Intercept and Pursue, Eastern Battlefield

Munashi Jinpachi was blocked by the Earth Style wall and came to a halt, his eyes fixed on Uzumaki Muto.

"There are only two of you left. It seems your teammates chose to flee when faced with us, abandoning you. Aren't you afraid at all that you'll meet a gruesome end against the three of us?"

Chakra condensed as Munashi Jinpachi adhered his chakra to the wall and surged upward.

Seeing the opponent charging toward him, Uzumaki Muto roared:

"The three of you alone aren't enough to finish us off."

He formed hand seals with both hands.

"Earth Style: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"

He used earth-attribute chakra to pull a massive chunk of earth from the wall, reinforced it with earth-attribute chakra, and hurled it at Munashi Jinpachi.

Munashi Jinpachi watched the incoming boulder and immediately swung his Exploding Blade Shibuki forward, causing the rock and the blade to collide.

The Exploding Blade detonated.

The rock was blasted into smithereens, and the Exploding Blade bounced back after the explosion.

Munashi Jinpachi seized the moment, leaped to catch the blade, and continued to close the distance to Uzumaki Muto rapidly.

Uzumaki Muto realized he could not stop Munashi Jinpachi's advance; the power of the Exploding Blade was astonishing.

The damage from the explosions was impossible to block.

He had to stop Munashi Jinpachi from providing support.

The power of the opponent's explosive weapon was too great, but being too powerful had its drawbacks.

He thought of a plan: if he rushed to Munashi Jinpachi's side, the opponent wouldn't be able to use explosions at such close range.

He formed hand seals: "Earth Style Barrier: Earth Prison Dome," the enhanced version of the Uzumaki Clan.

The earth responded to his earth-style chakra, and earthen walls formed a cage, enveloping them both.

The walls were reinforced with the Uzumaki Clan's sealing jutsu, which increased their durability.

Munashi Jinpachi discovered he was trapped in the cage, and his internal chakra was slowly draining away, so he immediately retreated to the wall.

He swung the Exploding Blade Shibuki, striking the wall and causing an explosion; the wall cracked instantly, but inside the confined space, the sonic boom from the blast reverberated.

Dizziness struck, and he lost control of his legs, dropping to one knee immediately.

Uzumaki Muto was also affected by the shockwave from the explosion, staggering and leaning against the wall in a daze.

This situation was exactly as he had anticipated.

If the opponent wanted to leave, they would have to defeat him first, and the longer it took, the more severe the chakra drain would become.

Munashi Jinpachi had not expected the explosion to produce such power in this enclosed environment.

However, looking at the cracks in the earthen wall, he saw they were slowly repairing themselves; it seemed the chakra drained from his body was being used to mend the wall.

He slowly stood up and looked at Uzumaki Muto; the only way out was to eliminate him.

In the eastern sector, Jiraiya, Senju Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Uzumaki Ashina formed a four-man squad, heading toward the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to rescue Elder Keimei.

Blocking their path were Hozuki Gensei, Kaguya Majen, and Suikazan Fuguki; they were the group with the most strength to break through the blockade and enter to rescue Elder Keimei.

"Old man, we meet again. Uzumaki Ashina, let me introduce you to everyone—he is the Uzukage of the Land of Whirlpools."

"But under my assault, he became the former Uzukage. Today, I'll show you my specialty; just lie down obediently."

Hozuki Gensei was full of mockery toward Uzumaki Ashina, whom he had fought before.

"Summoning Jutsu: Twin Blades Hiramekarei!"

He picked up the Twin Blades Hiramekarei in his hands and pointed them at his opponent.

Suikazan Fuguki had a deep conflict with Hozuki Gensei, and seeing that the weapon Hozuki Gensei summoned was the Twin Blades Hiramekarei, he breathed a sigh of relief; without Samehada, his own strength would be reduced by at least half, so he formed hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu: Great Blade Samehada!"

