Elements Unrivalled Attack was quite powerful. It just couldn't withstand the combined force of the six of us."
The combined attack of the six was truly earth-shattering.
Pakura glanced sideways at Dodai: "Combined? I saw clearly, you did nothing." Pakura believed that among the three Kumo-nin, only the Two-Tails Jinchūriki and Omoi had combat power; this Dodai seemed like trash. Lava Release: Rubber? What a garbage ability.
Dodai snorted coldly: "Would you like to test whether your Explosive Clay can break my defense?"
Omoi suddenly shouted: "Stop arguing! Orochimaru is still alive!"
In the distance, Orochimaru slowly emerged from a blackened crater.
Kitsuchi frowned. The ground rippled like water; Orochimaru's control over this Earth Release technique was extremely refined, surpassing his own.
Orochimaru stared at the six opposing figures, his voice hoarse:
"The Kumo-nin, who seem the most like brutes, repeatedly join forces with others. First, they allied with the Kiri-nin to exterminate the Uzumaki clan. Now, they've joined forces to kill Sarutobi Shinnosuke. And the Iwa-nin, if you hadn't joined the battle, how could Sarutobi Shinnosuke have died?"
Orochimaru wanted to say more, but a Lightning Release: False Darkness shot towards him, burning him into black ash.
After waiting a long time, Dodai couldn't help but ask: "Is Orochimaru dead?"
Omoi shook his head: "It doesn't seem like it... No, he's definitely not dead."
Orochimaru emerged from the ground once more, sweeping his gaze over the six of them, sending a chill down their spines. Killing Sarutobi Shinnosuke was certainly gratifying, but Konoha's impending retaliation was even more of a headache.
Seeing this, Kitsuchi said, "To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and conflict, we Iwa-nin will withdraw first. We won't delay your pursuit of the Konoha shinobi any longer."
In the distance, Nara Kyoichi and the others fled in terror through the hills of the Land of Hot Water.
Dead!
Sarutobi Shinnosuke-sama and Jōnin Sarutobi Hinotama were both dead, killed by the combined assault of the Kumo-nin and Iwa-nin. The mere aftershocks of the battle had killed dozens of Konoha shinobi.
Nara Kyoichi quickly analyzed the situation and immediately made a decision, summoning several speed-type shinobi nearby.
"You two, go to the capital of the Land of Hot Water. Report the situation here immediately to the Captain of the Guardian Ninja, Sarutobi Yamatori. Request that Sarutobi Yamatori gather all Konoha shinobi in the Land of Hot Water."
"You two, go immediately to the border of the Land of Fire. Find the Jōnin stationed at the fortress outposts. Gather shinobi from at least three fortresses and come to the Land of Hot Water as reinforcements!"
"Whoever finds Sarutobi Yamatori or the fortress Jōnin, request they use a Ninja Hawk to notify the village immediately! A major event has occurred in the Land of Hot Water!"
After dispatching the messenger shinobi, Nara Kyoichi felt exceptionally anguished. He was Shinnosuke's guard, tasked with protecting Shinnosuke-sama. But Shinnosuke-sama was dead, and they had survived. He wondered if the Third Hokage, Danzō-sama, and the others had felt the same way when faced with the death of the Second Hokage?
They really shouldn't have sent Fox-sama away from the front lines.
And also, where did Orochimaru-sama go?
Could Orochimaru-sama be dead too?
But Clan Head Rokaku said that Orochimaru-sama and Fox-sama, one specialized in escape secret techniques and the other in defensive secret techniques, were both very hard to kill.
Sarutobi Yamatori, Captain of the Guardian Ninja in the Land of Hot Water, was the first to receive the news of the disastrous defeat at the front lines. He immediately used a Ninja Hawk to send the intelligence back to the village. His hand trembled as he wrote the report.
A mistake! A huge mistake!
Why did Shinnosuke send Fox to complete another mission right before the decisive battle?
What task could be more important than Shinnosuke's own safety?
Shinnosuke was too confident, too reckless.
No matter how important Fox's mission was, they should have tackled problems one by one, steadily and methodically.
The threat from the Kumo-nin was the immediate threat. If they couldn't resolve the Kumo-nin threat, any other plan, no matter how perfect, was futile.
Yōkō knew nothing of the events in the Land of Hot Water.
He had already arrived at the foot of the Fire Temple.
***
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(Chapter End)