The brutal summoned-beast combat doctrine was still being carried out.
But by this point in the battle, only a single summon remained capable of fighting—the Split Hound.
Among all of Hagoromo's summons, this was the strongest. Its very structure was strange: constantly dividing and recombining, leaving the Iwagakure ninja unable to grasp its true form.
Moreover, despite its massive size, the Split Hound moved with astonishing speed and agility. Its individual vitality was absurdly high… which was why it still hadn't been completely restrained.
But only just.
A summoned beast was not a tailed beast. No matter how strong it was, it could not hold out forever against this sheer number of enemies.
As for the other two summons—things were far more tragic. They had already been firmly trapped by Earth Release: Mud River, unable to escape.
Hagoromo stood at a high vantage point with excellent visibility. In battle, he always kept awareness in all directions, so he naturally saw what was happening to his summons. To prevent them from truly drowning, he had no choice but to cancel their summoning, sending them back to the summoning realm.
And Hagoromo's own situation…
Wasn't good either.
There were simply too many enemies he had to deal with at once. Even with his abilities, he was starting to feel the pressure—two fists really couldn't fend off four hands.
Without the Third Raikage's monstrous defense, he couldn't fight the same way.
His arms hung low now, blood dripping from his fingertips.
He was being swarmed. Injuries were inevitable.
Every Iwagakure ninja standing atop the water was his enemy.
Every Iwagakure ninja surrounding him was his enemy.
Fortunately, so far, none of his injuries were fatal. Blood loss remained within controllable limits, and the pain was still tolerable. His mobility hadn't been compromised.
Hagoromo had stopped using Fire Release.
Dark clouds pressed low overhead. Geography was on his side—the area was close to the sea, and the humidity was high.
"You know…"
"It's about to rain."
His voice was calm, almost indifferent.
Half of his mask was shattered. Half of his forehead protector and one eye were fully exposed.
So Kitsuchi, who was fighting at the very front, could clearly see it—
There was nothing but seriousness in Hagoromo's gaze.
Kitsuchi didn't understand why Hagoromo suddenly felt like giving a weather forecast. Even if it rained, so what?
Yet unease crept in.
Hagoromo's fighting style had been baffling from the start. He had relied heavily on Fire Release, yet the lightning technique that once killed the Raikage had not reappeared. In fact, he had completely concealed his Lightning Release.
That could only mean one thing.
A scheme.
As Kitsuchi was thinking this, raindrops began to fall.
Moments later, the rain intensified.
The reason Hagoromo hadn't killed Kitsuchi earlier was simple: at the start of the battle, he hadn't wanted him dead. He had already confirmed Kitsuchi was Iwagakure's highest-ranking battlefield commander.
Iwagakure still needed to advance against Kumogakure afterward. Losing their commander would only weaken them—and that wasn't good for Konoha.
Konoha needed Iwa to fight properly.
But now, Hagoromo couldn't afford that restraint anymore.
The enemy pressure was relentless. If Kitsuchi didn't die, then the one who might die… was Hagoromo himself.
His stamina was already nearing its limit.
Then—at that exact instant—
Including Kitsuchi, four Iwagakure ninja seemed to receive some kind of signal and attacked Hagoromo simultaneously.
What they didn't expect was—
Hagoromo suddenly disengaged, retreating explosively at extreme speed toward the edge of the basin-like lake—
And then leapt straight down!
His tongue curled inward.
A sharp, piercing whistle rang out.
One of the Split Hound's closest bodies instantly noticed the falling Hagoromo.
It abandoned its current opponent without hesitation and charged toward him.
Four clawed limbs spiraled up the ninjutsu-formed rock wall at terrifying speed—
Just as Hagoromo landed precisely on its back.
The fall stopped instantly.
Hagoromo immediately commanded the Split Hound upward.
Reaching the top of the cliff, the beast leapt dozens of meters into the air—
And Hagoromo used its back as a foothold for a second jump.
Chidori Current flared violently across his body.
Within the clouds, lightning flashed.
Then—
Resonance.
Torrential rain poured down. The cloud ceiling pressed low.
Suspended in midair, Hagoromo looked impossibly small.
Yet thick bolts of lightning began converging on his position.
Seeing this sequence, Kitsuchi finally understood what Hagoromo intended to do.
"Quickly—get off the water! He's preparing a suicidal technique!"
Not bothering to see if anyone understood, Kitsuchi grabbed the nearest ninja and hurled him toward the lake's edge like a shot put.
But he himself—
Was already too late.
A white yasha guided the lightning dragon from the heavens.
Hagoromo pierced the lake's surface like an arrow—
And following him came Lightning Release: Kirin.
Lightning violently connected sky and water.
Brutally.
Radiant arcs of light expanded outward in concentric rings from the impact point. To the eye, it looked slow—
But in reality, the lake was engulfed instantly.
Hagoromo hadn't tried to make the technique flashy.
Some techniques were simply dazzling by nature.
The entire lake lit up—like some kind of glowing dish.
After the blinding flash—
Came silence.
Minutes later, Hagoromo surfaced.
Lightning Release: Kirin truly deserved its S-rank reputation.
After that single strike, no one remained standing on the lake.
A rough estimate put enemy casualties at over fifty.
No—
Someone was still alive.
Inside a massive, half-destroyed sphere of earth, Kitsuchi emerged.
He was alive.
But his condition was beyond miserable.
To put it simply—anyone who saw him would instinctively ask, "Are you… still alive?"
With his chakra nearly depleted, Hagoromo ignored the barely functional Kitsuchi and began forming seals again.
He dismissed the Split Hound.
Then summoned Yatagarasu.
The big move was done.
Now it was time to run.
The three-legged crow let out a piercing cry.
Hagoromo leapt onto its back and fled by air.
Yatagarasu skimmed low over the water, one talon even carving a line across the surface.
But after putting some distance between them and the lake, Hagoromo suddenly turned—
And casually released a C-rank Fire Release.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The entire lake erupted.
No—exploded.
The water surface was crushed downward by several inches, or perhaps vast quantities of water were instantly vaporized.
The shockwave nearly flipped Yatagarasu.
Just as Hagoromo had expected.
Even without precise control, lightning of that magnitude striking water would inevitably trigger large-scale electrolysis and secondary reactions.
He glanced back once more.
Even after the explosions, something on the lake's surface still seemed to be burning.
If Kitsuchi survived that…
Then he deserved to live.
Hagoromo patted Yatagarasu's back.
Now he needed to focus on escaping. If he got surrounded again, he'd be finished.
But—
Could he really escape?
The storm clouds seemed to part.
A blinding light stabbed downward.
Hagoromo squinted and looked up—
Then his eyes widened.
A meteor.
Trailing a shockwave, tearing through the clouds—
Falling from the sky.
A meteor large enough to crush both man and bird into dust.
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