Chapter 571: First Defeat Kiri, Then Strike Kumo
Kakashi's sudden departure left Kisame utterly dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Kakashi, whose reputation was generally positive, to be capable of screwing over an ally like this.
Today, it was Kakashi who had begged him, his ally, to come and help.
But Kakashi hadn't even waited for Kisame's consent; he had just bailed, leaving Ishiro to him.
Kisame was so stunned he didn't even have time to wonder how Kakashi had disappeared.
But Ishiro's eyes narrowed: Flying Thunder God!
Ishiro wouldn't mistake the hand seals Kakashi had made just before he left. They were similar to the ones Akino Atsumi used.
Moreover, Ishiro's Mind's Eye was monitoring all of Konoha. For Kakashi to suddenly vanish from his perception, there was only one explanation: he had used a space-time ninjutsu.
Ishiro looked up at Akino Atsumi.
To ensure her safety, Ishiro had used a porcelain platform to move her and the others to a higher, smaller platform.
From their vantage point, the group had also seen Kakashi vanish. Kanako, Sakura, and Shion couldn't tell what had happened, but Akino Atsumi had clearly sensed the space-time fluctuation.
Seeing Ishiro's questioning gaze, she nodded seriously. "It's the Flying Thunder God, no doubt about it!"
Ishiro brought his gaze back down, looking toward the battle between Shinnō and Konoha's Seven-Tails Jinchūriki.
Kakashi had reappeared at the Jinchūriki's side. He was now coordinating with him to launch a fierce assault on Shinnō.
Ishiro took a deep breath. He stopped paying attention to Kakashi and focused entirely on Kisame.
Kakashi wanted to concentrate his forces to eliminate the other enemies first. For Ishiro, this was also an opportunity.
He could take this chance to eliminate Kisame. It was just a question of who was faster.
And Kisame's identity was special. If Ishiro killed him inside Konoha, the alliance between Konoha and Kiri would instantly shatter.
Then, the next time Iwa decided to attack Konoha or Kiri, there would be no external interference.
Kisame, seeing Ishiro's focus turn to him, also realized the danger. His body tensed. Without wasting a word, his hands immediately began to fly through seals.
While the great war in Konoha entered a white-hot phase, the battle on the island in the southeastern Land of Lightning had also reached its peak.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
A thick column of white light shot from Ōnoki's hands toward the Kiri army.
By now, the Kiri army had been whittled down by Iwa to just over three thousand men.
From within their ranks, a massive glob of lava erupted to meet the white light.
Boom! Dust Release and Lava Release collided, causing a massive explosion in the air.
The Kiri army below didn't even flinch; they were already used to this. They had more important things to do.
Sure enough, immediately following Ōnoki's attack, a massive cloud of steam descended upon them.
"Water Release: Water Rushing Wave!" "Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"
Two small formations within the Kiri army immediately cast group water jutsu, which successfully neutralized the Boil Release that Han had used with Kokuō's chakra.
Immediately after, Rōshi, not to be outdone, unleashed his own Lava Release.
On the Kiri side, Nagi Minazuki quickly countered with a large-scale jutsu, using the Six-Tails's power to spray a massive amount of corrosive liquid.
The abilities of the Four-Tails and Six-Tails clashed in mid-air and canceled each other out.
At that exact moment, a flash of a blade appeared within the Kiri army, and several Kiri ninja fell. It was Kawakita, who had infiltrated their ranks at some unknown point.
Although Kiri had many skilled swordsmen, none could contend with Kawakita. Against him, regular Kiri ninja were taken down in a single stroke.
With Ōnoki and the others applying pressure from the outside, Kiri couldn't muster the forces to deal with this Iwa ninja who was supposedly "surrounded." Kawakita was like a fish in water, moving with ease.
Nearby, Mangetsu Hōzuki saw this and formed seals for a binding water jutsu, trying to restrict Kawakita's movements. Tentacles of water extended toward him.
Kawakita cut down several tentacles and prepared to move.
He wasn't afraid of anyone in the Kiri army, including Mangetsu Hōzuki, but Mangetsu was just too annoying.
