Chapter 47: War (Part 2)
"Finally couldn't hold back anymore, huh?"
Amid the deafening chaos, a calm voice rang out.
Senju Morin stood at the very edge of the barrier. His hands blurred through seals at terrifying speed as vast quantities of chakra surged forth.
"Water Release: Grand Exploding Water Shockwave!"
The colossal wave—towering dozens of meters high—did not materialize out of nothing. Instead, under the influence of Morin's technique, it burst forth from the raging river beside the battlefield.
The torrent tore itself free from the riverbed, roaring skyward like a primordial beast finally breaking its earthly shackles.
By drawing directly upon a natural water source, Morin not only conserved immense amounts of chakra, but elevated the power of his Water Release to a truly catastrophic level.
The flood's target was not merely the Third Raikage at the front.
Centered on Morin himself, the water surged outward in all directions, roaring as it spread. Wherever the torrent passed, rocks were overturned, trees uprooted, and the land itself was violently reshaped.
Except for the Konoha camp directly behind him—still protected by the barrier—everything around was instantly transformed into a vast, churning swamp.
Dozens of Kumogakure ninja who had been charging forward with furious cries had no time to react. They were swallowed whole by the unstoppable deluge, dragged away without even a chance to scream, their voices drowned beneath the thunderous roar of rushing water.
Morin did not stop.
His hands continued forming seals at a speed nearly impossible to follow as he issued another sharp command:
"Wind Release: Vortex Flow!"
In an instant, the air above the battlefield turned violent.
Visible currents of green-tinted wind chakra—drawn as if by an unseen hand—were sucked wildly into the newly formed waters. The surface, which had begun to calm, erupted once more.
But this time, it was no mere wave.
Under the furious rotation of high-speed air currents, the water was forcibly twisted and torn apart.
Small whirlpools began forming across the surface, pulling in floating debris and Kumogakure ninja who had fallen into the water. As more wind chakra poured in, the whirlpools expanded at terrifying speed, merging together—
Until finally, before countless horrified eyes, a colossal water tornado connected the murky floodwaters to the darkened sky above.
"Compound Ninjutsu: Hurricane Turbulence Technique!"
This was no longer just a technique.
It was a man-made natural disaster.
Muddy water formed its massive body, mixed with shattered stone, splintered trees, and the despairing silhouettes of Kumogakure ninja trapped within.
Raging wind pressure became its soul, shrieking like a wounded god as it dragged everything nearby into the air—before mercilessly hurling it away or grinding it to pieces.
Like a monstrous beast artificially brought into existence, the water tornado rampaged under Morin's control, slowly advancing and crushing through the densest concentration of Kumogakure forces.
Meanwhile, the sealing formulas embedded within the three rock walls—already partially destroyed by the Third Raikage—could no longer be sustained.
Once the reinforcement seals failed, the walls were no different from ordinary stone.
They were torn apart piece by piece, shattered into massive slabs, and swept screaming into the air by the hurricane's pull.
When the water tornado finally subsided, the battlefield itself had been utterly transformed.
The area that had once been protected by three layers of rock walls was now an open killing field—littered with pools of water, broken boulders, and countless severed limbs.
Senju Morin stood at the edge of the muddy battlefield, robes snapping violently in the lingering gale—
Calm, unmoved, and alone amid the devastation he had wrought.
He calmly surveyed the hellscape ahead—and the dazzling bolt of lightning charging toward him in blind fury. Raising his hand, Senju Morin swept it downward. His voice rang clearly across the battlefield:
"Advance!"
Behind him, the enormous transparent barrier shattered and vanished.
From within the Konoha camp, the long-waiting main force surged forth like a breached flood, launching a lethal counteroffensive against the already-ravaged Kumogakure ranks.
---
From the very first moment, the battle erupted into full-scale chaos.
Konoha shinobi poured in from both flanks, blades flashing as they clashed head-on with snarling Cloud ninja. Swords and kunai collided in brutal close combat, blood splashing across the churned mud.
Meanwhile, the Third Raikage—transformed into a streak of golden lightning—ignored every Konoha ninja in his path. His target was singular and unmistakable.
The lone figure standing still.
Senju Morin.
"You despicable brat! I'll grind you into dust!"
At this moment, A felt power surging through him like never before.
What gathered at his fingertips was not just dense Lightning Release chakra, but every ounce of rage he had accumulated since entering the Land of Frost—the agony of losing countless comrades, the shock and fury of suffering through vicious traps, the frustration of ordering a costly assault—
And now, above all else—
An overwhelming hunger for a decisive, cathartic kill.
As images flashed through his mind, A's fingers curled back one by one, until only a single index finger remained extended—sharp as a blade, thrusting straight toward Morin's heart.
"Hell Stab—One-Finger Thrust!"
A roared as he drove his hand forward.
Lightning flared violently—
But there was no sensation of flesh giving way.
Splash.
Morin's body shattered like a reflection in glass, collapsing into a pool of clear water.
"AAAAARGH—!"
A threw his head back and howled. The rage he had meant to release slammed back into his chest, burning hotter than before. He spun around, bloodshot eyes snapping toward the battlefield—
And instantly locked onto a sight that made his veins bulge.
Morin had reappeared.
He burst from the ground beside a cluster of Cloud ninja.
"Earth Release: Ground Rift."
With one hand pressed to the soil, the earth tore open as if ripped apart by an invisible giant. A black, gaping chasm yawned wide—nearly twenty Cloud ninja vanished into it without even a chance to scream.
In the next instant, the fissure snapped shut.
Fear. Struggle. Life.
All erased.
Only a thin, unremarkable crack remained, silently marking where they had been buried alive.
"Damn you!"
A exploded forward in a flash of lightning—but Morin had already sunk back into the earth, gone without a trace.
Moments later, another slaughter unfolded elsewhere.
Morin emerged soundlessly from an unremarkable puddle. Nearby, more than a dozen Cloud ninja were wading through shallow water, locked in fierce close combat with Konoha shinobi.
"Water Release: Rushing Current."
Morin's fingers twitched, forming two unfamiliar seals.
From water that barely reached the calves—harmless at a glance—countless fine, razor-sharp water blades instantly formed, like invisible scalpels. They swept precisely across ankles and shins.
"Gaaah—!"
The crack of shattering bone and screams erupted together. The Cloud ninja lost their footing at once, collapsing into blood-tainted water—
And were swiftly finished off by the Konoha blades beside them.
"Do you do nothing but scurry and hide like a rat, Hokage?!"
A roared.
But this time, he did not charge blindly.
His eyes swept the battlefield, memorizing every cluster of Cloud ninja, every likely point of engagement.
He would predict Morin's next appearance.
And when it came—
He would strike faster than ever before.