Chapter 219: I Could Crush Him With One Hand!
Nagato capitalized on the enemy's ignorance of his abilities to launch a surprise attack, then immediately turned tail and ran.
He wasn't delusional enough to think he could solo the Hokage.
However, the direction he chose diverged slightly from Kushina's path—he headed southeast.
After being blasted away, Sakumo Hatake skipped across the ocean surface a few times before regaining his balance. His face was dark, and a rare spark of anger flickered in his heart.
I am the dignified Hokage of the Leaf, yet I was just skipped across the water like a pebble! Do I not have any face left?!
Sakumo suppressed his emotions. Catching the target was more important. He decided not to waste time tangling with this short guy; the Konoha ninja following behind would deal with him.
However, just as he prepared to ignore Nagato and continue chasing Kushina, Nagato—who appeared to have already fled—stopped in the distance and extended his hand toward Sakumo again.
Sakumo instinctively froze.
But nothing happened.
Just as he was about to move, Nagato raised his other hand.
Sakumo froze again.
Still nothing happened.
He had to admit... he was getting a little pissed off.
Clearly, this stocky ninja was trying to stall him to buy time for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
On the surface, Nagato looked like he was toying with the Hokage, but internally, he was panicking. To ensure his safety, he was standing completely outside the effective range of Bansho Ten'in. He had zero desire to admire the "White Fang" up close.
Wandering the ninja world alone had taught Nagato plenty of dirty tricks.
However, Sakumo lacked this intel. He didn't know the opponent couldn't affect him at this distance. He only felt that if he didn't deal with this guy, he wouldn't be able to proceed smoothly.
So, he pointed his white chakra saber at Nagato and charged at full speed.
Nagato hurriedly retreated while throwing out interference. Thankfully, they were already far apart.
His hands formed seals rapidly, and he roared:
"Water Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A bolt of lightning shot out, scattering across the sea surface.
Even with Sakumo's quick thinking, he was momentarily stunned. Since when is a fireball made of lightning?!
Sakumo side-stepped quickly, dodging the Lightning Release.
"Earth Release: Water Wall!"
A fierce gale of wind blasted toward him.
Sakumo slashed once, calming the wind instantly.
"Wind Release: Lightning Ball!"
Suddenly, a reef from the seabed shot upward, forming an earth wall to block Sakumo's path.
Another slash, and the reef was cleaved in two.
Petty tricks were meaningless in the face of absolute power. Sakumo's combat experience was vast; no matter what ninjutsu Nagato threw at him, the Fourth Hokage handled it with ease. Only that seal-less jutsu from earlier gave him a slight headache.
And even that "headache" only existed because Sakumo didn't want to fight—he just wanted to chase.
Although Nagato was running, the distance between them was closing rapidly.
"Shinra Tensei! (Almighty Push!)"
Finally, unable to withstand the pressure, Nagato was forced to use Shinra Tensei to block.
But Sakumo suddenly flickered, moving in a sharp "Z" pattern. Although he lost his balance briefly from the repulsive force, he adjusted instantly and charged again. He had clearly been prepared for it.
A drop of cold sweat ran down Nagato's face.
"Water Release: Water Shunshin!"
Facing the edge of Sakumo's blade, Nagato hurriedly dissolved into the ocean. An instant later, a chilling slash arrived, the chakra-infused blade slicing the sea itself, leaving a half-meter deep gash in the water before the waves filled it in.
Sakumo observed the water coldly for a moment.
"He escaped."
Water Shunshin wasn't a secret technique, but it was extremely difficult to master. If Sakumo wasn't mistaken, that stocky ninja wearing sunglasses was actually quite young.
Pushing aside distracting thoughts, Sakumo sheathed his blade and continued chasing in the direction Kushina had fled.
The next moment, a bedraggled Nagato surfaced, gasping for air. He raised a shaky hand toward Sakumo from a distance.
Unlike before, the distance was even greater now—hundreds of meters separated them...
Sakumo: "(╬￣皿￣)!"
Even a saint has a limit to their patience!
Fortunately, the main Konoha pursuit force arrived at that moment. Forcing himself to calm down, Sakumo glanced at Nagato in the distance and ordered: "Leave a squad to take him down. The rest of you, follow me!"
Hiroto and Kayo, relying on their sensory abilities, trailed behind the main Konoha force while staying wary of the potential straggler behind them. Even when they sensed Sakumo breaking away from the main group, they didn't dare speed up, stuck in the middle.
"There's fighting ahead," Kayo said suddenly. "The Hokage is fighting someone."
"What about Kushina?"
Kayo shook her head. "Still out of range."
Hiroto wondered. Someone is blocking the Hokage? Is it a ninja from another Great Village? Or...
But blocking the Hokage alone? That's insane. I've experienced the sharpness of the White Fang firsthand. The people in the ninja world capable of stopping Sakumo Hatake all have names.
Yet according to Kayo, they really did stop him.
"More accurately, he stalled him," Kayo corrected, unable to perfectly reconstruct the battle scene in her mind. "But he did delay the Fourth Hokage for a while."
