Chapter 136: Earth and Lightning 3
Transporting the giant crater all the way into the Land of Earth consumed most of the chakra provided by Onoki's five close retainers. The incident had occurred so suddenly that the Hidden Cloud had not yet discovered their Raikage-sama was already trapped by the Hidden Stone.
Because they had personally witnessed that symbol of invincibility charge directly into the Hidden Stone's formation, they were certain he would return victorious.
Shinobi, so many shinobi had joined the fray. The Hidden Cloud high command, following the Raikage's prior orders, fought and retreated, withdrawing all the way towards the border. They had no idea a larger trap awaited them there.
Onoki genuinely intended to kill the Third Raikage this time, but he had no intention of letting the remaining two thousand Hidden Cloud shinobi escape either.
Exhausted and sleepless from the night battle, the shinobi chased and ran, extracting chakra to unleash ninjutsu, then watched as their comrades died beside them one by one.
Gradually, they finally realized something was wrong.
"Why hasn't the Third Raikage-sama returned yet?!"
"He must still be fighting."
"But we're about to collapse."
"We absolutely cannot become a burden to the Raikage-sama. We must find a way to break out of this encirclement. We are not qualified to participate in the Raikage-sama's battle. I don't believe there's anyone in the Land of Earth who can threaten him!"
"Continue fleeing eastward! We're going to the Land of Waterfalls."
As the Third Raikage's right-hand man, Darui became the supreme leader after the Third Raikage's departure. Having studied combat alongside the Third Raikage since childhood, he had already mastered Black Lightning, as well as Storm Release, a ninjutsu combining Water and Lightning Release.
The current situation wasn't about whether he could lead the troops to wait for the Third Raikage's return, but whether he could lead them to escape the encirclement.
If these 2,000 individuals were to perish in the Land of Lightning, the Hidden Cloud would not only suffer a severe blow but would also lose the initiative in the upcoming war, possibly even being forced to surrender.
The Land of Lightning was currently at war simultaneously with the Three Great Nations: Fire, Water, and Earth.
The other two nations, upon seeing the Land of Earth defeat the Land of Lightning, would certainly not miss the opportunity to carve off a large chunk of the Land of Lightning.
"Lightning Release: Black Panther!"
Darui unleashed a leopard-shaped black lightning from his body, concentrating its attack on a single target before spreading outwards, causing the opponent intense pain and rendering them unable to move.
Although it lacked extreme lethality, it should be enough to make the Hidden Stone hesitant.
The black lightning panther seemed to be amplified by the night, becoming even harder to find and identify. Coupled with the screams of those bitten by the lightning panther, the Hidden Cloud forces momentarily managed to put some distance between themselves and the Hidden Stone.
But that was only a small portion.
The other scattered retreating forces were still continuously being closed in on by the Hidden Stone.
"This won't do!"
"Lord Darui!"
"I'll stay behind to cover our retreat! You all go first!"
The commanded shinobi looked at the pursuing enemies rapidly closing in, gritted his teeth. This was not the time for him to show off. So, he then led the remaining people to continue their retreat forward.
"I've long heard of the courage of the Hidden Cloud shinobi. I never expected that besides the Raikage, there would truly be someone who, as rumored, would disregard their own life and death to cover their comrades' escape."
Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and a traveling monk who had been recalled, emerged from the darkness, looking at the Hidden Cloud shinobi before him, who was facing a formidable enemy, with admiration.
"Who are you?"
"There's no need to announce names on the battlefield. I am Roshi, the Hidden Stone's Four-Tails Jinchuriki. If we hadn't met on the battlefield, with your courage, we surely could have become very good friends."
"Friends? Don't the despicable, sneak-attacking Hidden Stone feel ashamed saying that word?"
"This is war. Moreover, I didn't approve of this sneak attack either, and the Four-Tails doesn't like it. But I can't change the old man's decision, so that's one of the reasons I hate him."
Although speaking words of admiration, Roshi did not let his guard down. The threat posed by this man was significant; he was likely the strongest among these two thousand, apart from the Raikage.
"I'll try to leave your body intact."
"Come at me if you can."
Whenever powerful shinobi clashed, shinobi from any nation would tacitly give them space to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Even in the darkness of night, no fool dared to mistakenly enter their combat range.
His lungs swelled like balloons, and Roshi spat out many lava spheres from his mouth. Each lava sphere was the size of a Great Fireball, appearing like powerful, miniature suns in the night.
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!"
The special ninjutsu brought forth by the Four-Tails was quite a few ranks higher than Fire Release. Such a jutsu was difficult to defend against with single-attribute ninjutsu, and Lightning Release was not a ninjutsu specialized in defense.
The lava spheres were extremely fast. Darui's vision was filled with a fiery red, and the intensely hot air was sucked into his lungs. He used his unrefined Lightning Release Armor to increase his speed, climbing along tree trunks to the treetops. Here, there was far less combustible material than on the ground, which was also more conducive to the effective use of Lightning Release.
Standing on a single branch, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki below did not pursue him. From above, through the gaps in the leaves, Darui could see him emerge from the lava spheres; this ninjutsu caused no harm to Roshi himself.
"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
Storm Release, to put it simply, was guided Lightning Release. Using Water Release as a conductor and catalyst, one must use a Kekkei Genkai to counter a Kekkei Genkai.
With hands clasped, water vapor transformed into laser-like lightning beams, sealing the enemy's retreat path from all directions.
Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, undeterred by the lava and high temperatures, immediately deduced that this was a ninjutsu containing the Water Release nature.
His body was immediately enveloped in lava. This was a defensive method unique to the Four-Tails Jinchuriki—in fact, every Jinchuriki possessed similar special abilities, such as strong acid, sand, and so on.
The only one without a special ability, yet the most powerful, was the Nine-Tails, whose chakra itself possessed extremely potent destructive power.
Unfortunately, Darui's Storm Release attack could only go so far.
The number of shinobi capable of single-handedly fighting a Tailed Beast and a Jinchuriki in the shinobi world could be counted on two hands, but he was not among them. After gaining a brief upper hand in the subsequent stalemate with Roshi, the situation quickly reversed.
This was the advantage of powerful endurance supported by a Tailed Beast; no one could hope to gain an advantage in a war of attrition against them.
Without the ability to gravely injure a Jinchuriki in an instant, unless it was a sealing technique for Madara, defeat was inevitable.
Whether it was an army of shinobi or a single shinobi.
That is why Jinchuriki are regarded as strategic weapons by every village, never to be deployed until a critical moment.
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