He gripped it in his hands and studied the Samehada; one day, the Samehada would belong entirely to him, he thought, glancing at Hozuki Gensei, who managed the Seven Ninja Swords.

Solving Hozuki Gensei privately would be discovered by the Mizukage, but taking him out secretly on the battlefield was a perfect way out.

Kaguya Majen did not wait for Hozuki Gensei to initiate the attack and charged out first, aiming for Tsunade with a bone sword protruding from his hand.

"Dance of the Camellia!"

His attack speed increased exponentially under the infusion of chakra as he thrust toward Tsunade; Tsunade did not block the bone spike, instead forming hand seals.

"Chakra Scalpel!"

She held the Chakra Scalpel and slashed toward the incoming arm, but Kaguya Majen raised the exoskeleton on his arm.

He attempted to block the Chakra Scalpel, but just as the blade was about to strike, his sensitive perception sent a warning of stinging pain.

Being cut would result in injury, so he hurriedly retracted his arm, and a bone spike extended from his other hand.

"Dance of the Willow!"

With decisive fluidity, he shifted his ninjutsu, his body swaying like a willow branch in the wind, dancing away from the threat of the Chakra Scalpel.

Tsunade, unable to land a hit, grew increasingly irritable; she condensed her chakra and brought her Heavenly Foot of Pain crashing down toward Kaguya Majen.

As the Heavenly Foot of Pain descended, bones erupted from Kaguya Majen's body, forming a hedgehog-like armor to deflect Tsunade's strike.

"Dance of the Larch."

Faced with Tsunade's assault, Kaguya Majen retaliated in kind.

He spun his body, turning the exposed bones protruding from his skin into weapons of high-speed rotation; rather than retreating from the bone spikes, Tsunade chose to meet them head-on.

She surged more chakra into her Heavenly Foot of Pain and let out a roar, launching her attack at the bristling Kaguya Majen as the two collided.

The spinning Kaguya Majen was knocked back by the Heavenly Foot of Pain, stumbling as he lost his footing, while Tsunade leaped backward, blood streaming from her leg as she formed hand seals.

"Medical Ninjutsu: Mystical Palm Technique."

Medical chakra surged forth to rapidly heal her leg, her eyes fixed on the opponent ahead.

Uzumaki Ashina noticed the blade in Hozuki Gensei's hand; it was a different weapon, as the chakra-absorbing Samehada was currently in the hands of Suikazan Fuguki.

Since the opponent no longer has the chakra-absorbing blade, let's see how I deal with you, he thought, forming hand seals.

"Sealing Technique: Adamantine Sealing Chains."

He surged forward, chakra chains erupting from his back; a massive amount of chakra flooded his body, boosting his speed as he charged toward Hozuki Gensei.

Hozuki Gensei stared at the rushing Uzumaki Ashina and smiled faintly, raising the Twin Blades Hiramekarei in his hands.

"Hiramekarei Release."

Blue light emanated from the two circular holes in the Hiramekarei as chakra condensed within.

It released a terrifying wave of energy.

A massive aggregate of chakra.

It erupted with astonishing speed, flying toward Uzumaki Ashina.

Uzumaki Ashina watched in horror as the chakra aggregate, radiating a terrifying aura, closed in with incredible speed, leaving him no room to escape; he formed hand seals.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Hiding Technique."

By using chakra to turn the earth into flowing quicksand, he could submerge into the ground like an earth dragon, effectively masking his presence from enemy detection.

He retracted the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Wrapping himself in a protective layer of chakra, he utilized the Earth Dragon Hiding Technique to rapidly sink into the ground beneath his feet, descending to a safe depth.

The chakra aggregate reached its destination.

A terrifying explosion of energy erupted, casting a blinding light.

The shockwave scattered outward, forcing Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade to retreat.

Jiraiya stared at the scene before him, dumbfounded, and spoke up:

"Old man Uzumaki Ashina, can you even withstand such terrifying damage?"