A gentle breeze swept past, as if sounding the horn of battle.
Dodai and the Shadow Guard clashed with the Ino–Shika–Chō team.
A faced off against Hyūga Hiyasu.
Killer B confronted three giant toads.
The three toads exchanged glances.
"Are they looking down on us? Sending just one to deal with us?"
"No idea. Let's finish him first."
"I may be slow, but I'll do my best."
Meanwhile, Killer B was conversing with the Eight-Tails in his mind.
"Eight, are you sure this is okay? You said not long ago that my body couldn't handle it."
"It's fine. What you can't handle is my full power. Against a few toads, I won't need that. About forty percent will do. I'll hold back as well."
"Alright then—let's go! Bakayaro, konoyaro!"
A surge of crimson chakra suddenly erupted from Killer B.
"That ominous feeling… Hiro, Ken, stop him!"
"Got it."
Gamakichi's short blade,
Gamahiro's twin swords,
Gamaken's staff—
All came crashing down together.
Smoke billowed.
Several thick tentacles burst forth, blocking the attacks of all three toads.
"ROAR!!!"
With a furious bellow, the Eight-Tails Gyūki descended upon the battlefield.
The three toads retreated in unison, their expressions grave.
"This is bad. Who knew he had something like that inside him?"
"So that's a Tailed Beast… one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight—Eight-Tails, the second strongest among them. This is troublesome."
Shukaku: Damn it, don't rank us by the number of tails!
"I may be slow, but I'll do my best."
"Damn you, Senju Hashirama! I'll have my revenge on Konoha! Where's that green pendant? Show it again if you've got the guts!"
The Eight-Tails cooperated readily, likely fueled in part by lingering resentment from the Second Shinobi War.
Back then, Senju Hashirama captured all of us—even the Nine-Tails. Fine, I let that go.
But in the Second War, I was the only one who died. Do you know how humiliating that was for me?
Carrying long-suppressed rage, the Eight-Tails charged at the three toads.
Hyūga Hiyasu listened with black lines across his face.
Am I seriously taking the blame for that bastard Hideki?
This is outrageous.
How can something like this even happen?
"Lariat: Guillotine Drop!"
A continuously attacked Hyūga Hiyasu without pause.
A had realized something—when facing Konoha ninja, you had to open with your strongest moves. Otherwise, you'd get dragged into endless tricks and be disgusted to death.
"Hey, A, right? What's your relationship with 'Guillotine' and 'Chiyo'?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Why are you 'guillotining' someone while Chiyo from the Sand Village is dancing? Is there something going on between you two?"
Hyūga Hiyasu put on an extremely punchable grin.
"Something fishy?!"
"Bastard—Lariat—!"
A suddenly found himself unable to finish shouting the technique name, but he still pressed forward with his attack.
Hyūga Hiyasu remained unhurried.
This guy isn't even as fast as Minato—he's no threat at all.
Besides, everyone else needs their time to shine too.
Might as well get some exercise in.
"Lingbo Microsteps."
I dodge, I dodge again, I keep dodging—can't hit me, can you? Annoying, isn't it?
...
On Nara Shikaku's side:
Facing the six enemies ahead, he frowned.
"Outnumbered two to one… this won't be easy."
"We've faced worse odds before. Why would we fear just six people?"
Yamanaka Inoichi smiled confidently. After all these years, he hadn't stood still.
"Shikaku, give the orders."
Akimichi Chōza stood ready to move at any moment.
He was both the main attacker and the main tank—this required extreme caution.
"Alright, let's do this."
Nara Shikaku pulled out dozens of kunai.
Minato isn't the only one skilled with kunai.
With a flick of his hand, he sent them all flying.
Dodai's eyes narrowed.
That technique… Flying Thunder God? Don't tell me Konoha has more than one user?
"Karei, destroy those kunai!"
"Storm Release!"
The bald, muscular man beside Dodai formed a mass of black beams in his hands and fired them precisely, striking the incoming kunai.
Maybe not all were destroyed, but all of them were forced back toward Shikaku's side.
Watching the Cloud ninja overreact, Nara Shikaku was speechless.
Uh… are they mistaking me for Minato?
Well, I guess I just got caught in the crossfire.
Whatever. It was just a small tactic—no big loss if it failed.
"Chōza, don't touch that black lightning."
"Understood."
"Good. Move out."
"Super Expansion Technique!"
The Akimichi giant appeared once more—this time wielding a long staff.
Whoosh—
The staff came crashing down, instantly splitting the Cloud ninja formation apart.
Another swing followed.
"Lava Release: Rubber Wall!"
Dodai conjured a layer of rubbery membrane, blocking Chōza's heavy strike.
The rebound force even knocked Chōza slightly backward.
"Fire Style may be troublesome, but blunt attacks like this? I can take as many as you've got."
Dodai smiled confidently.
"Hiyasu, enchant him."
"Got it!"
A ring of flames from Gamabunta shot out, wrapping around Chōza's staff.
"Hyūga Hiyasu, stop running!"
"La la la la la—come hit me if you can!"
Chōza gripped the flaming staff tightly, grinning at Dodai.
Go on, keep smiling. Why aren't you smiling now?
Dodai: Damn it.
"Raige, Karei, Haroi—you three handle the giant."
"Yes."
"Aroi, Komoi—you're with me. We'll deal with the Nara and Yamanaka."
"Yes."
...
On the Third Raikage and Jiraiya's side:
Fukasaku: "Jiraiya boy, that ninja in front of us is incredibly strong. We can't take him head-on."
Jiraiya: "Fukasaku-sama, don't joke around. This battlefield is the most critical point. If we can't hold him here, Konoha is finished."
Jiraiya had already transformed into a rather unsightly appearance.
But for a ninja, power is the best kind of beauty.
Shima: "Stop scaring Jiraiya. I refuse to believe that the senjutsu passed down for a thousand years at Mount Myōboku is inferior to a human's few decades of training."
Fukasaku: "Then we'll have to go all out. Let's start with a show of force. I'll use Wind Style, you use Fire Style, and Jiraiya—you use oil."
"Got it."
The two toads and one man took a deep breath simultaneously.
"Sage Art: Goemon!"
Wind, fire, and oil fused into a devastating senjutsu.
In an instant, the ground beneath the Third Raikage turned into a sea of flames.
Perhaps due to the oil, the inferno refused to die out.
The Third Raikage was forced to retreat continuously, his mind racing.
What kind of technique is this? How did Jiraiya's strength suddenly surge so much?
And those two toads—what exactly are they?
Special summons?
Konoha really has an abundance of treasures.
Why else would everyone want to attack Konoha?
As long as Konoha collapses, the ninja world will surely grow even stronger.
Konoha—for the sake of the world, you must die.