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"Suigetsu, are there any more wounded out there?" Hozuki Mangetsu emerged from the medical unit and called out to Suigetsu, who had just returned.
"None left," Suigetsu replied, bracing his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. The fog was far too thick. He had searched the area three times before he was satisfied that no injured shinobi had been overlooked.
"And your own wounds?"
Suigetsu shook his head. "There aren't enough medical ninja to go around. I just bandaged myself up as best I could."
Mangetsu stepped forward and took hold of Suigetsu's arm. Blood had already soaked through the makeshift bandages.
"It's really not a big deal," Suigetsu said, flashing a pained grin. "Just surface wounds. Not like they're going to kill me."
Mangetsu let out a heavy sigh.
"The Hidden Mist Village has been secured, but the Akatsuki... I wonder how the battle on the front lines is going?" Suigetsu murmured, his voice thick with worry.
"We have to trust in Lady Mizukage... in Mei Terumi. If even she can't turn the tide..." Mangetsu shook his head, leaving the sentence unfinished. His body was no longer capable of the kind of heroic, tide-turning feats that Mei Terumi could perform.
Suigetsu was just about to offer words of comfort when a piercing, blood-curdling scream sliced through the dense fog.
"What was that?!" Mangetsu demanded, instantly alert.
Suigetsu leaped onto the rooftop. The fog was so thick that he could barely see what was happening. All he could discern were Mist shinobi stumbling backward out of the mist, their faces contorted in terror. With them came a relentless chorus of agonized screams.
Suigetsu's nerves stretched taut. His fingers brushed against the kunai strapped to his thigh, each one wrapped with an explosive tag. And then, one after another, pale white figures began to emerge from the fog. In the blink of an eye, as far as Suigetsu could see, the only things moving were the handful of retreating Mist shinobi—and an uncountable horde of White Zetsu.
"Big brother... we've got company," Suigetsu said through gritted teeth, sweat beading on his forehead.
...
Dozens of large ships were cutting through the open sea.
The Hidden Mist Village was perpetually shrouded in fog, and over the water, the mist grew even denser. Under these conditions, the ships were forced to proceed with extreme caution. They could not afford to drift too far apart, lest they lose sight of one another entirely. Yet they also could not sail too close together, for fear of collision. The advance force had already departed long ago, carrying nearly all of the Kage-level shinobi with it. Its combined combat strength far exceeded that of the reinforcements now making their way across the sea. If even that vanguard could not handle the Akatsuki, then this second wave would have no choice but to fight with the grim resolve of those already prepared to die.
That was the unspoken thought weighing on the heart of every shinobi aboard those ships.
"How much longer until we make landfall?!" Mifune demanded, turning to a Mist shinobi whose body shimmered with a faint blue chakra.
The Hidden Mist Village was isolated from the other shinobi villages—so much so that when the Mizukage had fallen under enemy control, the outside world had remained utterly unaware. To navigate these treacherous, fog-bound waters safely, they needed someone intimately familiar with the sea routes.
"Approximately... twenty nautical miles remain," the "guide" replied, opening his eyes.
"Signal the other ships! Have them follow directly behind us!" Mifune raised his arm and barked the order to the shinobi stationed nearby.
The Hidden Mist Village lay just ahead. The great battle was at hand...
Mifune was no stranger to war. He had fought in the Second Great Ninja War and had even faced Hanzo himself—though his performance in that encounter was less than stellar. Still, even a warrior of his experience felt a knot of tension tightening in his chest at the thought of the battle to come. A conflict that even the Kage-level shinobi of the Five Great Villages could not resolve... how could such a war possibly end quickly or cleanly?
Moments later, the shinobi he had dispatched returned in a hurry. "Lord Mifune..."
"What is it?" Mifune turned sharply.
The shinobi's face was pale with alarm. "We've lost contact... Two of the ships have gone silent..."
"What—"
A sudden, agonized scream cut off Mifune's words. He spun towards the source of the cry, only to see a shinobi crumpled on the deck, his body drenched in blood.
