The Land of Water battlefield.
Obito searched the area where Pain had fallen into the sea. He, too, found no trace of him.
A sense of unease crept into Obito's heart. It grew stronger after he questioned Kakuzu and learned that Nagato's real body was nowhere to be found within a fifty-kilometer radius. Konan was also missing.
Obito understood that something must have gone wrong. Given Nagato's personality, he wouldn't just use Almighty Push once and then vanish into thin air.
On the sea's surface, the Hidden Mist shinobi were ruthlessly hunting down the injured Hidden Cloud ninja, their battle cries echoing across the water. But such a scene no longer held Obito's interest; he urgently needed to find Nagato.
Kakuzu stood on the water, gazing at the devastation wrought upon the Hidden Cloud by that single attack, a flicker of something in his eyes.
...
The sea refused to calm, its waves churning violently. Neither the Hidden Cloud nor the Hidden Mist ninja, running across the surface, could maintain their footing.
Just then, a figure shot forward at incredible speed, radiating an intense Lightning Release chakra. The turbulent sea parted before him, churned into foam, leaving a white wake in his path.
He charged toward the Hidden Mist with ferocious momentum.
Every Mist ninja in his way didn't even spare a glance at the Cloud ninja they were fighting; they simply dove into the water, scattering in all directions.
BOOM!
The Raikage furiously stomped on the sea, and the water erupted, sending a massive pillar spraying into the air! But the Mist ninja were already gone.
He turned his gaze, spotting Mei Terumi and her two companions on the other side. The Raikage stomped on the sea again, the surface cratering and cracking. Like a bolt of lightning, he shot toward Mei's group.
Seeing the Raikage approach, Mei and the others remained calm and formed hand seals in unison.
Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!
Three massive water dragons erupted from the sea's surface, roaring as they lunged at the Raikage!
Fury contorted the Raikage's face. "Hidden Mist! You won't escape!"
Driven by rage, the muscles in his arm bulged as he threw a powerful punch.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
All three water dragons were blasted into a shower of spray!
"Huh?"
The Raikage paused, confused. How could they be so weak?
He then saw Mei and her companions dissolve into seawater.
"Water Clones?"
Not far away, beneath the surface, the three of them were rapidly swimming away from the Raikage. Mei had learned her lesson from their last encounter and had no intention of facing the Raikage head-on again.
There were still many injured Cloud warriors on the sea's surface. The Mist's orders were to kill who they could, but to dive and retreat immediately if they encountered a strong opponent. Even if the Cloud ninja could swim, they were no match for the Hidden Mist's mastery of the water.
The Hidden Mist's mission for the day was to inflict as much damage on the Hidden Cloud as possible.
Kisame wasn't acting alone. Kawasaki's plan had succeeded. The Hidden Cloud had suffered heavy casualties, and nearly all their supplies were lost. His current task was to protect Mei Terumi.
Jūzō Biwa, having experienced their last clash, knew the Raikage's overwhelming power firsthand and didn't dare act rashly. If anything happened to Mei, the loss would be far greater than any gain, so he too stayed by her side.
Ao was not with them; he was commanding the Mist ninja in the water, hunting for stragglers from the Cloud. The moment a powerful enemy appeared, the Mist forces would dive as one, never getting greedy for kills.
A battle of attrition unfolded on the sea, with the Cloud's strongest shinobi rushing to rescue their comrades.
Killer B and Yugito Nii, their injuries not yet healed, could only manage a partial Tailed Beast Transformation at best. The two of them did their best to gather the surrounding Cloud ninja and bring them together. They were filled with rage and frustration, but wherever they went, the Mist ninja refused to engage, simply disappearing into the water. Chasing them would only waste precious time that could be spent saving other Cloud shinobi.
The busiest of all was the Raikage, who used his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to dart back and forth across the sea at high speed. The Raikage's presence was a powerful deterrent; wherever he appeared, the Mist ninja would dive and hide.
After half an hour of intense fighting, the Hidden Cloud finally managed to regroup their forces. The Raikage was exhausted. Although the Hidden Mist had lost a dozen or so ninja, they had killed several times that number from the Cloud, most of whom were already injured.
Seeing no further advantage to be gained, the Mist forces began a slow retreat.
The Raikage's face was grim. "Mabui, what are our losses?"
Mabui was soaked, her hair disheveled, a picture of exhaustion. But she had still managed to complete her task.
"Lord Raikage, most of our ships have been sunk. We've lost about three thousand chunin and genin. Now... we have less than a thousand remaining."
As Mabui spoke the number, a wave of despair washed over her. The Hidden Cloud had set out with over five thousand shinobi. They had lost seven hundred along the way, and now, another three thousand were gone. Less than a thousand were left. Although the survivors were elites, the loss of so many chunin and genin was a devastating blow to the Hidden Cloud's strength.
Furthermore, all the supplies on the ships had sunk with them.
This campaign against the Hidden Mist had already ended in failure. What happened next depended entirely on the Raikage's decision.
The Raikage knew in his heart that the war against the Mist was lost. Although the Land of Lightning had more forces, they could not be mobilized here. Besides, if the Akatsuki could strike once, they could certainly do so again. Therefore, he couldn't possibly pull more ninja from the village for reinforcements.
He had two options before him. The first was to retreat immediately and cut his losses. The second was...
The Raikage's eyes widened with fury. "All who can still fight, follow me! We will avenge our comrades!"
"Annihilate the Hidden Mist!"
"Avenge our comrades!"
The Cloud ninja were filled with suppressed rage. They were used to being the aggressors, the ones who dominated. This time, they had lost most of their forces before even setting foot on land. How could they swallow such an insult?
Under the Raikage's command, everyone except the most critically injured followed, their target set directly on the Hidden Mist's base. The two jinchuriki, unable to fully transform, were among them.
The retreating Mist ninja never expected the Hidden Cloud to be so stubborn, to refuse to back down even after suffering such catastrophic losses.
Mei and her group had already returned to their base ahead of the others.
She didn't ask Kisame why the Akatsuki's leader had vanished after a single attack. Anyone could guess that unleashing such a powerful jutsu must come at a great cost. If it could be used repeatedly, the Akatsuki would have likely conquered the world by now. The Akatsuki was already powerful enough. Far more than she had anticipated.
From here on, the Hidden Mist only needed to stall for time. The Hidden Cloud would inevitably be forced to retreat.
Mei gathered several high-ranking members to discuss their strategy. Ao spoke with exceptional calm, "The Cloud is burning with rage. We should avoid a direct confrontation and abandon this base."
Zabuza, still wrapped in bandages, agreed. "We've already won this battle. There's no need to get entangled with them."
Mei shared their view. "The Cloud is short on supplies and has no reinforcements. As long as we drag this out, they'll have no choice but to withdraw."
Kisame's voice suddenly cut in. "It would be best to retreat as a group..."
...
Land of Water Battlefield.
Hidden Mist Base.
Hearing Kisame's words, Mei asked with confusion, "Why?"
In terms of safety, the Hidden Mist had the home-field advantage. If they scattered, the Hidden Cloud could never hope to hunt them all down. After all, the only truly fast ones in the Cloud were Yugito and the Raikage. And with Yugito injured, her speed was limited.
Kisame grinned. "Because it makes the pursuing Cloud forces easier to deal with when they're all in one place."
"My master sent word," he continued. "He has two old friends who want to teach the Hidden Cloud a lesson."
Mei exclaimed, "Master Feipu's friends?"
Mei had already witnessed Feipu's power firsthand. He was the one who had ambushed the Eight-Tails jinchuriki and gravely injured Killer B, who had yet to recover.
If they were friends of Feipu, their strength was without question.