As the soldiers watched in horror, Gamaken raised his spiky harpoon and slammed it forcefully into the ground. He didn't even need to pick a specific spot; the sheer impact and flying debris sent a large number of samurai sprawling, their bodies covered in blood.
Despite claiming to be clumsy, Gamaken's movements were anything but slow. He brought the pot-lid-shaped shield from his back to his front, blocking the Water Release ninjutsu unleashed by the Kirigakure ninja. At the same time, he swept his harpoon horizontally, once again sending a large number of samurai soldiers flying, killing an unknown number of them.
Against a creature of this size, the samurai army, who could only use taijutsu, were almost ineffective. Even if a few occasionally managed to swing their katana and pierce Gamaken's body, for him, it was merely a superficial wound, at most causing him to gasp in pain.
Compared to him, Manda, who was nearby, was even more ferocious. It swiftly moved across the battlefield, and in a short while, swallowed a large number of samurai. Manda, who hadn't had a good meal in a long time, was very satisfied, flicking its tongue and staring greedily at the samurai army on the ground, thinking, "Indeed, nothing is more satisfying than war. At times like this, I can devour humans without restraint and without having to listen to others' nagging, haha."
Gamaken and Manda had only just started their warm-up, and the Land of Water's samurai army was already on the verge of collapse. At this point, the only ones who could stabilize the front lines were the Kirigakure ninja; only their ninjutsu could harm the bodies of these two giant summoned beasts. Despite this, they themselves were somewhat flustered.
It should be known that giant summoned beasts like Gamaken and Manda are extremely rare even in the entire ninja world. Just one of them can, without exception, change the course of a battle. For example, the Kirigakure ninja were now witnessing the power of such a giant summoned beast.
"Stop them!" Hozuki Gengetsu yelled, charging forward himself, while simultaneously forming hand signs and, along with the surrounding Kirigakure ninja, unleashed a large-scale Water Release.
A massive torrent of water shot into the sky, swirling like a tornado and rushing towards Gamaken. Jiraiya, perched on Gamaken's head, saw this and said, "Gamaken, I'm counting on you."
"Although I am clumsy, I will do my best to block it," Gamaken said, bringing his shield in front of him. At the same time, he spewed a large amount of brown liquid from his mouth. This was a ability of the toad clan, allowing them to spit out toad oil, which is highly flammable and complements Fire Release.
Among the Sage Arts passed down in Mount Myōboku, there was a ninjutsu called Sage Art: Goemon. It combined toad oil, Fire Release, and Wind Release, and its power was extraordinary, capable of burning almost anything. In later generations, it was only when it encountered the absorption ability of the Preta Path that the full power of this ninjutsu was not displayed.
Jiraiya's Sage Art training had not yet reached the level of Naruto Uzumaki—even historically, he had not been able to enter Sage Mode alone in his fifties—so he naturally couldn't use that legendary Sage Art, but he could, with some difficulty, mimic its form.
After Gamaken spat out the oil, Jiraiya took a deep breath and unleashed a powerful Fire Release. On the other side, Orochimaru quickly moved Manda nearby to assist Jiraiya with Wind Release. If this technique were to be named, it could be called Pseudo-Compound Ninjutsu: Goemon.
The surging flames collided with the water tornado, instantly generating a large amount of white smoke, and the temperature of the entire battlefield seemed to rise. Neither side's ninjutsu immediately overwhelmed the other; instead, they were locked in a stalemate. The Land of Water's army stared blankly at the magnificent scene above, astonished by the power of the ninja, and also feeling their own helplessness.
"Is this the era of ninja from now on?" The new commander, who had taken over from the fallen samurai officer, muttered to himself upon seeing this.
In the past Warring States period, ninja clans were fragmented, and there were very few significant ninja clans. Coupled with their consistently small populations, the samurai armies had never witnessed a situation where a large number of ninja used ninjutsu together. In the previous Shinobi World War, the Kirigakure ninja rarely encountered such a situation, and now was their first time, resulting in them being deeply shocked.
After the clash of water and fire ended, the Kirigakure ninja still had enough strength to use Water Release, attacking Gamaken's body. After barely blocking the enemy's attack, Gamaken said to Jiraiya on his head, "I'm sorry, Jiraiya, because I am too clumsy, I can only hold out this long."
