On this battlefield, the battle between Rasa and Minato Namikaze basically represented the highest level of shinobi strength.
Whether it was the surrounding Kirigakure shinobi, Sunagakure shinobi, or even Konoha's shinobi, none of them had any chance of interfering.
All they could do was watch from the side.
Watch this visual feast.
"They're too strong!"
"This has already gone beyond the realm of normal shinobi!"
"They're not even the same type of existence as the rest of us!"
And even watching had to be done carefully.
Because the aftershocks of their attacks—or even a casual strike—might injure the bystanders.
The Kirigakure shinobi found this hard to accept.
Kirigakure was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, yet in facing Sunagakure, they had to rely on an outsider to hold back Sunagakure's strongest shinobi. And Yagura, facing Pakura, did not even appear to hold much of an advantage.
Yagura was not weak.
With Water Mirror Technique alone, he could force many shinobi into an even fight for a short period of time.
But earlier, resisting Rasa had already consumed quite a bit of his chakra.
And now, against Pakura, he needed to spend just as much chakra to defend himself.
It was not merely because of the chameleon.
The chameleon could be restrained by ordinary Kirigakure shinobi.
The bigger issue was Hiramekarei.
Hiramekarei itself could store chakra, but when it came to the Hiramekarei replica created through Yagura's Water Mirror Technique, the chakra needed for amplification could only be supplied by Yagura himself.
Right at that moment—
The chameleon, having slipped away from the Kirigakure encirclement, returned while still hidden.
It moved to a short distance behind Yagura.
Then lowered its body.
Aimed.
And fired.
Its pink tongue, possessing terrifying elasticity, shot forward like a cannon shell.
Yagura abruptly sensed danger.
Bang!
At the last possible moment, he dodged the chameleon's attack.
The tree beside him was struck instead and snapped cleanly in two.
But that gave Pakura an opening.
Pakura was on the left. Her Water Mirror clone was on the right. Yagura stood in the middle.
Which meant that even if the clone could use the same technique as Pakura to intercept her attack, the collision point would still be exactly where Yagura stood.
He would take severe damage.
Realizing that, Yagura quickly dispelled the Water Mirror Technique and recalled the chakra.
And just then, Pakura's attack arrived.
"Hiramekarei—Release!"
A chakra sphere imbued with Scorch Release properties blasted straight toward Yagura.
Yagura's expression hardened.
"Water Release: Still Water Mirror!"
The appearance was similar to Water Mirror Technique.
But the effect was completely different.
Water Mirror Technique specialized in offense.
Still Water Mirror specialized in defense.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion erupted, and the power of Scorch Release chakra spread outward from the point of detonation.
The grass on the ground, as well as the insects hidden among it, were all dried black and brittle under the effect of that scorching chakra.
And under Pakura's strike, Yagura was badly injured.
Successively fighting two top-tier shinobi—Rasa and Pakura—had already exceeded Yagura's limits.
Yagura, who had not yet become the Three-Tails' jinchuriki, did indeed possess formidable ninjutsu. But in terms of chakra reserves, he was severely restricted.
Without chakra, everything else was meaningless.
Yagura gritted his teeth.
"Retreat! Fall back in Konoha's direction!"
With that single order, the entire Kirigakure army began to move.
When you retreat, I pursue.
When you halt, I kill.
The battlefield slowly shifted toward Konoha's direction.
A drawn-out tug-of-war.
The Sunagakure army pressed forward step by step.
Within Kirigakure's ranks, a thread of despair gradually began to spread.
"Are we really going to lose?"
"We were the side with the advantage at the start!"
"How did it turn into this?"
"It's all those Seven Ninja Swordsmen's fault!"
"Fuguki Suikazan defected!"
"Jinin Akebino got himself killed!"
"And then there was the Kaguya clan!"
"Sunagakure only gained the upper hand because Kirigakure fell into internal chaos. Petty villains drunk on borrowed fortune!"
One Kirigakure shinobi glared at the opposing Sunagakure shinobi and cursed furiously.
In contrast, the Sunagakure shinobi had become increasingly excited.
At this moment, they could already see the prelude of victory.
Some of them shouted in exhilaration.
"Today! Today is the day we win!"
"Defeat Kirigakure! Capture Karatachi Yagura alive!"
Some Sunagakure shinobi were already fantasizing about what reparations they would demand after defeating Kirigakure.
One proposed,
"We should use the same terms Kirigakure once demanded from us—and make them pay double. No, ten times over!"
"That's right!"
"Demand even greater financial compensation!"
"Make them hand over Karatachi Yagura and Kushimaru Kuriarare!"
"..."
High in the sky, supported by a mass of gold dust, Rasa looked down over the entire battlefield.
Compared to the excitement of the Sunagakure shinobi, his own emotions were far calmer.
Because Rasa knew that Sunagakure's victory was inevitable.
And originally, he had thought that day would come the moment he killed Akebino and the other three.
Who would have expected Kirigakure to form an alliance with Konoha and forcibly extend its life?
But this time, even Konoha was useless.
Under Iwagakure's ferocious assault, Konoha itself was struggling just to survive. How many shinobi could it still spare to support Kirigakure? Konoha could never regard Kirigakure as more important than itself.
From the expression on the Konoha shinobi who had come to find Minato, Rasa could already tell that Konoha's own situation was far from good.
And it was not only Iwagakure.
There was also Kumogakure, which had not yet joined the battle and had been watching from the sidelines for quite some time.
Kumogakure would never give up an opportunity to seize enormous profit.
And beyond that, there were the Uchiha clan and the Kaguya clan.
The Uchiha's hatred toward Konoha, and the Kaguya clan's hatred toward Kirigakure—throughout the shinobi world, no one was unaware of them.
The moment they saw an opening, they would undoubtedly throw themselves into revenge with everything they had.
"This time, it's settled."
"My plan was right."
"I used the chameleon to infiltrate the great lake and blow apart the dam, catching Kirigakure completely off guard."
"And from that, I seized the advantage."
"Driving changes across the entire war in the shinobi world."
"And on top of that, the intensity of the war itself has also accelerated the speed at which my points are increasing."
Rasa guessed that in the midst of this fierce battle, whether Sunagakure or Iwagakure, their shinobi had surely begun mocking and provoking Hyuga shinobi with the Hyuga rumor, fighting a psychological war.
Rasa's gaze turned toward the system panel.
"At this rate, before today ends, I'll reach 3,000 points and can perform the third thirty-pull!"
By dusk, Rasa looked at the panel again.
"It's reached it!"
His eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he made his choice.
"Thirty-pull! Begin!"