Deidara maneuvered the C2 Clay Dragon into a dive, attempting to use dense explosions to shatter the formation of the Allied Forces' long-range units.
However, a dazzling beam of lightning-water laser accurately tore through the dragon's wings; the clay structure was instantly disrupted and neutralized by the laser infused with Lightning Release.
"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
Immediately following, overwhelming Lightning Release Ninjutsu shot up from the ground.
The elite Lightning Release unit led by Darui had long since locked onto Deidara.
According to the intelligence provided by Onoki, Deidara's greatest weakness was Lightning Release, which could render his clay ineffective.
Darui stood at the front of the formation, his hands maintaining the Storm Release seal, with a fine net of Lightning Nature chakra surrounding his body.
The elite Shinobi behind him formed seals in unison, collectively maintaining a massive Lightning Release barrier field.
The air was thick with crackling Lightning Nature chakra, affecting all clay creations that entered the area.
Whether they were birds, spiders, or dragons, the chakra flow within them was instantly disrupted.
The explosive clay attached to them became like soulless lumps of mud, failing and falling one after another; far from exploding, they couldn't even spark a single flame.
"Damn it! This cursed Lightning Release unit! They have no appreciation for art at all!"
Deidara gritted his teeth, controlling the clay giant bird beneath his feet to pathetically dodge several tracking Lightning Release attacks.
His art was completely suppressed; the explosions he took such pride in were reduced to useless toys before the opponent's precisely coordinated Lightning Release formation.
Every time he tried to throw or summon a new clay bomb, it would be interfered with or shot down early by the omnipresent Lightning Nature chakra, the roar of explosions entirely drowned out by the screeching of lightning.
He could only rely on the mobility of the giant clay bird to dodge amidst the dense barrage of Lightning Release, feeling incredibly stifled.
"Don't give him a chance to breathe! Keep up the pressure!" Darui ordered calmly.
He personally focused the penetrative power of Storm Release, sending out compressed lightning-water lasers like precision-guided spears, constantly forcing Deidara into extreme evasive maneuvers and disrupting his casting rhythm.
The entire Kumogakure unit acted like a high-efficiency Lightning Release machine, pinning Deidara firmly to the edge of the Lightning Release barrier.
Preventing his art of clay explosions from being displayed in the slightest, only the pathetic silhouette of a man and his bird remained dodging in the sky above the battlefield.
Sasori of the Red Sand's Hiruko tail stinger pierced the throats of three Sunagakure puppeteers like a venomous snake, while the Third Kazekage puppet's tidal wave of Iron Sand crushed dozens of Allied puppets into scrap.
Just as he manipulated the puppet army of 'Performance of a Hundred Puppets' to pounce on the Allied right-wing Earth Release unit—
A massive wall of sand rose up, blotting out the sun! Gaara arrived leading the Sunagakure elite forces, the yellow sand coiling around puppet joints like a living thing, instantly crushing more than ten of them.
"Ridiculous, using puppets from my hometown against me?" Sasori revealed his true body from within Hiruko, a cold sneer carrying a hint of irritation.
He decisively abandoned the fodder; at this scale, no matter how powerful the Performance of a Hundred Puppets was, it couldn't compare to the strength of a powerful individual.
The Third Kazekage puppet formed hand seals.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Giant Needles!"
Black Iron Sand condensed in the sky into giant needles like a rainstorm, tearing through the air as they shot toward Gaara.
However, Gaara did not use his Absolute Defense to tank the hit as he usually would.
He pressed his palm against the ground and shouted low: "Magnet Release: Sakin Binding!"
At this moment, he finally began to use the Kekkei Genkai he had inherited from Rasa but had been unwilling to use!
The gold sand on the ground suddenly surged, turning into countless chains shimmering with golden light, precisely entangling every single giant Iron Sand needle.
Even more startlingly, the metal bearings in the Third Kazekage puppet's joints suddenly vibrated out of control—Gaara's magnetic force was actually reverse-interfering with the chakra conduction of the puppet's core!
"What?! You actually..." Sasori's fingers manipulating the puppet suddenly twitched.
He clearly hadn't expected Gaara to have mastered Magnet Release; this had never been exposed in previous intelligence!
The Sunagakure unit seized this momentary opening, firing Kunai tied with paper bombs like a swarm of bees into the gaps of the puppet's joints.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Cracks were blown into the connection of the Third Kazekage puppet's left arm, and the control of the Iron Sand began to lag.
Gaara levitated atop a sand cloud, gold sand billowing like a cape; he clapped his hands together, and an even larger magnetic sand domain expanded, causing all of Sasori's puppets within a hundred-meter radius to become stiff and sluggish.
