One-Tails Shukaku

Hanzo and the Third Hokage stood at the front as the leaders, with Orochimaru and Jiraiya slightly behind them, followed by Mito Uzumaki, Yūhi Shinku, and the other Jōnin.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya had not chosen those positions themselves; the other shinobi had naturally arranged themselves that way.

It was a sign of respect for shinobi who stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.

Soybean-sized raindrops slanted down against the barrier surrounding Sunagakure's encampment.

The Amegakure forces Hanzo had brought advanced from the flank and rear, while the Konoha Ninja served as the main force, responsible for attacking head-on.

Moreover, Hanzo's poison was devastating in both lethality and range, and only Amegakure shinobi possessed specially made masks.

With Tsunade absent, no one in Konoha could counter Hanzo of the Salamander's poison.

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's Transfer Order, the shinobi of the sealing squad advanced beneath the cover of the others and began undoing the barrier's seals.

In truth, the barriers used for ordinary wartime camps were fairly sturdy, but they were difficult to sustain for long. Like the Four Violet Flames Formation, they would not last very long.

The only truly powerful barrier, like the mountain-protecting formations in xianxia novels, was Konoha's defensive barrier established by Mito Uzumaki. Other barriers were difficult to maintain for long even if no one attacked them.

Thus, aside from being used to trap people—such as when Orochimaru killed the Third Hokage in the original timeline—they were rarely seen in direct battles between shinobi.

First, they were not especially useful. Second, Sealing Jutsu was extremely difficult to learn.

Even Konoha's strongest sealing squad consisted of only two or three teams.

Sunagakure's sealing barrier was certain to be broken. So why not simply lower it and fight directly?

In fact, Sunagakure was trying to buy time. There had to be numerous traps set up inside, and they also needed to distribute their remaining Explosive Tags, Kunai, and other war supplies. In truth, the Third Kazekage had given the order the moment they discovered the enemy was mobilizing.

After all, this was the final battle. If they won, they would lose nothing; if they lost, they would not make things easy for the enemy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, but his attainments in Sealing Jutsu were also considerable. Orochimaru and Jiraiya had both received instruction from him.

However, Tsunade was the most skilled in Sealing Jutsu among them, even surpassing Hiruzen Sarutobi.

When she was young, she had often been taught by Mito Uzumaki. Across the entire history of the Shinobi World, there were only a handful whose Sealing Jutsu surpassed Mito Uzumaki's.

The barrier was soon opened. The Third Kazekage was in charge of this defensive line, while Chiyo had gone to deal with Hanzo of the Salamander.

Chiyo and Hanzo had actually clashed many times before. Chiyo had successfully neutralized the salamander's poison and developed an antidote.

Chiyo had even concluded that Salamander Ibuse's poisonous mist could only be expelled at five-minute intervals. Their nicknames for each other—"puppet old lady" and "old geezer with a breathing tube"—had also come from their past clashes.

The Third Kazekage would have no problem holding off the Third Hokage alone. He could even protect himself against two Kage-level opponents, just as the Third Hokage had previously done against Hanzo and Kakuzu.

But Konoha had three Kage-level fighters here.

Still, the Third Kazekage was not entirely unprepared. Beside him stood a bald monk with a long white beard.

He was Bunpuku, the One-Tails Jinchuriki.

Only Kage-level powerhouses had any chance of suppressing a tailed beast. If it was a Jinchuriki, then even if they were not a Perfect Jinchuriki, as long as they could suppress the tailed beast, they would be stronger than the tailed beast alone.

In fact, on the battlefield, a tailed beast's enormous size and the devastating Tailed Beast Ball gave it a wider killing range than most Kage-level powerhouses.

At the highest level, the Kage-level confrontation was three against four: three from Sunagakure and four from Konoha.

Chiyo and Hanzo had fought many times, so they more or less knew what the other was capable of.

Only a handful of Amegakure shinobi remained. Since Konoha was the main force in this battle, Hanzo would most likely put in the minimum effort. As long as he could tie down Chiyo and part of Sunagakure's forces, he would have fulfilled his duty as an ally.

What would truly determine the course of this battle now was Konoha's side.

During the earlier valley interception battle, Chiyo had left a certain number of shinobi behind. Many of those who had returned were also saved by Chiyo's Medical Ninjutsu, leaving them with over a thousand men.

Together with the more than two thousand shinobi the Third Kazekage had called in from the country, they had nearly four thousand in total.

Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to hold off the Third Kazekage himself while Orochimaru and Jiraiya swiftly dealt with the One-Tails.

That way, once the One-Tails was defeated, they would immediately free up two Kage-level combatants. No matter which battlefield those two supported afterward, they would gain a tremendous advantage.

Soldier against soldier, general against general, king against king.

When a vast cloud of purple poisonous mist rose from the other side, the Konoha Ninja also began fighting the Sand shinobi.

"Magnet Release: Sand Iron World Law!" The Third Kazekage struck first.