Once a summoned beast receives a severe impact, it may break its connection with its master and be forced to return to its original location. If it were physically present, there would be no such restriction, but Gamaken was, after all, summoned from the distant Mount Myōboku, and the enemy's intense attacks had already made his connection with Jiraiya precarious.
"It's alright, leave the rest to me." Jiraiya smiled casually, gently stroking Gamaken's head. As Gamaken disappeared, he also descended from the sky.
"Hmph, the toads of Mount Myōboku are so useless." Manda sneered upon seeing Gamaken disappear, looking quite smug.
Orochimaru keenly noticed the underlying meaning in Manda's words, because on Manda's head, he didn't need to do anything special; virtually no one could approach. Coupled with his inner curiosity, even on the battlefield, he couldn't help but ask, "Manda, do you know Jiraiya's summoned beast?"
"Oh, it's true that no one told you that Ryūchi Cave, where I live, is, like Mount Myōboku where those toads live, a place where Sage Art originated." Perhaps because he could devour others freely, Manda was in a very good mood and unexpectedly answered Orochimaru's question.
Just as Orochimaru was about to press for more, Manda ignored him and focused on devouring the samurai in front of him. However, after witnessing the power of the giant summoned beasts, the samurai commander immediately called for his soldiers to retreat, while the Kirigakure ninja stepped forward and attacked Manda with ninjutsu.
Although Manda was formidable, the Kirigakure ninja were numerous, and they had high-level jonin like Hozuki Gengetsu and Akira. In less than a minute, under the siege of the Kirigakure ninja, Manda could only reluctantly release its summoning connection and was forced to return to Ryūchi Cave. Before leaving, it grumbled, "This great one hasn't eaten enough yet..." Chidu Literature
Just as Orochimaru's body descended, he noticed an ice mirror suddenly appearing from the side, and then a person emerged from the ice mirror, darting towards Orochimaru with astonishing speed, directly stabbing a kunai into Orochimaru's heart.
However, the attacker only felt that the sensation of his stab was problematic, like soft mud. Sure enough, as the heart was pierced, the Orochimaru in front of him turned into a puddle of mud, and surprisingly, it even contained explosive tags. Fortunately, by rapidly moving with Ice Release, Akira avoided the explosion of the explosive tags.
"Quite a formidable young man." Akira slipped into the ice mirror, murmuring to himself. To be able to evade his previous attack, it showed Orochimaru's exceptional skill.
Although Gamaken and Manda had been dealt with, Hozuki Gengetsu and Akira knew they couldn't relax yet, because their appearance meant that Konoha's ninja reinforcements had likely arrived.
Just as Jiraiya and Orochimaru landed on the battlefield, a large number of Konoha ninja leaped from above the capital city, rushing towards the center of the battlefield. These Konoha ninja were clearly not the previous ones; their appearance was clean, their eyes sharp, and their bodies exuded astonishing vitality. This was not the look of a tired army that had undergone many battles.
With the addition of these Konoha ninja, the samurai army of the Land of Whirlpools also poured out of the city gates, with the elite samurai of the Land of Fire as the vanguard, leading the Land of Whirlpools' samurai army. Although the latter were a motley crew, under the leadership of the elites, they could still show some combat effectiveness in advantageous battles.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru intercepted Hozuki Gengetsu and Akira. Jiraiya provocatively beckoned to his opponent, which indeed worsened Hozuki Gengetsu's mood. Since Jiraiya and Orochimaru also appeared to be elites among the enemy, he focused his attention on them.
At this time, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were only in their early twenties, but they had already demonstrated their abilities, not at all inferior to their historical counterparts, or perhaps even surpassing them. Even when facing the Kirigakure ninja's veteran jonin, these two could contend with them. They had received intelligence about Hozuki Gengetsu and Akira from their teacher, while the enemy knew nothing about them, which was their advantage.
Hozuki Gengetsu had initially thought he could easily defeat these two in front of him, but he couldn't suppress them for a while, filling him with shock and anger. Seeing that his side's morale was greatly diminished due to the arrival of Konoha's reinforcements and the attacks from Gamaken and Manda, his entire face gradually twisted in frustration.
