The situation on the battlefield flipped in an instant.
Countless Konoha shinobi were impaled where they stood by spikes erupting from the ground.
Those who survived looked up to see iron walls rising all around them—and a cold, crushing despair gripped their hearts.
Now they not only had to fend off the combined attacks of the Suna and Ame, but also watch for the ground itself turning against them.
"Retreat! Everyone, retreat!" Orochimaru shouted.
He had already realized what was happening—they had fallen straight into a trap.
Thank goodness Tsunade and Jiraiya already pulled back, he thought.
The remaining Konoha forces abandoned the assault on the Sand's encampment, rushing toward Orochimaru's position.
But the metallic spikes piercing the ground began to shift—their points dissolved into loose grains, merging into the surrounding black sand.
From beneath the surface, more iron sand welled up, slithering together like serpents before sweeping across the battlefield.
"Magnet Style: Great Funeral of Iron Sand!"
With the Kazekage's low command, waves of black sand surged upward, swallowing ninja by the dozens.
Yet as the deadly tide rolled, it curved harmlessly around Suna and Ame shinobi, leaving clean rings of untouched ground in their midst.
From afar, Hanzō, observing atop his summoning beast, watched the disaster unfold.
"So this is the Third Kazekage… To manipulate chakra to such precision—even in the chaos of battle—and distinguish friend from foe at this scale… terrifying."
He understood the secret. When the Rain forces had first arrived, the Third Kazekage had dispersed his chakra throughout the battlefield, leaving faint signatures on every allied ninja. The Iron Sand automatically avoided those with his mark.
With the trap sprung, the Suna and Ane army shifted from defense to offense, relentlessly cutting off the Konoha shinobi's retreat.
The Iron Sand raged like venomous snakes, devouring life wherever it passed.
Hanzō narrowed his eyes.
"The Third Kazekage built this in just half a day in the Land of Rain… If he did the same in the Wind Country's endless deserts, tens of thousands could be buried alive in moments."
Even Hanzō shivered at the thought.
"No wonder he's called the strongest Kazekage in history."
---
Amid the carnage, Orochimaru stared at the approaching iron walls and roaring black waves.
A rare flash of fear crossed his golden eyes.
"If this continues, once the barrier closes—we'll all be buried alive…"
He bit his thumb and slammed his hand to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A burst of white smoke exploded outward, revealing the colossal serpent Manda.
"Manda! Smash open a breach—now! I'll make sure you're compensated afterward!"
The giant snake hissed in irritation.
"Tsk, every time you summon me, it's for some miserable mess like this… Fine—but this time, I want a hundred sacrifices."
Orochimaru's voice was calm, almost indifferent.
"Agreed."
Manda's slit pupils darted around the battlefield.
"Hmm… this chakra. Magnet Style… could it be Garaga's contractor?"
As a fellow serpent from Ryūchi Cave, Manda knew of Garaga—a powerful summon once betrayed and maimed by his human partner.
The memory ignited a flicker of rage.
"That fool Garaga was betrayed by his own summoner, lost an eye… pathetic. Still, to think his traitorous human is here—fitting that I'll be the one to crush him."
With a thunderous roar, Manda lunged forward.
The iron wall ahead shattered like paper under his immense body, and another sweep of his tail tore apart a swath of sand and metal.
The raw power of a giant summon instantly changed the terrain. What took dozens of ninja and entire platoons of explosive tags to destroy, Manda accomplished by simply twisting his coils.
"Everyone—retreat through here!" Orochimaru shouted.
The Konoha shinobi, already retreating his way, poured toward the massive opening.
Manda snorted. "That's enough. The barrier will regenerate, but it'll hold long enough for your people to flee. I'm going to find the one behind this technique."
Orochimaru's eyes sharpened. "You can locate the caster?"
"He carries the same Ryūchi Cave contract I do," Manda hissed. "I can sense him."
"Then take me with you," Orochimaru said. "I need to see him for myself."
"Hmph. If you die, don't expect me to save you."
"If that happens, use Reverse Summoning to send me to Ryūchi Cave. I've left a signal there—my comrades will summon me back."
Manda's slit pupils narrowed approvingly.
"Well-prepared, aren't you?"
With that, the serpent dove straight into the Sand camp, Orochimaru vaulting onto its head.
Shuriken, kunai, and torrents of sand struck uselessly against Manda's scales as the behemoth tore through the battlefield.
Those too slow to dodge were sent flying—or crushed beneath its weight.
"Go! Follow Orochimaru-sama's path!" shouted one Konoha jonin.
Manda's rampage carved a massive corridor through the iron barrier, giving dozens the chance to escape.
"There!" Manda hissed, its body plunging into the ground.
—
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Wings!"
A blast ripped through a nearby tent as the Third Kazekage soared skyward.
Two enormous wings of black iron spread behind him like those of a steel bird, crossing before him in a defensive fold as he hovered effortlessly in midair.
At that same instant, the ground burst apart and Manda erupted from below—his massive jaws snapping upward—
but the Kazekage was already too high.
Manda's strike fell short, his body crashing back down.
"I hate being looked down on!" Manda roared, spewing a thick stream of gray mucus upward.
