Chapter 296: Water Benefits All Things Without Contending — And So Nothing Under Heaven Can Contend With It
Heaven and earth stretched vast and grey, a cold wind hissing through the driving rain.
The Hokage stood alone on the battlefield, blade in hand, blood pooling beneath her feet, mixing with mud. She flung the stolen sword down, planting it upright in the earth.
Her cold, emerald eyes swept the enemy before her — and no one dared meet her gaze directly.
For a moment, the whole battlefield seemed to fall silent, nothing left but the sound of the pouring rain.
But that moment lasted only an instant.
The Hokage raised a single hand, fingers held in a sword-seal before her chest.
"That's the seal for Water Release!"
"Earth Release squad! EARTH RELEASE SQUAD!"
Someone in the crowd let out a piercing, terrified shout at the sight.
In an instant, dozens of Iwagakure shinobi surged to the front of the formation, hands weaving through seals together.
"Water Release — Water Dragon Bite-Crash."
The moment the words left her mouth, countless streams of water across the battlefield roared to life, furious.
Water benefits all things, yet contends with none.
And so nothing under heaven can contend with it.
Antlers of a deer. Ears of an ox. The body of a serpent. Scales of a crocodile. The tail of a fish. A lion's mane. Talons of a hawk.
A water dragon, dozens of meters long, took shape between heaven and earth.
"Water Release, this strong?!"
Countless enemies stared, gripped by terror.
"Earth Release — Ten-Thousand-Mile Earth Wall!"
The dozens of Iwagakure shinobi who'd formed their seals slammed both hands flat against the ground at once.
In an instant, as though the earth itself had convulsed, walls of stone rose up from every direction, enclosing the massive water dragon — and the Hokage along with it.
The Hokage watched the technique sealing her in, her expression never shifting.
A signature combination technique of Iwagakure, then.
Even against her, dozens working in perfect coordination had managed to trap her.
But—
That was all it accomplished.
"Did — did it work?"
The surrounding soldiers stared at the massive prison of stone, swallowing hard, tense.
At that moment, the moment the words left that shinobi's mouth, the entire structure exploded outward!
Countless fragments of rock scattered in every direction.
"ROOOAR!"
Amid a furious roar, a single deep-blue dragon claw tore through the wall, visible before the terrified eyes of the entire coalition.
The water dragon burst free of its cage, venting its fury at the sky. The Hokage stood atop its head, gazing down, cold, at the ants below.
"Wind Release — Wind Cutter!"
"Wind Release — Great Breakthrough!"
"Water Release — Torrent Break!"
"Water Release — Water Surface Slash!"
"Lightning Release —..."
"Fire Release —..."
In an instant, the battle seemed to move into a second round — countless jutsu poured toward the Hokage, toward the water dragon, all at once.
The sheer variety of techniques seemed to blot out the sky itself, and the endless, driving rain paused, momentarily, under the sheer weight of that combined human effort — as though it alone could split heaven itself open.
But the Hokage simply raised a hand and, in full view of everyone, snapped her fingers.
At that instant—
An invisible barrier spread outward from her, radiating in every direction.
Everything seemed to change. And yet, somehow, nothing had.
A moment later, under the relentless barrage, the water dragon let out a mournful cry and collapsed into countless streams of water, scattering apart.
The Hokage landed back on the ground, and the assembled soldiers, seeing what looked like a victory finally within reach, began forming seals again, readying another wave of techniques.
Another storm of jutsu launched, converging on the Hokage.
Except—
The techniques landed, and screams erupted from every direction.
The jutsu had passed straight through the Hokage's body and struck their own allies instead.
"Barrier! There's a barrier! A genjutsu barrier!"
Someone in the crowd — a sensor-type shinobi — caught on to what was happening.
"Hokage — Hokage's actually—"
The sensor shinobi tried to point out the Hokage's real location to the others, but her words cut off abruptly, mid-sentence.
She turned, trembling, to find the young, pink-haired Hokage standing right behind her.
"Not bad sensing skills."
The Hokage said, with what almost sounded like genuine praise.
And then—
Nothing further.
A flick of her wrist, and a kunai appeared in her hand, a dark flash cutting through the rain, and the shinobi fell, dead.
Using the Heavenly Canopy Method as a foundation, layered with her own Yin Release, the Hokage had constructed a wide-reaching illusion field — Yin Release: Mirage, an evolution drawing from both Yang Release — Dominion and the knowledge Hagoromo had granted her.
Within the range of Mirage, the caster could shape whatever illusion she wished, freely — and in Sakura's design, a fully completed version of the technique would let her control an enemy's five senses completely, inescapably, the instant they entered its range.
The technique wasn't fully realized yet — for now, it could only affect sight and hearing. But under these circumstances, that was more than enough.
The moment the incomplete Mirage activated, every shinobi caught within its range froze instantly where they stood.
"Dispel!"