—Was he going to retreat again here? No, absolutely not. He couldn't afford another failure. Even if the situation was unfavorable, he couldn't retreat!
Thus, Hozuki Gengetsu ignored Akira's frequent glances from the side, focusing solely on the people in front of him, launching attack after attack. Left with no choice, Akira also continued to fight, but with a very bad premonition in his heart.
Later, when Hiruzen Sarutobi evaluated Hozuki Gengetsu, he said, "This person is quite spirited and extremely strong, but in leading a unit, his management is very superficial. With his combat style, he is too focused on taking risks, and the result is either a great victory or a great defeat. Especially when he encounters those who are accustomed to defense or skilled in surprise attacks, his shortcomings become even more apparent."
This seemed to be foreshadowed now. Hozuki Gengetsu, relying on his numerical superiority, even though morale was lower than before and the formation had become chaotic, had no intention of retreating. Instead, he chose to fight to the death with the enemy, intending to break them before he himself could no longer hold on.
However, Hozuki Gengetsu was clearly overly optimistic about the current situation. The army, already demoralized by Gamaken and Manda, suddenly faced Konoha ninja who, though fewer in number, were full of momentum, and their morale inevitably wavered. Even though they maintained their defensive line through sheer numbers, the entire front began to show a trend of continuous retreat, and this trend became irreversible after Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared.
The Land of Water's forces had not forgotten Hiruzen Sarutobi's Five-Element Great Barrage, and they clearly remembered that the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, who could counter him, was no longer able to fight. Their fear of Hiruzen Sarutobi further led to the army's collapse. Hiruzen Sarutobi personally led a small squad, charging directly into the center of the Land of Water's army, single-handedly turning the tide of the battle from a stalemate.
"An army defeated like a collapsing mountain"—this phrase appeared in Hozuki Gengetsu's mind. When the bloodlust in his body cooled, a wave of regret gradually surged through him. When the enemy reinforcements appeared, he should not have been bound by his previous policy; he should have re-evaluated his strategy instead of trying to wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop.
Perhaps his inability to conquer the Land of Whirlpools had blinded him, or perhaps it was a flaw in Hozuki Gengetsu's character. Before the battle began, he had warned himself not to get carried away by passion, yet despite the unfavorable situation, he still believed he could turn the tide of battle with his bravery.
That's what he thought before the battle, but when the fighting actually began, Hozuki Gengetsu forgot his earlier thoughts, and passion surged through him once again. Perhaps he was unwilling to admit that his bravery was inferior to Hiruzen Sarutobi's. But now, he had to admit that in terms of bravery, Hiruzen Sarutobi surpassed him; Hiruzen Sarutobi was the one who could turn the tide of battle.
The successive failures brought Hozuki Gengetsu back to his senses, making Akira, who had been anxiously watching, breathe a sigh of relief. He then abandoned Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who were barely holding on, and instead went to command his troops, reorganize the defensive line, and prevent Hiruzen Sarutobi's further attacks. It was through this decision that the Land of Water's army truly avoided a "defeat like a collapsing mountain."
Watching the retreating enemy, Jiraiya and Orochimaru immediately breathed a sigh of relief. They supported each other to avoid falling to the ground. Then they heard Hiruzen Sarutobi's footsteps, and their teacher said with satisfaction, "Good job, boys, you two were the top contributors in this battle. You truly are my students; your teacher is proud of you."
"Haha, Teacher Sarutobi, with their meager skills, they couldn't take down me and Orochimaru," Jiraiya said with a playful grin, perhaps to lighten the mood.
"You talk too much, and you don't even look at your own injuries." Asuma's voice rang out. She gently poked Jiraiya with her finger, making him gasp in pain. Skilled in genjutsu, her main role was to confuse the enemy and create opportunities for her side to attack. She hadn't participated in the battle against the enemy commanders. Seeing her companions safe and sound, she also felt a sense of relief.
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head with a chuckle, saying, "Alright, go back and heal your wounds. This time, we can prepare to leave this place—good job, boys, we finally don't have to entangle with them anymore. Although I have these people with me, I have nothing to fear, but the mission comes first: bring the Uzumaki clan members back to the village."