In Sage Mode, Ringo Ameyuri's chakra volume, perception, and every other aspect of her condition had been greatly enhanced.
Therefore, Inuzuka Tsume's trick of using the Beast Human Clone to confuse her did not slip past Ringo Ameyuri's perception.
Ringo Ameyuri released a massive current, using the magnetic force generated by the two Lightning swords touching to deflect the attacks of Inuzuka Tsume and Kuromaru slightly.
In this situation, Ringo Ameyuri swiftly brought her Lightning sword down on the real Inuzuka Tsume in front of her.
"Die!"
Ringo Ameyuri let out a furious shout.
Massive current surged from the Lightning sword, erupting in rapid crackling sounds in the air!
Inuzuka Tsume's expression changed sharply.
She quickly halted her rapidly spinning Gatsuga state, trying to twist her body and stop her forward momentum.
Behind Ringo Ameyuri, Kuromaru also noticed Inuzuka Tsume's peril.
He stopped his spin and reverted to his wolf-like ninken form.
Kuromaru opened his bloody maw and lunged straight for the back of Ringo Ameyuri's neck, trying to slow her attack.
Ringo Ameyuri heard the tearing sound from behind, and with her Sage Mode perception, she naturally knew what was happening.
Ringo Ameyuri did not even look back, nor did she slow her attack.
She fought as though trading her life for her opponent's.
The Lightning Armor jutsu Ringo Ameyuri had cast from the start was meant for exactly this situation.
Sizzle!
The Lightning sword flashed with dazzling light as it cut through the air.
Knowing she could not dodge, a crazed look flashed in Inuzuka Tsume's eyes, and instead of retreating, she lunged forward!
A spray of blood erupted!
The Lightning sword in Ringo Ameyuri's hand pierced straight through Inuzuka Tsume's shoulder, accompanied by the smell of charred flesh!
Inuzuka Tsume's sudden lunge forward caused the Lightning sword, which should have pierced her heart, to strike her shoulder instead.
"Got you!"
Ignoring her wound, Inuzuka Tsume clutched tightly the arm Ringo Ameyuri had driven into her shoulder, a savage grin on her face.
Strictly speaking, the wound the Lightning sword had torn in Inuzuka Tsume's shoulder did not bleed much, nor was it agonizing.
The current surging along the Lightning sword numbed and cauterized the wound the instant it pierced in.
However, before her body went fully numb, Inuzuka Tsume tightly seized Ringo Ameyuri.
Behind Ringo Ameyuri, Kuromaru did not bite her neck.
Instead, he clamped down on her other arm, the one holding the Lightning sword, and dragged at it with all his might.
At this very moment!
Inuzuka Tsume had both hands locked on one of Ringo Ameyuri's arms, while Kuromaru behind her had her other arm in his jaws.
Inuzuka Tsume and Kuromaru, one in front and one behind, completely sealed Ringo Ameyuri's movements.
The disadvantageous situation was instantly turned around.
"It seems a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist will be lost today!"
Inuzuka Tsume looked at Ringo Ameyuri with a savage grin and shouted to Kuromaru, who had his teeth in her other arm:
"Kuromaru!"
Boom!
An intense burst of chakra erupted simultaneously from Inuzuka Tsume and Kuromaru.
Inuzuka Style Human-Beast Mixed Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf!
Along with a great plume of white smoke, a black Double-Headed Wolf several meters tall appeared in their place.
The Double-Headed Wolf's two heads clamped onto Ringo Ameyuri at the same time.
Its powerful bite force ground against the armor of lightning covering her body.
At this moment, Ringo Ameyuri, clearly at a disadvantage, showed no panic or tension on her face.
Instead, she suddenly burst into laughter.
"I can't escape?"
"But neither can you!"
Intense killing intent erupted from Ringo Ameyuri.
Waves of Sage chakra surged within her and quickly flowed into her lightning armor.
The once-stable Lightning Armor, infused with this Sage chakra, instantly went wild.
Sage Art: Lightning Armor Heavy Burst!
"Not good!"
