Dusk was blood-red, staining the dense forest a dark crimson. The elite squad led by Kakashi and Might Guy became streaks of black afterimages as they raced through the trees.
Their clothes billowed in the wind, kicking up clouds of dust behind them. Like a black dragon, they sped toward the border of the Land of Fire.
At the same time, Jiraiya's team was also rushing without pause toward the border of Sunagakure. The air was heavy with a suffocating tension. A world-shaking battle seemed to have been loosed like an arrow from the bow, with no turning back.
Konoha's border had already become a scene straight out of hell. The defenders fought drenched in blood, stubbornly resisting Kirigakure's fierce assault. Yet the appearance of the Three-Tails had completely shattered the balance of the battlefield. Its massive body was like a moving hill, and every sweep of its tail unleashed a violent gale that flattened the carefully constructed defensive lines in an instant.
"When will the reinforcements get here?!" An elite jonin captain, his face smeared with blood, shouted with anxiety and despair in his voice.
"Not until this afternoon at the earliest. That means we need to hold out for at least another three hours!" a ninja answered between ragged breaths, a flicker of fear in his eyes.
The jonin captain gripped his kunai tightly and glared at the Kirigakure ninja surging toward them like a tide. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Hold them back as long as we can! Even if we have to fight with our last breath, we cannot let them advance another step!"
On their way to the border, Kakashi's group ran into a small Kirigakure unit in a broad valley. Both sides quickly formed up, and the air crackled with tension, as though a