"Dispel it!"
"DISPEL!"
Several shinobi tried desperately to break free of the illusion, but the scene before their eyes only flickered briefly before settling right back into place.
Useless.
As long as they remained inside the range of Mirage, the instant they broke one illusion, they'd simply fall right back under its influence.
Escaping it required either Kage-level strength, or a second chakra source within one's body — a jinchūriki, essentially. Otherwise, there was no breaking free.
Unless the caster chose to release it herself.
"Human-wave tactics won't work anymore."
"Continuing like this will only produce more meaningless death."
Konan said, watching from a distance.
Ōnoki nodded grimly and pulled out a signal flare, launching it skyward.
Watching the bright red flare burst across the sky, the surrounding shinobi warily began pulling back from the Hokage, one careful step at a time.
At that moment, a figure shot forward like a gust of wind, charging straight at the Hokage.
This was—
Hiruko!
At last, the coalition's real powerhouses made their move.
Not just Hiruko. High above, a white winged dragon appeared out of nowhere.
Deidara.
At the same moment, behind the Hokage, a roaring wall of water surged forward like a tidal wave.
Kisame Hoshigaki.
And a bolt of lightning shot toward her as well — the puppet built from the Fourth Raikage's remains.
Sasori of the Red Sand.
And further off, a small figure hovered in the air, hands glowing with an ominous light, radiating a palpable sense of annihilation.
Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage of the Two Scales.
And that wasn't all. Thanks to her constantly enhanced Yang Release eyesight, the Hokage caught movement at the edge of the battlefield too — countless explosive tags, subtly integrated into the surrounding terrain, taking shape.
Konan.
"Heh. Now this is interesting."
Surrounded on every side, seemingly caught in an inescapable trap, the Hokage's expression finally shifted — the first real change all battle.
She let out a cold laugh, and a massive, mysterious black pattern spread outward from beneath her feet.
"Summoning Jutsu — Lord Enma."
Meanwhile, far off, Yuki and her three hundred jōnin had begun their own advance, joining the battle the instant the enemy's top fighters revealed themselves.
"ROOOAR!"
Without warning, a massive cat-spirit appeared on the battlefield, charging straight at the enemy powerhouses.
And beyond that, the three hundred chakra-armored jōnin unleashed something of their own — terrifying in its own right.
Charging into the field, all three hundred formed the exact same seal, in perfect unison.
The opening seal for Fire Release.
"Fire Release — Great Fireball Technique!"
The chakra armor hadn't been distributed randomly — every unit had been hand-selected from among Konoha's best chūnin. And every one of them shared exactly one trait in common.
Mastery of Fire Release.
In an instant, a sea of flame swept across the battlefield, waves of terrifying heat licking across everything in its path.
Three hundred shinobi. Three hundred jōnin-level fighters, all at once — what did that actually represent?
Asuma Sarutobi was, by any reasonable measure, a standard elite jōnin. None of these three hundred individually matched his skill.
But two of them, casting Fire Release together, easily surpassed what Asuma alone could produce.
Which meant, in effect, this was something close to two hundred Asuma Sarutobis unleashing Fire Release simultaneously.
Terrifying flame poured from their mouths, streaking across the sky like a meteor shower, straight toward Kisame, still riding his own wave of water.
Under that assault, the water beneath Kisame's feet began evaporating at an alarming rate.
However powerful his Water Release was, there was no version of it that could withstand Fire Release cast by three hundred jōnin at once.
"What?!"
Kisame turned, and the sea of flame bearing down on him, threatening to fill his entire field of vision, left him genuinely stunned.
And it wasn't just the three hundred shinobi. Matatabi, at that same moment, opened her massive jaws and unleashed a torrent of ghostly blue flame, merging seamlessly with the wall of fire already spreading.
Red and blue flame fused together, sweeping across the battlefield in an instant.
Under an assault at this level, Kisame's Water Release simply collapsed on contact.
Even the rain falling from the sky evaporated before it ever reached the ground.
"Those are — all jōnin?!"
"That's not possible!"
Ōnoki's eyes nearly split with fury at the sight.
Jōnin. What did that even mean? The core fighting strength of an entire hidden village.
Every single jōnin represented a village's most precious asset. A village with fifty jōnin could hold its own against any of the Five Great Villages.
How could Konoha possibly have this many jōnin at once?!
"Kitsuchi!"
Ōnoki barked at his own son immediately.
"Take Han and hold them off!"
At this point, on the entire battlefield, only Iwagakure's Kitsuchi and Han, along with Akatsuki's Rinnegan holder, remained uncommitted.
The Rinnegan needed to wait until the Hokage's chakra had been sufficiently drained before engaging. Which left only Iwagakure with spare fighting strength available right now.
"Understood."
Kitsuchi's expression tightened, and after a brief glance with Han beside him, he led a portion of the shattered coalition forces toward the three hundred jōnin.
