"Lady Chiyo!"
The moment Shizune charged into the formation alone, many of the Sunagakure shinobi present keenly noticed her movement. They threw themselves forward recklessly, desperate to reach the Sand veteran.
A violent force erupted from Shizune's fingertips. The Sand shinobi blocking her path was killed instantly by a single punch!
Unparalleled power surged through the man's body. The moment the fist connected, his internal organs were pulverized, and he died instantly. The residual force sent his broken corpse hurtling into the distance like a tattered doll.
"In my way," Shizune said coldly, showing no mercy to the enemies blocking her path.
However...
As an Elder of the Sand and a founding figure who had dedicated her life to the village since its inception, Chiyo's prestige was deeply rooted in the hearts of her people.
Because of this...
"Elder Chiyo, hurry and leave!"
"Anyone can die in this war, but you cannot!"
One after another, Sand shinobi lunged at Shizune. Even knowing it meant certain death, they did not hesitate for a second.
Punch after punch after punch.
Her expression cold, her elegant face stained with blood, Shizune continued to close the distance toward Chiyo.
"Let's go."
Chiyo watched the scene with a heavy gaze. Supported by her close subordinates, she prepared to depart. This battle had been far too unexpected, far too terrifying.
Never-before-seen weapons, never-before-seen tactics.
The flying objects in the sky and the steel beasts on the land displayed power that transcended the common sense of shinobi. As a master of the Puppet Technique, Chiyo could tell at a glance that the Ancor Vantian and the tanks were essentially puppets.
But unlike the Puppet Technique of the Hidden Sand, the people controlling these things were located inside the "puppets."
She needed time. If given enough time, she could replicate such existences. This was the confidence of a puppet master of the shinobi world!
Therefore, she could not die yet! To stop the Leaf, she could not fall here! Thinking this, Chiyo quickened her pace.
"You think you can just leave?"
A sharp shout rang out from behind. A violent aura suddenly exploded! Seven or eight Sand shinobi who had attempted to risk their lives to stop Shizune were sent flying by an absolute force.
Mysterious black patterns began to crawl across Shizune's cheeks, adding a cold, eerie beauty to her features. She slammed her foot down, and the ground beneath her instantly shattered as she lunged toward Chiyo with terrifying speed.
Despite this, there were still Sand shinobi who, unafraid of death, tried to block her.
The result was predictable. They couldn't even stand against Shizune in her normal state, let alone now that she had activated the Sage Mark [Sennin Kokuin].
Destructive and unstoppable, she turned into a black blur. Every step she took left the earth in ruins as she closed in on Chiyo.
Chiyo glanced back at the woman pursuing her and flicked her fingers. Suddenly, an anomaly occurred!
At the spot where Shizune was about to land, the ground burst open, and three white figures surged out!
Three Treasures Suction Crush!
To block the previous round of tank shelling, seven of the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu had been lost, but the three most important puppets had been preserved.
The three puppets combined, their mouths hanging wide open. An unparalleled suction force erupted from them, drawing in everything in front of them to be ground into dust!
"Forward!"
Instead of retreating, Shizune leaped into the air and charged ahead. Clenching her fist, she used the suction force to propel herself directly at the three puppets.
As she threw a punch, the violent pressure of her fist created fire through friction with the air, rushing toward the puppets. Her fists moved like shadows, and the flames bloomed like a peacock's tail!
A rain of fire filled the sky, turning into a tornado fueled by the suction, surging into the puppets.
It looked like a Fire Style jutsu, but it was fundamentally different. Fire Style used chakra to burn enemies, but the flames Shizune threw were the result of pure physical force and friction.
In an instant...
The moment the puppets sucked in the flames, countless fist-strikes fell upon them like a torrential rain!
They were completely dismantled!
"What?!"
Even as she was fleeing, Chiyo's heart was filled with shock at the sight.
Such a crude method of breaking the technique... as expected of Tsunade's disciple.
The moment Shizune broke the Three Treasures Suction Crush, she rushed toward Chiyo without a moment's hesitation!
Just as her palm—capable of killing a person with a single blow—was about to reach Chiyo, countless black particles transformed into a giant wall of steel, blocking her path!
"This is...!"
Chiyo's eyes narrowed to pinpricks, as if she were seeing something impossible.
"Old hag, have you reached the point where you can't even handle someone like this?"
