"Rasa!"
The Third Kazekage immediately sensed the abrupt disappearance of another Magnet Release chakra signature and snapped his head to the side.
What was that just now?Scorch Release!?
A chill ran straight down his spine.
Rasa is… dead?How is that even possible!?
"Don't lose focus in the middle of our fight, you wretched bastard!" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, fury blazing in his eyes as he swung the Adamantine Staff and charged forward without hesitation. "Since you dare to invade Konoha—then die here!"
"Dead monkey, I'm still standing!" Ōnoki shouted back. A blinding white glow flared once more as Dust Release gathered in his palm, its lethal light simultaneously locking onto both the Hokage and the Third Kazekage. He had no intention of letting either of them leave alive.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Consecutive Waves!"
Danzo had joined the battlefield.
"Tch—such troublesome insects," Ōnoki muttered, forced to shift sideways to evade the compressed air bullets. The Dust Release in his hand, however, never weakened.
But Hiruzen had already responded.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Seven identical figures appeared around him in an instant.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!""Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!""Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!""Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!""Lightning Release: Roaring Thunder!""Wind Release: Cyclone!"
"Compound Ninjutsu: Five Elements Great Barrage!"
Five elemental techniques erupted simultaneously, surging toward the Third Kazekage, while a storm of shuriken screamed toward Ōnoki.
"Damn it!" Ōnoki barked, thrusting his hands forward.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
The expanding white cube erased everything it touched. Shuriken disintegrated instantly upon contact.
"Baku!" Danzo snarled.
The gigantic summoned beast inhaled violently, unleashing a terrifying suction force. This time, the target was not Ōnoki—but Hiruzen himself. The Hokage offered no resistance and was dragged away in an instant.
Meanwhile, the Five Elements Great Barrage was already upon the Third Kazekage.
He had no time to defend.
"Damn you!!" he roared, eyes blazing, as the attack slammed directly into his position.
Magnet Release—full rotation!
His body shot upward just in time. The combined Ninjutsu struck where he had been an instant earlier.
A deafening explosion rocked the entire arena.
Firelight swallowed the sky. Shockwaves tore across the ground. Iron sand rained down like a metallic storm.
Then—wind surged.
A shattered figure emerged from the smoke.
The Third Kazekage's lower body was gone.
Only his upper torso remained, blackened and ruined, suspended in the air by Magnet Release chakra. What little iron sand he had left hastily swept up Pakura and Sasori from the ground. Even without taking the attack head-on, the aftermath alone had brought him to the brink of death.
"Don't even think about escaping!" Danzo roared, unleashing another barrage of vacuum bullets.
"Adamantine Prison Wall!" Hiruzen shouted, hurling the Adamantine Staff forward.
For once, Ōnoki did not attack.
Instead—
"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"
The ground beneath them surged upward, forming an enormous barrier that cut off the Third Kazekage's escape route.
"What are you doing, Ōnoki!?" the Third Kazekage shouted, rage and disbelief twisting his face. "Are you trying to get me killed by the Hokage too!?"
His body, burned and broken at the waist, was a gruesome sight. Without legs, he could only remain airborne through sheer chakra control.
"Kazekage," Ōnoki said coldly, "betraying Iwagakure at this point will not end well. Either fight Hiruzen with me—or die here."
"So you're forcing me to die!?" the Third Kazekage screamed. "You scoundrel! I knew you planned to ambush us!"
But bluster was all he had left.
The Adamantine Prison closed.
"Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!"
Hiruzen completed the hand seals, and a roaring dragon of electrified water surged forward.
At last, the Third Kazekage stopped resisting. He flung Pakura and Sasori away with his remaining iron sand—
—and the attack struck him head-on.
Thunder exploded.
Moments later, a charred corpse fell from the shattered prison and struck the ground.
The Third Kazekage had fallen.
Ōnoki said nothing.
He turned and fled.
The battle was already lost. Even if he believed himself equal to the Hokage, he would never challenge all of Konoha on its own soil. Scooping up the remaining Iwa ninja, he tore open a breach in Konoha's barrier with Dust Release and vanished into the distance.
"You're not stopping him?" Danzo asked between heavy breaths.
"I can't," Hiruzen replied, equally exhausted. "He once faced the First Hokage. Someone like him doesn't get trapped easily."
His gaze shifted to the unconscious Pakura and Sasori.
"And if he truly turned his power on Konoha… even we might not be able to stop the destruction."
Then—
The ground trembled.
The battle was not over.
On the horizon, a gigantic crimson ape rose like a mountain.
"…Is that—" Danzo whispered.
The Four-Tails.
Roshi was still alive.
Dense chakra gathered rapidly in its mouth, heat and malice distorting the air.
A Tailed Beast Ball.
The sphere launched.
Trees were annihilated in its path.
Even Hiruzen froze.
Before anyone could act—
"Summoning: Triple Rashomon!"
But even he had no confidence.
Below, Hiroki stared at the horizon, heart tightening.
And then—
"This is Konoha, which my husband and I built together."
Uzumaki Mito stood.
Crimson chakra flared.
"Kurama," she whispered, "I'm counting on you."
Chains erupted.
The Nine-Tails emerged.
Two Tailed Beast Balls collided—
And annihilation followed.
When the dust settled—
The battle was finally over.
---------------------------------------------- To read chapters in advance go to P@treon - harsh07