"Whoo-hoo! Bunta, Toad Blade Cut!"
Jiraiya shouted excitedly, directing Gamabunta to launch an all-out assault.
"I hear you, I hear you! Stop nagging!"
Bunta's grumbling couldn't hide the grin on his face. He drew his twenty-meter short sword and raised it high, swinging with savage enthusiasm at the Five-Tails' tails, clearly hoping to lop one off as a trophy.
Among the Sannin's summons, these two had always served as the "Main Tank." They were the ones who spent years getting beaten up and taking the heat for the team. But as the saying goes: deep down, every tank and every healer hides the heart of a DPS.
Today, someone else had finally stepped into the tank role. Having finally caught a break to go on the offensive, Jiraiya and Bunta were absolutely thrilled, working harder than they ever had before.
However, as Bunta hacked away, things took a turn for the worse. The Five-Tails suddenly lowered its head and slammed its horns directly into the toad's belly. Bunta let out a pained croak, dropping his blade as he clutched his stomach.
"Jiraiya! Where's that big bug? Where'd it go?"
Jiraiya looked around, only to find the Wind Giant Insect a few hundred meters away, huddled up with Manda. He had no idea what they were doing.
Danzo Shimura had noticed the shift long ago and had already fled the immediate vicinity with Baku.
Jiraiya was furious. How could they just leave him alone in the middle of a boss fight? He turned toward Manda and roared, "Orochimaru! What the hell are you doing? Get back here and fight!"
Just then, a snake lunged out of the ground. Its tail wrapped around Jiraiya's calf, and its jaws distended, stretching wider and wider until Orochimaru himself crawled out of the snake's mouth.
Covered in slime, Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya and hissed, "I have a plan. The Aburame Jonin is preparing the final blow. Jiraiya, hold the line. Endure for twenty seconds, and then run for your life."
"Huh? Ah, right!" Jiraiya's trust in Orochimaru was absolute. He turned back to his summon and shouted, "Bunta! It's time for us to turn the tide!"
Gamabunta, who was currently wrestling with the Five-Tails' horns to keep them away from his gut, let out a string of curses. "Turn the tide, my ass! You just want us to be the punching bags again! Gwah! That hurts!"
The Five-Tails, unable to gore the toad, simply looked down and stomped on Bunta's foot. The pain caused the toad to release the horns and roll across the ground to avoid being trampled.
Jiraiya's hands blurred through seals. Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!
Both the Five-Tails and the toad began to sink into the quagmire. As a toad, Bunta was perfectly at home in this environment; with a few powerful leaps, he cleared the mud. The Five-Tails, however, was a long-legged creature of the plains. Its legs sank deep into the muck, and the more it struggled, the deeper it went.
Bunta took the opportunity to retrieve his short sword and regroup with Jiraiya.
"Bunta, sixteen seconds left. Use Toad Oil Bullet!"
"Urusai! I don't need you to tell me, I'm already on it!"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Three massive spheres of water and oil slammed into the Five-Tails, knocking it over.
"Oh, crap!"
Seeing the Five-Tails tumble, both Jiraiya and Bunta turned pale. They realized they had made a catastrophic error. By rolling over, the Five-Tails had managed to pull its legs free from the suction of the swamp.
Jiraiya frantically began seals for another swamp, but the Five-Tails wasn't about to give him the time. It scrambled to its feet, the steam erupting from its back not only cleaning the mud off its coat but providing a jet-assisted thrust that propelled its massive body forward.
Gamabunta didn't hesitate. He leaped into the path of the charge, drawing his blade with both hands in a parry stance, attempting to brace against the impact.
The Toad Boss hadn't yet reached the peak of power he would have twenty years later. Facing the full-speed charge of a Tailed Beast, he stood no chance. Upon contact, the short sword was sent flying, spinning through the air until the pommel slammed into Bunta's left eye, leaving a jagged, bloody gash.
"Jiraiya, move!"
Jiraiya didn't budge. His eyes were locked onto the charging beast as his hands finished the seals.
Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!
CRASH! Jiraiya was sent flying into the sky, trailing an arc of blood behind him. Yet, despite the pain, the corners of his mouth curled into a smirk. "Don't you dare look down on me..."
Watching Jiraiya's flight from a distance, Orochimaru couldn't help but sigh. "He really is a man full of surprises. When it counts, he's as reliable as they come."
Hmm?
Tetsumaru glanced at Orochimaru. 'A man full of surprises'? That evaluation sounded strangely familiar. Hadn't someone said that about a certain orange-clad brat in the future?
