Kakashi's Chidori flashed, aiming directly at Zan's heart! At the last moment, though, he sensed something was off. Jumping back, he found several kunai lying behind him…and Zan had vanished in a puff of smoke!
"Kakashi… you and your Leaf shinobi are already known to the Flower Village. You have no advantage!" Zan's voice sneered from behind.
The dreaded execution blade swung with blinding speed. Kakashi barely reacted in time—
But Rock Lee intervened with "Leaf Strong‑Style Whirlwind"! A powerful kick sent Zan flying, allowing Kakashi to vanish and give chase.
Kakashi tossed a kunai—wait! It trailed wire attached and returned like a boomerang, caught by Pakku the ninken. Dispatching the other hounds, Pakku sniffed and sprinted off in one direction.
Zan pressed his wound but didn't panic. He strapped away his sword, formed a double-hand seal, and roared, "Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!" A torrent erupted at Pakku's team.
"Scatter!" Pakku barked. The dogs scattered just in time. Kakashi responded with "Water Style: Water Wall," nullifying the waterfall and engaging Zan in a taijutsu duel. Their physical skills were nearly equal.
Rock Lee leapt in—Kakashi immediately followed. Meanwhile, Sai flew, locating Flower shinobi concealed in the mist. Their shrieks erupted—but in an instant, they were silenced.
Arashi was quicker; before Sai could react, he cut down his bird clone. Sai disappeared into the fog. The Hyūga‑line shinobi, with Byakugan vision, began a counter‑encirclement—a maneuver others in the fog could not match.
Arashi snarled, "Damn! Our forces are insufficient—we're going to lose!" With only him, Zan, and a dozen Flower shinobi remaining—plus the iron ape beast—they couldn't match thousands.
Then, the air cracked. A giant hand-seal, shaped like a fist, appeared high above. It rained kunai on sticks, each rigged with explosive tags. The seal slammed down—a combined jutsu trap.
BOOM! The explosions claimed many lives. Kakashi hissed in frustration—victory was near, but that fist‑seal shattered their flank.
"Retreat!" Arashi bellowed. Zan, the ape beast, and all the Flower shinobi withdrew. Three more fist‑seals crashed from above—Kakashi ordered a full withdrawal amid nonstop explosions.
Meanwhile, on the Sand front, allied forces were being crushed by just two opponents in the sky. Deidara sneered: "Look at these pathetic weaklings!" He deployed a massive bomb—with a war cry—and obliterated the ground forces. Screams went unheard in the blast.
The Sand village commander, enraged, cursed the ineffective alliance: "This so‑called allied army is just each country fighting separately!" Their lack of coordination meant Deidara's aerial dominance overwhelmed them—even the Earth Shadow (Tsuchikage) couldn't counter.
Enter the Vampire Beast (吸血魔兽), roaring: "Demon Night Raid!" Countless vampire bats descended—their numbers and threat neutralizing many jutsu. The Sand forces retreated in panic.
The Cloudfront was initially better, but even that was temporary. Three days in, Flower ninjas still retreated without leaving a single body behind—a troubling sign to Darui.
At midday, Cloud shinobi relaxed in a valley with rations. Then, suddenly, rockslides erupted as hidden ninjas etched earth seals: Earth Style: Canyon Collapse. Boulders slammed toward them in avalanches. Annihilation looked imminent.
Darui shouted: "Lightning ninjas, fire area attacks on the falling rock! Taijutsu masters, with me—charge!" As orders fell, Hidan appeared, using earth jutsu to create swirling quicksand around him, burying many Cloud shinobi alive. He laughed: "Cloud's strength? Hah!"
But then Aka‑Suna's Sasori appeared, springing up and deploying puppets to ambush the Flower shinobi. With hidden weapons and mechanical traps, screams rose again. Sasori glanced at Hidan: "Even this guy is stronger than I remembered."