Hiruzen Sarutobi flashed aside to evade it.

At this moment, no one besides the five Kage-level powerhouses dared approach this area.

On the battlefield, unless one possessed sufficient strength, no one would recklessly enter the battleground of powerful shinobi.

Genin would do their best to avoid battles between Jōnin, and when Kage-level powerhouses fought, even Jōnin would not dare approach carelessly.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

After forming hand seals, the Third Hokage slammed both hands onto the ground. A dragon head of earth, taller than a man, rose from the ground, opened its jaws, and unleashed a torrent of earth at the Third Kazekage.

"Roar!" At that moment, an enormous tanuki with yellowish-brown fur and countless purple Cursed Seal patterns appeared. The arrival of One-Tails Shukaku came with raging wind and sand.

"Summoning: Manda!"

"Orochimaru! This time, I want a hundred sacri—" Manda, who had begun clamoring the instant he was summoned, was slapped across the face by Shukaku.

"Summoning Technique: Demolition of the House!"

Jiraiya's voice descended from the sky, accompanied by a gigantic purplish-red toad carrying an iron shield on its back and holding a fork as it landed atop Shukaku. It was Gamabunta's brother, Gamaken.

"Jiraiya, my big brother's family just had a child, so they sent me to help you. Although I'm clumsy, I'll give it everything I've got," Gamaken said honestly.

Gamaken always said the most cowardly things while fighting the fiercest battles.

Compared to the streetwise Gamabunta, Gamaken was not as nimble, but he was very polite.

Orochimaru summoned the enormous Manda to draw Shukaku's attention. He knew that the moment Manda appeared, he would start yelling and making a racket. He was a very useful snake for attracting attention.

"Orochimaru! A hundred sacrifices won't be enough this time! I want two... no, three hundred!"

As Manda shouted, he coiled his body around Shukaku.

However, neither Summoning Beast noticed that the wind and sand brought by Shukaku had begun to swirl, spinning faster and faster.

By the time they noticed, clumps of sand had already condensed into Sand Bullets, spinning through the air like bullets.

The heavy Sand Bullets slammed into Manda and Gamaken, while the sand filling the whirlwind made it impossible to keep their eyes open.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough

Orochimaru unleashed a Wind Release jutsu, temporarily blowing away the wind and sand and revealing the three giant beasts, now separated.

Jiraiya seized the chance to use Lion Combo, lengthening his hair into the shape of a lion's mane in an attempt to bind the One-Tails.

Orochimaru followed close behind, summoning several Pythons with the same plan as Jiraiya.

The One-Tails was formidable. Killing it would not be easy, and the best way to deal with a Tailed Beast was to restrain it first before using Sealing Jutsu to seal it away.

One-Tails Shukaku opened its mouth and spat out clusters of Wind Bullets, shredding Jiraiya's extended hair and the Pythons into pieces.

Sand iron mingled with the wind and sand. The ninjas on both sides shouted and fought, while rainwater mixed with blood flowed across the ground.

The Third Kazekage stood atop a mass of sand iron and flew through the sky, evading the ninjutsu Hiruzen Sarutobi unleashed in rapid succession. Whenever he could not evade, he condensed the sand iron into enormous blocks to defend himself.

Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique

The Third Hokage spewed a dragon-shaped mass of flames, shattering the Iron Body blocking the Third Kazekage's path. Molten iron dripped down like liquid.

Magnetic Release: Sand Iron Shower

Using the sand iron scattered through the air, the Third Kazekage condensed countless fine needles and fired them at high speed, blanketing everyone below.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya did not dodge.

If they moved aside and allowed the branches formed from the vast amount of sand iron to keep growing, large numbers of Konoha Ninja would be impaled to death.

The three quickly formed hand seals and slapped their hands against the ground, tacitly unleashing a combined jutsu—Earth Release: Myriad Earth Dragon Wall. A towering wall like the Great Wall rose from the earth, blocking the Third Kazekage's attack.

"Not good, that Chakra is... a Tailed Beast Ball!"

Behind the wall, the Third Hokage gave a grave warning.

While the three were using defensive ninjutsu, the One-Tails was condensing a purple ball of Chakra.

Before the Chakra ball could fully form, however, Gamaken smashed Shukaku's head with his shield, interrupting it.

"Although I'm clumsy, I'll still give it everything I've got in battle."

Gamaken's honest voice rang out once more.

Seeing an opportunity, Manda did not dare move forward to coil around Shukaku again, but he still raised his tail and struck Shukaku heavily.

Shukaku threw back its head and opened its mouth in a scream. The energy it had gathered for the Tailed Beast Ball shot into the sky.

The Third Hokage spotted the opening, extending Enma to dozens of meters in length before smashing it down at Shukaku.

Clang— A massive, ear-piercing metallic crash rang out. The Third Kazekage had used a condensed sand iron shield to block Hiruzen Sarutobi's attack.