Kari stood as the undisputed captain of Iwagakure's elite Explosion Corps, a position earned through blood and devastation.
This formidable shinobi possessed the extraordinarily rare Explosion Release kekkei genkai—a bloodline limit that set him apart from his subordinates who relied on explosive clay. Unlike them, Kari could generate devastating explosions directly through his chakra, without any medium or catalyst. Every movement, every gesture could become an instrument of destruction.
This fundamental difference in combat methodology made Kari one of the most dangerous shinobi on any battlefield. Where others needed preparation and materials, he required only the will to destroy.
Shihouin Naraku's cold gaze swept across the battlefield and locked onto the Explosion Corps captain. Such obvious scrutiny did not go unnoticed.
Their eyes met across the war-torn valley, and invisible sparks seemed to crackle between them—predator recognizing predator.
"Die, you bastard!"
Kari's fist slammed into the ground with explosive force. His Explosion Release chakra poured through the point of impact, racing through the earth toward Naraku's position. The ground beneath the black-clad warrior suddenly erupted in a pillar of flame and destruction.
"BOOM!"
The explosion shook the entire battlefield. The devastating blast cratered the earth and sent nearby shinobi tumbling through the air like leaves in a hurricane. Smoke and debris created an impenetrable curtain where Naraku had stood.
Kari's experienced eyes scanned the destruction, knowing better than to assume such a simple attack could fell an opponent of this caliber. His senses stretched outward, searching for any sign of movement.
"Whoosh!"
Shihouin Naraku materialized behind Kari as if stepping out of thin air. Kurikara traced a perfect arc through space, its black blade leaving deep crimson lines across the Explosion Release user's body before he could even begin to react.
"AAAHHH!"
Agony ripped through Kari's nervous system as blood sprayed from multiple wounds. His half-formed counterattack died stillborn, his fist unclenching as pain overwhelmed his concentration.
Naraku stepped forward with fluid grace, driving his shoulder into Kari's chest with bone-crushing force. The impact launched the Rock jonin skyward, his body spinning helplessly through the air.
Before the other Explosion Corps members could move to assist their captain, Naraku had already vanished from his position. He reappeared above the airborne Kari, moving faster than the eye could follow.
Kurikara pierced through armor, flesh, and bone with surgical precision, finding Kari's heart in a single thrust. But the blade's work wasn't finished. Flames erupted from the weapon, racing through Kari's body via the wound channel. His internal organs were reduced to ash in an instant, ensuring no medical ninjutsu could save him.
The captain of the Explosion Corps experienced only a moment of searing agony before death claimed him completely. His reign of terror had ended in the span of a few heartbeats.
"YOU BASTARD!"
"Kill him!"
"Avenge Captain Kari!"
The remaining members of the Explosion Corps converged on Naraku's position with murderous intent. The air itself seemed to ignite as multiple Explosion Release users unleashed their bloodline limits simultaneously. The continuous roar of detonations created a symphony of destruction that echoed across the valley.
The ground disintegrated under the barrage, massive craters appearing where each blast struck. Smoke and pulverized earth created a choking miasma that obscured all vision.
Yet every attack found only empty air. Naraku's speed had transcended normal human limitations. Like an arrow loosed from a divine bow, he shot forward into the heart of the Explosion Corps formation.
His arrival among them was announced by screams and the wet sound of steel meeting flesh. Naraku moved through their ranks like a force of nature—unstoppable, inevitable, merciless. Bodies flew through the air, cast aside by the sheer momentum of his passage. Blood painted abstract patterns across the scorched earth while death cries created a macabre chorus.
Left turn. Step forward. Spin. Leap.
His movements flowed together like a deadly dance, each step perfectly calculated, each swing of Kurikara claiming another life. The Explosion Corps members—elite shinobi who had trained for years to master their devastating techniques—fell like wheat before the scythe. Not one could mount even a token defense. Not one survived longer than a single exchange.
In mere moments—the time it takes to draw a few breaths—Naraku had systematically exterminated the entire Explosion Corps. Where once stood Iwagakure's most feared special unit, now lay only corpses and silence.
"Hahaha! If I'm dying, you're coming with me!"
One Rock shinobi, blood frothing from his mouth, clung to life through sheer force of will. His hands clutched a massive sphere of explosive clay that he'd been preparing throughout the battle. Chakra poured into the deadly creation, bringing it to the very edge of detonation. Even in death, he would claim his killer.
"BANG!"
The explosive clay began to glow with pre-detonation heat, wisps of flame already dancing across its surface. In another heartbeat, it would explode with enough force to level a city block.
Naraku's foot came down.
The dying Rock shinobi watched in horrified disbelief as his ultimate technique—the product of years of training and his final act of defiance—was crushed into harmless mud beneath Naraku's heel. A tiny flame, no larger than a candle's, flickered briefly where the explosive should have detonated, then died without fanfare.
"Slash!"
Kurikara swept horizontally, separating the Rock shinobi's head from his shoulders while his face still wore an expression of absolute shock. With his death, the last member of Iwagakure's Explosion Corps joined his comrades in oblivion.