A familiar, cold voice drifted down from atop the steel structure.
A red-haired youth wearing a black robe with red clouds stood there, chakra threads extending from his hands to a puppet hovering in mid-air. He spoke with a detached expression.
Looking at that familiar figure, Chiyo's mouth hung open, unable to speak for a moment.
Shizune stopped her advance, her face tensing as she looked at the youth standing atop the Iron Sand.
"Sasori of the Red Sand."
A figure landed beside Shizune—it was Itachi, who had taken over command of the army while Shizune was pursuing Chiyo.
"Hey, hey, hey! Those weapons from the Leaf look pretty artistic!"
Another voice rang out from the sky.
A white clay bird soared through the air. A golden-haired youth with a ponytail looked down at the tanks rolling across the battlefield with an excited expression. Like Sasori, he wore the black robe with red clouds.
"Sasori?!"
"How can it be you? Why are you here?!" Chiyo asked in disbelief.
"Did you forget, old hag? You were the one who requested support from the Land of Rain," Sasori said, glancing lightly at Chiyo with zero respect for his grandmother.
The Land of Rain...
Listening to their conversation, Shizune exchanged a look with Itachi Uchiha.
Just as the Hokage had predicted, the Land of Rain had indeed intervened. Although, it wasn't as if the Hokage had any intention of letting the Land of Rain off the hook anyway.
Itachi looked calmly at the two men in front of him, his gaze finally resting on Deidara in the sky.
"Shizune-senpai, leave the one in the sky to me."
As a medical and taijutsu specialist, Shizune was a natural counter to someone like Sasori, who relied on poison and puppets. However, she lacked a effective means of attacking enemies in the sky.
"Fine. We'll do it your way," Shizune nodded slightly.
High above, Deidara was annoyed by their talk and was about to speak when he suddenly stopped. He maneuvered his clay bird into a lightning-fast spiral.
Several explosions went off in the sky, and the resulting shockwaves made his robes flutter violently!
It was only then that he realized that several hundred meters away, many tanks had already trained their cannons on him!
"Don't get careless, brat. One wrong move... and you'll die," Sasori said calmly from the ground. Streams of Iron Sand poured out of the mouth of the puppet he was controlling, shaping themselves into iron spears aimed at Shizune.
Chiyo stared at the scene. Ordinary Sand shinobi might not know, but she knew all too well...
What exactly was that puppet in Sasori's hands?!
That was... the Third Kazekage!
But on this battlefield, even she couldn't say much. Right now, the priority was to stabilize the collapsing Sand forces and retreat!
Sasori's attack was ready. His emotionless eyes stared at the battle-ready Shizune.
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Drizzle."
KonohagakureHokage Office
Kakashi frowned slightly as he looked at the latest battle report from the Wind-Fire front.
Shizune had moved quickly, pushing back the Sand forces within a single day and nearly capturing their commander, Chiyo. If Sasori and Deidara hadn't arrived to save the day, the entire Sand army would likely have collapsed completely.
In the end, under the cover of Sasori and Deidara, the Sand shinobi were driven out of the Land of Rivers, and the entire force retreated to the Land of Wind.
Currently, Shizune and Itachi were resting and regrouping, maintaining a standoff with the Sand forces. Although they intended to attack again, Deidara's use of three C3 bombs had served as a powerful deterrent.
Kakashi put down the intelligence report, his brow furrowed. Even with Sasori and Deidara's help, the Sand could not win against Shizune and Itachi. With three Ancor Vantians and fifty tanks supporting them, it was almost impossible to lose.
Furthermore, in the original timeline, Deidara had already been defeated by Itachi. The reason they didn't take him down this time was simply because he stayed high in the sky, keeping Itachi's genjutsu out of range. Next time they met, Itachi wouldn't give Deidara that chance again.
What truly made Kakashi frown was the appearance of the Akatsuki; it was quite unexpected. Shizune's advance was fast, but the Akatsuki's reinforcement speed...
No, it was Pain's decision-making speed that was remarkably fast. Kakashi didn't believe they just happened to arrive the moment Chiyo was about to be captured. It was clear the two had arrived at the battlefield early and only intervened at the critical moment when the situation turned sour.
From this, it was evident that Pain had long intended to support the four great nations and had already put those plans into motion.
