Raikage issued the order, and the Cloud ninjas, eager to escape their opponents, quickly withdrew from the area where Yamata no Orochi could strike.
With the fortress destroyed, they no longer had any reason to stay and fight.
The Konoha ninjas didn't pursue them too aggressively. Despite their victory, they were still outnumbered by the Cloud ninjas, so they remained cautious and allowed the defeated side to retreat.
As the Fourth Raikage disappeared from the battlefield, Orochimaru dismissed the 'Yamata no Orochi' technique, a mocking smile curling on his lips.
Fugaku appeared beside him and asked, "Sir, are we going to support Shisui and the others?"
"No need," Orochimaru replied. "We're heading to the fake fortress, just as planned."
Orochimaru licked his lips and turned to the gathered ninjas. "Let's go!"
"Yes, Sir!" The Konoha ninjas responded eagerly, their morale high from the recent victory. Despite their exhaustion, they followed Orochimaru's lead without hesitation.
---
Unlike Konoha, the mood among the Cloud ninjas was much lower. Despite their numerical advantage, the difficult terrain had caused them to struggle, eventually falling into a disadvantage.
They had suffered heavy losses and gained nothing. To make matters worse, the fortress they thought was real had turned out to be a decoy.
"Brother, where do we go now? Yugito hasn't returned yet," Killer Bee panted, his eyes heavy with fatigue. "Maybe the stronghold she was supposed to destroy was the real one. We should go support her."
This wasn't the first time Konoha had used camouflaged fortresses on the battlefield. The Cloud had some understanding of the tactic—one real fortress, two fake ones. Now that one fake fortress had been destroyed, only two remained.
"This isn't important," the Raikage said, shaking his head. "With the state of our village's ninjas, we can't afford two more battles."
Killer Bee was quiet for a moment. If another battle occurred, the Raikage's authority could still keep the ninjas' spirits up, but pushing forward a second time would be a much harder task.
"Besides," the Raikage continued, glancing back, "we don't know how many fake fortresses Konoha has built."
That was just one reason for his hesitation. The real issue was Orochimaru's reckless attitude.
While the two armies clashed, some things were bound to slip through the cracks. And as commander, the Raikage couldn't help but notice how little Orochimaru seemed to care about the loss of his own forces.
Recalling earlier intel, Fourth Raikage couldn't help but sneer. Most of Orochimaru's forces were composed of Uchiha from the Konoha Security Force—an indication of just how fragile the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village had become.
"Konoha... how fitting," he muttered coldly.
In the distance, a beam of radiant light pierced the night sky once again—identical to the one before. The Raikage narrowed his eyes. The pattern confirmed his suspicions.
He immediately dispatched a jonin team to support Yugito, then turned back with the rest of his forces to regroup at their stronghold.
Far behind, the Hyūga clan—watching the retreat of Kumo's shinobi—chose not to pursue. Instead, they made their way toward the agreed rendezvous.
Not long after, back at the main force, Hinata Hyūga gave her report. "Lord Orochimaru, the Kumo shinobi didn't return—they've withdrawn."
Fugaku stepped forward. "Lord Orochimaru, shall we assist Shisui and the others?"
Shisui was a prodigy of the Uchiha. Fugaku wasn't eager to see him fall unless it was absolutely necessary.
"No need," Orochimaru replied calmly, still tinkering with the barrier seal embedded in the fake fortress. A faint smile curled his lips. "Time is running out."
By now, Kakashi and Shisui should have split up and reached the real fortress. But no message had come—no success, no failure.
Orochimaru wasn't surprised by this silence. On the battlefield, anything could happen. He couldn't afford to stake everything on their mission.
In truth, he had considered them dead the moment they were deployed.
Even someone as powerful as Jiraiya had nearly perished on more than one occasion—such was the nature of war.
Of course, if word came that Shisui had died, Orochimaru would not hesitate to abandon the front lines to retrieve his Sharingan—especially if it had awakened into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
---
"Haa…"
Shisui, whose eyes Orochimaru coveted, cut down the last Kumo ninja with a clean slash. He glanced around the field. With no enemies left, he let out a slow, tired breath.
"With the scouts gone, Kumo won't be able to track Kakashi-senpai anymore."
Just as Orochimaru predicted, their mission had taken a turn. They hadn't expected Kumo to send Yugito—the Two-Tails' jinchūriki—after them.
If not for their prior drills and the Uchiha clan's training against massive foes, as well as mastering the Fire Formation technique, they might have been overwhelmed when facing the tailed beast's fury.
Even then, the barrier originally meant to stall a few jonin was barely holding against the power of a tailed beast.
Afraid of being isolated and picked off, the team couldn't afford to split up.
Eventually, once Yugito's chakra began to wane, Kakashi led the barrier team toward the real fortress.
Shisui and a few Uchiha jonin remained behind at the decoy, keeping Yugito occupied.
And now, he'd hunted down and eliminated the scout-type Kumo shinobi who had been tailing them—to ensure Kakashi's path stayed clear.
Suddenly—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A massive rumble echoed across the field.
Shisui turned sharply. His face tightened.
Not far off, Yugito had re-entered her tailed beast form. The massive blue-flamed feline roared to life once more, slamming its claws against the red barrier without pause.
Each strike cracked the surface of the protective wall. It wouldn't hold much longer.
Shisui clenched his jaw. He had a choice.
He could unleash Susano'o, but doing so would expose his Mangekyō Sharingan—a risk with heavy consequences.
After all, this war had started because the Nine-Tails had been manipulated. The Uchiha were already under suspicion.
Revealing that he possessed the Mangekyō now would only fan the flames—and potentially bring ruin to his clan.
"I can't reveal my eyes. I can't use Susano'o."
Resolving himself, Shisui leapt forward. Pressing his palm to the ground, he summoned another layer of crimson chakra. A second, denser barrier rose up around the fortress and the faltering shield.
"Take this chance to recover your chakra!" he shouted to the others.
He didn't know how long he could hold this alone—but it was all he could do now.
Meanwhile, Kakashi's squad finally reached the real fortress.
Just as they began activating its defensive barrier—
A hand emerged from the void and snatched one of the barrier-nin into darkness.
__________
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