Chapter 75 – Rescue
A gigantic blue serpent appeared on the battlefield, its massive body stretching forty to fifty meters in length.
Boom—
With a single sweep of its tail, every tent along its path was smashed to pieces.
"Another monster?! Are all the shinobi of Konohagakure this terrifying?!"
"With a summoning beast like that, only Lord Yugito and the others could possibly match it! We have to retreat!"
"This is insane!"
…
As they stared at the suddenly manifested blue serpent and felt the overwhelming killing intent radiating from its body, the Kumogakure shinobi sent to intercept them were seized by fear.
Along the serpent's advance, several Kumo ninja took one look at the massive creature slithering toward them and fled without daring to resist.
From both flanks, Kumo shinobi continuously hurled kunai and shuriken at it, but the projectiles were all deflected by the serpent's armored scales.
Even when powerful ninjutsu were unleashed, the blue serpent twisted its colossal body with surprising agility, evading the attacks with ease.
Ryuya and Might Guy stood atop the serpent's head as it charged forward. In less than a minute, they had already broken through over a hundred meters into enemy lines.
"Ryuya, your summoning beast is incredible!" Guy shouted in admiration from above.
It was his first time seeing the serpent in action.
Among the younger generation of Konohagakure, rumors had long circulated that Ryuya possessed a snake summoning comparable to a jōnin in strength—yet few had witnessed it firsthand.
Now that he had, he realized the rumors had been far too conservative.
This single summoning beast alone was enough to crush many elite jōnin.
Ryuya ignored Guy's praise. He himself was pleasantly surprised by the serpent's transformation.
Compared to half a year ago, after spending time in Ryūchi Cave, its size had grown considerably—nearly approaching the level of Manda.
And Manda stood at the pinnacle of powerful summon beasts in the shinobi world.
"Damn it! We can't stop this monster!" a Kumo jōnin muttered grimly from the side of the valley.
"We cannot let it belittle Kumogakure!" another jōnin stepped forward, eyes flashing with ruthless resolve.
Turning to the shinobi behind him, he barked, "Gather all Earth Release users! Use Earth Style to restrain it!"
"Yes!"
At once, more than a dozen Kumo ninja stepped forward, forming hand seals.
Against a massive summon of this scale, Earth Release was indeed the best method of restriction.
Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!
A Kumo jōnin took the lead, casting the A-rank technique.
Instantly, a vast swamp materialized beneath the serpent, causing its enormous body to begin sinking.
The serpent thrashed violently, trying to wrench itself free from the mire.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
Just as its head emerged from the swamp's edge, a towering earthen wall rose before it, blocking its path.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The serpent smashed through one wall—only for another to rise immediately in front of it.
By the time several walls had been destroyed, nearly half of its body had sunk into the swamp.
"Ryuya, what do we do?" Guy asked anxiously from atop the serpent.
"Go help Kakashi and Shisui. Leave this to me," Ryuya replied in a low voice, glancing toward their direction.
There, Shisui's green Susanoo had already receded to its initial one-armed form. Kakashi had disengaged from within Susanoo's protection and was fighting the Kumo shinobi in close combat.
Crackle—
Kakashi removed the cloth covering his left eye. Forming hand seals, dazzling lightning gathered in his palm.
At the same time, the piercing cry of a thousand birds rang out.
To maximize his offensive power, Kakashi had pushed his Sharingan and Chidori to their limits.
Blade light and lightning flashed. Several Kumo shinobi fell into pools of blood.
But Kakashi was alone, and the number of Kumo ninja surrounding him was overwhelming. Were it not for their lingering fear of Shisui's Susanoo, they would have already captured him.
Even so, Kakashi could not hold out much longer.
Hearing Ryuya's order, Guy shot one last glance in their direction before vanishing in a blur.
"Stop him!"
The Kumo shinobi nearby would not let them have their way. Two Kumo squads immediately rushed to intercept Guy.
The Gate of View—Open!
Without hesitation, Guy activated the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates.
Boom—
Vast green chakra erupted like blazing flames. His body became a streak of lightning, bypassing the Kumo ninja and dashing straight toward Kakashi and Shisui.
"Quick! Eliminate those two first!"
Seeing the green streak racing through the night, the Kumo jōnin Rei—who had been organizing the assault—shouted sharply.
They had nearly worn down the Uchiha brat. They could not allow their efforts to go to waste.
In Rei's eyes, Uchiha Shisui posed the greatest threat among the four members of Konoha's ANBU Squad Eleven.
That godlike power had nearly driven them to despair.
"Yes!"
Several Kumo squads immediately converged.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
…
In an instant, a dense barrage of ninjutsu rained down upon Kakashi.
At such saturation, Kakashi alone could not possibly evade it.
At the critical moment, Shisui forcibly reactivated the first form of Susanoo, shielding Kakashi once more.
Cough—cough—
Maintaining the second form earlier had pushed Shisui beyond his limits. Blood poured from his mouth.
He was at the brink.
After only a few seconds, his Susanoo once again regressed to its initial skeletal state.
Seeing this, Rei no longer hesitated and personally charged forward.
Crackle—
Lightning flickered across his body as he pushed Kumogakure's signature Lightning Release chakra mode to its peak.
"Die!"
Midair, Rei closed the distance to within mere meters of Kakashi and Shisui.
Boom—
A violent collision erupted as Sixth Gate Guy arrived in a blur of green light, delivering a powerful kick against Rei's lightning-clad fist.
The resulting shockwave blasted dust in all directions, gouging a one-meter crater into the ground beneath them.
As the smoke cleared, Guy stood protectively beside Kakashi and Shisui.
Not far away, Rei staggered to his feet, looking disheveled.
In that clash, even he had suffered minor injuries.
"Kakashi, Shisui—how bad are your injuries?" Guy asked, dispersing the Sixth Gate's power.
The Eight Gates released the body's natural chakra limiters, granting immense strength at tremendous physical cost.
Guy had already trained to the point where he could open the Sixth Gate at will.
"I'm fine," Kakashi said with a bitter smile. "But Shisui is heavily drained. How's Ryuya holding up?"
"Don't worry. His summoning beast is incredibly strong. Let's regroup with him first," Guy said, supporting Shisui after Susanoo fully dissipated.
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple," Shisui said weakly with a wry smile.
Guy and Kakashi followed his gaze.
Ahead of them, Rei—face dark with fury—had already regrouped with a large force of Kumogakure shinobi, encircling them once more.