If this was the case on the Wind-Fire front, then what about the Earth, Lightning, and Water fronts?
Currently, the only confirmed members were the "Blue Jade" duo (Sasori and Deidara) on the Wind front and Obito Uchiha on the Water front.
Kakashi wasn't worried about the Blue Jade duo. Guy was on the Lightning-Fire front, so Kakashi was at ease there as well. Even on the Water-Fire front, Baiyun Hayama was facing Obito, and Kakashi wasn't worried. With Hayama's abilities, even if he couldn't beat Obito, he wouldn't lose.
The only thing that worried Kakashi was the Earth-Fire front.
In addition to having the perfect Jinchūriki of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, the Hidden Stone Village also had the Third Tsuchikage. If they were joined by Akatsuki members... even two of the Sannin, Jiraiya and Tsunade, might run into trouble.
At this thought, Kakashi rubbed his fingers and opened his eyes slightly.
"Have Tenzo come here."
Gekkō Hayate, who was on standby, immediately rushed to the Anbu headquarters.
Kakashi had originally intended for Tenzo to accompany him to the Hidden Rain Village when the war reached its peak to deal with Pain, Konan, and the rest of the Akatsuki. But Pain's decisiveness forced Kakashi to send Tenzo to reinforce the Earth-Fire front just in case.
If Tenzo went to the Earth-Fire front, then there was only one person left in the village qualified to go to the Land of Rain with him.
Hikari.
Although he had once intended not to let Hikari step onto the battlefield again, Kakashi was not a pedantic man.
"Lord Hokage."
A figure appeared before Kakashi. The man was tall with a somewhat honest face, wearing the standard black uniform of a Konoha Jonin.
"Tenzo, I need you to get to the Land of Grass battlefield as fast as possible to support Tsunade and Jiraiya."
Kakashi informed him of the current situation and ordered him to depart immediately.
"Then what about the Land of Rain...?" Tenzo hesitated.
According to the original plan, he was to go to the Land of Rain with Kakashi. With the two of them together, they would suppress the country that had once initiated the Second Shinobi World War. Now that he was going to the Land of Grass, Kakashi would be alone in the Land of Rain.
In Tenzo's view, even Jiraiya and Tsunade combined were not as important as the current Kakashi.
"You don't need to worry about that. Hikari will take your place," Kakashi said with a nod.
"In that case, I will set out immediately."
Tenzo accepted the order without further hesitation and took his leave. As the only Wood Style user in Konoha, his strength had improved by leaps and bounds after mastering the Sage Mark. The Sage Mark had brought a qualitative change to his power.
It could be said that among the Sage Mark users other than Hikari, Tenzo's strength was second only to Guy in his Sage-enhanced Inner Gates state. Even Baiyun Hayama was no match for Tenzo. This was the reason Kakashi had originally planned for Tenzo to accompany him to the Land of Rain.
With Tenzo going to the Land of Grass, even with two perfect Jinchūriki and Akatsuki members, the Earth-Fire front wouldn't be able to cause any major upsets.
Now, Kakashi just needed to wait. He would wait for this inherently unequal war to reach its climax, and then he and Hikari would personally go to the Land of Rain to deal with Pain and take the Rinnegan.
Then, the shinobi world would finally be at peace.
Once he had the Rinnegan, even if Madara Uchiha were to be resurrected, he wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble. Then, he would send out teams to find Black Zetsu and nip all threats in the bud. Kakashi himself could then focus on raising the overall strength of the shinobi world to prepare for the visitors from beyond the heavens twenty years from now.
Thinking this, Kakashi stood up to leave. Since he had chosen to team up with Hikari against Pain, he naturally had to inform her.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away at a port in the Land of Water, dozens of large ships had already set sail.
Just as Kakashi had judged, in the face of such a massive move by Konoha, Mei Terumī had suppressed her coup to overthrow the Fourth Mizukage's rule. In a sense, this was the result of introducing an external conflict when internal ones couldn't be resolved.
Standing at the bow of a ship, the brown-haired woman in a water-blue robe looked out at the endless sea with a face full of worry. For some reason, a sense of crisis rose in her heart. It felt as if this operation would encounter some unforeseen variable.
Mei Terumī smoothed her hair, which had been ruffled by the sea breeze, and sighed inwardly.
I hope it's just my imagination...
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