Chapter 572: The Kage Who Died in Battle
A moment after the Kumo commander was killed, Natsuki, who had been lying on the floor of the Iwa command center, quickly opened her eyes.
Before Katsumata, who was guarding her, could speak, Shizuka Minamoto asked impatiently, "Natsuki-san, how did it go?"
Natsuki gave a brilliant smile. "It's done!"
That's right. It was Natsuki who had just used the Spirit Infiltration Jutsu to assassinate the Kumo sensory ninja and their commander.
The so-called "lure Iwa in and use a secret weapon" was a complete fabrication, fed to them by the commander she was controlling.
Under Natsuki's mischievous control, the Kumo army had willingly abandoned their defensive line and, in their repeated retreats, their formation had completely dissolved.
Now, the Iwa army was using its own formation superiority to slaughter the Kumo forces.
It was almost impossible for Kumo to organize an effective counter-attack.
Compounding this, with their commander and chief sensory ninja suddenly dead, the Kumo army collapsed into chaos.
One side was fighting with organization and a plan. The other was a leaderless mob that had just been betrayed. The outcome was predictable.
By the time a new Kumo commander and sensory ninja took over, the Kumo army had already been scattered and could no longer mount a large-scale resistance.
The new commander could only issue orders for which units would cover the rear, and in which direction the others should flee.
But before the orders could even be fully relayed, the Iwa army had already smashed into his command post.
The Iwa forces were decisive, immediately destroying the large sensory barrier the Kumo command had built.
The new commander was cut down before he could even give new orders to Darui and the other Kage.
While other Kumo ninja had a chance to escape, the personnel in the command center, who were Iwa's primary target, had none.
The one who charged in fastest was Riori Uzumaki.
With her was Shiden, who directed Riori to unleash a "Fire Row Technique" directly on the Kumo command post.
The command post, filled mostly with non-combat personnel, was almost completely annihilated.
Today, Riori Uzumaki's contribution was second only to the Kage.
In the previous battle against Kiri, other units had needed hundreds of ninja to form a single battle array.
Riori, however, had formed her own array with hundreds of shadow clones, operating as an independent unit under Shiden's command.
Her contribution alone was equal to hundreds of men, perhaps even surpassing that of a Kage. At the very least, Deidara's combat record for the day paled in comparison to hers.
Riori's overpowered presence only hastened Kumo's collapse.
With their command structure gone, the Kumo ninja could only flee for their lives.
A short time later, the five Kage-level shinobi (from Kumo and Kiri) who were still entangled with Ōnoki's group suddenly realized the battle around them had vanished.
The Kumo ninja had fled. The Iwa army had pursued them. The chaotic battlefield was suddenly empty, leaving only the eleven of them.
What everyone had expected to be a brutal war of attrition had ended before it began, with Kumo inexplicably defeated. The entire confrontation had been so short that the Kumo army hadn't even inflicted any significant casualties on Iwa.
Darui punched Kawakita, forcing him back, and used the opening to scan the area.
He saw that Iwa had not fully committed to the chase; several thousand ninja had remained behind. This force was now forming a perimeter, staring at them.
It's over. Kumo is finished. Darui's mind was in turmoil.
He had sensed something was wrong when the Kumo commander gave that strange order. But just as he was about to question it, Kawakita, his opponent, had suddenly intensified his assault, forcing Darui to focus.
By the time Kawakita's storm of attacks had ended, the Kumo army had already been routed.
Even if Darui had realized, it was too late.
Just as he'd thought, Kumo's last great army was being hunted down. Iwa wouldn't let them go as they had Kiri. Darui didn't dare to imagine how many of the fleeing ninja would survive.
Even if half of them make it back... Iwa's army is barely scratched. Kumo can't be defended.
More importantly... how do we get out of here?
Ōnoki wouldn't just let them leave.
Five against six, they might be able to escape. But five against six, plus several thousand other ninja... it was a different story.
That army only needed to harass them with large-scale jutsu, and the five of them would be pinned down by Ōnoki's group forever.
Sure enough, just as he feared, the Iwa army began its attack.
Their targets were two-fold: Mangetsu Hōzuki... and himself, Darui.
Nagi Minazuki, as a Jinchūriki, was too hard to kill. Terumī Mei's Kekkai Genkai were too destructive. It was better to just tie them up.
As for Darui and Killer B... one of them had to die.
Killer B was too strong. Han and Rōshi together couldn't even suppress the perfect Jinchūriki. It would take at least three Kage to kill him.
But Darui... Darui was easier. Kawakita alone could keep him busy.
Although his Lightning Release Armor made him fast, Iwa's combination ninjutsu could easily slow him down.
Right now, the Iwa army had combined Earth and Water Release, turning the ground around Darui and Kawakita into a thick swamp. Wind jutsu from the air were constricting his movements.
Darui was forced to deal with Kawakita's attacks and the Iwa army's harassment at the same time. He was instantly in a desperate situation.
The other target, Mangetsu Hōzuki, was in even greater peril.
Mangetsu's Hydrification Technique was a difficult counter. But Rion-chan had given them an idea.
Ikura, sitting on a clay bird, was attacking Mangetsu with Earth Release, while in his other hand, he held one of the handheld lightning-tools they had captured from Kiri.
This was the same tool Kumo had invented that had shut Deidara down.
Mangetsu had never imagined it would be used against him.
