Chapter 220: Gathering of the Storm
A pitch-black Tailed Beast Bomb plunged into the sea. After a muffled thud, a geyser of water shot over a hundred meters into the air, creating massive waves as the seawater crashed back down.
The Nine-Tails and the Konoha ninja were locked in a fierce battle on the open ocean.
Compared to fighting in Konoha, the Konoha ninja had far fewer reservations here. They didn't need to worry about collateral damage to the village. Moreover, the vast, flat surface of the sea made dodging attacks much easier.
For the Nine-Tails, however, the situation was dire. Without buildings or civilians to threaten, escaping became significantly harder.
The Nine-Tails had completely taken control of Kushina's body. It had already transformed into a massive beast over ten meters tall. While still far smaller than its true size, the chakra cloak—saturated with hatred—was burning Kushina's body from the inside out. She frowned in pain within her consciousness as burn marks began to appear on her skin.
With a sweep of its tails, the fox forced back Sakumo Hatake. But in the next instant, over a dozen ninjutsu struck its back.
Several members of the Nara Clan launched their Shadow Imitation Technique simultaneously. The darkness of night blurred the boundaries of shadows, and with the support of dozens of Konoha comrades extending the shadow's reach, the massive binding technique connected with the Nine-Tails, causing its movements to stagnate.
"Sealing Corps! Now!"
The Sealing Corps, who had been waiting for this moment, charged out from the crowd.
Seeing the sealing jutsu incoming, the Nine-Tails flared its chakra violently, breaking free from the shadow binding.
"Ugh...!"
Inside, Kushina let out a painful groan.
"Kushina! Are you okay?!" the Nine-Tails roared internally.
In the sealed space, Kushina gritted her teeth. "I can hold on!"
"Damn it!" The Nine-Tails opened its massive maw.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
"Scatter! Barrier Corps, front and center!"
The Konoha ninja dispersed in an orderly fashion. A slanted barrier appeared out of thin air, deflecting the Tailed Beast Bomb into the distance. Moments later, a violent explosion echoed from afar, likely obliterating some unfortunate uninhabited island.
Enraged, the Nine-Tails' eyes morphed into the pattern of the Sharingan. It fired several clumsy bursts of mental energy, paralyzing a few ninja, but their comrades quickly woke them up.
This was the Nine-Tails' dilemma. Although its destructive power was immense and it still had strength to spare, its methods were too singular. Even with unparalleled chakra, facing a regimented ninja force armed with barriers, seals, and secret techniques—while relying only on its body, Tailed Beast Bombs, and a Sharingan it didn't know how to use properly—was a losing battle.
It was facing a coordinated army specifically trained to capture Tailed Beasts.
Knowing it had to shake off these annoying pests, the Nine-Tails used the intimidation of another Tailed Beast Bomb to turn and run.
"Genjutsu! Ready!"
Several Uchiha clan members had already circled to its rear, their Sharingan activating in unison to cast Genjutsu.
The presence of Sharingan in the Jinchuriki's eyes was something the Uchiha clan was desperate to investigate, so they had sent a significant number of members on this mission.
Among them was Mikoto Uchiha. She appeared to weave hand signs, but in reality, she was slacking off, merely going through the motions.
Although Kushina had built up a high resistance to Genjutsu after her torture, she wasn't immune—especially not to Genjutsu cast by the Sharingan. The Nine-Tails' movements stuttered again.
The Sealing Corps closed in once more.
Seeing that Kushina was in trouble, Mikoto, who had been faking her attacks, came up with a plan. She suddenly cried out and fell to the ground.
"Ah!"
The two Uchiha clansmen beside her thought she was under attack and instinctively turned to look, interrupting their Genjutsu.
"Mikoto? What happened?"
"I... I sprained my ankle!"
??? Sprained your ankle? On the surface of the ocean?
Did you trip over the bonds of the sea or something?
Nearby, Minato Namikaze, who was also secretly slacking, thought, Nice job! He seized the opportunity and shouted into the crowd.
"Watch out!"
The Sealing Corps members about to rush forward instinctively braced themselves for an attack. But nothing happened.
Minato kept a straight face. "Watch out! The sun is coming up soon! We need to end this quickly!"
Sealing Corps Ninja: "..."
Listening to you speak is like listening to someone speak...
Taking advantage of the confusion, the Nine-Tails bolted again.
"After it! Don't let it escape!"
In truth, this chase had been going on for rounds. They had moved from the coastline deep into the open ocean. By now, hardly anyone knew exactly where they were. The Nine-Tails ran whenever it saw an opening, regardless of direction, and the Konoha ninja pursued doggedly, determined to chase it to the ends of the earth.
"Such an intense battle..."
