Fierce Battle

"Where are the Sand Ninja and Rain Ninja?" Dong Siren asked.

"Sir, the Sand Ninja and Rain Ninja are about to circle around behind the Konoha forces. They want us to attack first and deny Konoha time to establish defenses."

"Good!" Dong Siren ordered. "Wounding ten fingers is not as effective as cutting off one. Iwagakure, attack!"

Jiraiya's expression was solemn as he asked, "Are the Rolling Logs and Boulders ready?"

"Because we were short on time, we only prepared enough Rolling Logs and Boulders for one round. However, we have plenty of equipment such as Shuriken and Kunai."

"Mm." Jiraiya nodded pensively. "Set more traps and bury more Explosive Tags. Establish defenses at various locations by relying on the advantageous terrain. Once our formation is breached, detonate the Explosive Tags immediately and move to the next location to defend. Remember, our goal is to delay them."

Just as Konoha had barely finished preparing, Iwagakure began its charge.

"Earth Release: Earth Rising Spear!"

"Rotation!"

Hyuga Ao blocked the pursuing ninjutsu behind her and continued up the mountain.

Konoha relied on the advantageous terrain to attack from higher ground, then used traps and Explosive Tags to wear down Iwagakure's strength.

As the saying went, the first drumbeat inspired courage, the second weakened it, and the third exhausted it. Iwagakure's attacks had been repeatedly worn down by Konoha and had already weakened considerably, no longer possessing their initial momentum.

By now, even the final outer defensive line had been breached. Next would be the decisive battle at the mountaintop.

"Rolling Logs and Boulders, release!"

At the steepest and narrowest part of the mountain, the Rolling Logs and Boulders produced excellent results, delaying Iwagakure's advance once again.

Jiraiya came to Hyuga Ao's side. "Ao'er, I know you've been hiding something. When the time comes, use all the strength you have. This battle is likely to be extremely dangerous!"

Hyuga Ao nodded to show that she understood.

At that moment, a Ninja Hawk flew over.

Jiraiya's face lit up. He took out the message and read it. Afterward, he sighed softly. "From here on, we can only rely on ourselves."

Hyuga Ao took the letter.

The Konoha reinforcements had collided head-on with the Rain Ninja and Sand Ninja who had circled around from behind. The Sand Ninja had a Puppeteer Unit, so they could not be defeated immediately.

Five hundred Rain Ninja had split off to continue circling around from behind. The message told Jiraiya to be careful and hold the line.

Hyuga Ao rubbed her hand, turning the letter into dust. "Teacher, aren't you going to tell the others?"

Jiraiya looked at Iwagakure, which was advancing up the mountain, and replied after a moment's thought, "There's no need to cause everyone additional worry."

He fell silent for a while, then suddenly ordered, "The entire army, advance! Charge!"

The Konoha forces hesitated briefly before immediately taking action.

The Konoha ninja suddenly charged down the mountain, intending to break through head-on.

Caught off guard by Konoha's sudden counterattack, Iwagakure was thrown into confusion. However, the Iwagakure ninja who inherited the Will of Stone quickly stabilized their formation and began fighting Konoha in a positional battle.

Hyuga Ao charged down from the mountaintop. Her Byakugan locked onto the area where the Iwagakure ninja were most concentrated. Wind swept past her ears, its whooshing gradually turning into a shrill whistle.

Faster. Even faster. Hyuga Ao constantly adjusted her running posture to achieve the highest acceleration.

She saw a protruding rock ahead and immediately stepped on it, suddenly leaping into the air and spinning.

A huge blue sphere of light descended from the sky with unstoppable speed and force, ruthlessly plowing through the Iwagakure formation.

Hyuga Ao's Cyclone Charge Tornado Rotation carved a ten-meter-long trail through the Iwagakure formation. Along the way, it smashed through countless defensive ninjutsu before finally slamming into the Earth Prison Dome cast by an Iwagakure Jonin.

Such a powerful collision should have placed an enormous burden on the caster. However, Hyuga Ao merely circulated her qi and blood slightly before freeing herself from the impact.

