Although he knew it was Ōnoki's psychological ploy, the Third Raikage couldn't stop himself from growing increasingly anxious.
Because he knew Ōnoki was right.
If they couldn't find a way to break through, the thousand-plus shinobi he had brought with him would likely all die here.
At that thought, the Third Raikage roared, "Yuzuru, what exactly have you arranged?!"
The moment his voice fell, a golden figure suddenly flashed into the battlefield, darting through the crowd like lightning.
As the golden silhouette flickered again and again, Iwagakure's shinobi fell in swathes like wheat before a scythe.
Then a powerful surge of chakra erupted.
"Earth Grudge Fear · Final Shot!"
BOOM!
With a thunderous explosion, a chakra cannon instantly obliterated the Iwagakure shinobi ahead.
The pressure on the Third Raikage vanished at once, allowing him to reunite with his subordinates.
"Did I come too late?"
Minato Namikaze held a specially crafted Flying Thunder God kunai in his hand. Wrapped in the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak, he looked almost divine.
Kakuzu, meanwhile, resembled a monster—black threads writhing across his body in a terrifying display.
"There are plenty of fresh hearts on this battlefield. I'll be sure to collect a few more this time."
Seeing Minato and Kakuzu appear at his side, the Third Raikage finally let out a breath of relief.
He knew this must be Yuzuru's contingency plan.
"How many shinobi did you bring?" the Third Raikage asked bluntly.
Minato scratched his head. "Around five hundred. All carefully selected elite shinobi."
"We're a surprise assault unit, so our numbers aren't that large…"
The Third Raikage waved him off. "Five hundred is enough. With you here, it's sufficient."
From the earlier battle, he had already seen just how formidable the Uchiha clan's shinobi were. Even five hundred reinforcements were more than enough.
"Phew… we're saved. I really thought we were going to die just now."
"Yeah, I felt like my lungs were about to burst. Finally, I can catch my breath."
"Hahahahaha… If I make it out alive, I'm writing today into the family records so my descendants will remember their ancestor's heroic bearing!"
The Uchiha shinobi gathered together, joy written across their faces after surviving disaster.
They reveled in battle and had long prepared themselves to die on the battlefield—but if they could live, that was even better.
In stark contrast to Kumogakure's revitalized forces, Iwagakure's shinobi looked as if they had been struck by lightning.
They had just glimpsed hope of crushing the Kumogakure forces—only for another five hundred reinforcements to arrive.
If these five hundred were merely the vanguard… did that mean Kumogakure's main force was already on its way?
A thousand shinobi had stalled them for this long. What if ten thousand arrived?
The Iwagakure shinobi didn't dare imagine it.
"Damn it!"
Looking down at Minato and Kakuzu who had arrived as reinforcements, Ōnoki couldn't help but curse.
As Tsuchikage for decades, he had detailed intelligence on the major powers of the shinobi world.
Kakuzu was a former S-rank missing-nin of Takigakure—a notorious bounty hunter with countless shinobi dead at his hands. A true Kage-level powerhouse.
As for Minato, there was no need to elaborate.
The perfect Nine-Tails jinchūriki. His legendary battle in Konoha with Yuzuru was still widely discussed to this day.
But…
Wasn't Konoha currently at war with Sunagakure?
How could they still dispatch so many powerful shinobi as reinforcements?
Just how much strength did Yuzuru command?
For a moment, Ōnoki regretted more than ever his decision years ago not to allow the Uchiha clan to settle in Iwagakure.
Gritting his teeth, he rapidly assessed the situation.
Continuing the fight was no longer wise. If more Konoha reinforcements arrived, he might not even be able to retreat.
With that thought, Ōnoki shouted in a deep voice, "First Army, follow me and cover the rear! Everyone else, retreat!"
At his command, Iwagakure's shinobi felt as if a great burden had been lifted. Without looking back, they fled toward the Land of Earth.
The First Army remained behind, blocking the Third Raikage and the others, buying time for their comrades to escape.
"Brothers, don't let those Iwagakure bastards get away! Kill them all!"
"Hahahahaha… Tens of thousands of you, scared off by just a thousand of us?"
"All that talk about the Will of Stone—what a joke!"
"Lament your miserable fate of not having the Sharingan! That saying applies to your village too!"
Under the leadership of the Third Raikage, Minato, and Kakuzu, Kumogakure's forces launched a ferocious assault on the Iwagakure shinobi.
In an instant, the rearguard Iwa shinobi began suffering heavy casualties.
"Damn it!!!"
Ōnoki's heart bled.
Since becoming Tsuchikage, he had always trodden carefully, planning everything to perfection.
But this time, his calculations had failed.
He didn't even need to look to know—the five thousand shinobi of the First Army… were likely all going to die here.
"I won't let you have it easy."
From the sky, Ōnoki saw Kumogakure's forces gathering once more. He clasped his hands together, preparing to unleash a Particle Style attack below.
But a figure suddenly blocked his path.
"Right now… I'm your opponent."
Seeing the young man with those peculiar eyes before him, Ōnoki's heart jolted.
"The Rinnegan?!"
How could the legendary Sage's eyes appear under Yuzuru's command?
Nagato gave him no time to dwell on his shock. He raised his arm.
"Almighty Pull!"
A powerful gravitational force yanked Ōnoki forward against his will.
Caught off guard, Ōnoki could only redirect his Particle Style toward Nagato.
"Particle Style · Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Nagato did not dodge. Instead, he softly intoned, "Sealing Technique Absorption Seal!"
In an instant, the invincible, all-destroying Particle Style vanished into thin air.
The sight nearly caused Ōnoki to lose control of his flight.
Particle Style was his proudest trump card—yet it had been absorbed with such ease…
Truly, the legendary Rinnegan lived up to its name. Its power was unfathomable.
In the past, Ōnoki had been nearly unbeatable with his ability to fly and his Particle Style.
Against any enemy, he held absolute advantage.
But now… his opponent could also fly—and could even absorb his strongest technique.
Most crucially, he had no idea what other powers those legendary eyes concealed.
For the first time, a sense of despair welled up within Ōnoki.
If he didn't think of something soon, this Tsuchikage might very well die here.