Inuzuka Tsume's expression changed sharply.
The massive black Double-Headed Wolf leapt into the air, pointed its heads at the ground, and began to spin violently.
Garoga!
The black Double-Headed Wolf, still clamping Ringo Ameyuri in its jaws, hurtled toward the ground below at extreme speed.
Just before impact, the lightning armor on Ringo Ameyuri erupted.
Terrifying currents poured out in every direction, forming a blinding light.
Boom!
A massive explosion echoed all around.
As the light faded, a crater five or six meters deep appeared on the battlefield.
Down in the rubble!
Ringo Ameyuri blasted away the rubble covering her and stood up from the crater, panting heavily.
Beneath Ringo Ameyuri's feet, Inuzuka Tsume and Kuromaru had been reduced to black char, completely lifeless.
"Tch. Worthy of being one of Konoha's elite shinobi. That took some effort."
"My Sage chakra is also quite depleted."
Ringo Ameyuri spat out a mouthful of blood.
She stomped the ground and turned into a bolt of lightning, vanishing from the crater.
At the same time Ringo Ameyuri finished off Inuzuka Tsume.
On the other side.
A full nine shinobi from the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans surrounded Momochi Zabuza, Hoshigaki Kisame, and Chojuro.
On average, each of them had to face one shinobi from the Akimichi, Nara, or Yamanaka clans.
Clearly, Hoshigaki Kisame's wanton slaughter on the battlefield had drawn Konoha's attention.
These shinobi had been specially sent to restrict the three's movements.
"My, my. Looks like we've been targeted."
Hoshigaki Kisame's Samehada was stuck in the corpse of a Konoha shinobi on the ground, his voice carrying a low tone.
"Akimichi Choza, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Nara Shikaku did not even show up. How uninteresting."
Momochi Zabuza scanned the members of the three clans.
Not seeing the three he had hoped for, his tone carried a trace of disdain.
"We should still be careful. These are all elites from three of Konoha's clans."
Chojuro wore a solemn expression and spoke seriously.
For a moment, the air across this part of the battlefield gradually thickened.
Killing intent filled the air, making it feel as though the temperature had dropped by several degrees!
Just as the battle between them was about to erupt!
Several massive shouts, clearly amplified by ninjutsu, rang out across the sky above the battlefield.
"Hokage Tsunade has been captured by Lord Yuto!"
"Konoha forces, surrender at once!"
As these massive shouts rang out across the battlefield, the fierce fighting between Konoha and Kirigakure's forces paused at once.
"Lord Hokage has been captured?"
"How is that possible!"
Every Konoha shinobi wore a look of disbelief, eyes wide.
In an instant, the morale of the entire Konoha force plummeted.
In contrast, the morale of Kirigakure's forces soared.
"Lord Yuto!!"
"Lord Yuto!!"
"Lord Yuto!!"
Across the battlefield, Kiri shinobi raised their kunai to the sky.
With each swing, they let out a loud roar.
Every Kiri shinobi's face was filled with reverence and fanatical devotion toward Yuto.
For a moment, the fanatic roars of "Lord Yuto" resounded across the sky above the entire battlefield.
Faced with this scene, Konoha's morale dropped straight to freezing point.
The previously stalemated battle began to shift.
Signs of collapse appeared in Konoha's forces.
With their own Hokage captured and the name "Yuto" constantly echoing across the battlefield, every Konoha shinobi's heart filled with panic.
And this panic was spreading across Konoha's side of the battlefield at wind-like speed.
And this collapse... was accelerating!
In the stronghold behind the Konoha forces.
Nara Shikaku listened with an ugly expression to the intelligence from the front.
In truth, even without this messenger shinobi's report on the changing battle.
From the rear, Nara Shikaku could hear the shouts ringing across the sky above the battlefield.
"Has Lord Hokage really been captured?"
Yamanaka Inoichi wore a look of astonishment, still half-disbelieving as he looked at Nara Shikaku.
Beside them, Akimichi Choza wore a gloomy expression and stayed silent, though his gaze also turned to Nara Shikaku.
