Upon hearing the command from the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, the Iwagakure shinobi who had been desperately resisting the rampaging trees didn't hesitate.
"Retreat! Fall back, quickly!"
"Run for your lives!"
"Don't get caught by those trees—move!"
"…"
They had to retreat.
The trees were not only powerful but also unpredictable. No one could tell when or where a wooden spike would erupt from beneath the ground and skewer them instantly. That terrifying uncertainty paralyzed their resolve.
So, when Ōnoki finally gave the order to retreat, the decision was unanimous.
The ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi, who moments ago surged with confidence and killing intent, were now scattering in all directions—like mice fleeing before a predator.
"Lord Raikage—look!"
"The Iwagakure forces... they're retreating!" a Kumogakure shinobi exclaimed, disbelief etched on his face.
While Byakuya's Wood Release had been unleashed upon both armies, the main focus had been on Iwagakure due to their superior numbers. With the Third Raikage personally leading the Kumogakure forces, and several elite jōnin at his side, they were barely managing to stave off the forest's advance.
"Tch! That damn runt Ōnoki," the Third Raikage growled. "I knew he was unreliable."
He wiped the blood from his forehead—the result of Byakuya's brutal earlier assault—and spat in frustration.
"If even he is retreating, why should I stay behind and die?!"
Without another word, the Raikage gave the order. "All units—withdraw!"
But Byakuya had no intention of letting anyone escape.
"You think you can run?" he scoffed.
"Foolish. None of you are leaving here alive."
Byakuya's fingers blurred as he formed seals.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
The earth trembled violently. The ground cracked open, and an enormous serpentine dragon of interwoven trees erupted into the sky, its roar shaking the battlefield.
Byakuya stood tall upon the dragon's crown. But he wasn't finished.
"Susanoo!"
With a surge of chakra, a spectral armor materialized—layer by layer—around the wooden dragon's body. Ethereal ribcages wrapped around the trunk, then limbs, then a full humanoid construct of chakra fused with wood.
It wasn't just a Wood Dragon anymore.
It was a Susanoo-armored beast—a fusion of relentless regeneration and indomitable defense.
Byakuya narrowed his eyes. "Wood Release and Susanoo... they truly complement each other. One endless, one absolute."
Where Wood Release lacked in raw killing power, Susanoo provided overwhelming offense. Where Susanoo was rigid and brittle after damage, Wood Release's regenerative vitality filled in the gaps. Together, they were unstoppable.
"Susaki Ryū, stop them."
The dragon roared and surged forward with incredible speed, its armored body cleaving through the battlefield and cutting off both retreating armies.
"Damn it! It's Uchiha Byakuya again!"
"He's so fast—!"
Both Ōnoki and the Third Raikage tensed.
They had underestimated him.
Neither their defenses nor their numbers could stand up to this terrifying combination of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release. They had hoped to retreat. But Byakuya had sealed their path. He wouldn't allow their escape.
"All Iwagakure forces—prepare for defense! Cast earth-style barriers—now!" Ōnoki commanded sharply.
"Earth Style: Multi-Layered Earth Walls!"
Thousands of shinobi slammed their palms to the ground. The ground trembled violently.
One after another, massive earth walls surged upward, racing toward Byakuya's position like a rising tide of stone.
"It's useless..."
"You're just struggling like an ant."
Byakuya stood motionless atop the head of his towering Susanoo-dragon hybrid, his voice calm and disdainful. The glowing spectral beast—a monstrous fusion of his Susanoo and Wood Release—flicked its massive tail. The reinforced Earth Style walls crumbled like brittle clay under the sheer force, shattered in an instant.
Yet Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, wasn't so naive. He knew well enough that mere Doton techniques couldn't hold back someone who wielded both the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and true Wood Release—the legacy of the First Hokage himself.
Ōnoki never intended to stop Byakuya.
As the Iwagakure shinobi unleashed a barrage of Earth Style jutsu, creating smokescreens and distractions, Ōnoki's voice thundered above the battlefield.
"All units! Fall back immediately!"
"This is not a fight we can win! Get out of here!"
He didn't bother hiding the desperation in his voice. His order wasn't a tactical retreat—it was a full-blown rout.
The battlefield descended into chaos. What remained of the once-confident Iwagakure forces now scattered in all directions like startled birds. Panic took hold, discipline collapsed. These were no longer soldiers—only survivors trying to outrun death.
Ōnoki hovered in the air, his small frame visibly shaking—not from fear, but from the crushing weight of failure.
He had brought Iwagakure's entire military might to bear, seeking to crush Konoha and tip the balance of power.
But now… now, he was on the brink of losing everything.
"If I had known this monster was hiding in the Uchiha clan…"
His heart sank with bitter regret.
Farther across the battlefield, the Third Raikage stared grimly at the carnage. The same realization struck him like thunder: attacking the Land of Fire had been a fatal miscalculation.
"Dodai," he said, his voice grave.
"Take every remaining Cloud-nin and retreat. Head straight back to Kumogakure."
Dodai's eyes widened in alarm. "Raikage-sama, no! I won't abandon you!"
"I'll stay behind and hold off Byakuya."
"You can't be serious! We won't—"
"That's an order!"
His bellow silenced the argument. Dodai clenched his fists, lips trembling with frustration.
The meaning was clear—the Raikage intended to sacrifice himself to buy time for the others to escape.
Even for someone known as the "strongest spear and shield," facing Byakuya alone was suicide.
But honor demanded it.
And war had no room for pride when your people's survival was at stake.
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