But as Han approached, something about the chakra armor covering those three hundred shinobi struck him as strangely familiar.
Only once he got closer did he place it.
That armor — it was the same design worn by Dōtō Kazahana, the former Daimyō of the Land of Snow, during that mission three years ago.
So that's it.
That's it!
This Fifth Hokage's true objective, back then, had always been Dōtō's chakra armor!
That's why she'd spent a personal favor to bring Dōtō back to Konoha alive!
All to secure hundreds of jōnin-level fighters in exchange!
A tangled mix of emotions churned through Han.
Regret?
He felt it now.
But there was no such thing as an antidote for regret.
What favor could possibly have been worth this many hundreds of jōnin?
Not even a tailed beast would have been worth that trade.
"ROOOAR!"
A furious roar shook the sky, and without another word, Han transformed, becoming the Five-Tails.
Thick white steam poured off his body, and a colossal creature burst forth from within it.
This was—
The Five-Tails. Kokuō.
"Matatabi!"
Kokuō roared, charging straight at her.
"ROOOAR!"
Facing her old friend, Matatabi didn't hesitate for a moment, her lithe form darting forward to meet Kokuō head-on.
That left only Kitsuchi and a few thousand shinobi standing before the three hundred jōnin.
Even with a substantial numbers advantage, Kitsuchi felt no real confidence. He was a jōnin himself — he understood exactly how terrifying that rank actually was.
But there was nothing left to do now but grit his teeth and push forward.
Meanwhile, on the Hokage's side, Enma had already been summoned.
"Sakura. Quite the spectacle this time, isn't it."
Enma crossed his arms, eyes sweeping coldly across the battlefield.
"Mm. Kill that woman first."
The Hokage looked up at the sky, at Konan, wings spread, soaring high above.
"Understood!"
Enma turned his own gaze toward Konan, and the combined weight of both their stares was enough to send an unmistakable chill through her.
"Adamantine Staff!"
Enma instantly transformed into a well-balanced golden staff, dropping into the Hokage's hand.
And in the next instant—
The Hokage shot upward like an artillery shell, straight at Konan, high above.
Her target is me...
Seeing the Hokage close in, Konan's expression tightened, and she climbed higher still, faster.
Down on the ground, Hiruko, Sasori, and Kisame — who'd just broken free of the fire — found themselves momentarily at a loss.
None of the three of them could fly.
"Hey. You three worthless idiots — where do you think you're looking?"
A figure appeared out of nowhere, tone dripping with arrogant contempt, staring the three of them down.
This was — Inner Sakura, materialized as one of the Hokage's Yang Clones.
"A clone?"
Hiruko's expression flickered with uncertainty.
His researcher's instincts told him something was off about this particular clone.
"A clone?"
"Sure, call it whatever you like. Makes no difference to me."
"But you three are perfect for warming me up."
Bathed in the falling rain, Inner Sakura advanced steadily through the mud and blood pooling underfoot, toward the three Akatsuki members, her emerald eyes glinting with undisguised bloodlust.
It wasn't just Hiruko. Sasori and Kisame both sensed, immediately, that something was wrong with this particular clone.
A clone's personality should have matched the original exactly. And yet this one's temperament was, if anything, the polar opposite of the Hokage's own.
"Not going to make the first move?"
Inner Sakura kept advancing, step by step.
"If you won't move — then I guess I'll just have to."
The words left her mouth, and her figure vanished in an instant.
Hiruko flinched, reflexively activating Shikotsumyaku — several hardened white bones erupting from his chest, forming a shield across it.
But even so—
There was a sharp crack of bone shattering, and Hiruko went flying backward instantly.
One punch. And the bone defense of Shikotsumyaku had simply broken outright.
"Her strength's a step below the real Hokage's!"
Sasori, having already crossed swords with Sakura personally before, called out the warning at once, driving his puppet — built from the Fourth Raikage's remains — straight at Inner Sakura.
"Huh? Weaker than the real deal, sure — but plenty enough to handle a bunch of rejects like you three."
Clearly, Sasori's remark had struck a nerve. Ignoring Hiruko, still sent flying, Inner Sakura charged straight at the puppet.
Lightning Plow Blade Technique!
Inner Sakura's elbow strike collided head-on with the Raikage puppet's own.
"This same black bastard again. Pathetic — can't even rest in peace after dying."
Recognizing the familiar puppet before her, Inner Sakura let out a cold laugh.
At that moment, the Fourth Raikage puppet's mouth snapped open wide, and a pale yellow mist billowed out.
Kisame, who'd been forming half a seal to back up Sasori, immediately abandoned it and bolted, fleeing the poisonous gas as though his life depended on it.
"Mango flavor?"
"Switch it back to strawberry next time."
"I'm allergic to mango."
Inner Sakura sniffed at Sasori's poison gas and wrinkled her nose, thoroughly unimpressed.
(End of chapter.)
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