He activated his Hydrification Technique to dodge an earth jutsu, and Ikura immediately zapped him with the tool.
The bolt wasn't strong, but the paralysis was just enough to break his jutsu.
Mangetsu quickly recovered, but he was terrified. He didn't dare use his Hydrification Technique again. Without his greatest defense, he was quickly beaten back by Ikura.
Making matters worse, waves of blue lightning were now shooting at him from the Iwa army below.
Nearby, Deidara was fighting Nagi Minazuki.
Deidara had been stewing all day and had specifically requested the Jinchūriki.
He had unleashed a continuous, frantic barrage of bombs.
Nagi, not known for his agility, could only tank the hits with his Bijuu shroud. But Deidara's explosions were too numerous; the shroud couldn't last.
Nagi was not a perfect Jinchūriki. He had already expended a great deal of chakra fighting earlier. Now, under this relentless assault, he was reaching his limit.
He could have retreated, but instead, he charged past Deidara, heading for Mangetsu Hōzuki.
He tanked Deidara's bombs, wrapped a chakra tail around Mangetsu, and threw him to safety.
This move stunned both Deidara and Ikura.
The Iwa army, however, reacted instantly.
"Earth Release: Earth Prison!"
Hundreds of Iwa ninja cast the jutsu simultaneously. A massive, four-walled prison of earth, dozens of meters high and a meter thick, shot up from the ground, trapping Nagi Minazuki inside.
Deidara saw what they were doing, and a vicious grin spread across his face.
He began dumping armloads of his explosive clay animals over the walls.
Nagi Minazuki, panting, tried to break out.
But he was out of time. His chakra was depleted, and worse, the Six-Tails, after being drawn on so heavily, was now resisting him.
Just as Nagi finally regained control of his chakra, Deidara's bombs rained down.
The next moment, a series of muffled, continuous explosions began inside the prison. The shockwaves, with nowhere to go, shot out the top. The thick walls buckled, cracked, and then... disintegrated.
A human-shaped object was thrown out with the debris.
Nagi Minazuki was still alive, but his Bijuu shroud was gone, his body slammed against all four walls. He had one breath left.
Deidara, seeing him, didn't even check. He just dropped another flock of clay birds on him.
This time, Nagi Minazuki's body was blown to pieces.
Terumī Mei, who was being suppressed by Ōnoki's Dust Release, couldn't help.
Mangetsu Hōzuki, having lost his main advantage, didn't dare re-engage Ikura.
Seeing Nagi-san die, Darui knew he was next. Deidara was already turning toward him.
He knew he couldn't survive being ganged up on. He didn't want to die like the Third Raikage, taking down only a few regular ninja.
He made his decision. He stopped trying to escape.
"Killer B!" he roared. "Run!"
Then, he charged directly at Kawakita, who was still his primary opponent.
Seeing Darui was staying behind, Terumī Mei and Mangetsu Hōzuki, who were already pulling back, didn't hesitate. They fled.
Ōnoki and Ikura didn't pursue. They, along with Deidara, turned and converged on Darui's position.
Darui was desperate, launching a suicide attack.
His Lightning Armor was faster than Kawakita. He slammed into him.
Kawakita's sword pierced Darui's shoulder, but Darui ignored the wound and drove his fist into Kawakita's chest.
Kawakita, his body not durable, was sent flying, badly injured.
Darui charged again, ignoring the sword still in his shoulder.
Kawakita, still in the air, couldn't dodge.
But just as Darui was about to land the killing blow, his body froze.
At the same time, an invisible force (Banshō Ten'in) yanked Kawakita's body out of the way.
Darui's lunge missed. He realized what had happened. The Yamanaka clan's Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu.
So that's it... Our commander...
He now understood why they had lost. But he didn't turn to find the caster. His eyes were still locked on Kawakita.
He stabilized himself, preparing to charge again.
But a beam of white light—Ōnoki's Dust Release—forced him to dodge.
When he looked again, he charged Kawakita a third time.
He punched... but his fist passed right through. Genjutsu!
He broke it and saw Kawakita, now sitting up, ten meters to his left.
Kawakita, sitting on the ground, suddenly, weakly, swung his hand in Darui's direction.
Darui instinctively felt he should dodge.
But the sword in his shoulder suddenly vibrated, shattering his chakra control. He was frozen for an instant.
The next second, an invisible blade of wind, barely perceptible even to sensors, sliced diagonally through his body.
Darui's body shuddered. He looked down in disbelief.
A red line appeared, running from his right shoulder to his left abdomen.
He wasn't thinking about death. He was thinking, My Lightning Armor... was broken... just like that?
Kawakita... was already on the ground, beaten. How...
Darui's upper body began to slide off. His last thought was, Did he... die too?
Kawakita, after that final, impossible swing, had collapsed.
"Medics! Get over here!" Ōnoki roared.
The medics stabilized Kawakita, but he was badly wounded.
Ōnoki and Ikura decided to leave Deidara, Rōshi, and Natsuki with the 3,000-man army to guard the injured Kawakita.
He, Ikura, and Han would pursue the main Kumo army.
They had to be wary of Killer B, who had escaped during the chaos (leaving a tail-clone behind to be "defeated" by Han and Rōshi).
After Ōnoki left, Natsuki took command.
She had the bodies of Darui and Nagi Minazuki collected and sealed. The blood was cleansed with fire.
The army then returned to the warship, where Kawakita received proper medical treatment.
(End of Chapter)
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