"Shikano, look! The reinforcements are here," a gorgeous blonde woman sent telepathically to the pineapple-headed old man.
"Mm, I see them. Everyone, our reinforcements are here! Break through toward Wind Ravine Valley at full speed!" Nara Shikano sent telepathically to the entire army through the blonde woman.
Orochimaru was at the rear, standing on Manda while fighting Chiyo and her younger brother, Ebizo. He was holding his own against the two of them.
Suddenly, Iron Sand came flying at him. Orochimaru had just finished using a jutsu and was turning to dodge when a gigantic blade came hurtling in, smashing through the Iron Sand and continuing straight toward Rasa.
It was Jiraiya and Gamabunta.
Jiraiya shouted excitedly, "The great Jiraiya has arrived! Hahaha!"
The Konoha Ninja were filled with renewed vigor. Their exhausted bodies found the strength to keep fighting for their lives.
Suddenly, a cloud of mist swept in. Jiraiya couldn't dodge in time, and it grazed the back of his hand, leaving it bright red. He yelped in pain and shook his hand furiously.
It turned out Pakura had seen the idiot Jiraiya posing over there and had launched a sneak attack.
If Gamabunta hadn't jumped aside, Jiraiya would probably have been steamed alive.
"What an idiot," Orochimaru muttered, continuing to fight as he retreated.
Behind them, Shinnosuke and Danzo exchanged a nod.
The two quickly began forming Hand Seals. Once Jiraiya and Orochimaru had reached roughly the right positions below them, the two exchanged a glance and began forming Hand Seals as well.
Danzo: Wind Release: Hurricane Strong Assault.
Shinnosuke: Earth Release: Earth Flow River.
Jiraiya + Gamabunta: Ninja Art: Toad Oil Flame Bullet.
Orochimaru + Manda: Ninja Art: Snake Venom Great Waterfall.
The four enormous jutsu combined into an immense composite technique.
A churning mass of mud and rocks, accompanied by purple, superheated steam, rushed toward the Sand shinobi below.
Seeing the danger, the enemy quickly tightened their formation and began forming Hand Seals to defend themselves.
Rasa: Magnet Release: Iron Sand Great Treasure.
Pakura: Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave.
Ebizo: Earth Release: Heavenly Descent Cover.
Chiyo: White Secret Technique: Puppet String Combo!
Iron Sand mixed with torrents of water surged across the ground toward the Konoha shinobi. Then a huge mass of earth fell from the sky, blocking their path. Chiyo pulled all the nearby shinobi behind her. Though they had acted in haste, they managed to block the combined jutsu.
But the Konoha shinobi's combined technique had only been meant to buy them time, not to kill the enemy.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya canceled their Summoning Techniques, quickly leapt to higher ground, and began forming Hand Seals.
Shikaku called out, "Bing San, keep it up! We're counting on you!"
Orochimaru + Aburame Torune: Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique.
Jiraiya + Shinnosuke: Earth Release: Earth Flow Fortress Wall.
Danzo: Wind Release: Strong Wind Attack.
Fine beads of sweat gathered on Bing San's face and ran down in streams. The veins on his forehead bulged and throbbed, and his hands trembled slightly as he formed the seals, his palms slick with sweat.
Bing San widened his slit pupils and shouted hoarsely, "Haaah! Ice Release: Glacier Summon!"
Two enormous walls, each about forty centimeters thick and five or six meters high, came together and barely managed to block the attack head-on.
The torrents of water spewed by Orochimaru and Jiraiya were all blown onto the earthen wall by Danzo, with some even spilling over the top.
A river of ice descended from the sky and bowed the wall under its weight. Fortunately, it didn't collapse.
In less than a minute, a wall of ice and earth more than seven meters high, over a hundred meters wide, and four or five meters thick stood between the two sides.
The Sand shinobi at the very front dropped to their knees with a thump. The Kunai in one of their hands clattered to the ground. Their eyes trembled, and drool dribbled from their mouths as they murmured, "N-no way! How can it be this huge?!"
