After a brief moment of thought, Samui stood up. "I need to see the battlefield myself," she said in a firm voice. The decision was already made.
"Samui!" Yugito Nii frowned deeply. "If Konoha notices you, you'll be targeted and killed first." Her concern was direct and practical.
"It's fine," Samui replied with a small smile. "You'll protect me, right?" Her tone was light, but her trust was absolute.
Yugito Nii fell silent, then sighed helplessly. "You're too reckless. I really can't do anything about you." Despite her words, she did not refuse.
Samui let out a long breath, gave a few instructions to her deputy, and stepped out of the tent. The rain was already waiting outside. Her expression hardened as she moved forward.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the front battlefield. From higher ground, they looked out toward the distant Wang. The scene below spread out in brutal detail.
Samui stared without blinking, taking in everything she could sense. Cold rain pattered against her skin as she stood still. She forced herself to observe, not to flinch.
The rain was icy, mixed with the unique stench of mud, smoke, and blood. The smell was thick and unpleasant, clinging to every breath. It made her stomach churn.
Her ears were filled with twisted layers of sound. There was the roar of Ninjutsu, screams and shouts, deafening explosions, and the sharp clash of metal. All of it blended into a constant assault on the senses.
Sweat mixed with cold rain ran down Samui's face. Yet what tightened her chest was not the weather, but a sense of wrongness she could not shake. Something here did not fit.
Where was it coming from? What exactly was wrong? The question repeated in her mind with growing urgency.
"Feels hot," Atsui muttered out of habit. The words slipped out without thought.
Hot? Samui's pupils shrank instantly. In that moment, she finally understood.
The temperature was wrong. This was not the heat a normal battle should produce. Each breath felt like swallowing hot, foul air that burned her throat.
Samui swept her sharp gaze across the battlefield. Sure enough, orange explosions flared everywhere. The blasts came one after another without pause.
The thunder of Explosive Tag was constant, far more intense than in previous offensives. Each explosion released a fierce wave of heat that rapidly warmed the surrounding air. The scale was excessive.
And it was not just the Explosive Tag. "Fire Release," Samui said hoarsely. "The number of Fire Release Ninja is wrong. There are too many."
The heat generated by Fire Release combined with Explosive Tag had far exceeded normal combat levels. Flames repeatedly baked the damp air, steaming the rain into rising white vapor. The battlefield itself seemed to breathe upward.
This deliberate stacking of Fire Release and reckless use of Explosive Tag meant Konoha was not aiming only for kills. They were doing something else entirely. It was like they were cooking the battlefield.
With that thought, Samui suddenly looked up at the sky. Thick rain clouds hung low, churning violently. They were not still, but rolling as if pushed upward from below.
Fueled by heat and moisture, the clouds were rapidly building and thickening. The pressure felt suffocating, as if the sky itself might collapse. The atmosphere was changing fast.
"Explosive Tag and Fire Release… rising air… cloud formation…" The fragments connected in her mind. At last, Samui realized Konoha's objective.
They were creating storm conditions by force. But why? What purpose could that serve?
"Sister! I remember now!" Atsui suddenly shouted. He pointed at the corpses of the Konoha Ninja and said, "Their shoes. Something's wrong with their shoes!"
Samui instinctively looked down. Her eyes locked onto the feet of several bodies. Through the mud, she saw it clearly.
They were not wearing standard ninja boots. The material was different. Rubber soles.
A terrifying thought struck Samui like lightning. The cold rain seemed to pierce straight through her bones. Rubber meant insulation.
This discovery tied all the strange details together into a horrifying outline. Using Fire Release and Explosive Tag without restraint to create massive rising heat. Forcing storm clouds to form under wet conditions. Switching in advance to insulated footwear.
"They want to use the weather," Samui whispered. The idea made her scalp prickle with fear and disbelief. Had Konoha gone mad?
This was impossible. Or it should have been. In Kumogakure, many people died every year due to extreme weather, which was why most Kumogakure Ninja held deep respect for natural forces.
That respect was exactly why Samui never considered such a plan. She never imagined anyone would dare try to control nature itself. The thought was beyond reason.