In such a disadvantageous situation, everyone present naturally looked to Nara Shikaku, the one most likely to offer a plan.
Feeling everyone's gaze, Nara Shikaku spoke with a bitter note in his voice:
"It seems this news cannot be hidden any longer. I had hoped to delay a little longer."
"Just recently, Might Guy's chakra signature vanished."
"Also, according to the sensor squad, Lord Hokage's chakra signature is indeed at the rear of the Kirigakure forces."
Nara Shikaku's voice was hoarse, and at some point his hands had clenched into fists.
Nara Shikaku kept telling himself to stay calm.
Anyone else could panic.
But as the overall commander of Konoha's forces, he absolutely could not panic!
Even if his heart was truly in turmoil, he could not let anyone see it!
As Nara Shikaku spoke, the expressions of every Konoha higher-up present turned completely grim.
For a moment, no one knew what to do.
Lord Hokage's capture meant their plan to pin down Kirigakure's Yuto had completely fallen through.
This meant they now faced not only Kirigakure's forces, but also a terrifying enemy on the same level as Lord Senju Hashirama.
Even though everyone present was an elite jonin of Konoha, facing an enemy of Yuto's caliber still stirred a sense of powerlessness in their hearts.
"Everyone, Kirigakure's Yuto likely will not enter the battle himself."
Sensing the mood of those present, Nara Shikaku spoke slowly with a serious expression.
At these words, everyone present was momentarily stunned!
"What do you mean?"
A Konoha jonin looked at Nara Shikaku with confusion.
"If Kirigakure's Yuto intended to act, their side would have no need to spread this news. It would be entirely pointless."
"Right now, Kirigakure's Yuto has no intention of acting, or he is being held up by something else. Either way, it is favorable for our situation."
A bright gleam shone in Nara Shikaku's eyes, and his voice was full of certainty.
In truth, deep down Nara Shikaku was not so certain, but he had to say it.
Otherwise, the war would be over before it had even ended.
They would have already lost.
Sure enough, hearing Nara Shikaku's words, the mood of those present lifted at once.
When it came to Kirigakure, Konoha feared only Yuto.
As for the rest...
The fact that Konoha could simultaneously pin down two large armies from Kirigakure and Iwagakure showed Konoha's inherent strength.
Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi exchanged a covert glance, with a trace of worry flickering deep in their eyes.
Knowing Nara Shikaku as they did, for this lazy man to say something so inspiring meant that Konoha's situation was already extremely dire.
"Since the sensor squad can pinpoint Lord Hokage's location, we should rescue Lady Tsunade at once!"
A Konoha elite jonin stepped forward and spoke with agitation.
"No. Going to rescue her now is pure suicide!"
Without a second thought, Nara Shikaku coldly glanced at the jonin and rejected this suicidal proposal.
In the current situation!
Lady Tsunade would surely be heavily guarded by Kirigakure.
The odds of rescuing her were the same as Kirigakure suddenly surrendering.
"Right. Didn't our plan include a special unit?"
"Shouldn't that unit be deployed now?"
Yamanaka Inoichi suddenly remembered something and looked up at Nara Shikaku.
"There is indeed such a unit. According to the original plan, they should have been deployed long ago."
"But there has been no movement at all. Clearly, some problem we do not understand has arisen."
Nara Shikaku shook his head gently, a cold gleam quickly flashing in his eyes.
Others might not know the details of this unit, but Nara Shikaku knew very well.
But discussing this problem now was meaningless!
If Kirigakure's Yuto was being pinned down by Lord Hokage and the others.
Then naturally there was no need to deploy this Reanimation unit.
After all, a force that brings the dead back to the living world carried too great an impact.
In other words, the Edo Tensei unit was meant for exactly this kind of disadvantageous situation.
After all, if the village itself was gone, what did good or bad reputation matter?
Unfortunately, from the look of things now, they could not count on this Edo Tensei unit.
Yakushi Kabuto?
Orochimaru's man. Just as expected, he cannot be trusted!
[
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