The elite unit that Iwagakure had invested countless resources in developing, that had taken years to train and decades to perfect, had been annihilated in less time than it takes to burn a stick of incense.
Naraku flicked his wrist, an unnecessary gesture since Kurikara's blade never seemed to retain blood despite the carnage it wrought. His cold gaze swept across the battlefield, taking in the remaining Rock shinobi who watched him with undisguised terror.
"What are you waiting for?!" Naraku's voice cracked like a whip across the battlefield. "You have thirty minutes! Eliminate every Rock shinobi!"
"BOOM!"
An invisible force exploded outward from Naraku—his Conqueror's Haki unleashed without restraint. The spiritual pressure crashed down upon the Rock forces like a mountain falling from the heavens, crushing their will to fight.
The sky itself seemed to darken in response to Naraku's unleashed willpower. His indomitable spirit manifested as a physical force, waves of pressure radiating outward in visible distortions. The air crackled with black and crimson lightning, reality itself protesting against the overwhelming presence.
The intangible pressure transformed into tangible force, spreading across the battlefield in devastating waves. Hurricane winds erupted from nothing, and the earth trembled as if in fear. The display of power resembled divine wrath more than any mortal technique.
This apocalyptic manifestation shattered what remained of the Rock forces' morale. One by one, then in groups, then in droves, Rock shinobi collapsed where they stood. Their consciousness fled before Naraku's overwhelming spiritual pressure, leaving them as helpless as newborns.
Only the strongest-willed jonin and special forces members remained standing, though even they swayed under the assault. Their faces showed not determination but desperation—the look of those who know they face certain death but cannot bring themselves to surrender.
"Kill!"
Naraku sheathed his spiritual pressure as suddenly as he'd released it, then raised Kurikara in a gesture of command.
"CHARGE!"
"FORWARD!"
The Konoha forces needed no further encouragement. They surged past Naraku like a tide of green and steel, crashing into the demoralized and decimated Rock forces with renewed vigor.
Naraku remained motionless, a statue of death watching as his allies swept through the enemy ranks. Though exhausted from prolonged combat, the Leaf shinobi faced little resistance. The Rock forces had been broken—first by Naraku's devastating arrival, then by the systematic slaughter of their elite units, and finally by the crushing weight of his Haki.
What followed was less a battle than a rout. The Rock shinobi—now numbering less than a third of their original strength—could mount no organized defense. They fell in droves, their defeat transforming into complete annihilation.
Even for Loess, son of the Third Tsuchikage himself, such catastrophic losses would be impossible to explain or justify.
"GET BACK!"
"OUT OF MY WAY!"
Loess fought with desperate fury, channeling every ounce of his remaining strength in an attempt to break free from Jiraiya's grasp. But his efforts were futile. The Toad Sage had become an immovable obstacle, denying him any chance to aid his dying forces.
Loess could only watch in impotent rage as the nightmare unfolded before him. First, the falling comet that had devastated his army's formation. Then Naraku's systematic extermination of his elite troops. Now the complete collapse of his remaining forces under the Leaf's counterattack.
Everything he had built, everything he had fought for, crumbled before his eyes like a sand castle before the tide.
Their roles had completely reversed from the battle's beginning. Where once Jiraiya had fought desperately to prevent Konoha's annihilation, now he needed only to keep Loess occupied. With Naraku's arrival tipping the scales so dramatically, the Sannin could afford to fight defensively, conservatively, denying Loess any opportunity to influence the broader battle.
The Sage Mode that Jiraiya had been preparing was no longer necessary. The battle was already won.
Particularly after witnessing the complete destruction of the Rock forces, Jiraiya abandoned all urgency. Nothing Loess could do now would change the outcome. His struggles were those of a drowning man—desperate but ultimately futile.
"Rasengan!"
With Gamahiro providing the opening, Jiraiya formed the spiraling sphere of chakra in his palm and drove it into Loess's guard. The compressed chakra detonated on impact, its rotational force shredding through defenses and flesh alike.
"BLAGH!"
Blood erupted from Loess's mouth as the technique ravaged his body. His strength, already depleted from prolonged combat, finally began to fail. Though his spirit remained unbroken, his body betrayed him. Each movement came slower than the last, each technique weaker than before.
Anyone watching could see the truth—Loess had reached his limit.
Jiraiya genuinely respected warriors like Loess, shinobi whose will remained strong even in the face of certain defeat. But respect had no place on the battlefield. Here, enemies received only one mercy: a quick death.
With a gesture, Jiraiya dismissed Gamahiro. The giant toad's work was done; what remained required no assistance.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Across the battlefield, the last pockets of resistance crumbled. Every skirmish concluded with Leaf victory. Now only the duel between commanders remained—Jiraiya and Loess locked in their final dance.
"Tap!"
Shihouin Naraku descended from above, his feet touching down with deliberate softness. He positioned himself to observe the final confrontation, his presence alone enough to drain what little hope might have remained in Loess's heart.
The son of the Tsuchikage fought on, but everyone present knew the outcome was no longer in question.
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