At that moment, Yugito Nii seemed to sense something and looked up. Her expression changed instantly. Before Samui could react, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
Yugito Nii grabbed Samui's arm and yanked her away. A long metal spike slammed into the ground where she had stood. It pierced the earth with a harsh sound.
Not just one. There were many. Figures in the sky threw them down, and Samui recognized them at once.
They were lightning rods. Tools meant to guide lightning itself.
Almost all Konoha Ninja received a message from Yamanaka Clan at nearly the same time. Although they did not know the reason, they withdrew toward the rear without hesitation and stopped entangling with the Kumogakure Ninja. The retreat was clean and fast, as if drilled in advance.
"What is going on?" "Konoha has been pushed back!"
As the people of Kumogakure reacted with shock or excitement, a sharp tearing sound suddenly came from the sky. The noise cut through the rain and drew eyes upward at once. Something was falling fast.
Swish, swish, swish.
The Konoha Ninja above opened Scroll, and countless sharp spikes were projected downward in an instant. From such a great height, aside from a few enraged Kumogakure Ninja and Konoha Ninja being pierced, there were almost no casualties. Most of the spikes buried themselves deep into the ground.
"Hei Mao?" "Look up there!" "Those are Konoha Ninja?!"
Some in Kumogakure stared at the spikes embedded in the earth, while others lifted their heads and shouted toward the figures above. Beneath the dark and oppressive storm clouds, several blurred black shapes circled in the air. They moved steadily through the rain.
They were flying Ninja Beast of various shapes, some like giant eagles and others like bats. Each Ninja Beast carried a single Konoha Ninja rider whose gear differed from the ground troops. The Goggles on their faces reflected a cold light under the gloomy sky.
Root gave the people of Kumogakure no time to think or react. The Konoha Ninja riding the flying Ninja Beast formed seals with both hands at the same time. Their movements were precise and practiced.
"Water Release·Water Surge Wave!" "Water Release·Water Syrup Field!" "Water Release·Great Waterfall Technique!"
Chakra surged from their bodies and mixed with the cold rain, instantly turning into cascading curtains of water that crashed down. The water slammed onto the unprepared Kumogakure Ninja, soaking them from head to toe in seconds. The cold shock made their bodies jerk despite themselves.
Areas that had been dry moments before quickly filled with large pools. In just a few breaths, the battlefield turned into muddy ground covered with standing water. Movement became heavy and slow everywhere.
"Run, run now, they are going to use Lightning Release!"
While the people of Kumogakure still did not understand Konoha's actions, Samui's hoarse shout suddenly reached them. The voice that was usually calm had lost all composure and carried clear panic. It made everyone instantly alert, and they tried to pull away from the area without hesitation.
But it was not that easy.
Water Release·Water Syrup Field was a Water Release Ninjutsu developed by Konoha's special Jonin Izumo Kamizuki by combining Water Release with the properties of Chakra. It released a colorless, transparent sticky liquid infused with Chakra, whose adhesive nature hindered movement when stepped on. Classified as a support type group control Ninjutsu, it was designed for large scale use.
To expand its range, the stickiness was reduced. Even so, it was more than enough to greatly weaken the mobility of everyone in Kumogakure. Every step became a struggle.
"No, something is wrong. This presence…"
Yugito Nii stared fixedly at the rolling black clouds. Her gaze pushed through the heavy rain until she finally saw what was hidden within. The sky was suddenly dyed a blazing white by lightning, briefly lighting the gaps in the shadows.
"What is that?"
A Kumogakure Ninja with decent sensory ability pointed at the thick storm clouds above, his voice sharp with disbelief. Others followed his gaze and realized something was very wrong. They began to see shapes that were hard to notice at first.
Within the dense clouds, the lightning branched like pale white limbs. In the midst of it stood a floating figure. It was tiny and hard to see, like a shadow in the folds of the clouds, except for the wings spread wide behind it.
What made the people of Kumogakure shudder was the sight around that figure. Visible arcs of electricity ran wildly around its body, gathering and moving without pause. It was impossible to look away.
Was that lightning formed by the weather itself? Or was someone trying to control the power of nature?
"This has to be a joke," someone muttered blankly.