Chapter 247: A Fight This Technical, and You're Calling Me a Brute?
Out on the battlefield, the massive Six-Tails Rhino-Dog thrashed and struggled without end, but no matter how it fought, the Hokage gripping it stayed locked in place, immovable as the sturdiest nail ever driven.
The sheer bulk of the beast's colossal body brought nowhere near enough force to break free of her hold.
And then, the Tailed Beast Ball she'd forced into its stomach detonated!
Accompanied by a muffled boom heavy enough to rattle every heart present, the Six-Tails' entire body suddenly ballooned outward, its stomach swelling instantly like an overinflated balloon.
Even the two eyestalk-tentacles atop its head rolled white in that instant, and an invisible shockwave burst outward from the beast's center, kicking up a ring of dust and sand.
But even so, the Six-Tails didn't die.
Tailed beasts were chakra beings — they had no organs in any conventional sense.
Still, the blow left it visibly, drastically weakened.
Even so, the Six-Tails had no intention of admitting defeat.
I am one of the nine great tailed beasts. A being the whole world fears. And this human thinks she can treat me like this?
Just who did this pink little upstart think she was?
Even Hashirama Senju had spoken kindly, patiently persuading it to follow along peacefully.
And this pink one hadn't said a single word this entire time.
A sweeping wall of tentacles came crashing down toward her — but the pink-haired girl didn't so much as flinch, only tilting her head up slightly to glance at it.
By now, the Six-Tails' mind had gone hazy with fury, and it seemed to have completely forgotten she was still holding its jaw shut.
Before the tentacles could even make contact, the Six-Tails suddenly felt a strange sense of weightlessness — the unmistakable sensation of being flung backward through the air.
The battlefield fell silent. Everyone watched, wordless, unable to say anything at all.
The colossal body of the Six-Tails — one of the nine great tailed beasts — was hurled around and slammed against the ground like a burst sack of grain, producing an earth-shaking boom.
Again. And again. And again.
Once. Twice. Again.
The entire ground shuddered, wave after wave, with each successive impact.
Tsuchidai — Black Zetsu — watched all of this in silence.
Intelligence gathered. But...
How am I supposed to counter this?
He'd assumed the Hokage would have spent these past three years refining her techniques, developing new jutsu — something he could analyze and build a countermeasure around, based on whatever information she revealed.
After all, her raw power had already been unmatched three years ago.
He hadn't expected that this Hokage, still unsatisfied, would just keep pushing further down the path of raw strength alone.
Setting aside that one genuinely impressive display of chakra control just now, this fight against the Six-Tails had otherwise played out exactly like three years ago.
Just with more power. Faster speed.
How am I supposed to fight this?
Unmatched raw strength, fast enough to outpace the very object she'd just kicked, a defensive capacity terrifying just to look at, medical ninjutsu ranked first across the entire shinobi world, and — as demonstrated three years ago — a genjutsu resistance strong enough to withstand Itachi Uchiha head-on...
This...
If there was one weakness worth naming, it was her limited sensory range.
But was that even worth counting? Never mind that her ANBU guard included a Mind's Eye of the Kagura user — the entirety of the Hyūga clan sat inside Konoha too.
Black Zetsu wanted, very badly, to curse someone out.
Hey, you, pink one. Stop for a second. I have a question for you...
Zero technical merit whatsoever! Pure, unrefined brute force!
Had she known what Black Zetsu was thinking, Sakura would have absolutely fired back with righteous indignation.
A fight this technical, and you're calling me a brute?! I'll punch you first!
Black Zetsu was already, quietly, regretting a decision from the past — the moment Hiruko had offered Obito Uchiha his choice of kekkei genkai for the Ghost Sprout Technique, and he'd deliberately held something back.
Paired with Obito's existing Sharingan, Wood Release, Swift Release, Steel Release, and Storm Release —
There had actually been an even better option available: the Byakugan, the Shikotsumyaku, plus Uzumaki physiology.
Combined with the existing Sharingan and Wood Release, that combination might have produced a genuine monster.
But Black Zetsu had worried about Obito eventually slipping beyond his control someday, and so he'd instinctively left that option off the table...
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the fight between Sakura and the Six-Tails was still ongoing.
After a dozen or so consecutive slams against the ground left the Six-Tails seeing stars, Sakura simply planted a foot directly on its head.
With the beast still dazed, she raised her fist, her expression blank.
And brought it down!
Boom!
The Six-Tails' entire body — all six tails included — shuddered violently at the impact!
The very ground beneath the Rhino-Dog seemed to groan and shake from the force of that single punch.
Down. Down. Down. Down!
