Kamehameha

"The storm is coming, Karot. Ever since you completed your mission, the number of Cloud Ninja on the front lines has been growing. War could break out at any moment."

In the tent, Orochimaru told Karot about the recent developments. Karot's show of strength behind enemy lines had also caught Orochimaru's attention. After all, in the shinobi world, strength was everything. The stronger you were, the higher your status. Karot's strength was a crucial pillar of Orochimaru's front.

"What do you need me to do, Lord Orochimaru?"

Karot asked calmly. There was no such thing as a free lunch, and Orochimaru wouldn't have asked him to stay behind without a reason.

"Once the war begins, I need you to hold off A. Reliable reports say the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki has also arrived at the battlefield. I can't be everywhere at once."

Orochimaru stated his purpose.

"Fine. It's my duty, too. If there's nothing else, I'd like to head out."

"Mm."

When Karot came out of the tent, Hyuga Sanada, Kazumi, and Matsushita had already been waiting for him.

"Karot, you idiot! Thank goodness you made it back safely."

Kazumi hugged Karot and choked out the words. When she'd heard that Karot was going on such a dangerous mission, she'd been uneasy, afraid she might lose her little brother. Now that he'd returned safely, she could finally relax.

Sanada watched Kazumi get to Karot before him and hug him. His raised hands hung awkwardly in the air.

"Come on. What are you waiting for?"

Karot opened his arms and waited for Sanada. The two embraced tightly. Sometimes, a hug between brothers meant more than anything else.

Matsushita looked at his student and wished he could freeze this moment forever: no war, no death, just sincere friendship.

"Congratulations, Karot. You completed an S-rank mission."

Matsushita was sincerely happy for Karot. Without him even realizing it, Karot had grown far beyond anything Matsushita had imagined.

"Thank you, Teacher Matsushita. I'll keep working hard."

The war didn't let up. In fact, it came without warning. The entire Land of Soup became one enormous battlefield.

On the Cloud Ninja side, A led two thousand shinobi in a fierce assault. Konoha, led by Orochimaru, resisted with fifteen hundred.

King against king, soldiers against soldiers.

Karot once again faced his old rival, A.

"Karot, you got away last time. You won't be so lucky this time."

A spoke furiously. He hated the man before him, who had tarnished his record, and wanted nothing more than to dispose of him.

"Is that so? You weren't strong enough last time. What makes you think you are now?"

Karot spread his hands, as if to say, go ahead and try.

The two immediately clashed. Boom! Boom! Boom! Their blows rang across the battlefield, drawing the attention of both Cloud Ninja and Konoha shinobi. Karot changed his fist into a claw, grabbed the ground, and tore up a massive boulder. He swung it at A.

"Haah!"

Lightning crackled all over A's body. He shattered the boulder with one punch, sending fragments raining down. Then they clashed again, trading blows—one punch for one punch, one kick for one kick. They fought as if neither cared about taking damage.

On the other side of the battlefield, Orochimaru summoned the gluttonous serpent, Manda.

"Orochimaru, you know the rules. This time, I want two hundred people."

Knowing Manda's temperament, Orochimaru pointed ahead.

"They're all yours. How many you can eat depends on your strength."

Manda rarely saw Orochimaru being so generous. Without hesitation, he opened his enormous jaws and charged at the Cloud Ninja.

He swallowed a Cloud Ninja with each bite, inflicting heavy losses on their side. The giant summon put immense psychological pressure on the Cloud Ninja.

"Expansion Jutsu!"

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

"Fang Over Fang!"

"Mind Disturbance Jutsu!"

As the shinobi from Konoha's clans began to unleash their techniques, the Cloud Ninja were driven steadily back.

"Damn you Konoha bastards!"

Eight tails emerged from Killer B's body. He swept them across Konoha's shinobi, leaving a swath of casualties. Everyone else was fighting with rifles, and then he showed up with a machine gun. Wasn't that just bullying?

"A Tailed Beast!"

"That's the Eight-Tails!"

The perfect Jinchuriki, Killer B, had arrived with the Eight-Tails, turning Konoha's advantage on its head. Strategic weapons weren't just for show—they really did have that kind of power.

The Eight-Tails rampaged across the battlefield, moving as if there were no one there to stop it. Konoha's shinobi suffered devastating losses.

Orochimaru pressed forward to meet it. Manda roared.

"You! You bastard! You stopped me from getting my sacrifice last time. This time, we'll swallow you alive!"

Bent on revenge, Manda charged ahead. Orochimaru and the three Jonin of Ino-Shika-Cho worked together to keep the Eight-Tails occupied.

Manda was enormous and made an easy target. The Eight-Tails wrapped one of its tails around him and squeezed. He vanished in a puff of white smoke. As he disappeared, he shouted shamelessly,

"Just wait until I come back and eat you!"

Orochimaru didn't care that Manda had been more trouble than help. He joined the Ino-Shika-Cho trio in trying to contain the Eight-Tails. But the Cloud Ninja had more than one Tailed Beast. The Two-Tails, Matatabi, entered Tailed Beast Transformation.

"Ah!"

"Run!"

Matatabi kept unleashing Fire Release across the battlefield. The Konoha shinobi's anguished screams did nothing to help them; they were burned alive.

"Leave the Eight-Tails to you."

Orochimaru gave them instructions. Of those present, only he could handle Matatabi. He knew the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's strength; they could just barely trade blows with the Eight-Tails. It was the best they could do. No one had expected the Cloud Ninja to send two Tailed Beasts to the Konoha front, hoping to crush Konoha's forces with overwhelming strength and push into the heart of its territory.

"Matatabi, let me take you on. Shadow Snake Hand!"

Countless snakes burst from the ground and coiled around Matatabi. Pale blue flames flared up around her, burning every snake to ash and rendering Orochimaru's attack useless.

Matatabi was incredibly fast and skilled at taijutsu. She launched a fierce attack on Orochimaru. As a Kage Level shinobi, Orochimaru ranked among the best in his class at both taijutsu and ninjutsu. And he was at the peak of his strength. He was unbelievably powerful. Gripping the Kusanagi Sword, he fought Matatabi to a standstill.

"Not good! Fall back!"

Akimichi's voice rang across the entire battlefield. Orochimaru turned to look and saw the Eight-Tails raise its head, gathering a gigantic Tailed Beast Bomb. Orochimaru thought,

This is bad.

He wanted to stop it, but Matatabi wouldn't let him. The Tailed Beast Bomb was aimed straight at Konoha's camp, where the wounded, Medical Ninja, and military supplies were. If it struck, Konoha would lose the battle.

The three Ino-Shika-Cho Jonin were so furious their eyes seemed ready to burst. Orochimaru couldn't get there in time. All he could do was watch as the Tailed Beast Bomb fired toward Konoha's camp.

In the blink of an eye, Karot deliberately took a punch from A and used the force to propel himself into the space between the Tailed Beast Bomb and the camp.

"Karot, get out of the way!"

Matsushita Hokuto saw Karot standing directly in the path of the Tailed Beast Bomb and shouted desperately. But Karot didn't react at all.

Karot's expression tightened. He bent his knees slightly and crossed his hands in front of him. A brilliant light suddenly flared between his palms as a powerful mass of ki gathered there. Karot shouted,

"Ka-me-ha-me-ha!"

"Yaaah!"

A huge beam of energy shot from Karot's hands and slammed into the Tailed Beast Bomb. In a beam struggle, the one on the left always lost. Karot's Kamehameha sent the Tailed Beast Bomb flying back into the Eight-Tails' mouth.

BOOM!

The Eight-Tails was blasted into the air by the Kamehameha.