Though drawing him into taijutsu under the Mist Rain Jutsu's effects was a part of the plan, the man temporarily opted for a more conservative approach and body flickered away, making sure Shiki had a hard time closing the distance while avoiding the Great Shark Bullet pursuing him.
'Cooperating with my act so well? This Third Mizukage might not be as troublesome as I thought!' The boy thought to himself.
It was just a random thought though, he was sure things would not be that easy, reality had already slapped him in the face for his underestimation of his foes.
For now though, Shiki was content to try and close the distance to his opponent while said opponent kept opening that distance up, dragging things out.
But while the boy was finding his own situation manageable, how about the other battlefields?
*
On the sea floor, protected by a barrier dome, the Sixth Elder of the Uzumaki clan controlled a section of the Grand Whirlpool Formation in a struggle against the Three Tailed Jinchuriki who had long lost control and was on a rampage, fully under Isobu' the Tailed Beast's control.
The issue was that the Grand Whirlpool Formation was not really tailored for Tailed Beast suppression.
Not to mention that just because Uzumaki were sealing masters, that did not mean they were all capable of tangling with Tailed BEasts, even the weaker ones.
Sure, an adult Kushina could suppress the strongest Nine Tails all by herself but she had been picked specifically for having the fuinjutsu talent and specially strong and unique chakra required to do so.
Even Kushina, when she was younger, struggled to suppress Kurama when the beast was fully sealed inside her and she had a massive underground sealing formation designed by Mito to help her.
One time this even resulted in her putting a clawed, Version 2 Cloak arm straight through her boyfriend.
Not being nearly as talented and under less than ideal conditions, such as being in the Three Tails' preferred environment, meant that the Sixth Elder was expectedly struggling with his task.
He was far from helpless though.
While Elder was finding it impossible to take down Isobu, he also prevented the Tailed Beast from running away or even using its Tailed Beast Bomb, something which it had attempted multiple times already.
Fortunately, unlike the Eight and Nine Tails who could charge and fire their Tailed Beast Bombs like a machine gun, most of their siblings required a brief charging period before firing theirs, allowing for their opponents to interrupt them before the jutsu was ready.
The end result was a rather interesting stalemate.
'Water Release: Great Water Mass'
Unable to find openings to charge a Tailed Beast Bomb, Isobu chose to fire barrages of colossal, dense water bullets.
These masses rushed through the sea faster than they would through the air owing to the Tailed Beast's mastery of Water Release.
With impeccable focus, the Sixth Elder engaged the Grand Whirlpool Formation not to stop but to divert the attacks into open sea, away from the sea floor where the formation was set up.
Previously, Isobu used this slight interval to try and activate his Rough Sea Barrier, an enormous bubble-like gate to a personal dimension where the Tailed Beast could hide for as long as it wished.
The moment an attempt was made however, the Uzumaki Elder channeled his fuinjutsu through the Grand Whirlpool Formation to reinforce the surrounding space in the gate's vicinity, shutting it in Isobu's face.
So the beast changed tactics.
Tailed Beast Bombs could not be charged, escapes to his own dimension could not be enacted, its Great Water Masses were not potent enough to decide the fight . . .
There was only one option remaining.
Scattering the defensive powers of the Grand Whirlpool Formation with another barrage of Great Water Masses, Isobu made his move.
'Shell Spear'
Retracting fully into its shell and curling up, the Tailed Beast launched itself as a bullet towards the Sixth Elder's position.
Focused on redirecting the Great Water Masses, the Uzumaki could not gather the formation's defensive power quickly enough and so, the rapidly spinning shell tore right through.
At the last second, he managed to slightly alter its trajectory, saving himself from a direct impact but unfortunately, the shockwave from the turtle crashing into the seafloor not only sent the elder flying through the sea, it caused an earthquake.
One powerful enough to cause heavy localized damage to the Grand Whirlpool Formation.
The stalemate was broken.
Without the formation's assistance, the Sixth Elder would be unable to effectively control the Three Tails.
But then . . . A silhouette covered in dense, dark crimson chakra appeared on the sea floor . . .
*
So on Shiki and the Sixth Elder's side, things were manageable.
For the First Elder who was locked in single combat with the Third Raikage, the situation was less than ideal but he was holding on.
It were the Second, Third and Fifth Elders that got the short end of the stick, as it were.
Not as in them being at a disadvantage but as in them being squad wiped.
Going back a little while . . .
Things were looking good at the start.
The Second Elder fought Han, the Five Tailed Jinchuriki.
The Fifth Elder blocked Onoki's long ranged attacks that targeted his companions.
And finally, the Third Elder had free reign to rampage within Iwa's forces.
That's how it was at the start.
But the Tsuchikage was no fool to let the situation remain like so.
Banking on the fact that the Elders of the Uzumaki could not afford to throw their lives away as the most powerful defenders of Uzushio, Onoki made a callous, well calculated move.
He charged up massively powerful attacks to target the Third Elder without paying any heed to the catastrophic collateral damage his own forces would incur if no one actually blocked them.
The result?
'Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World'
Like an orbital beam descending from the heavens, the Tsuchikage's Dust Release struck relentlessly.
Over and over, Onoki did not spare chakra nor any thought towards his village's shinobi that might die if the enemy failed to block his ninjutsu.
In the same vein, the Iwa Jonin and Elite Jonin on the ground, seemed not to care for their life and death, suicidally attempting to strike down the very man responsible for blocking these indiscriminate attacks by their own Kage.
Soon enough, the Third Elder had to retreat and stick close to the Fifth so he could protect him while he blocked.
Alas, while the Uzumaki had massive chakra reserves, Onoki was no slouch himself and the defense was being far more costly than the attack.
The situation turned around immediately.
While Han held down the Second Elder and prevented him from coming to help, Onoki battered the Third and Fifth Elders who were forced to take turns blocking the relentless assault while Iwa shinobi tried to strike them down at any cost.
Casualties were mounting but with these unconventional tactics, Iwa was now on the verge of victory.
It was at this moment that the three Uzumaki Elders decided to mount a collective retreat.
They had bought plenty of time for the second defense line to be established.
However . . . Would the enemy really let that happen?
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -