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Thanks to the intervention of the Kazekage and the Tsuchikage, the immense pressure bearing down on Killer B had dropped precipitously, granting him a precious moment to catch his breath.
The instant he reverted back to his human form, the Raikage swiftly closed the distance to his side and muttered urgently into his ear, "How are you holding up?"
"A bit worn out," Killer B admitted, exhaling a long, ragged breath. For once, his speech pattern had become almost normal.
"We don't have the luxury of time to keep tangling with this monster," the Raikage stated, getting straight to the point.
"What's the plan, then?" Killer B asked, shooting his brother a puzzled look.
The Raikage leaned in and muttered a few concise words directly into his ear. In a flash, Killer B's eyes flew wide open. It was as though his entire body had been instantaneously flooded with a surge of renewed, explosive energy. Even the cadence of his speech shifted in response. "You're absolutely sure we can take this thing down?"
"We have to at least try."
"Fine by me. It's been a long, long time since you and I teamed up like this." Killer B pounded his fists together, his face alight with fierce, unbridled exhilaration.
Despite holding the esteemed title of Kazekage, Baki's combat prowess still lagged somewhat behind the other shinobi of equivalent rank. The techniques he unleashed struggled to pose any significant, direct threat to Satori. Onoki's assaults, by contrast, were ferociously potent. Each strike he launched forced Satori to break off its attack and adjust its position. However, Earth Release techniques were inherently not as nimble and fluid as those of Wind Release. Onoki's consecutive, powerful barrages were consistently evaded by Satori's uncanny, high-speed reflexes.
"Attacks of that caliber are utterly useless against me!" Satori roared at Baki in contempt.
Baki's face was a mask of dark, simmering frustration. He was, of course, acutely aware of the disparity between himself and the other commanders. But as the Kazekage—even if only in a temporary capacity—he could not afford to take a single step backward. He represented the entirety of the Hidden Sand Village. Furthermore, he had to buy precious time for Onoki.
Just as Baki was steeling himself to resume his relentless assault, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble violently. "Lord Tsuchikage, please exercise caution! This is not solid land. If you unleash a technique that is too overwhelmingly powerful, you risk striking the sea turtle itself!" Baki whirled around to warn Onoki, only to find that a colossal rock golem had materialized directly behind him. Its sheer size was not the slightest bit inferior to Satori's.
This... this is simply too enormous!
Before Baki could even fully process his astonishment at the gargantuan rock construct, the golem had already launched its attack. It surged forward, its massive body lunging to grapple with Satori.
"I have already told you! Your attacks cannot hope to touch me!"
Satori rapidly gained altitude, cleanly sidestepping the rock golem's charge. Onoki's assault was undeniably threatening, but its execution speed was not particularly fast. Dodging it was not an excessively difficult feat. An attack that could not connect with its target was, in effect, no different from no attack at all.
Satori had only just evaded the rock golem's colossal swinging fist and was preparing to mount a counter-offensive when it suddenly perceived a long, extending staff come crashing down upon it from above. "So, you resort to underhanded sneak attacks!"
Satori possessed the ability to read the inner thoughts of humans and perceive the imminent approach of danger. However, when its attention was intensely focused on one or a small number of individuals, it was still susceptible to momentary distractions. Furthermore, when the number of future threats became too numerous and chaotic, it could also interfere with its predictive judgment.
Hiruzen gripped his Adamantine Staff tightly. He was not the least bit surprised when Satori managed to evade his strike. Although the blow had been a surprise attack, he had not expected it to land a decisive hit in a single stroke. After all, Satori was no ordinary adversary. To achieve victory over it, they had to unleash wave after wave of relentless, unceasing攻势, leaving it with no opportunity to focus or retaliate.
Following Hiruzen's execution of the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, Satori found itself instantly engulfed by a seemingly infinite storm of shuriken. Yet, with its unholy perception, it managed to slip through and evade every single one. A sudden, violent gale then whipped into a raging tornado, trapping Satori within its spiraling vortex.
"Such soft, pathetic attacks are entirely ineffective against me!" Satori bellowed defiantly, attempting to smash its way through the wind barrier and burst free. But at that precise, critical moment, the gale abruptly ceased. In an instant, the sky within a hundred-meter radius was swept completely clear of all mist and haze. Simultaneously, an overwhelming, visceral sense of imminent, mortal danger crashed down upon Satori.
Two streaks of lightning, one after the other, materialized directly beside it in rapid, blinding succession. Even though it could sense the approach of the fatal peril, the sheer, absolute speed of the two attackers was simply too great. Satori was granted not even the smallest fraction of a second to dodge.