The Sunagakure unit took the opportunity to advance in formation, continuously using Wind Release to cut the chakra threads they were so familiar with.
They completely blocked the puppet army's path of advancement.
Sasori's proud eternal art fell into a quagmire for the first time before an absolute natural enemy attribute.
Facing the main Allied force surging like a golden tide, Hoshigaki Kisame split his shark-like maw, revealing a savage grin mixed with bloodlust and excitement.
He violently slammed the massive Samehada sword into the scorching sand.
"Water Release: Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave!!!"
Chakra poured out of his body like a broken dam!
It was no longer a trickling stream, but a heaven-shaking tsunami capable of instantly changing the terrain!
Galloping giant waves emerged out of thin air, carrying a terrifying momentum that could crush anything in its path, like a moving ocean crashing down upon the several oncoming Allied squares!
"Ugh!"
"Help!"
Exclamations and screams were instantly drowned out by the roaring sound of water!
Caught off guard, a large number of Shinobi were swept into this violent torrent of a water world.
Vision was obscured by the turbid current, breath was stolen by the cold water, and bodies were torn and squeezed by the violent water pressure.
More lethally, Kisame quickly formed hand seals and slammed them onto the water's surface:
"Summoning: Thousand Feeding Sharks!!!"
"Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash!"
Thousands of sharks appeared out of thin air within the rushing water prison!
They were not physical creatures but were manifested from Kisame's massive chakra, their sharp teeth glinting with a cold light, greedy and ferocious.
Like a pack of wolves scenting blood, they crazily pounced on the Shinobi struggling in the water, trying to form seals to save themselves!
Puchi! Tear!
The sound of sharp teeth tearing through flesh echoed dully in the water, and a bright red blood mist instantly spread through the turbid water.
Screams were blocked in throats by the current, turning into desperate bubbles floating upward.
Within the water prison, it turned into a living hell in an instant!
The Allied forces' positions were almost entirely covered by this sudden ocean, suffering heavy losses!
Countless figures sank and perished under the biting of the shark swarm.
"Damn it!"
In the distance, Kakashi's Sharingan spun wildly, clearly capturing the bloody massacre occurring inside the water prison.
His expression was grave as he made an instant judgment: he had to destroy this water prison immediately, or even more people would be swallowed by this water sphere!
His figure was like lightning, leaping with several Body Flicker Techniques to a relatively high sand dune on the flank of the battlefield, his gaze like a torch scanning the terrifyingly massive water sphere below.
The crimson Sharingan peered through the turbid water, desperately searching for any signs of life.
No distress hand signals, no chakra fluctuations of stubborn resistance—only the constantly churning blood-red color and the afterimages of the rampaging sharks remained.
"Confirmed... no signs of life within!"
Kakashi's heart sank as he coldly issued the final judgment. He could no longer hesitate!
He took a deep breath, the speed of his hand seals reaching the absolute limit!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!!"
Kakashi's chest swelled as he violently spat toward the empty area above the massive water prison!
An incredibly massive fireball, so hot it was almost incandescent, erupted!
It did not attack the water prison itself but instead carried a heatwave capable of boiling the sea as it shot straight into the sky!
Boom!!!
The extreme heat instantly evaporated a large amount of water vapor from the surface of the water prison, and the scorching air rose frantically!
This desert was already hot and dry; now, under the catalysis of the massive fire energy deliberately guided by Kakashi, the water vapor was rapidly heated and lifted, colliding and rubbing violently with the cold air at high altitudes!
Whoosh—
The gale suddenly intensified! Centered on the point of the fireball's steam, thick, lead-like dark clouds gathered and expanded at an alarming speed, visible to the naked eye!
In just a few breaths, a massive cumulonimbus cloud covering several miles formed over the desert; lightning snakes danced within the cloud layers, and the muffled roar of thunder could be heard!
Kakashi's Fire Release had forcibly created a weather system over the battlefield capable of triggering a thunderstorm!
The time had come!
Kakashi's hand seals suddenly changed, and his entire body's lightning-attribute chakra erupted without reservation! It emitted a sharp screeching like the chirping of a thousand birds!
"Lightning Blade!!!"
He didn't rush toward the enemy as usual; instead, he pointed his right hand, which had accumulated terrifying Lightning Nature chakra, toward the sky like a lightning rod!
Zzzzt!!!
The violent Lightning Nature chakra shot into the center of the churning cumulonimbus cloud like a signal flare!
Boom!!!!
Almost at the instant the light of the Lightning Blade vanished into the clouds, an unprecedentedly thick, pale-white bolt of natural lightning, like a spear of the gods, was forcibly drawn down!
