Aoba had never gone all out. In truth, entering Sage Mode would have been enough for him to cut through this group of Cloud Ninjas before him.
Under Sage Mode, every strike of his would double in power, far beyond what ordinary ninjas could withstand. One could say he was the natural counter to these reckless Cloud warriors.
Yet he didn't dare.
Just as he'd told Anko, their mission was already overfulfilled—not the supply transport mission, but the decoy operation instead.
Using his Wind Release sensory abilities, Aoba could clearly detect two enemies lying in wait in the distant woods.
One of them he recognized immediately—the Fourth Raikage. As for the other, though he couldn't see the face, the overwhelming Chakra presence like a volcanic eruption left no doubt about the identity.
The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
Among all village Kage, the Raikage stood out as the most battle-hungry. Having mastered the Lightning Release Body Enhancement Technique to its pinnacle, he brimmed with restless energy, a true warmonger at heart.
Compared to Konoha's Third Hokage—who wouldn't lift a finger unless caged—the contrast was stark...
Aoba wasn't afraid of the Raikage. The man was formidable, but in Sage Mode, Aoba might not be much weaker. Even if outmatched, he was confident in escaping alive.
His real concern was the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
A perfect Jinchuriki, capable of freely wielding Tailed Beast power. Crucially, Aoba remembered Tailed Beasts could sense natural energy.
Unless absolutely necessary, he refused to reveal his Sage arts trump card. Hence he'd avoided activating Sage Mode.
He waited—for Konoha's reinforcements. The Third Hokage might be incompetent in most aspects, but he did have one occasionally useful trait: he maintained some semblance of honor.
This made him completely different from Danzo, that shameless, unscrupulous bastard.
Konoha's forces struggled desperately. Apart from Aoba and Anko who still fought with ease, the others were locked in brutal combat.
Of the thirty-strong squad, nearly half had fallen within five minutes.
The survivors clustered together, using Combination Ninjutsu to barely hold the Cloud Ninjas at bay. But Chakra was finite. Five more minutes, and all resistance would collapse.
Anko had begun losing hope.
"How? This is the heart of Fire Country! Konoha's absolute territory—why would we face such an ambush here?"
"Because this is our mission."
Aoba's words struck Anko like lightning. She froze momentarily before realization dawned.
"If we're the bait, then ANBU reinforcements should have arrived by now."
Aoba glanced back the way they'd come. He'd already sensed numerous ninjas approaching—yet they lingered on standby instead of intervening.
Apparently, many in Konoha still sought to purge Orochimaru's connections given the chance.However, at this moment, Aoba suddenly sensed a commotion breaking out among the troops behind him.
His sensory abilities relied solely on the wind to detect chakra within a limited range, far inferior to the Byakugan or the Kagura Mind's Eye. Thus, he couldn't discern exactly what was happening in the rear—only that someone had activated their chakra and was rushing forward.
From a distance, he could make out a conspicuous white-haired ninja speeding toward them.
It was Kakashi. A faint smile tugged at Aoba's lips. Given the circumstances, Kakashi must have defied orders to reinforce them.
The two fought their way through the Cloud Ninja blockade and regrouped.
"What's the situation? Are you the only one?"
"No. Things are bad. We anticipated an enemy ambush, but we didn't expect their forces to exceed our capacity to respond. So, the rear command decided to wait for reinforcements."
"...So, the reason there's no backup is because the reinforcements are waiting for reinforcements?"
"...Pretty much."
Aoba understood. The Anbu reinforcements must have detected the Raikage's presence. After all, any reinforcement unit would include a sensory team, so noticing the enemy was only natural.
The awkward part was this: they might have prepared a large number of elite shinobi as reinforcements, but the Hokage wouldn't personally come. That meant no one in the unit could stand against an opponent of the Raikage's caliber.
Thus, the commander ordered them to keep waiting—with the consequence being that Aoba and the others would be left to fight to their deaths.
"Konoha still has someone who can match the Raikage. Don't tell me you're waiting for the Hokage?"
"...The Hokage isn't deploying. But Lord Jiraiya is on his way."
"Jiraiya? That's acceptable."
Aoba didn't actually feel reassured. Jiraiya was undoubtedly strong—if he entered Sage Mode, few in the current Shinobi World could surpass him.
But even he couldn't simultaneously fight the Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. And at this point, Konoha's own Jinchuriki wasn't yet combat-ready.
Worst-case scenario, if the battle escalated, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki could fire a Tailed Beast Ball at them. That would be the end.
Normally, the major villages treated Tailed Beasts as strategic weapons and rarely deployed Tailed Beast Balls, given their catastrophic, near-nuclear consequences.
If one side used them, the others would follow. A few Tailed Beast Balls later, the Five Great Shinobi Villages would become the Five Great Craters.
But this logic didn't apply to the Cloud Ninja. These mad dogs would absolutely use them if given the chance. So, Aoba wasn't optimistic about their current situation.
Plainly put, Konoha was still too weak. They had too few elite fighters capable of holding their own.
Kakashi's arrival forced the rear reinforcements to join the battle prematurely. And now, the Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki—who had been lying in wait—finally revealed themselves.
This so-called bait operation was, in fact, a two-way trap.
Konoha had deliberately leaked intel that this squad was escorting critical supplies, with Aoba—a sworn enemy of the Cloud Ninja—among them, luring the enemy into sending an elite strike force.
Meanwhile, Konoha had assembled a large unit to ambush the ambushers, intending to wipe out the Cloud's elite in one fell swoop.
The result? They hooked the fish—but it was too big, and the line was about to snap.Aoba glanced at the reinforcements that had arrived.
Kakashi, Might Guy, along with a large number of elite Anbu and Root operatives. Among them, recognizable figures included Hayate Gekko, Raido Namiashi, and other key characters.
Seeing Might Guy, Aoba felt somewhat relieved. With him here, today's situation should be manageable.
Yet, he also felt a tinge of regret. If Jiraiya couldn't arrive in time, today might mark Might Guy's final performance.