"Tetsumaru-kun, is it ready?"
"Yeah. A little faster than expected. We're good to go."
Just moments ago, under the cover of Manda's massive body, Tetsumaru had summoned a Mushroom Bug. He then ordered the Wind Giant Insect to walk over and take the bug into its mouth. The plan was simple: have the Giant Insect grapple the Five-Tails and use the Mushroom Bug to erase it.
Whether it was killed instantly or merely shattered, it would ensure the beast couldn't reform today. Konoha would trade one Giant Insect to take out the Five-Tails, liberating three massive summons and four Kage-level fighters.
With that, the Rock ninja would be fish in a barrel. Victory would be absolute.
But the plan required time. Summoning the bug was easy, and moving the insect was easy, but getting the Wind Giant Insect to lower its head and take the bug into its mouth was a nightmare.
When Tetsumaru designed the Wind Giant Insect, he had never intended for it to "eat" or "drink" conventionally; it was a bio-weapon sustained by chakra and nutrient injections. He hadn't built in the flexibility for it to bow its head. He had to force it.
He didn't need the insect to be graceful. If it could just lower its head to about four or five meters off the ground, Tetsumaru could jump up and place the bug. Even eight or nine meters was workable.
If he had enough time, he could have just carried the bug up the insect's leg, but time was a luxury they didn't have.
Surprisingly, the insect proved more flexible than his blueprints suggested. In ten seconds, it managed to drop its head from thirty-five meters down to eight, allowing Tetsumaru to successfully "load" the payload.
Now, it was time for the Wind Giant Insect's final performance. Tetsumaru deployed three Shadow Clones as auxiliary controllers and finalized the preparations.
Just then, Jiraiya was sent flying. Hearing Orochimaru's familiar praise, Tetsumaru looked over.
It turned out Jiraiya's final jutsu had been aimed directly at his own feet. As the Five-Tails sent him flying, the beast had fallen right back into the quagmire.
The tactic was as bold as it was brilliant—not at all what one would expect from the boisterous Jiraiya. No wonder Orochimaru was impressed.
"Alright, let's end this," Tetsumaru said.
His three Shadow Clones leaped onto the insect's back and gave him a thumbs-up. The clone standing on the insect's head grinned. "Main body, watch yourself. Once we experience this nuke first-hand, don't let the feedback kill you too."
At a moment like this, talking normally felt wrong. The atmosphere demanded something a bit more... dramatic.
"For the peace of the Shinobi World... Charge! Kyochu of the End!"
The "End-Times Giant Insect" stomped its six massive legs, charging at thirty meters per second toward the Five-Tails trapped in the swamp. It plunged into the mud without hesitation; thanks to its seventeen-meter-long legs, it could stride through the quagmire as if it were solid ground.
Seeing the enemy approach, the Five-Tails flared with rage. Its Boil Release went into overdrive, venting scalding steam in every direction. The pressure was so great it literally blew the mud away, freeing its legs.
But it was too late. The Giant Insect had already slammed into it, ignoring the steam. Its six legs wrapped around the bizarre horse-dolphin in a crushing embrace. Then, it lowered its head and opened its mandibles.
Seeing the insectoid predator prepare to "feed," the Five-Tails struggled frantically. However, it noticed that the insect's mouth lacked teeth or serrated jaws. Instead, inside the open maw, there was a tiny, glowing bug.
Before the Five-Tails could process the confusion, the glowing bug erupted with the light of a thousand suns.
The world went white.
The Kazekage and his Sand ninja, perched on their distant peak, were observing the battle with wide eyes—only to be collectively blinded by the flash of the nuclear detonation.
Behind the neighboring ridge, the Raikage and his Cloud ninja experienced a light a hundred times brighter than the sun. Abandoning their cover, they rushed to the crest of the hill, witnessing the rise of a magnificent, terrifying plasma fireball.
The Raikage narrowed his eyes, remaining silent for a long time.
"So, this is it? Truly... beyond anything I imagined."
Five minutes later, Tetsumaru emerged from the earth. He looked up at the massive, perfectly formed mushroom cloud rising into the sky and felt a surge of professional pride. This mushroom was planted in the Tannoura Valley—the terrain was flat and the wind was still. It was a textbook specimen: a perfectly straight stalk and a beautifully rounded cap.
He quickly pulled out several Slimes to record the sight. A standard "mushroom" like this was a rare occurrence; the next generation of "white mushrooms" (thermonuclear) would look entirely different.
