Finished?

At this moment, the situation on the field was delicate. The Konoha ninja had already pulled back entirely, abandoning their position here, and their casualties were quite severe.

Although Ōnoki had taken a risky gambit and achieved his objective, Jiraiya's arrival had also disrupted his plans.

If it were only Orochimaru, he could still calmly suppress and reseal the Five-Tails. He had even prepared a new Jinchuriki vessel for it—a child named "Han," whose constitution was highly compatible with sealing the Five-Tails.

Now, both sides had no choice but to pull back and face off against each other. The injured Five-Tails, with no desire to continue fighting, only wanted to flee the battlefield and kept searching for a suitable escape route.

Ōnoki naturally could not allow the village's ultimate weapon to be lost. He repeatedly intercepted it with Earth Style, but with the two Konoha Sannin watching menacingly from the side, he found himself stretched thin.

Sometimes he wondered how Konoha could be so blessed. First, there were the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, and the Shinobi World's Asura, Uchiha Madara. Even though those two had passed, their successors were still a wealth of talent, with Kage-level experts emerging endlessly.

In contrast, his Stone Ninja seemed to suffer from a lack of continuity, always standing alone with no one among the next generation who could truly satisfy him.

The Five-Tails, irritated by Ōnoki's relentless jutsu, began to steam with scorching heat once more. Though it had not yet reformed its horned strike, it was clearly on the verge of rampaging.

Seeing the Five-Tails nearing the edge of the battlefield, Ōnoki knew that if this continued, it might actually escape.

Without further hesitation, his hands moved swiftly through hand seals.

"Earth Style: Mountain Earth Technique!"

With Ōnoki's roar, two massive rock hemispheres rose from the ground, converging on the Five-Tails from both sides! If caught squarely by this technique, even the Five-Tails would struggle to break free.

"Heh, Ōnoki, it's time you tasted the bitterness of being cornered."

Orochimaru, who had been biding his time on the sidelines, flashed a sharp glint in his eyes and struck simultaneously with Jiraiya to interfere.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" x2

Two blazing rain of fire accurately shot toward Ōnoki. Though he tried his best to dodge, his technique was inevitably affected, and the Mountain Earth Technique faltered for a moment.

"Monstrous Strength."

The Five-Tails keenly seized this fleeting opportunity. Its steam exploded outward, breaking through the rock hemispheres in one burst, and it charged madly down the path cleared earlier by the Tailed Beast Ball!

A flash of blade light, and another lurking Stone Ninja fell silently.

Namikaze Yoru was drenched in blood. The viscous liquid had nearly stained him into a demon wading out of a sea of blood.

Behind him, Nawaki and Shibi were also covered in wounds. Their strength was too weak for the Stone Ninja battlefield, and every encounter had been a narrow escape.

He diverted his senses and detected that the Kunai carried by the Kikaichū had nearly left the battlefield. His heart eased slightly.

But he dared not linger. Ever since they had been forced to kill Stone Ninja to survive, their trail had been exposed. The moment combat erupted, Stone Ninja swarmed like sharks drawn to blood.

He could not place all his hope on the success of the Kikaichū plan. He could only lead the two of them to constantly weave along the edge of the battlefield, trying to break out. Gradually, he found himself immersed in the killing atmosphere of the battlefield, no longer simply wanting to escape with the two, but feeling a thrill of dancing on the blade's edge.

"Here they come again!" Namikaze Yoru's mind sharpened. Mind's Eye of the Kagura clearly detected another Stone Ninja squad charging straight at them!

He looked at the other two in his squad. Though their expressions were resolute, their hands gripping the Kunai trembled uncontrollably from exhaustion. They had clearly reached their limit.

"Eight Gates: Gate of Pain—Open!"

Green energy exploded outward once more. Even with his constitution, continuously opening the Eight Gates was becoming a severe strain.

He dared not waste time. Turning into a green streak of light, he plunged into the enemy formation. Relying entirely on the extreme speed of the Eight Gates and the sharpness of the Hokage's Sword in his hand, he used brute force to smash through. Every slash brought a spray of blood, aiming to eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible.

But this squad of Stone Ninja behaved strangely. They seemed reluctant to fight, as if they were not here to surround the three but rather to retreat in a hurry.

Amidst the flashing blade light, he moved like the God of Death. Yet one Stone Ninja, enduring a direct slash, hurled several Kunai at Nawaki and Shibi.

Namikaze Yoru saw clearly that among them was a Kunai with an Explosive Tag tied to its hilt.

He had no time to turn back and save them. Even if he swiftly spun around and cut down the Stone Ninja, beheading him, the Kunai had already been thrown.

The two were now completely exhausted. Shibi released a massive swarm of Kikaichū, wrapping them both in a dense layer. The Kunai struck the thick mass of insects and was directly blocked, falling weakly to the ground.

But the Kunai with the Explosive Tag had already been ignited. It exploded right in front of the insect swarm!

The flames instantly engulfed the two within the swarm.

Fortunately, Namikaze Yoru's perception detected that their Chakra fluctuations had not vanished. It turned out that at the moment of the Explosive Tag's detonation, Nawaki had hastily used Water Wall, barely blocking the fatal blow.

The insect swarm and flames dissipated, revealing the two figures. Namikaze Yoru had just begun to relax when he saw them both spitting blood. They had clearly been injured internally by the shockwave of the Explosive Tag.

What made things even more despairing was that their escape route had been carefully chosen—a forested area near the gap cleared by the Tailed Beast Ball.

The original plan was based on a principle from his past life: "Two shells never land in the same crater."

But who would have thought that instead of shells, they would get the cannon itself?

In Namikaze Yoru's perception, the Stone Ninja around them were scattering through the forest, while the white giant beast charging from afar was already visible with the naked eye on the bare path.

Looking at the two who had completely lost their combat ability, Namikaze Yoru seemed to be trapped in a dead end. In his hesitation, Nawaki said to him:

"Brother Yoru, don't worry about us. If you take us, none of us will make it out."

Shibi beside him also nodded, unwilling to drag him down.

The giant beast's footsteps grew closer, each step seeming to land on the hearts of the three. But Namikaze Yoru's expression suddenly lit up. He grabbed the two, and in an instant, they vanished.

It turned out that the Kikaichū plan had successfully carried the Kunai away unnoticed. More importantly, the Five-Tails' attack had caused the Stone Ninja forces to split their lines, giving them an opening.

Before the three could even celebrate their narrow escape, they looked back and saw a dazzling white light streak across the sky, slamming heavily into the Five-Tails.

Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!

The terrifying energy instantly tore through the Five-Tails' body. As a Tailed Beast, it was a mass of Chakra, so no blood splattered, but its massive form was sent flying backward by the Dust Release's impact—and it was heading straight for the three.

"Is there no end to this? Chasing us to kill?"

Only one thought remained in Namikaze Yoru's mind: back then at Konoha's gate, he really should have sewn Nawaki's mouth shut.