The Outcome of the Southern Battlefield

Kushimaru Kuriarare's face darkened even further. He pulled several smoke bombs from his robes and flung them out.

"Bang!"

Smoke billowed everywhere.

Uzumaki Shiro had no choice but to retreat to Uzumaki Sasuke's side and quietly wait for the smoke to clear.

To their surprise, once the smoke had cleared, Kushimaru Kuriarare had vanished.

As he fled, Kushimaru Kuriarare cursed:

"I only have internal injuries. I'm not running away! I'll come back out once the war is over."

Uzumaki Shiro expanded his sensory range, but he still couldn't detect Kushimaru Kuriarare. He was puzzled.

Uzumaki Sasuke leaned against a tree, slowly catching his breath.

"Uzumaki Shiro, since our opponent has disappeared, go rescue Elder Keimei now."

Uzumaki Shiro was still uneasy about leaving his teammate behind. Uzumaki Sasuke didn't have the strength to say more, so he could only wave him away.

Uzumaki Shiro thought it over for a moment, then hurriedly picked Uzumaki Sasuke up.

"Bear with the pain. I'll hide you somewhere else, and you can recover there while I go rescue Elder Keimei. That way, I can feel at ease, too."

Uzumaki Sasuke rested in the cave where he was hidden and called after Uzumaki Shiro as he headed out:

"You have to win this battle."

Uzumaki Shiro turned back with a smile and waved.

"We're going to win this battle."

The southern battlefield.

Jiraiya had already gained the upper hand. With a single Great Flame Bomb Technique, he had knocked out Jinin Akebino and left him unable to fight.

As soon as Raiga Kurosuki saw Jiraiya approaching, he used Thunder Blade Kiba to send a bolt of lightning at him, stopping him from advancing. When Jiraiya tried to help Uzumaki Jiro, Raiga sent another lightning strike his way. He stayed there, holding Jiraiya off without attacking, while watching the battle between Kaguya Kenma and Uzumaki Jiro.

Jiraiya's eye twitched. Well, well. He's trying to hold me here until his teammate, Kaguya Kenma, wins. Jiraiya stopped attacking, too, and watched Uzumaki Jiro.

It seemed the outcome of the southern battlefield would depend on the fight between those two.

The pressure was now on Uzumaki Jiro. Kaguya Kenma had seen his opponent treat him like a piece of cargo, casually trading him for another opponent.

Rage surged through him. He controlled his bones to cover his entire body, increasing their density until they formed a tank encased in bone.

He charged straight at Uzumaki Jiro. The weight of the bone tank cracked the ground beneath his feet.

Uzumaki Jiro stared at the monster charging toward him and formed hand seals.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

He controlled the earth with chakra, raising a wall of chakra-infused soil to block Kaguya Kenma's charge.

But Kaguya Kenma ignored the opponent's jutsu and slammed straight into the chakra-formed wall. It was like paper; he broke through it with ease, without meeting the slightest resistance.

Uzumaki Jiro stared in shock. He had seen plenty of Taijutsu users, but never one who could move so nimbly while carrying so much weight.

Watching Kaguya Kenma draw closer, he used the Uzumaki Clan's signature technique and formed hand seals.

"Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Seal!"

He pressed it directly against Kaguya Kenma.

But the Sealing Rune covered Kaguya Kenma without affecting his movements in the slightest.

He slammed straight into Uzumaki Jiro, knocking him down and sending him tumbling until he finally came to a stop against a tree.

He pushed himself up and spat out a mouthful of blood. As he lay there after being knocked over, he couldn't understand it. My Sealing Jutsu hit Kaguya Kenma. Why can he still move freely?

Kaguya Kenma looked at the densely packed Sealing Runes covering his body and grinned savagely.

"Not bad. That tattoo you gave me looks pretty nice!"

Then, layer after layer of bone peeled away like shed skin, taking the runes with it and revealing the white bones beneath.

Only now did Uzumaki Jiro understand why his Sealing Jutsu hadn't affected his opponent's movements: it couldn't seal him completely.

There was only one option left, an untested one.

He had been studying Uzumaki Shori's "Sealing Scroll: Chakra Capacitor," combining it with his own knowledge of sealing.

He had already pushed his body as far as he could. If he wanted to go beyond that, he would have to use an external source.

He stood up, brushed the dirt off himself, then tore off his clothes, revealing the densely packed Sealing Jutsu markings all over his body. Bring it on.

"Now I'll show you the jutsu I created by combining it with the Sealing Scroll: Chakra Capacitor!" He formed hand seals.

"Sealing Technique: Adamantine Sealing Chains Modified!"

Chains burst from his back and wrapped around his body, interweaving with the markings on his skin.

Fire Release chakra poured from the markings, and the chains began to glow like heated iron, radiating scorching heat.

The many Fire Release chakra markings fused together with the Uzumaki Clan's secret technique, Adamantine Sealing Chains, forming a highly concentrated mass of chakra. He straightened up and roared.

"Now it's my turn to attack!"

Kaguya Kenma watched as his opponent transformed into a small giant like himself and laughed excitedly.

He charged at him as well, ready for a head-on clash.

The two collided. A glowing red-hot fist slammed into a bone-white one.

The bone-white fist began to corrode as it made contact with the other's Fire Release chakra.

They traded punch after punch, the chakra corroding Kaguya Kenma's bones.

New bones grew directly from Kaguya Kenma's body as layer after layer of corroded bone fell to the ground. The advantage gradually shifted to Uzumaki Jiro.

Kaguya Kenma looked bewildered. How could I lose? I'm from the Kaguya Clan. I can't lose here!

"Dance of the Larch!"

Sharp spikes sprouted from his bones, and his body spun at high speed, turning him into a spiked top.

The highly concentrated chakra surrounding Uzumaki Jiro was scraped until flames flickered across his body, and the chains wrapped around him began to break apart.

Uzumaki Jiro knew he couldn't keep letting his opponent attack. He increased the chakra output through the markings covering his body, overtaxing himself. His fiery red hair turned snow-white.

Two more arms formed from the Adamantine Chains at his waist. All four arms grabbed at Kaguya Kenma as he spun at high speed.

They forced him to a stop, then tore at his Exoskeleton, pulling Kaguya Kenma out from within the thick layer of bone.

He slammed him onto the ground as if he were wringing out a towel, then pounded him without pause with all four fists.

Cracks spread across the ground as it caved in beneath them.

Underground, Kaguya Kenma lost consciousness beneath the four fists. Acting on instinct, he unleashed the Kaguya Clan's final technique.

"Dance of the Seedling Fern!"

Countless bones erupted from the ground, with Kaguya Kenma at their center.

Uzumaki Jiro was forced out of the earth by the bones, which kept erupting from below.

By the time he was thrown aboveground, Uzumaki Jiro had exhausted all his strength. As he was hurled through the air, the Adamantine Chains began to disintegrate, and the Sealing Runes on his body started to disappear.

His body was also burned by his own Fire Release chakra. Jiraiya had been guarding him for some time. He caught Uzumaki Jiro just before he hit the ground.

Bone spikes were still erupting from the ground. Jiraiya formed hand seals.

"Summoning Technique: Power Toad!"

The Power Toad, which lived in the Hidden Village of Mount Myoboku, was tremendously strong and could fly.

Jiraiya carried Uzumaki Jiro as he leaped onto the Power Toad's back.

Raiga Kurosuki realized they couldn't stay there any longer. Despite his injuries, he hauled up the unconscious Jinin Akebino and ran frantically toward the outskirts.