Because that guy was almost completely immune to his physical-based sword skills.
Kawakita's attacks were still in the physical realm. He wouldn't lose to Mangetsu, but he couldn't win either. His priority was to harass the other Kiri ninja; he didn't want to get tangled up.
While Mangetsu was occupied, a wave of fire erupted from the Iwa army's side. Squads of fire-style ninja unleashed their jutsu.
The Three-Tails Jinchūriki, Kae, took a deep breath, barely managing to draw on the Three-Tails's chakra to block the attack.
But the moment he relaxed to catch his breath, another attack arrived.
It was a large-scale Wind Release, cast by Ikura.
The Kiri ninja in the blast radius knew they couldn't block it and scattered.
Boom!
Another few dozen Kiri ninja fell.
This was a scene that had repeated many times. Kiri's thousand-plus casualties had come from these small cuts, which were slowly adding up.
This process would continue. As the Three-Tails Jinchūriki weakened and their numbers dwindled, the losses would only become more frequent.
Sure enough, after a brief pause, Iwa began another barrage.
Their 15,000-man army had suffered almost no losses. They attacked in waves, relentlessly.
Ōnoki and the other Kage flew above, looking for opportunities to coordinate with the army's strikes.
Boom! Another massive lightning jutsu took out several dozen Kiri ninja.
Ōnoki, while keeping up the pressure, silently observed Kiri's reaction. He was wary of them becoming desperate, either launching a mutual-destruction charge or scattering in a full rout.
If Kiri scattered, Iwa couldn't annihilate them. If they charged, Iwa would suffer heavy casualties.
So, Ōnoki continued his "boiling the frog" strategy, bleeding them slowly. A few dozen at a time was enough.
After several more rounds, Kiri's numbers finally dropped below three thousand.
Ōnoki decided it was time. The Three-Tails Jinchūriki was completely exhausted.
He gave the signal.
This time, Deidara went first, unleashing nearly half of his prepared clay at once.
As expected, a flash of lightning from Kiri's anti-artillery team turned them all into duds.
Deidara was furious. He hadn't managed to kill a single Kiri ninja all day. He knew he was serving a purpose—tying up Kiri's defenses—but he was still unsatisfied.
Ōnoki didn't care. He struck second.
Then Ikura, Han, and Rōshi. Then came the waves of combination ninjutsu from the Iwa army, followed by a cloud of explosive-tagged kunai.
Kiri blocked the first few waves, but they were overwhelmed by the rest.
In that single, overwhelming assault, Kiri lost hundreds of men.
Iwa didn't stop. The second wave began immediately.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A short time later, Iwa's attack ceased. Of Kiri's 3,000 ninja, only just over a thousand remained.
At their commander's order, they finally broke and scattered, fleeing in all directions.
The Three-Tails Jinchūriki also fled, carried on Ao's back, vanishing into the routing army.
However, Nagi Minazuki, Mangetsu Hōzuki, and Terumī Mei did not retreat. They charged in the opposite direction—toward the Land of Lightning.
Two figures were rapidly approaching from the sea.
It was Kumo's Darui and Killer B. Behind them, in the distance, a large fleet of warships was visible.
Kumo's reinforcements had finally arrived.
Kawakita, who had been in the thick of the Kiri army, tried to pursue the three Kiri Kage, but Terumī Mei's Boil Release cut him off.
But Kumo was too late. Iwa had already achieved its objective.
Now, Iwa could focus on Kumo. And Kumo, in their haste to reinforce Kiri, had been drawn out of their land-based defenses and onto the open sea.
Although Kumo had three new Kage-level allies, they lacked their main army. In terms of numbers, Iwa still had the advantage.
Ōnoki and the others didn't pursue the Kiri Kage. They regrouped on their massive warship.
Then, they turned the ship and charged toward the Kumo fleet.
Darui and Terumī Mei's group quickly linked up and returned to the Kumo flagship.
Darui had no intention of fighting Iwa on the open sea. That giant rock ship was too intimidating; on it, Iwa was fighting as if they were on land. He ordered his fleet to turn back and make for the coast.