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"
In perfect, synchronized unison, Killer B and the Raikage struck with devastating, pinpoint precision at the most slender and vulnerable part of Satori's anatomy—the unnaturally narrow waist connecting its massive thorax to its lower limbs.
"GRRROOOOAAAARRR..."
Satori threw its chest back and unleashed an earsplitting, agonized howl from its cavernous maw. The sound was so piercing and torturous that the majority of the shinobi on the ground were forced to clamp their hands over their ears, yet the shrill, drilling shriek seemed intent on boring straight through their eardrums regardless.
But the four commanders encircling Satori did not remain idle. Baki employed his Wind Release to cushion the descent of Killer B and the Raikage as they fell from the sky. Hiruzen instantly executed the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique once more. This time, enhanced and accelerated by the Gale Palm technique, the shuriken's velocity was more than doubled.
They closed the distance to Satori in the blink of an eye. Satori, still writhing in agony, managed to dodge them by the narrowest of margins, only to find itself abruptly encased and immobilized within a translucent, geometric cube. It thrashed and struggled, attempting to shatter the confining barrier, but quickly realized that escape was utterly impossible. At the same moment, an indescribable, searing agony began to radiate outward from its very core, spreading relentlessly through its entire form. Its body felt as though it were on the verge of crumbling into dust at any second.
"Wh-what... what is this?!" Satori howled in bewildered torment.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!" Onoki roared, unleashing his signature, ultimate technique.
The translucent cube blazed with a blinding, incandescent radiance in mid-air. That brilliant light pierced through the dense, obscuring fog and radiated far, far into the distance. Hiruzen and the others watched the glowing cube, their expressions each a complex tapestry of awe and grim relief. The Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique was capable of disintegrating virtually any form of matter down to a molecular, atomic level. Even a monstrosity like Satori was no exception to its absolute, annihilating power.
By the time the jutsu was released and the light faded, Satori had vanished without a single trace remaining. The Box of Ultimate Bliss sealed itself shut once more, its four masks reverting to their original, inert state, as though it had never been opened at all.
Hiruzen immediately delegated one task to Shikaku—compiling a precise count of the casualties and the wounded—while simultaneously directing the other shinobi to make ready for the impending, inevitable battle. "The Akatsuki has already initiated their assault. This can only mean that the shore is now very close. Barring any unforeseen developments, we will be met with a direct, full-scale attack from the Akatsuki the very moment we make landfall. Therefore, the vanguard assault unit will be under my direct command. Should our advance be stalled, the Raikage, the Kazekage, and the Tsuchikage will move in to provide immediate support!"
As the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Hiruzen would lead from the very front, setting the example with his own life.
"Yes, sir!"
The shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village roared their affirmation in a single, unified, thunderous voice.
...
"It appears the Box of Ultimate Bliss has been successfully suppressed," Pain observed.
"What?! I was under the impression that Satori was supposed to be terrifyingly powerful," Deidara grumbled, his lips twisted in a disdainful pout. "Getting itself killed is one thing, but the real issue is how absurdly fast it went down. It barely lasted long enough for someone to take a piss."
Deidara spat contemptuously onto the ground. He was a man who nursed his grudges fiercely.
"Its opponents were the collective might of the Allied Shinobi Forces," Zetsu countered. "If it had only needed to face a single Kage-level shinobi, it might very well have been able to hold out for considerably longer. But the Allied Forces command more than just one individual of Kage caliber. Being swiftly and decisively annihilated by their combined assault is, all things considered, well within the realm of expectation."
"Have you all mentally prepared yourselves for death?" Itachi interjected coolly. "If Midorima continues to refuse to show himself, do the few of us truly, genuinely believe we can rout the entire Allied Shinobi Forces?"
"What's this? Are you afraid to die?!" Deidara jabbed an accusing finger towards Itachi.
Itachi flicked a brief, withering glance at Deidara, the expression in his eyes precisely that of a man regarding a babbling idiot. He then simply shifted his gaze away. Engaging in conversation with Deidara was nothing but a futile waste of time.
"What is the current status of the situation in the Hidden Mist Village?" Pain inquired.
"The fighting there is unlikely to conclude in a short span of time," Zetsu reported.
"Recall all of them. Have them regroup with us immediately," Pain commanded.
"If we do that, the shinobi of the Hidden Mist Village will inevitably follow close on their heels," Itachi pointed out.
"That is of no consequence. We still have the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path at our disposal. Since this is to be the most pivotal, decisive battle of all, we shall lay every single one of our trump cards bare on the table. The Allied Shinobi Forces may indeed be formidable, but we are by no means weak. This time... let us settle everything, once and for all," Pain declared.