"Rumble..."
With a deafening crash, Kannabi Bridge—the vital supply stronghold of Iwagakure—shattered completely, collapsing into ruins amid exploding tags.
To everyone's surprise, Onoki showed no anger. He grinned proudly instead. "The Golden Flash of Konoha lives up to his name indeed. I knew you'd come back to finish this mission. Now you won't escape at all."
A, who had pursued Minato without letting go, drew closer again, his voice thick with emotion. "Your speed truly surpasses mine. But today, you may die here."
Minato had successfully destroyed the bridge and sent away his two students. Now with nothing left to bind him, he stood calmly, holding his signature Flying Thunder God kunai, unafraid. "Ninjas exist to protect. I carry too great a responsibility to lose."
"Hahaha. To counter your Flying Thunder God Technique, I've already ordered a large number of Iwa Anbu to set up a space-time barrier around this area. And as time passes, this barrier will shrink, leaving you with less and less space to move." Onoki's eyes gleamed sharply as he continued, "So let's see just how long you can last."
Minato's gaze burned with endless determination. He knew the hardest moment had arrived. There was no choice now but to fight.
"Come."
Yellow and blue flashes collided at speeds nearly invisible to the naked eye. Above, the Tsuchikage's expression flickered unpredictably, caught in hesitation over whether to wipe both fighters out at once using Dust Release.
Forget it. After a moment's thought, Onoki resisted the tempting idea. Both fighters below were speed-type ninja. Even while locked in fierce combat, they would never neglect his presence. If the Dust Release missed or was dodged, he might end up being targeted himself.
"Raikage, I'll assist you," Onoki decided and entered the battle, joining the assault against Minato.
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure Village, Rasa, the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, arrived at a secret chamber and knocked gently on the door.
A deep voice came from within: "What is it?"
Rasa respectfully replied, "Third Kazekage, a joint document from the three great nations has arrived. I'm uncertain how to respond, so I'd like to ask for your advice."
The Third Kazekage opened the door and stepped out, bringing with him an overwhelming presence that pressured even Rasa—a Kage-level ninja. Rasa couldn't help but inwardly admire him. Truly the strongest Kazekage in history—having absorbed the Ryumyaku energy, he might now be the strongest ninja in the entire Ninja World.
Accepting the scroll handed to him by Rasa, the Third Kazekage's eyes flashed sharply as he asked solemnly, "What do you think we should do?"
"I'd like to sign on," Rasa responded immediately without hesitation.
"Then go ahead," the Third Kazekage agreed. "However, our village resources are limited—we cannot deploy too many ninjas. I'll have Sasori prepare sufficient puppets for you."
Overjoyed, Rasa said, "Thank you for your support."
After Rasa left, Sasori quickly made a copy of the document he had just reviewed and hurriedly found Mabui. His face tight with urgency, he said, "Quickly, use the Heavenly Transfer Technique to send this intelligence to Big Brother Kurotsuchi."
"What's wrong?" Ever since Rasa came into power, Mabui had completely relaxed. The most she did every day was ride the motorcycle puppet Sasori had created to go sand surfing. She was having the time of her life every day, and her naturally dark skin looked even shinier than before.
"This is the first time I've ever seen you so worked up," Mabui said curiously as she glanced at the scroll. "What's inside?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Sasori replied without giving a direct answer, placing the scroll onto a transmission platform.
Mabui pouted slightly at getting no information but wisely kept quiet, activating the Heavenly Transfer Technique toward Mount Hakuto.
Anya soon received Sasori's intelligence from a Konoha ninja. It was impressive — even here, Sasori had his own people.
After silently finishing reading the intelligence report, Anya's suspicions were confirmed. Madara Uchiha's grand plan was staggering. The Four-Nation Coalition proposed by the Mizukage of Kirigakure had already gained approval from other nations. All that remained was to decide on the timing for the coordinated attack. Minato had already fallen into an ambush by both the Tsuchikage and Raikage, and his current life or death status was unknown.
Anya had confidence in Minato. Even under attack from two Kage-level experts, he could survive. Moreover, Minato had likely already realized the battlefield situation had changed; keeping those two occupied was the greatest help he could offer to the overall war effort. Therefore, both sides were inevitably heading toward a protracted conflict.
The exact number of the Four-Nation Coalition was unclear, but judging from Iwagakure village's ability to mobilize ten thousand ninja to attack the Third Raikage, the total number of the Coalition should be no less than twenty thousand.
Twenty thousand ninja, each releasing just one Ninjutsu, could probably wipe Mount Hakuto off the map entirely. The time left for her was already limited.
Without a doubt, the Mizukage of Kirigakure was definitely under Madara Uchiha's control. The Raikage agreeing to ally with the Tsuchikage meant only one thing — the truth about the Third Raikage's death had been uncovered. As for Sunagakure, whether they joined or not no longer mattered much.
Sasori's cooperation likely came from the idea of sneaking puppets into the army for Self-Destruction purposes. It might play a certain role, though against twenty thousand soldiers, its effect would be minimal — Konoha had resisted before, after all.
Anya held the intelligence report in silence for a long time, sinking into a lengthy period of thought. Eventually, red glimmers flickered in his eyes, and a bloodthirsty smile crept onto his face. He murmured to himself, "Then let's get started. Too bad the Raikage and the Tsuchikage won't come in person. Otherwise, I'd be happy to treat you all to a family portrait."
[The intelligence report ignited in Anya's hand.] At this moment, the murderous intent on his face, lit by the flames, looked like a fiery blue lotus blooming from the depths of corruption and muck.
Anya found Tsunade. Since their last conflict, this was their first meeting.
Still filled with anger, Tsunade refused to acknowledge Anya. She chose to ignore him and prepared to leave.
Anya used Shunshin to block her path and said, "I'm leaving for a while."
Tsunade hesitated for a second before lowering her gaze and murmured, "You should have left long ago. You've lost my trust now."
Not even willing to meet his eyes?
Anya reached out to touch Tsunade's cheek.
Tsunade took a step back instinctively, dodging the gesture.
Anya didn't force it, sighing as he said, "You're still too young right now. Only the you from the future will understand. Ninja and death always walk side by side. I know it's hard for you to accept, but without crossing this threshold, there will be no future at all."
Still too young? You're a ninja younger than me. How can you have the nerve to call me young?
As Tsunade lifted her head to retort, Anya had already quietly turned and left.
"Tsunade-sama, please don't blame the captain. Actually, he has something on his mind," Yugao said, appearing out of nowhere beside Tsunade.
"Something on his mind? What could he possibly have on his mind?" Tsunade scoffed with a roll of her eyes.
Yugao hesitated, then let out a soft sigh at last...
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