Hearing the cries, the Konoha shinobi fleeing for their lives turned around to look. They were instantly so overwhelmed that they trembled, their eyes reddening. One after another, they collapsed with a thump, their strength giving out now that they had finally relaxed.
The Sand shinobi pursuing them saw a wall of ice suddenly rise before their eyes.
Bing San had used up ninety-nine percent of the Chakra in his body in one go. And that was with him having nearly as much Chakra as an ordinary jonin! Orochimaru and the others were also panting heavily.
Shikaku shouted excitedly, "We did it! Bing San, you did it!"
The others who knew what was happening shouted excitedly, too.
The Konoha Ninja were flushed with excitement, shouting, embracing one another, and celebrating their escape from certain death!
Several Commoner Ninja shouted, "Peerless of the West! Peerless of the West!"
After a moment's thought, they shouted again, "Cold Lord is invincible! Cold Lord is invincible!"
The Sand shinobi on the other side of the wall were ashen-faced. Ebizo and Chiyo looked utterly grim. They were extremely unwilling to give up, but faced with the sloping, sixty-degree wall of ice, over seven meters high, they could only grit their teeth in frustration.
They were ordinary shinobi, not overpowered freaks who could pilot giant mechs.
Rasa pulled back his Iron Sand and shaped it into wings, intending to fly up and take a look. But the moment he took off, he nearly jumped out of his skin and shouted, "Retreat!"
His voice cracked. There was only one reason: another attack was coming from the other side.
Orochimaru + Danzo: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
Jiraiya + Shinnosuke: Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet.
The Konoha Ninja: Throw all the shuriken and Kunai!
Bing San summoned a clone and immediately dispelled it, replenishing his Chakra in an instant before rapidly forming Hand Seals.
S-rank Second Hokage Improved Water Release: Hard Nest Water Blade.
In an instant, four enormous whirlwinds of ice rushed down from the ice wall. They were filled with ice blades, Kunai, shuriken, and chunks of rock, all hurtling toward the Sand shinobi.
Even the weather was drastically affected. Dark clouds replaced the clear sky.
In a flash, icy rain began to fall along the sweltering Sand-Konoha front line, soon turning into sleet.
The Sand shinobi abandoned their weapons and equipment, each using their own tricks to turn and flee.
Bing San slumped down on the ice wall and shouted, "Hahaha! I call this technique Ice Release: Smack Your Face Technique! What do you think?"
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and the others beside him were still panting, but they all laughed and shouted back, "Great! Great!"
The Sand shinobi retreated, dodging as they went. Hearing the voices above, they ground their teeth in hatred. Pakura shouted, "Shimura Bing San, I'm going to kill you! I swear I will!"
Hearing Pakura shout, Shikaku jokingly called back, "Peerless of the West, specializing in beating Pakura!"
A group of Commoner Ninja joined in. Pakura was so furious she could have died. Bing San's Ice Release completely countered her Scorch Release. Every time they clashed, she was the one who lost.
Rasa, flying in the sky, was also affected quite a bit, though fortunately he wasn't injured. He said coldly, "Cold Lord Orochimaru, don't celebrate too soon. Our battle has only just begun." With that, he flew away.
After the Konoha shinobi cheered for a while, they got up and began to withdraw.
After all, the temperature here was very high. The ice would melt soon.
Besides, there were many wounded here who urgently needed treatment.
Shikaku's father patted him on the shoulder and said, "Good work, kid. Lord Orochimaru told me all about it."
Shikaku was so excited that he hugged Nara Shikano and wouldn't let go.
Choza's father wiped the blood from his face, looking fierce as he hoisted Choza onto his shoulders. Choza's father, enlarged to his full size, stood over three meters tall.
Inoichi's mother held Inoichi by the head, saying something to him.
Bing San watched the families interact with envy written all over his face.
Just then, Danzo tapped Bing San with the tip of his foot and said, "How much longer are you going to embarrass me? Get up. We're leaving."
Bing San tilted his head and looked at Danzo. The corner of Danzo's stern mouth was turned up slightly, showing that this gloomy man wasn't quite as cold-hearted as he seemed.
"Ah, I'm going home!"
Before you continue