It tore through the dark sky, carrying the magnificent heavenly majesty that could destroy all things, and struck with absolute precision upon the massive saltwater prison formed by the 'Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave'!
BOOM!!!
A deafening, terrifying explosion swept across the entire battlefield! It felt as if heaven and earth were trembling under this strike!
Blinding white electric light instantly filled the entire water sphere! The violent natural lightning energy rampaged frantically through the water!
Water molecules were instantly electrolyzed under the ultra-high voltage current!
"Awooo!!!"
Inside the water prison, countless Thousand Feeding Sharks composed of chakra let out a series of shrill wails, disintegrating and annihilating like bubbles under the devastation of the supreme yang lightning power!
The massive water prison structure itself collapsed violently under this strike that was like divine punishment!
Splash!!!
The towering waves lost their chakra support and shattered like a punctured balloon, turning into countless turbid water waterfalls crashing and dispersing in all directions!
Steaming water vapor mixed with the smell of scorched ozone rose into the sky, forming a massive white mist.
The lightning Kakashi had drawn tore through the battlefield; its violent natural force was not something Kisame's Water Style chakra could easily swallow or cancel out.
At this moment, the giant water sphere formed by the Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave had instead become a cage trapping him.
The terrifying current that instantly penetrated the entire water prison stabbed fiercely into his massive body!
"Aaaargh!!!"
Hoshigaki Kisame let out the most painful roar since the battle began!
His incredibly tough shark skin instantly charred and cracked in large patches, emitting the foul stench of burnt protein.
Violent lightning ran amok inside him, crazily battering his Tenketsu and causing his proud, thick chakra flow to fall into a stagnant-like delay.
Worse still, his life-sustaining partner, the Samehada sword, now also transmitted an unprecedentedly violent vibration filled with fear and intense pain!
The 'mouth' beneath the hilt's bandages let out a sharp, piercing wail.
Although Samehada could absorb chakra, this pure natural lightning from the high heavens contained destructive energy and instantaneous impact that exceeded the limit it could withstand in a short time.
The scales on the blade's body were charred and curled in large patches, and some places even cracked open, revealing crimson flesh tissue!
Kakashi's crimson Sharingan precisely captured this once-in-a-lifetime moment of weakness for Kisame.
Enduring the numbness in his own body after performing the large-scale Lightning Release, he didn't hesitate for a moment and shouted sharply.
"Guy!"
"Ohhh!! Burn, youth!! Sixth Gate: Gate of View, OPEN!!!"
Responding to him was Might Guy's iconic roar, filled with power and determination!
A surge of scorching chakra, far exceeding anything before, erupted from Guy's body like a volcanic explosion!
The green energy steam was no longer a faint mist but shot into the sky like burning flames!
The sand beneath his feet was forcibly pressed into a crater by this erupting aura!
"Whoosh!"
In the Sixth Gate state, Guy's speed had already surpassed the limits of visual capture!
His entire being turned into a green comet, trailing a long tail of steam, instantly tearing through the water vapor and smoke in front of Kisame that hadn't yet fully dissipated!
At this time, Kisame was still suffering from the dual pain of lightning paralysis and Samehada's backlash, his movements stiff and sluggish.
Facing Guy's teleport-like charge, he could only rely on the instincts honed from countless life-and-death battles to barely raise his charred left arm to block.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!!"
Guy's roar was accompanied by the boom of tearing air!
His right leg, burning with green steam, came crashing down like a battle-axe with the force of a thousand pounds!
Bang!!!
A dull impact sound that made one's heart skip a beat rang out!
Kisame's block was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Before the pure violence of Guy's Sixth Gate state, his thick arm made a tooth-aching sound of grinding bone!
The intense pain caused the muscles on his face to contort, and he was sent flying by this irresistible force, plowing a deep trench in the sand like a broken sack!
"It's not over yet, Dynamic Entry!!!"
Guy had almost no pause upon landing; the powerful reaction force sent him launching in pursuit like a cannonball again!
His body spun at high speed in the air, his other leg burning with steam following closely behind, turning into a green drill that kicked fiercely toward Kisame's chest as he lay on the ground!
A fierce light exploded in Kisame's eyes; enduring the intense pain, he violently held the damaged Samehada sword horizontally in front of his chest!
Clang!!!
A loud sound of clashing metal! Guy's kick struck hard against the spine of Samehada!
The massive force caused Kisame to slide back another dozen meters, and Samehada's blade vibrated violently, letting out an even more shrill hum, clearly suffering a secondary impact.
Just as Kisame's old strength was spent and his new strength had not yet risen, suppressed by Guy's continuous violent Taijutsu until he could hardly breathe—
"Lightning Blade!!!"