Her force erupted. Her Byakugan locked onto every Iwagakure ninja within ten meters, and both her palms struck repeatedly, sending countless transparent bursts of force from her palms.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm Modification: Consecutive Palms!"

Every Iwagakure ninja within ten meters of Hyuga Ao took a solid hit from an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm carrying hidden force.

Twelve people fell immediately. Those struck directly in the chest or abdomen were even pushed to the point of death, instantly disabling four Iwagakure squads.

Hyuga Ao had fired off twelve bursts of hidden force in a short time, and with the chakra she had expended, she was just about to catch her breath.

Suddenly, she felt the ground beneath her tremble, as if something were about to burst out. She retreated with a quick step, but as soon as she moved back, the ground split open and a huge earthen fist struck toward her.

"When?" Hyuga Ao wondered, unable to understand when the enemy had infiltrated the ground beneath her. She crossed her arms and forcefully took the hit from the Rock Fist.

"Bang, bang, bang!" Hyuga Ao was driven back three steps. The force she redirected downward left three footprints in the ground, with the patterns of her ninja shoes clearly visible.

Before Hyuga Ao could react, three Earth Spears rose up and thrust toward her. She darted and twisted among the earthen spikes, then charged toward the Iwagakure Jonin who had attacked her.

The Iwagakure Jonin snorted. "Another gifted brat. Don't think you can take me down so easily!"

The Iwagakure Jonin formed hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wave!"

The ground bulged with rocks that surged like a river and arched like snakes, carrying the Iwagakure Jonin forward. At the same time, several Earth Snakes emerged from the ground and chased after Hyuga Ao, striking at her.

Hyuga Ao dodged the Earth Snakes' attacks while trying to get closer to the Iwagakure Jonin.

The Iwagakure Jonin controlled the Earth Snakes to carry him along while directing them to pursue Hyuga Ao. For a moment, Hyuga Ao could not find a way to close the distance.

The Iwagakure Jonin mocked her. "How is it, little brat from the Hyuga branch family? Can you get close to me?" As he spoke, he summoned three more Earth Snakes, bringing the total to four as they chased Hyuga Ao.

"This can't go on," Hyuga Ao thought.

She immediately stopped where she was, neither dodging nor evading as she waited for the Earth Snakes to attack.

Seeing this, the Iwagakure Jonin also stopped. The four Earth Snakes transformed into Earth Spears and stabbed toward Hyuga Ao.

Hyuga Ao stood her ground and gathered power. When the Earth Spears thrust toward her, chakra condensed into fine threads and gathered in her palms.

"Eight Trigrams Guardian Rotation: Sixty-Four Palms!"

The four Earth Spears were sliced apart by the Eight Trigrams Guardian Rotation and scattered across the ground. Hyuga Ao was about to continue her attack when she saw the scattered rocks gather again, firmly locking down half her body.

The Iwagakure Jonin rode the Earth Snakes to Hyuga Ao's side. "How's that, gifted brat? You never expected that I, Iwa Rikito, would one day kill a genius too, did you? Die, gifted brat!"

An Earth Spear thrust toward Hyuga Ao. Though she had nowhere to evade, a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She erupted with force again, shattered the rocks binding her, and charged toward the Iwagakure Jonin.

"What?" The Iwagakure Jonin hurriedly formed hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Spear!"

As chakra coursed through him, the Iwagakure Jonin's entire body turned black as he prepared to withstand Hyuga Ao's attack.

"You think that hardening can stop me?" Hyuga Ao thought disdainfully.

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Hyuga Ao spread both hands and tensed her body like a fully drawn bow. Chakra gathered at her fingertips, forming spikes, and supplemented by Dan energy, they viciously stabbed the vital points throughout the Iwagakure Jonin's body.

"One palm, two palms, four palms, sixty-four palms!"

After all sixty-four palms landed, red spots covered the Iwagakure Jonin's acupoints, blood flowed from them, and cracks spread across the surface of his skin.

The Earth Spear was also dispelled when his chakra was sealed. Hyuga Ao's final palm struck his chest and abdomen. The previously arrogant Iwagakure Jonin was, just like that, killed on the spot!