The "death flag" Jiraiya had planted didn't actually amount to much; after all, very few people in the world could actually breach the stomach wall of a Rock-Dwelling Toad.
Unfortunately for him, there was someone on this very battlefield who could do it with ease.
Ohnoki.
The Third Tsuchikage—the only known practitioner of the Particle Style, a Kekkei Tota. No matter how tough the toad's stomach was, it stood no chance against an ability that could dismantle all matter into nothingness.
Watching the elite of his Explosion Corps get snatched up by Jiraiya, Ohnoki was fuming. He had brought both of the village's Jinchuriki specifically because he knew Konoha possessed a high number of elite Jonin and feared falling behind in top-tier combat power.
He never expected that even with two Jinchuriki in play, Iwa wouldn't gain a single inch of ground. Instead, the rest of his elite forces were steadily falling behind in their duels against Konoha's best.
Watching Gari—the Bakuton genius he had high hopes for—get trapped in that organic monstrosity was the final straw. His temper, already as volatile as a fresh explosion, finally snapped. Ohnoki made his move.
"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
For a fleeting second, Ohnoki considered simply erasing both Gari and Jiraiya together with the cube of light. Ultimately, he dismissed the thought. Gari was a young genius who had mastered a Kekkei Genkai; he still had too much potential to offer the village.
Seeing Ohnoki join the fray, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer remain a spectator.
With a sweeping wave of his hand, the Konoha army—already coiled like a spring—erupted into a charge, their war cries shaking the earth. After the initial dance of small-scale skirmishes, both sides had finally lost their patience. The bloodiest, most brutal phase of the chaotic melee had begun.
Following Sakumo Hatake's earlier vanguard strike, Team Sakumo also surged forward under the temporary leadership of Minato.
Perhaps in the future, these individuals would become pivotal figures, legends whose status was so high that no one on the battlefield could ignore them. But for now, the three of them were just three "shadow" Chunin, small cogs in the machine. They were swept along by the tide of war, helping their comrades and being helped in turn, lost in a sea of identical flak vests.
They might kill a fair number of enemies, but the idea of changing the course of the war by themselves was, at this stage, a pipe dream.
The ones who truly decided the direction of the wind were the two short old men who, if stacked on top of each other, might still be shorter than the Third Raikage.
"Summoning Jutsu: Enma!"
As old rivals, Hiruzen knew exactly how dangerous Ohnoki's Particle Style was. He didn't bother with a display of various ninjutsu like he would years later against his rogue student, Orochimaru. Instead, he summoned Enma immediately and had the Monkey King transform into the Adamantine Staff. He was fully prepared to use his height advantage to bully Ohnoki.
After all, for a man standing just over 160 cm—a universally acknowledged shorty—it wasn't easy to find an opponent that made him feel tall and confident. (Note: According to official stats, Hiruzen is actually the same height as Tsunade. This feels scientifically impossible.)
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Hiruzen knew the "Old Potato" wouldn't give him an opening easily. To buy time and confuse his opponent, he unleashed the signature move of his future grandson-in-law.
Of course, compared to "Big Naruto," who could churn out thousands of clones at a whim, the "Grand-Teacher" was a bit lacking in the stamina department. He managed to squeeze out exactly ten shadow clones.
Fortunately, ten was plenty.
As he had predicted, the moment the clones appeared, Ohnoki's counterattack arrived.
"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
Ohnoki would rather expend a bit more chakra early on than let Hiruzen Sarutobi get within melee range.
This was what he hated most about Hiruzen: the man was a "Hexagon Ninja." His Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu were all perfectly balanced. He had no Kekkei Genkai, yet that very balance allowed him to find an edge against any opponent.
Against Ohnoki, Hiruzen would try to force a close-quarters taijutsu brawl, using constant pressure to prevent Ohnoki from calmly aiming his devastating Particle Style. Against a physical tank like the Third Raikage, Hiruzen would immediately switch to a pure Ninjutsu style, using a relentless barrage of elemental attacks to kite him, never giving the Raikage a chance to utilize his terrifying close-range power.
He didn't look overwhelming, but he always managed to find his enemy's weakness and hammer it relentlessly. To Ohnoki, Hiruzen wasn't "strong"—he was a pragmatic, slippery coward.
As Ohnoki cursed Hiruzen in his head, his Atomic Dismantling Jutsu vaporized half of the shadow clones instantly. However, the remaining five were enough for Hiruzen to achieve his goal.
The real Hiruzen, hidden among the survivors, lunged straight for Ohnoki.
After a series of tactical feints—and pausing briefly to crush an unlucky Iwa Jonin who tried to block his path—the clones were eventually picked off, leaving Hiruzen face-to-face with Ohnoki.
The Adamantine Staff whistled through the air, swung with a ferocity that made Hiruzen look far more like a "Monkey King" than the Four-Tails ever could.
No matter how indignant Ohnoki felt, he was forced into a grueling Taijutsu duel. As rivals of many years, he was intimately familiar with this rhythm. Even though he was at a disadvantage on the ground, his ability to fly meant that Hiruzen couldn't truly pin him down.
While the two Kage engaged in what looked like a tedious, low-tech slugfest, Orochimaru continued to use his Water Style to stall Roushi. He was technically at a disadvantage, but he wasn't losing ground.
Sakumo Hatake and Han were equally matched. Han possessed monstrous strength, but even with his Steam Armor, his massive frame couldn't keep up with the White Fang's speed. Conversely, Sakumo found Han to be a lethal "hedgehog"; he held the upper hand in the flow of the duel, but he couldn't find a way to slice Han's throat or pierce his heart through the scalding steam.
Gari, having been rescued by Ohnoki's Particle Style, didn't dare get cocky again. He coordinated with his teammates in the Explosion Corps, using a relentless barrage of demolition tactics to keep Jiraiya on his toes. It was only thanks to Jiraiya's vast array of self-preservation techniques—which were no less impressive than Orochimaru's—that he was able to avoid disaster time and again.
Elsewhere, Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Tsunade were locked in combat with Iwa's elite Jonin, led by Kitsuchi. Small advantages were gained and lost, but no one could find the opening for a swift victory.
With the top-tier combatants locked in a stalemate, any hope for a breakthrough rested on the shoulders of an "accident."
And yet, neither Iwa nor Konoha could have guessed that the accident would arrive in the way that it did.