It had to be said — for a creature built like some overgrown insect, the Six-Tails had genuinely taken a dozen of Sakura's punches straight to the face and still hadn't reverted back to human form.
Its resilience was every bit as stubborn as an actual bug's.
But even that kind of resilience couldn't withstand power like this for much longer.
Everyone watched in silence, listening to the tooth-aching thuds echoing across the field, no one saying a word.
Under everyone's gaze, the Six-Tails' massive body finally gave out, visibly shrinking at a rapid pace, collapsing back into human form — Utakata's own face and body.
Except Utakata's current state was a wreck. Not only was he limp and spiritless, but his entire body sagged with exhaustion, his face swollen and bruised — clearly, whatever had happened to the Six-Tails had synced right back onto him.
"You... don't... hit me... I... surrender..."
Utakata, looking up at the pink-haired girl looming over him, mumbled weakly.
Sakura, holding him by the collar, leaned in to hear him better — then glanced down.
Thank god I never wear skirts.
With that thought, she ignored his terrified stare and punched him unconscious with a single blow.
Gaara watched the whole scene in silence.
If he'd heard that correctly, hadn't the Mizukage just... surrendered, right before getting knocked out anyway?
"Someone get a medic over here."
"Your Mizukage's fine now."
Sakura dragged Utakata, limp as a dead dog, over toward the Kirigakure delegation and waved them over.
The Kiri contingent stirred with a bit of commotion, and two shinobi immediately rushed forward carrying a stretcher.
"Here. Your Mizukage's fine."
Sakura tossed Utakata over to the waiting Kiri shinobi.
One of them fumbled to catch his own Mizukage, then — recalling that this Hokage had just single-handedly resolved a rampaging tailed beast — spoke up with some visible awkwardness:
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
With that, they hurried off, carrying away a Mizukage that Sakura had personally punched unconscious.
Heh. Look at that. Beat their Mizukage half to death, and they're still thanking me for it.
Sakura's expression turned mildly complicated at the thought.
"Ah. Quite the arm on you, Hokage."
By now the Kazekage, Tsuchikage, and Raikage had all arrived, and Ōnoki, after some visible internal struggle, offered up that particular compliment.
He genuinely couldn't think of anything better to say.
From start to finish, aside from that one moment of exquisite chakra control, the entire fight had basically consisted of the Hokage subduing everything through overwhelming brute force.
Killer Bee, meanwhile, said nothing at all.
"With the Mizukage now unconscious, what happens next?"
Gaara, unwilling to dwell further on what had just happened between Sakura and the Six-Tails, changed the subject.
"What happens next?"
"Does the Mizukage even get a say in it anymore?"
A faint smile touched Sakura's lips, clearly unimpressed by Gaara's question. She simply sat herself down on the ground and continued.
"We settle this right here, right now."
Ōnoki nodded at that. With the Mizukage down and out, time wasn't a luxury they had — better to hash things out as quickly as possible.
With that in mind, he sat himself down as well, looking at Sakura.
"Well then, Hokage. What do you propose?"
The Hokage, Tsuchikage, Kazekage, and Raikage settled in to hammer out a plan against Mōryō, right there in the open field.
By now, the attendants of all four Kage had gathered as well, each taking their place behind their respective leader.
"The Mizukage might have been a bit... reckless."
Sakura paused a beat before continuing.
"But what he said earlier wasn't wrong. The terracotta army's target is the Land of Demons' Shrine Maiden."
"All we need to do is protect her, then locate Mōryō's soul and deal with it."
Listening to Sakura, Gaara nodded slightly.
"Then we should assemble an elite squad and get them to the Land of Demons, securing the Shrine Maiden before the terracotta army can reach her first."
Ōnoki spoke up. "I've already got that in motion, but the Shrine Maiden seems less than cooperative — doesn't trust any of us."
"And the squad I sent has already run into an assassination attempt from unidentified shinobi."
"Whoever they are, they're skilled."
Listening to Ōnoki, Killer Bee — silent until now — finally spoke.
"Then send a stronger squad."
"Darui."
The moment Killer Bee spoke the name, Darui answered promptly behind him.
Killer Bee then fixed his gaze on the three Kage before him, the meaning plain enough without needing further explanation.
He'd clearly decided to throw his full weight behind confronting this ancient demon — Tsuchidai, behind him, had after all urged him that the shinobi world's safety mattered more than old grudges, at least for now.
That kind of principled reasoning genuinely moved Killer Bee.
"Temari."
Gaara, seeing this, went quiet for a moment before speaking.
"Yes, sir."
Temari answered gravely behind him.
"Deidara."
Ōnoki immediately volunteered his own student as well.
