Chapter 214: A Joint Struggle
It didn't take long for Onoki, with his superior aerial view, to spot Minato Namikaze on the battlefield below.
"He's here..." Minato looked up, then gave a brief nod to Kyosuke as he arrived at his side.
Ignoring the sea of corpses around them, Kyosuke smiled. "It seems our plan is working."
"Indeed," Minato replied with a smile of his own. "I've taken out about a third of their forces today. I'd say the mission was a success."
Even though he had been prepared for it, Kyosuke's eyelids still twitched at the number. This wasn't like the original story, where the Iwa forces were a scattered few. Influenced by his own actions, the Iwa army was significantly larger this time. Not to mention the reinforcements that had been sent to protect Onoki. For Minato to have eliminated a third of their army single-handedly... it was a testament to his incredible power.
Of course, this didn't mean Minato was on the level of Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha, capable of taking on an entire village by himself. But his jutsu was perfectly suited for large-scale battles, especially against weaker opponents. He was a master of crowd control.
With his extreme speed and the Rasengan, a jutsu that required no hand signs, it was no wonder Minato Namikaze would become Hokage in his early twenties.
Kyosuke pulled his gaze away from Minato, suppressing a few stray thoughts, and looked up at the impassive Onoki floating in the sky. "Now, all we have to do is defeat him, and this war is essentially over."
"Then let's end this war together, Kyosuke."
They exchanged a smile, then shot toward the Tsuchikage at blinding speed.
There were no words exchanged. All three of them unleashed their full power from the very beginning, each determined to crush their opponents as quickly as possible.
Elsewhere, the battered Iwa forces were attempting a strategic retreat. But the Northwestern Corps, now holding the advantage, was not about to let them go so easily.
With the exception of the intelligence and medical divisions, the entire Northwestern Corps had been deployed for a full-scale assault. Even the special reconnaissance and surprise attack units had joined the main front.
Outnumbered, outmatched, and with their morale shattered, the Iwa forces were being completely overwhelmed.
They were pushed back across the border, pursued all the way to their main encampment. With their medical units still evacuating a massive number of casualties, the Iwa army had no choice but to make a desperate last stand on the plains outside their camp, buying as much time as they could.
A brutal, bloody battle ensued. Shinobi fell on both sides with every passing second, but neither army gave an inch. The sheer tenacity of the cornered Iwa forces was far greater than the Konoha ninja had anticipated, introducing an element of uncertainty into their plans.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Gates Breakdown!"
Hyuga Saori, covered in blood, used the distraction created by her two guards to close the distance to her opponent. With a series of precise strikes, she hit all of his vital tenketsu points. The killing blow landed, and she immediately retreated.
Moments later, the enemy's chakra went into a violent, uncontrollable surge, and his body exploded in a shower of blood and gore.
The sight made not only the enemy, but also her own comrades, instinctively keep their distance, lest they get on the wrong side of the terrifying kunoichi.
"Hah..." Saori let out a breath and looked at the remaining Iwa ninja with a disdainful smile. "The only reason they're fighting to the death is because they're pinning all their hopes on the Tsuchikage defeating Kyosuke. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment."
"The moment the news of the Tsuchikage's defeat arrives, their will to fight will shatter completely."
"Oh?" Number 13, one of her guards, said with a mischievous grin. "You have that much faith in Lord Kyosuke?"
Saori shot her a glare, refusing to indulge in her teasing.
Since their kiss by the river, Kyosuke and Saori's relationship had progressed rapidly. While they hadn't made it official, they weren't exactly hiding it either. Kyosuke had even assigned his two personal guards to protect her. As a result, Number 13 took every opportunity to poke fun at her, and Saori had, over time, grown used to it.
But she was right. The Iwa army's desperate stand was fueled by two things: the need to protect their evacuating medical corps, and the hope that Onoki would turn the tide of the war. Otherwise, their entire campaign would be a complete failure.
I wonder how you're doing... A flicker of worry passed through her heart, but she quickly suppressed it. She had absolute faith that Kyosuke would emerge victorious.
With a surge of chakra, she charged back into the fray.
The battle that would decide the fate of the war was still raging.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
A brilliant beam of white light shot from Onoki's palms, aimed directly at the off-balance Kyosuke.
The violet-red skeletal arm of his Susanoo had just batted away the stone golem. By the time he saw the Dust Release attack, it was too late to dodge.
Onoki's combat experience was truly formidable. With a simple feint, he had created a fatal opening.
But as the beam of white light bore down on him, Kyosuke's expression remained perfectly calm.
He knew that with Minato Namikaze by his side, a long-range attack like this posed no threat.
And he was right. Just as a triumphant smile began to spread across Onoki's face, a golden light flashed twice in the air.
The Tsuchikage's smile froze. He turned his head stiffly and saw Kyosuke and Minato, now standing a safe distance away.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Lord Tsuchikage," Kyosuke said, the mockery in his voice so thick Onoki could feel it from a hundred meters away.
"Damn you brats!" The emotional whiplash from elation to frustration was so intense that even the stoic Onoki's hands began to tremble with rage.
He took a deep breath, and his chakra began to boil. He slammed a single hand onto the ground, and the terrain for hundreds of meters around them began to shift and contort violently.
"Earth Release: Super Mobile Core!"
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