The Iwa warship gave chase. In the ship's command center, Ōnoki looked at the three young strategy officers Ishiro had assigned him.
"What is the army's status?"
Aono Shinichi-kun, who was acting as one of the advisors, replied, "Lord Third, our losses are minimal, but our chakra expenditure has been high. I recommend we don't rush the pursuit. Let everyone recover. Furthermore, our consumable tools—kunai, shuriken, senbon—are running low. We have plenty of explosive tags, but not much else."
Ōnoki nodded. "Notify the army to eat and resupply. Use soldier pills. There is still one more great battle ahead."
"Yes, sir!" an ANBU replied.
Ōnoki then looked at the three young officers. "What ideas do you have for dealing with Kumo?"
Aono Shinichi-kun, Rion-chan, and Shizuka Minamoto-chan glanced at each other. Then, Shizuka Minamoto-chan spoke. "I have a plan that might quickly rout the Kumo army."
On the Kumo side, Darui was getting a report from Terumī Mei.
When he heard how Iwa had appeared suddenly, he realized their route. But he couldn't understand how they had pinpointed Kiri's location.
Mei shared his confusion. "We have Ao's Byakugan. No one should be able to scout us from that distance, except perhaps the Tsuchikage himself. I suspect Iwa knew our location before they even set sail."
Darui's brow furrowed. "Do you have a traitor in your ranks?"
Mei shook her head. "Impossible. This mission was top secret. We didn't even tell Genshi-sama back in the village until we sent the distress signal. It wasn't a spy. Iwa must have some special... tracking method."
Darui calculated the speed of Iwa's ship and the time. "They must have left at the same time the Konoha exam began."
He realized Mei was right. And if Iwa could track Kiri... they could track Kumo.
His plan to use guerrilla tactics in the Land of Lightning was useless.
"All ships," he ordered, "once we make landfall, establish a defensive camp ten kilometers inland. Prepare to meet the enemy."
They had to make a stand.
Soon, both armies had landed in the Land of Lightning.
Ōnoki looked up at the sky, which was prone to random lightning strikes. This was not ideal terrain.
But he thought of Shizuka Minamoto-chan's plan, and his mind was put at ease.
The Iwa army pursued. Ten kilometers inland, they found the Kumo army (10,000 strong) in a defensive formation.
Iwa (over 14,000 strong) advanced.
Darui had expected a war of attrition, but Iwa, shockingly, ordered a full, head-on charge.
Ōnoki and his Kage led the way.
Darui had no time to think. He, Killer B, and the three Kiri Kage met them.
The eleven Kage-level shinobi clashed in the center, and the two massive armies slammed into each other around them.
It was the most brutal form of warfare.
Iwa had the advantage in numbers and coordination, but Kumo's individual warriors were strong. The battle lines held, with Iwa only inflicting slightly more casualties than they were taking.
Both sides were trying to punch a hole, to break the other's formation.
This was the battle of attrition Darui had wanted. Even if Kumo lost, as long as Iwa paid a heavy price—five or six thousand men—they would be too weak to occupy the Land of Lightning.
But just then, the Kumo commander, who was analyzing battlefield data, suddenly shouted, "It's an opportunity! All frontline units, open a gap! Lure them in! We're going to use the secret weapon and devour them!"
The Kumo ninja, hearing the order, feigned a retreat, opening a trap.
The Iwa forces, thinking Kumo was breaking, surged forward into the gap.
The Kumo line began to buckle. The Kumo sensory ninja, seeing Iwa was now fully in the trap, yelled to his commander, "Sir! Now! Use the secret weapon!"
"If we wait any longer, the line will collapse!"
All the Kumo ninja were waiting for the order.
Just then... the commander turned to the sensory ninja and made a mischievous face.
Then, he drew a kunai and instantly slit the sensory ninja's throat.
The man stared, his last thought being, ...What secret weapon?
The other officers in the command tent stared in horror.
The guards charged the commander.
But before they could even reach him, their commander's eyes went blank, and he fell to the ground, no longer breathing.
(End of Chapter)
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