"Aw, what a pain..."
"Well, guess this'll give those stone-faced types a chance to see my art, hm!"
Deidara scratched his head, visibly reluctant.
Gaara's brow furrowed slightly at that. He found the man's flippant attitude irritating.
Especially that talk of "art."
"On my side..."
Sakura frowned slightly.
"I can send Kakashi Hatake."
Sending Sasuke or Hikaru along was a non-starter — knowing Sasuke's temperament, he'd probably end up fighting Deidara outright, and he'd already clashed with Darui more than once already.
Hikaru would likely just refuse the assignment outright.
Karin, meanwhile, wasn't quite combat-ready enough for this.
And as for Naruto — what if this actual, in-story Death of Naruto turned out to be real?
"The Copy Ninja?"
"Have him lead the squad, then."
Ōnoki gave a small nod.
Not just Ōnoki — Killer Bee and Gaara raised no objections either.
Kakashi Hatake's reputation carried real weight across the shinobi world, and his steady, dependable style meant he could hold his own against nearly any opponent, no matter how strong.
"So then..."
"What do we do about the hundred thousand terracotta warriors?"
Killer Bee's question left Ōnoki and Gaara both briefly silent.
Even Sakura found the question genuinely troubling.
That army of a hundred thousand stone soldiers was nothing to underestimate.
In the original story, this part had only warranted a passing mention — the Five Great Villages banding together to hold the terracotta army back. But in the end, the stone soldiers still managed to find the Shrine Maiden regardless.
Clearly, the shinobi coalition hadn't been enough to overcome them.
Though it was also possible the coalition simply hadn't given it their full effort.
"These terracotta warriors' only objective is the Shrine Maiden. Wherever she goes, that's where they'll follow."
"We use her to draw the army into my country's desert."
"Fight the battle there."
Gaara's suggestion drew several sideways glances.
Setting the battlefield inside his own territory — even if it was just uninhabited desert — was still Land of Wind soil.
Ōnoki had originally intended to hold the fight in the Land of Demons itself.
After all, the Shrine Maiden belonged there.
But the Land of Demons sat in a remote, out-of-the-way location, and getting the Land of Water and Land of Lightning's forces there in time would be a logistical nightmare.
Especially the Land of Water's contingent, who'd need to cross practically the entire shinobi world just to arrive.
By the time they got there, the whole thing would likely already be over.
The only nations currently positioned and capable of holding the terracotta army back for now were the Land of Earth, Land of Rain, Land of Wind, and Land of Fire.
That didn't mean Kumogakure and Kirigakure had nothing to contribute, though — even if their main armies couldn't make it in time, their jōnin and special jōnin could still form an elite strike force capable of joining the fight.
"So the immediate priority is finding the Shrine Maiden as quickly as possible..."
While the four Kage continued deliberating over Mōryō, Hikaru, standing behind Sakura, stifled a bored yawn.
Then, quite suddenly, her gaze landed on the pink-haired girl's loose, undone hair.
Since Sakura's hair tie had shattered from the chakra release earlier, and she was currently sitting on the ground, her considerably long hair had nearly started dragging across the dirt.
Noticing this, Hikaru drifted closer behind Sakura, catching Sasuke's attention off to the side.
What's Hikaru up to now...
Suddenly, mid-conversation with the three other Kage, Sakura felt her hair being taken up by the person behind her.
Sakura wasn't particularly bothered by it. She didn't even need to turn around — the familiar scent already told her exactly who it was.
Hikaru pulled a senbon needle from her ninja tool pouch and, with practiced ease, twisted Sakura's hair up into a neat bun, securing it with a light stab of the needle.
There. Done.
No more dragging on the ground.
The black-haired girl admired her handiwork with satisfaction.
Hikaru's little gesture only drew a couple of passing glances from the others, nothing more.
"So it's settled, then."
"Kakashi Hatake of Konoha will lead the squad — team members will include Darui of Kumogakure, Temari of Sunagakure, and Deidara from my own side."
"This team will escort the Land of Demons' Shrine Maiden to the Land of Wind's desert, drawing off the terracotta army and buying time for the main force."
"We're contributing six thousand troops. Konoha's sending forty-five hundred. Sunagakure, five thousand. Kumogakure, two thousand. Kirigakure, two thousand."
"But Kumogakure and Kirigakure will each need to include fifty jōnin in their contingents."
Ōnoki laid it all out before the assembled group.
With the war still fresh in everyone's minds, even the leaders sitting here now found it genuinely difficult to set old grudges aside — let alone expecting the rank and file under them to do the same.
But there was no other way forward now.
Time was running out.
(End of chapter)
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