While the Third Raikage and his men were taking a short rest, flocks of birds suddenly burst out of the distant forest, scattering into the sky as they fled.
At the sight, the Third Raikage and the others immediately tensed.
"They're here!"
Under the Third Raikage's command, A and Killer B swiftly readied themselves for battle.
Before long, a vast tide of Iwagakure shinobi surged in from every direction, completely surrounding the Third Raikage's forces.
Floating at the forefront was Ōnoki. He looked down at the Third Raikage and said in a deep voice, "Surrender now, and I may spare your lives."
The Third Raikage snorted angrily. "You old coward who only knows how to hide in the shadows! I came here for you!"
Ōnoki's heart skipped a beat.
Came for me?
Had they already seen through his plan?
Had he been counter-encircled instead?
Or… were they just bluffing?
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, though his expression remained unchanged.
"Kill them!"
With that single order, the Iwagakure shinobi roared and charged forward.
"Good! That's more like it!"
Facing tens of thousands of enemies, the Third Raikage showed not the slightest fear. Activating his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he charged straight into the enemy formation.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!"
With his overwhelming physique, any Iwa shinobi who touched him were injured; those brushed by him died instantly.
Their attacks and defenses alike were unable to pierce his armor of lightning, and casualties mounted in an instant.
On the other side, A was just as exhilarated.
Like the Third Raikage, his entire body was cloaked in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, streaking through the Iwagakure ranks like a bolt of blue lightning.
Though his defense was inferior to the Third Raikage's, his speed surpassed it.
More often than not, the Iwa shinobi were sent flying by a brutal elbow strike before they could even track his movement.
Watching from the air, Ōnoki remained expressionless.
Over the years, Iwagakure had more than doubled its number of shinobi through careful cultivation.
Though most of them were Genin, together they formed a force not to be underestimated.
No matter how powerful the Third Raikage and A were, they couldn't possibly survive an encirclement of tens of thousands.
Under the impact of the Third Raikage and A, a gap was torn open in Iwagakure's formation.
The remaining Kumogakure shinobi followed suit, weapons in hand, charging forward.
They had already prepared themselves for death before coming here. Even against enemies outnumbering them dozens of times over, their expressions did not change.
After all, even in death there would be generous compensation. All they needed to do was fight without worries.
After cutting down enemies for a while, Killer B found that none of his Kumogakure comrades remained near him.
He sheathed his weapon as chakra began to surge wildly within him.
"Eight-Tails!"
"Roar!"
Eight massive tails swept across the battlefield, instantly smashing the surrounding Iwa shinobi into pulp.
Gyūki threw his head back and roared, opening his mouth to unleash a Tailed Beast Ball.
At that very moment, a massive white beast with five tails and four sturdy legs slammed into him without warning.
Caught off guard, Gyūki was sent flying dozens of meters.
"Mū?"
Gyūki shook his head, clearly displeased.
The Five-Tails stared at him, its hooves stomping heavily against the ground. "Gyūki, let's stay out of this human war."
Gyūki frowned. "You've made peace with humans? Why help these guys?"
The Five-Tails replied calmly, "Aren't you the same?"
Gyūki snorted. "That's different. The way I'm treated is beyond anything you can imagine."
"Why not join me? I can put in a good word for you with Lord Yuzuru."
At the mention of the name, the Five-Tails let out a cold laugh. "Lord Yuzuru? So you've truly lost yourself to those evil eyes."
"I won't be like you!"
Seeing the misunderstanding, Gyūki hurried to explain, "Mū, listen to me. Ever since following Lord Yuzuru, it's been nothing but the best food and drink. You'll think your current life is trash."
"Enough nonsense, disgrace of the Tailed Beasts!"
The Five-Tails said no more and charged straight at Gyūki.
Left with no choice, Gyūki engaged it in battle. Within a radius of a thousand meters, the battlefield was instantly cleared as the two colossal beings clashed.
As the fighting raged below, Ōnoki rose even higher into the sky, scanning the surroundings carefully—but found nothing.
"So it really is just a bunch of reckless brutes…"
He quietly let out a breath of relief and shifted his gaze back to the battlefield.
The moment he did, his brows furrowed.
An hour had already passed since the battle began, yet Kumogakure's shinobi were still holding on stubbornly.
One thousand against tens of thousands—and after a full hour, nearly eight hundred were still alive.
Though most of Iwagakure's shinobi were Genin, this outcome was utterly inconceivable.
Shinobi were typically high offense, low defense. Given an opportunity, even a Genin with a kunai could kill a Jōnin.
According to Ōnoki's expectations, by now only the Third Raikage, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, A, and a handful of top-tier fighters should have been barely holding on.
But reality had delivered him a resounding slap.
After an hour of fierce combat, Kumogakure's thousand-strong force had lost only a little over two hundred men.
Meanwhile, Iwagakure's corpses were piled nearly into small hills.
Even in all his long years, Ōnoki had never witnessed anything like this.
Suddenly, something caught his eye.
His face darkened. "That clan crest…"
"They're Uchiha!"
Among the more than eight hundred surviving Kumogakure shinobi, the vast majority wore clothing emblazoned with the Uchiha clan crest.
"Impossible… why are the Uchiha so strong?!"
A chill crept into Ōnoki's heart.
Back in the era of Uchiha Madara, there had only been one man capable of dominating an entire age.
The rest of the Uchiha were strong, yes—but nothing beyond reason.
But now… so many had suddenly appeared, each wielding terrifying power.
Judging from their performance, nearly every one of them possessed strength at the Kage level.
The thought had barely surfaced when Ōnoki laughed at himself.
"Perhaps they're using some kind of secret technique. I mustn't scare myself."
In the shinobi world, even Jōnin were already considered top-tier combat forces in their respective villages.
Kage-level fighters were the very ceiling of power.
Even in Iwagakure, only a handful could reach that realm.
No matter how powerful the Sharingan was, it was impossible for over eight hundred Kage-level warriors to appear all at once.
Yes. Absolutely impossible!!!
##Discount##
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