In the distance, Hiroto and Kayo crouched low, buffeted by the waves and gale-force winds caused by the Tailed Beast Bomb explosions.
They had been trailing behind using Kayo's sensory abilities while sending constant updates to the village. Even though Kayo desperately wanted to save Kushina, she knew this situation wasn't something the two of them could resolve alone.
Kayo, with her Mind's Eye of the Kagura active, constantly analyzed the surroundings.
"The guy who blocked the Hokage earlier is still being chased. And... that person who has been following us is getting closer. No, wait. accurately speaking, they are approaching the Nine-Tails."
There had been a single signature tailing them since before they entered the sea. It was clear the person was tracking the Nine-Tails, not the Uzumaki siblings; they just happened to be on the same route. Kayo suspected it was a Konoha straggler or a reinforcement.
Hiroto thought for a moment. If it was just one person, they could ambush and interrogate them. They were still some distance from the main battlefield, so taking this person down shouldn't alert Konoha.
Deciding on this, the two stopped hiding and stood directly in the person's path, waiting.
However, Kayo's sensory perception suddenly shifted.
"That person's speed just increased. It's fast! Wait... something's wrong!!"
At a distance, she hadn't noticed, but as the figure drew nearer, Kayo clearly sensed that the person wasn't walking or running on the water. Instead...
"They're flying!"
At the edge of their vision, a flying figure appeared, sitting casually on a large rock. The rock seemed fresh from the seabed, dripping with water. Upon closer inspection, it was a solid chunk of coral reef.
And the person sitting on it was someone almost no one in the ninja world wouldn't recognize.
"The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki the Fence-Sitter!! Why is he here?!"
Since Kayo had never encountered him before, she hadn't been able to match the chakra signature to Onoki until she saw him.
High in the air, Onoki glanced down at the Uzumaki siblings. As a Kage, he naturally had memorized key intelligence on foreign ninja.
"The Uzumaki brat from the Cloud? The one with the nickname 'Crimson Fortress'?" Onoki scoffed lightly but ignored them, continuing toward the Nine-Tails' battlefield.
He had come alone purely to try his luck. If he could snag the Nine-Tails, great. If not, no loss. It was purely a speculative move.
Seeing Cloud ninja here didn't surprise Onoki. After fighting all the way from the Land of Hot Water to the deep sea, it was normal for the Cloud to get wind of it. But he had no interest in provoking the Cloud right now, so he ignored the two kids on the water.
Hiroto watched warily as Onoki flew past, only relaxing once the Tsuchikage disappeared into the distance. Things had just gotten much more complicated.
But Kayo soon delivered even worse news.
"Wait. There are seven or eight more people coming... from the direction of the Land of Water."
Sakumo slashed his blade, a glowing white chakra construct extending several meters from the tip. The Nine-Tails, having just shaken off the Mind Body Switch Technique, could only barely block with its tails.
The blade flashed. One tail was severed completely, and another was sliced halfway through.
Although the Nine-Tails was a mass of chakra and wouldn't bleed out, such damage weakened it significantly.
"Don't stop! Shadow Imitation!"
"It's weakening! Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
By now, the Nine-Tails was completely surrounded by Konoha ninja.
It felt like doom was inevitable.
Wearing his white Hokage robes, Sakumo pointed his blade at the beast. "Kushina, I know you can hear me. Surrender. Come back to the village with me. You can make your demands. The village will not punish you for leaving this time."
Sakumo carefully phrased it as "leaving" rather than "defecting," clearly leaving a path open for her return.
Just then, a figure floated down from the sky.
"My, my, my. What a coincidence. To meet people from Konoha out here on the open sea. What is the Hokage busy with? Do you need a hand?"
It was Onoki, arriving just as the dust was about to settle to stir up trouble.
Sakumo hadn't expected to see Onoki here. His face darkened.
Many Konoha ninja turned to face the Tsuchikage, wary of his intentions, which inadvertently relieved some pressure on the Nine-Tails.
"Tsuchikage-dono," Sakumo said coldly. "Konoha is conducting a mission. If you have no business here, it would be best for you to leave. This matter does not concern Iwagakure."
Onoki didn't get angry. He was here to disrupt things, to cast a wide net and see if he caught any fish. He prepared to act according to the situation.
However, several more figures approached rapidly across the water.
"In that case, do I have the right to question the Hokage-dono?" a childish voice rang out, carrying a heavy authority. "Your village is fighting so close to the Land of Water and has even destroyed one of our islands. Shouldn't you have communicated with Kirigakure beforehand?"
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, walked across the waves carrying his hooked staff. Behind him followed the newly replenished Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. If Hiroto were here, he would have recognized Fuguki Suikazan among them.
Onoki sneered.
"Well, things just got interesting."