The rescue squad, covered in blood, raced across the ice, riding a surging mudslide as it thundered down from above.
Nara Shikaku's talent for dirty tricks was on full display. After charging down the earthen hill along the route he'd chosen, they only had to climb one small slope—the spot where the battle had just taken place. After that, it was downhill all the way.
The earthshaking roar drew wave after wave of people who tried to stop them. They used every trick at their disposal, but either got swept away or couldn't keep up, forced to watch as the squad rushed past.
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the volume of water had been cut in half. But the danger hadn't lessened in the slightest!
The Konoha Ninja below were under attack by a large number of enemy shinobi, and their advance had slowed considerably.
When they began their breakout, they'd had more than forty elite Jonin. Now only seventeen or eighteen were still standing. The rest were either dead or sprawled on the ground, groaning. And every single one of those still standing was wounded.
Actually, when Danzo had first been asked to lead the team, he'd refused. How could someone as protective of his own life as him risk it?
But Pakura had set her sights on him. Wherever he went, that woman brought people after him. It made Danzo grit his teeth with hatred!
The one leading the Iwa forces was Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki. Only Pakura could just barely work with him; the others couldn't coordinate with him at all. Lava was simply too overpowered.
Roshi had a single tail behind him, and his entire body was covered in lava. He launched a fierce assault on Danzo.
Danzo's left arm hung limply, and his right hand was covered in burns. His hair was disheveled, and a large patch of his upper-body clothing had been set ablaze. He fled in a sorry state, not daring to face Roshi head-on.
When they heard the sound of water, Danzo and Jiraiya visibly breathed a sigh of relief. At last, they had something to look forward to.
Their mission was to draw out the enemy, not to get themselves killed.
Now they just had to wait for enough of the enemy to show up. Then the main force could retreat in another direction, and they could escape with the Flying Thunder God.
A rumbling sound had only just reached them when an immense wave came crashing down.
Roshi, Pakura, and the others looked up. The sight on the mountain stunned them, and they forgot to attack. The others were also shaken by the overwhelming spectacle.
The Rock Ninja attacking them hurriedly crowded behind Roshi, hoping to take shelter under his protection.
Seizing the opportunity, Danzo and Jiraiya led the Konoha who could still move, dragging the wounded as they ran off to the side.
Roshi gritted his teeth and quickly formed Hand Seals, shouting, "Stop right there! Lava Release: Granite Formation!"
With a rumble, a bright-red stone wall appeared before Roshi. It was five or six meters thick, more than ten meters wide, and four or five meters high.
At the sight of it, Pakura broke into a cold sweat. Forgetting all about loyalty to her comrades, she abandoned her troops and turned to run.
Roshi had no time to care what Pakura was doing. If he didn't stop this wave, over a hundred meters tall, they'd all be smashed to the bottom of the river!
Seeing the glowing wall of lava blocking their path, Shikaku shouted, "Bingsan, turn it to ice! Hurry!"
Bingsan gritted his teeth, slapped both hands onto the mudslide, and shouted, "Turn to ice!"
With a rumble, the surging black river instantly became a huge ice block packed with debris. It was over three hundred meters long, more than forty meters wide, and nearly ten meters thick!
Water dripped down Minato's face as he stared with bloodshot eyes and shouted, "Keep moving!"
The people on the ice dashed over to Danzo and Jiraiya in a flash, then tumbled into a heap!
Roshi: (°ー°〃)
Roshi: "Pakura, you %$#..."
With a rumble, Roshi and the Rock Ninja beside him were crushed by the boiling water, trees, and rocks. They were all swept into the nearby river that flowed straight into the Land of Rain.
Danzo, Jiraiya, and the others stared wide-eyed as fifty or sixty people were instantly pushed into the river that flowed straight into the Land of Rain, tossed in like dumplings by the steaming wave.
Bingsan, standing beside Danzo, wiped the sweat from his forehead. He gasped like a bellows for a long while before asking, "What should we do with all the others? I'm out of Chakra!"
By then, the Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja charging down the mountain were almost upon them.
Danzo looked around and decided that this should be enough.
If the others still couldn't break through after this, he'd go back and kill Mitarai Zixiao.
Just then, Jiraiya said, "Get ready to engage. We'll hold them off once, then retreat." He turned to Minato and added, "Minato, can you handle using that technique?"
Minato scratched his head. "Don't worry, Jiraiya-sensei."
Minato grinned through the pain and wiped the beads of blood from his face. Then he pulled out a small blue bottle and shook it. "This is a potion Bingsan gave me to replenish Chakra. It works really well.
It restores a third of my Chakra in about ten seconds."
Jiraiya and Minato each threw Flying Thunder God Kunai forward, then quickly formed Hand Seals.
Jiraiya shouted, "Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Namikaze Minato shouted too, "Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Danzo glanced over and formed Hand Seals as well.
Danzo shouted, "Wind Release: Great Wind!"
A sea of specially made Kunai flew toward the hillside. The enemy used all sorts of techniques to block them, and before they could catch their breath, they heard the goofy Minato shout, "Ninja Art: Spiral Flash Super Round Roar Three Forms!"
Bingsan and the others: (°ー°〃)(°ー°〃)(°ー°〃)(°ー°〃)
Crouched on the ground, Bingsan burst out laughing. The name was ridiculous, but golden light flashed wildly across the battlefield, beautiful and cruel like a shower of meteors streaking across the sky.
Minato plopped down beside Bingsan, gulped down a mouthful of Chakra potion, and began to pant.
It was as if the world had been paused. The Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja charging toward them stood there silently, without moving.
Suddenly, a Rock Ninja fell with a thud. Then, as if a chain reaction had begun, a whole swath of them dropped one after another. Only a few remained standing unharmed, while groans and screams instantly rang out from the ground.
It was as if they'd been transported straight to hell. The bloody, brutal scene left everyone speechless for a long time.
A female Jonin dropped to the ground with a thud, mumbling unconsciously, "It's an illusion. It's all an illusion. Hahaha, this is a trick, a lie. It's all a lie."
Then she frantically formed Hand Seals and shouted, "Genjutsu: Release! Release! Why won't this illusion break?!"
Even if she survived, she was finished. She'd lost her mind.
Just then, Shikaku slapped Obito across the face. Obito yelped, "Why'd you hit me?"
Shikaku slapped his own face and said, "Looks like it isn't an illusion!"
Shikaku was about to say more, but his expression suddenly changed and he shouted, "Bingsan, watch out!"
With grass on her head and a vicious look on her face, Pakura burst from underground and charged straight at Bingsan, gripping a Kunai in both hands.
Bingsan only had time to look back! A wet splatter, and something warm covered his face.
With a thud, Danzo fell onto his back. A gleaming, green Kunai was buried deep in his lower abdomen.
Everyone was instantly horrified. They didn't even bother chasing after Pakura as she leaped into the steaming river, hurrying instead to check on Danzo.
Bingsan stammered at Danzo, whose eyelids were half closed. "W-why? Why, sir?"
Danzo's voice was faint. "Konoha is important. You're more..."
In an instant, the dark, cold-blooded, unscrupulous man lost consciousness!
Before you continue