"Magnet Style: Shield of the Rakshasa!"
The Kazekage swept his hands outward, the wings unfurling into a monstrous shield of swirling Iron Sand.
The sky filled with a lattice of metallic strands, weaving into a web that blotted out the clouds.
Manda's venom splattered against the barrier—but the contact transmuted it, turning the sand to stone and sending heavy clumps raining down.
"Damn it!" Manda hissed, the air vibrating with rage.
"Orochimaru, got any jutsu that can reach him?"
Orochimaru's tongue flicked thoughtfully.
"I could, but not enough to break that sand shield. If I time an attack right as you petrify it, though, we might have a chance."
"Are you done talking yet?" the Kazekage's voice cut coldly from above.
"Iron Sand Assault!"
He gestured sharply—the storm of sand condensed into two massive cones of iron, crashing toward them like falling meteors.
"Not good!"
Manda coiled violently, narrowly dodging the impact as the ground exploded.
The two cones slammed into the earth, spinning and reforming into drills that tore back toward them.
"If one of those hits, even Manda will be crippled. And me… I'll be dead," Orochimaru realized grimly.
"Manda! Burrow—Earth Style!"
The serpent dove underground, its massive form vanishing into the soil.
From above, the Kazekage smirked.
"Do you think you can hide? The moment you entered this field, your fate was sealed.
This is my domain. Pets should wear collars—not play hide-and-seek."
The drills froze mid-spin, morphing into two long spears that shot downward like lightning.
The ground split open as Manda burst up again—too late.
One of the iron spears pierced his tail, nailing him to the earth. The serpent's roar of pain shook the valley.
"Let's see where you slither now."
"Iron Sand Drizzle!"
"Iron Sand Scatter!"
The sky itself darkened. Thousands of needles rained down alongside a suffocating cloud of black dust.
"Orochimaru! Don't touch the sand mist—it eats through chakra!" Manda warned, wrenching his tail free with a savage bite.
But as he did, the spear reshaped into a spiked ball. His jaws clamped down—and pain seared through him.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Orochimaru fired a compressed blast of wind at Manda's head, forcing the serpent's mouth open and flinging the spiked mass away.
But the rain of iron needles had already begun.
Orochimaru raised his kunai to shield himself, while Manda—too large to dodge—was struck relentlessly.
The serpent's hide split open in countless places, blood streaming down his massive coils. His tail gushed crimson, leaving a pool in the sand.
Then the black mist descended.
Unlike the needles, it spread like a living poison, blanketing everything.
Orochimaru inhaled—and immediately felt his lungs burning. His chakra circulation faltered.
Even on the skin, it disrupts chakra flow…
He tore a cloth from a scroll and wrapped it around his head and collar to block the haze.
"Clever," came the Kazekage's voice, "but what will you do now?"
"Iron Sand Binding Coffin!"
The ground split apart beneath Manda, and an enormous iron hand erupted upward, clamping around the serpent's throat.
Only then did Orochimaru notice—one of the two spears had vanished.
He used it earlier to hide this trap… Orochimaru realized.
The massive hand extended, wrapping around Manda's head and jaw.
"It's useless," the Kazekage declared. "The whole field is saturated with my Iron Sand. Even underground, I can sense your every move. You can't escape. Die here!"
The sand's grip tightened.
"That's enough, Manda," Orochimaru said quietly. "Return."
The serpent writhed, hissing furiously.
"You damn human! My mouth's sealed this time—but next time, I'll eat you alive!"
Sand flooded into Manda's jaws, muffling his words. He gave a final snarl before dispelling himself.
With a hiss of smoke, the giant serpent vanished—leaving the Iron Sand clutching nothing.
The mass of black metal swirled aimlessly, and Orochimaru dropped lightly to the ground.
"So, only you remain," the Kazekage said coolly.
"Die—Iron Sand Waterfall!"
The Iron Sand surged like a tsunami, engulfing Orochimaru's body—only for it to burst into white smoke.
A faint voice echoed behind the Kazekage's shoulder.
"How unfortunate… maybe next time."
The Kazekage glanced down at the fading smoke. "Reverse Summoning, huh? Escaped after all."
But his expression hardened.
"This battle's outcome is already decided."
He turned toward the opening Manda had smashed earlier and frowned.
"That breach… I let too many escape while I was distracted."
He clapped his hands, and the broken wall began knitting itself back together at visible speed.
"Then the Konoha ninja still trapped inside—none of them will leave alive."
Earlier, he had deliberately held back his power to avoid exposing himself, letting Konoha believe this was a pre-set barrier.
If they bought that lie, he could use it again later for a surprise offensive.
But now that he'd been seen, there was no more need for restraint.
He would strike decisively—and end this war swiftly with an assault on the Land of Fire.
"Iron Sand Great Funeral!"
The Third Kazekage rose above the battlefield, hands raised high.
Tidal waves of black sand surged outward, consuming everything within the barrier.
The screams of Konoha shinobi echoed and faded beneath the storm.
From beyond the barrier, Hanzō watched the endless waves of sand swallowing the field, and murmured in awe,
"This kind of ninjutsu… it was born for war itself."