As he was taking photos, Orochimaru appeared beside him, joined in admiring the "miracle."
"Magnificent," Orochimaru whispered. "Seeing it a second time doesn't lessen the impact. Tetsumaru-kun, you have surpassed me."
"You overpraise me, Orochimaru-sama. It's just a lucky breakthrough. I'm still leagues behind your level of expertise."
Suddenly, several insects burrowed out of the soil. Tetsumaru quickly scooped them up and produced several test tubes. The insects crawled onto his hand and began vomiting blood directly into the tubes.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw several snakes return to Orochimaru, doing exactly the same thing.
They shared a look of mutual understanding. It was Five-Tails' blood.
Rarely did one get the chance to fight a Tailed Beast and actually draw blood. As men who considered themselves researchers first, there was no way they were going to pass up such a rare biological sample.
With practiced ease, they collected the blood, added anticoagulants, sealed the tubes, and used their respective methods to teleport the samples away. Once the task was done simultaneously, they shared a small, knowing smile.
"Hey, hey, hey! That's enough! You two are acting really weird!" Jiraiya, who had been watching from the sidelines, couldn't take it anymore and started shouting.
How could his best friend be in such perfect sync with someone else? What about the Sannin bond?
Orochimaru sneered. "Idiot. You wouldn't understand the pursuit of science."
Tetsumaru offered a brief explanation. "Lord Jiraiya, you're overthinking it."
Internal Monologue: My type is strictly black-haired human women. Orochimaru is... well, his future gender is a bit up in the air. Definitely excluded.
"My lords, we need to leave. The fallout from the 'mushroom' will start descending soon."
At Tetsumaru's urging, the three moved quickly, joining the battle on the northeastern front. Meanwhile, the Hokage and Danzo were already engaged in the southwest.
Jiraiya, ever the curious soul, pulled Tetsumaru aside as he summoned Gamahiro to join the fight. "Aburame Jonin, is the Mountain Giant okay? It didn't die, did it?"
"It's not dead, but it's severely injured. I won't be able to summon it again for a while."
In reality, the Wind Giant Insect with the shattered shell had been vaporized along with the Five-Tails. However, the moment his Shadow Clone had returned to the Hive Island and rebooted the lab, construction on the next Wind Giant Insect had already begun.
The current one, featuring a more refined design and a larger frame, was currently developing nicely in the amniotic pool. It would be mature very soon.
With the Rock ninja forced to "eat" a second mushroom, the battle became entirely one-sided. The Rock forces were quickly routed. Yet, even in defeat, they did not crumble into a chaotic mob. The main force of over five thousand Rock ninja retreated in an orderly fashion toward the northwest, while another two or three thousand were forced to flee into the surrounding mountains.
The Konoha ninja, unfamiliar with the terrain, didn't dare pursue them too deeply. They gave up the chase after a few ridges, allowing the large groups of Rock ninja to vanish into the peaks.
The Rock had been defeated.
However, the Hokage did not order the army to march on the Hidden Rock Village itself. To get there from Tannoura, one had to pass through several terrifying mountain passes. The terrain was so treacherous that a ten-thousand-man army couldn't even deploy two thousand men at once.
In terrain like the Sword Gate Pass, attacking was a nightmare. A force of ten thousand was no more effective than three thousand. Furthermore, the massive elevation changes meant that Earth Style jutsu would have their effectiveness multiplied several times over.
Historically, before the first Five Kage Summit, Konoha hadn't cowed the Rock with an army. Instead, the "Ghost of the Uchiha," Madara Uchiha, had gone alone. He had punched through seven consecutive mountain passes by himself and ended up camping at the gates of the Hidden Rock Village.
It was right there, at their front door, that Madara crushed the entire village's resistance, proving he could annihilate them single-handedly. The natural geographical advantages of the Land of Earth meant nothing to him. Only then did the First Tsuchikage bow his head and agree to attend the summit.
Of course, the crisis had a silver lining. Madara's invasion taught the Rock that they weren't safe behind their mountains. The fractured clans of the Rock eventually achieved true unification under the threat of the "God of Shinobi" and the "Uchiha Ghost." It was a classic case of a blessing in disguise.
That unified Hidden Rock had grown rapidly, becoming one of the top powers among the Great Villages. Though the Sand had briefly surpassed them under the leadership of Shamon, the Rock had reclaimed its spot as the second-strongest village in the world.
In short: a grand army could defeat the Rock in the field, but it could not conquer or destroy the Hidden Rock Village.