"Who are you?!" Mifune demanded, his hand flying to the hilt of his blade as he stared at the figure before him—a creature whose entire body was a stark, unnatural white.
"White Zetsu. Now die!" the creature shrieked.
Over a hundred pale silhouettes erupted from the fog, lunging at the nearby shinobi with savage ferocity. Mifune's eyes blazed with fury. The identity of these creatures and their connection to the Akatsuki no longer mattered. There was only one path left for them—
"Counterattack!" Mifune roared, drawing his sword and cutting down the nearest White Zetsu in a single, fluid stroke.
...
"That troublesome brat... he really knows how to make things difficult for me. Still, with these specimens in hand, things should become considerably simpler."
Orochimaru cast his gaze around the area. As far as the eye could see, the battlefield was a scene of utter devastation. The dozens of White Zetsu that had swarmed him now lay scattered as corpses. Only a handful remained alive, groaning in low, agonized tones on the ground.
He had been searching for White Zetsu for some time, but the creatures had always managed to elude him. Now that they had willingly thrown themselves at him, there was no way he would let such a golden opportunity slip through his fingers.
"These specimens... they should allow those old-timers to unleash their full potential, don't you think?" Orochimaru mused, looking down at the White Zetsu that were still alive.
He had not particularly wanted to follow Midorima's instructions—especially if it meant facing the Third Hokage again. But he also did not wish to remain indebted to Midorima. And besides, the threat posed by the Akatsuki was not something Midorima could necessarily resolve on his own. The emergence of the White Zetsu army meant the Akatsuki had already begun their endgame. The time remaining to him was growing desperately short.
"I just hope he doesn't get himself killed before I'm ready... Wait, what does his life or death have to do with me anyway?" Orochimaru rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, then promptly dismissed the thought from his mind.
...
The sudden appearance of the White Zetsu army had completely surrounded the Allied Shinobi Forces, Midorima included.
The Raikage was the first to voice his displeasure. He charged headlong into the enemy ranks, plunging into the chaotic melee. Killer B, fighting alongside the Eight-Tails, matched his brother's ferocity and carved a bloody gap through the White Zetsu lines. But the White Zetsu army, seemingly infinite in number, surged forward like a relentless flood and instantly sealed the breach.
The Raikage smashed two White Zetsu to pieces, only to find even more of them blocking his path.
"Damn it! Why are there so many of these disgusting things?!" the Raikage roared in frustration. He was strong—undeniably so. But even he could not withstand an endless, unceasing tide of enemies. His chakra would eventually run dry. If he could not slaughter these White Zetsu before that happened, then the one who died here would be him.
"Where are our reinforcements?!" Onoki shouted from his position hovering in the air. Immediately, over a dozen White Zetsu leaped high into the sky, converging on him from all sides.
The earth trembled. A thunderous, grinding roar drowned out the sounds of battle below. Then, the ground bulged upward, and a colossal fist of stone erupted from the earth, slamming down with devastating force upon the White Zetsu swarming around Onoki. The impact reduced the attackers to scattered fragments. But before Onoki could even catch his breath, the remaining White Zetsu had already launched a fresh assault.
"Not yet! But they should be arriving soon. We just need to hold on a little longer!" Jiraiya had summoned Gamabunta onto the battlefield. Against an enemy force of this sheer magnitude, the colossal toad was far more effective.
"That's certainly easier said than done!" Onoki snapped, scanning the battlefield around him. Tsunade, Kakashi, and the others had already vanished into the thick fog. Because of the medical unit, Tsunade was obliged to stay close to the wounded, ensuring their safety. Meanwhile, the rest of them had no choice but to hold the line against the White Zetsu's relentless onslaught.
"Where is Midorima?" Onoki noticed the young shinobi's absence. "Don't tell me he's gone to protect Tsunade?"
"More likely, he's gone after Uchiha Itachi," Jiraiya replied, his gaze fixed on the distance. Even the thick, white fog could not obscure the crimson giant's towering form. Yet, even from here, it was clear that the red Susanoo was beginning to show signs of exhaustion.