While Tamura Hiroshi was discussing matters with Rasa and the others in Sunagakure, a great battle had already erupted in Iwagakure—or rather, it had started long ago, and Iwagakure had already been battered to pieces.
By the time the Third Raikage arrived, Kitsuchi had already been gravely wounded and was being corrupted by Dark Chakra.
Seeing Shimura Danzō's might and his army of tens of thousands of dark soldiers, the Third Raikage decisively used the Summoning Technique to send the intelligence back to his village. Then a Raijin Clone arrived, carrying the Red Gourd on its back, and released the sealed ninja army from within it.
The arriving Cloud Ninja immediately joined the battle, aiding the Iwagakure Ninja in fighting the dark ninja army.
Uzumaki Kushina and the others joined forces with the Third Raikage and Ōnoki to surround Shimura Danzō, their coordination impeccable.
Although Shimura Danzō was powerful, he had just devoured half of the Five-Tails beyond his limits, leaving the World-Destroying Black Lotus uncomfortably full. He had no choice but to divert a great deal of Dark Chakra to suppress it, drastically reducing how much Dark Chakra he could unleash.
Seeing that he could no longer gain the upper hand, Shimura Danzō had no choice but to lead the dark army in retreat.
The Cloud Ninja Army and the heavily battered Iwagakure Ninja Army were also in no condition to pursue them. They could only watch helplessly as the enemy withdrew.
"Kitsuchi!"
Ōnoki paid no attention to Shimura Danzō's retreat. He flew straight to his son, only to find a corpse.
"Kitsuchi!"
Looking at his son's face, blackened by the corruption of Dark Chakra, Ōnoki couldn't hold back his tears.
He had only one son, and now he had to bury him in the prime of his life.