First, Seiki launched a surprise attack on Kitsuchi to save Mui. Then, Mui turned around and struck back at Seiki. Soon after, he betrayed Iwagakure itself. This rapid chain of events left everyone's minds momentarily stunned.
Most noticeable were the shock on the Allied Forces' faces and the wild joy in the eyes of the Iwagakure ninjas. Before anyone could voice their thoughts, the situation had completely flipped, forcing them to swallow back the words already on their tongues.
"How is this possible? Mui was actually working for him!" Onoki's heart went cold. Now he finally understood—Seiki Shimaseki must have known all along about their plans but pretended not to, even using himself as bait to set a trap for them.
But there was one thing still unclear to him. They'd been certain Mui was firmly under control. So how did Seiki learn about their operations? And more importantly, how had he secretly communicated with Mui to orchestrate this ambush?
Surely not through some mind-reading or male intuition?
He didn't have time to ponder further. Ignoring the pain of his broken leg, Onoki grabbed Kitsuchi and flew into the sky. "This is a trap! Retreat quickly!"
Hearing the Tsuchikage's voice, everyone finally snapped out of their daze.
They panicked and scattered in all directions—but escaping from Hozuki Castle, which was surrounded by sea on all sides, wasn't that easy.
"Jump into the sea! I'll rescue you!" Han shouted loudly.
The Eight-Tails was created by the Sage of Six Paths based on oxen and octopuses, while the Five-Tails took inspiration from horses and dolphins. So they both got some control over water currents.
Though nowhere near the Three-Tails' level, rescuing part of the fleeing forces from the ocean was certainly feasible.
However, the Allied Forces wouldn't just let them escape—they threw everything they had into blocking their retreat.
Not aiming to kill, only to stop them from escaping before reinforcements arrived.
[Body Flicker Technique!]
"I'm escaping!"
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!]
"I'll block!"
In an instant, the battlefield descended into chaos.
Satori, the central figure on the battlefield, flapped its wings in confusion. It could read these humans' thoughts—but precisely because of that, it could sense just how terrifying they truly were.
Plot within plot, scheme upon scheme. Even Satori itself was nothing more than a pawn in their schemes.
Compared to the darkness in their hearts, even its embodiment of darkness seemed pale.
Especially that harmless-looking human kid—it felt like its natural nemesis. If it didn't run now, once that kid got free, it was finished!
Thinking that, Satori hurriedly gripped the Wish-Granting Casket with both legs, flew skyward, and made a run for it.
"That guy was actually a double agent... No, scratch that—he's definitely a triple agent by now! How come the idiot I've possessed trusted him all this time without realizing anything?"
Black Zetsu's mood darkened, nearly spitting blood from frustration.
Since he was possessing Magze and reading his memories, he'd naturally been easily influenced by Magze's own preconceptions.
Because Magze fully believed in that brat, no one even considered the possibility… Well, definitely not because *he* himself had been deceived!
"Never mind. If this time doesn't work, there's always next time. For me, it's just another chance to start over with a new identity!"
For Black Zetsu, who had spent a thousand years chasing a single success, this level of failure was almost laughable.
Just then, Seiki Shimaseki's roar echoed across the battlefield.
"Master Onoki, don't think you can escape! Today, you're staying right here!"
Using Shadow Clone Technique to draw attention upfront, Seiki Shimaseki quietly circled around behind Magze.
[Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!]
"Hmph! You actually think you can keep me here and..." Onoki started angrily, but suddenly froze.
Flying high in the sky, he could clearly see everything happening on the battlefield below.
Seeing Seiki Shimaseki shouting about keeping him here while secretly launching a powerful attack against Magze, Onoki was instantly confused. "Σ(°△°|||)︴, Magze, quickly retreat!"
Although momentarily fooled, Magze still reacted as the Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan came crashing down.
"This brat realizes killing Onoki is impossible now, so he plans to expand his victory by wiping out all us Iwa ninja who couldn't flee in time?"
Black Zetsu guessed silently while faking panic and despair in his voice. "No!"
For someone like himself whose very essence was created from Yin-Yang Release, physical destruction meant absolutely nothing. This level of attack wouldn't even cause him any real damage.
In fact, it gave him a perfect excuse to withdraw!
However, when the energy sphere destroyed Magze's physical body, Black Zetsu suddenly discovered a terrifying truth.
Right at the center of that massive energy ball was a smaller energy sphere — a Sage Art: Rasengan infused with Natural Energy!
This time, Black Zetsu truly screamed in agony. "NOOO!!!"
Hearing this piercing scream, everyone instinctively shivered.
Especially Roshi, who flinched at the sound — it dredged up terrible memories that made his gut hurt all over again.
"Damn it, Magze! I'll take care of your wife myself..." Onoki, who was agonizing over failing to save someone, was horrified when he saw black mud dropping from Magze's body. From that broken body, a surge of black liquid flickered before seeping into the ground.
If he hadn't witnessed Seiki Shimaseki sealing the black mud, he might have dismissed the sudden flash of darkness as a mere illusion... Wait, why is he still sealing things?
Onoki widened his eyes. Since earlier, Seiki Shimaseki had already used more than ten different Sealing Techniques consecutively.
This level of Sealing Technique was comparable to what would be needed to seal the Nine-Tails!
"What exactly happened? Why does Seiki Shimaseki value that piece of black mud so much? And why did Magze react like that?" Onoki had an ominous feeling — the truth behind this incident might be far more complicated than he imagined.
It felt as if a giant hand was manipulating everything from within darkness.
Onoki wasn't the only one noticing something strange about Seiki Shimaseki. Danzo approached with a deep frown, asking, "What exactly is going on here?"
Seiki Shimaseki shook his head slightly, and after storing the scroll containing the sealed fragment of Black Zetsu's body, he simply replied, "We'll talk about this later. Let's handle the immediate issue first."
"At the very least, we cannot let them leave so easily!"
The commotion drew considerable attention. Many Iwagakure ninja took the opportunity to leap into the sea.
After all, facing life-or-death pressure, they couldn't afford to relax like the Allied Forces had.
Hearing Seiki's voice, everyone abruptly snapped back to attention and sprang into action.
However, for ninja, a few seconds was enough time to escape quite a distance.
This was especially true when facing death itself.
"Damn! We can't catch up!"
"Stop! It's too dangerous to jump in!"
As cries of frustration filled the air, Seiki leapt straight down along the city wall and extended his right hand into the sea.
"Everyone, get ready for pursuit!"
[Ice Age!]
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