"The main Konoha force has arrived. The guy blocking the Hokage ran away, and a group is chasing him. But most of them are following the Hokage to chase Kushina. Both groups are moving in the same general direction—East."
Clearly, Konoha had split their forces. The person blocking the Hokage was fighting and retreating, also moving closer to Kushina's direction.
Hiroto and Kayo exchanged a glance and decided to follow the group led by the Hokage.
Although the guy being chased by Konoha ninja seemed to be in mortal danger, it didn't really concern them.
Before moving, Kayo used her Communication Snail to update the village on the situation. Although the snail's range wasn't huge, she could relay the message to the outpost in the Land of Hot Water, passing it back to the Cloud like a bucket brigade.
After splitting up, Kushina continued east as planned, worrying about Nagato as she ran.
"Kurama, Nagato-kun hasn't caught up yet. Do you think he's in danger?"
In her mindscape, the Nine-Tails propped its head up with a claw. "How should I know... But that kid is shrewd. He'll be fine."
Although frequently spooked by the Rinnegan, the Nine-Tails knew Nagato was just a boy. Deep down, it didn't believe Nagato had the ability to stop a Konoha squad.
actually, it hoped Nagato and Kushina would just go their separate ways. It would save Kurama the daily anxiety of wondering if it was going to be extracted by the Rinnegan.
But Kushina argued, "If Nagato-kun could stop them, I wouldn't need to run. And if he's in danger, how can I just run away? I should fight too!"
"Little girl, don't throw a tantrum," the Nine-Tails snapped. "Now isn't the time for this. We barely escaped Konoha..."
"Do we really have no chance? Kurama, you're so strong! Lend me your power again, please?"
Inside the cage, the Nine-Tails' eyes darted around evasively. "The old man... Of course, this old man is strong! But you, little girl, are too weak! You're dragging me down! Otherwise, Hokage or whatever... back in my day, I could crush him with one hand!!"
As the girl and the fox bickered, several figures appeared on the dark sea surface ahead.
It was Sakumo Hatake and dozens of Konoha elite ninja.
The Nine-Tails' voice dropped, turning serious.
"Hesitation is useless now. They've caught up! Kushina... give me control of your body!"
Kumogakure, Raikage Office.
"Raikage-sama! Dana-sama! A large number of Konoha ninja have crossed the border into the Land of Hot Water!"
Dana and the Third Raikage exchanged a glance. Obviously, this group was tracking the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
The Third Raikage rubbed his chin. "So the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is really in the Land of Hot Water? Is she planning to defect to the Cloud?"
Dana shook his head. "That's too optimistic, Old Man. But since Konoha dared to barge into our sphere of influence like this, we have to show some reaction, right?"
The Third Raikage thought for a moment. "True. At the very least, we need to question them to their faces, beat them up a bit, and throw them back into the Land of Fire. That would be appropriate."
He turned to his secretary. "Do we have coordinates?"
"We have approximate coordinates," the secretary replied.
The Third Raikage cracked his knuckles, a savage grin appearing on his face. "Perfect. I've been working overtime every day. I need to stretch my muscles. Prepare the Heavenly Transfer Technique. Dana, coming with me?"
Dana smiled and cracked his neck. "Of course. I've been moving bricks at the construction site for months; I haven't had a real fight in a long time."
However, just as the two finished their preparations and were about to head to the Heavenly Transfer launch base, the secretary ran in again.
"Raikage-sama! Dana-sama! The Konoha ninja didn't stop in the Land of Hot Water. They headed directly east and have already entered the open sea."
Dana and the Third Raikage looked at each other. If they didn't stop and went straight to sea...
Setting aside the fact that the previous coordinates were now useless, they had only been in the Land of Hot Water for less than thirty minutes before leaving. It seemed unnecessary to chase them just to assert sovereignty.
Dana: "Are we still going?"
The Third Raikage hesitated. "I still want to go. I want to hit someone..."
After weighing their options, they decided to wait for new coordinates and updates.
However, not long after, the secretary ran in for a third time.
"My Lords! According to the latest report, they really are chasing the Nine-Tails! A massive battle has erupted on the sea. The Nine-Tails has entered Version 2 state, causing immense destruction! The shockwaves from Tailed Beast Bombs can be felt for tens of kilometers. A small island was completely obliterated, triggering a minor tsunami! There are many witnesses. Konoha is chasing the Nine-Tails, fighting and running all the way East!"
The Third Raikage mused, "With that kind of commotion, the Land of Water has probably noticed something is wrong too. Fighting a Tailed Beast is noisy business—blowing up an island and all... The key point is, these guys seem to be getting further and further away from the Land of Lightning."
Dana nodded. "True. They're heading toward the Land of Water. If we go now to assert sovereignty, it would be a bit strange."
Suddenly, Dana froze.
"Wait... No... No, no, no!"
He rushed to the map of the ninja world hanging in the office, scribbling furiously with a pen. Then, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.
"The direction they're heading..." Dana muttered, horrified. "Don't tell me they're going to fight their way all the way to the Eastern Archipelago?!"
The Third Raikage's eyes went wide.
"NANI?!!!!"