The Nearly Annihilated Mist Ninja Front Line

They were beyond saving.

Even if they wanted to retreat, they would only be treated as targets.

Rather than that, it was better to fight with everything they had and buy time for the Mist Ninja behind them to withdraw. There were more than two thousand Mist Ninja on the front line in total. Ao had no idea how many would make it out safely in the end. Perhaps a thousand, perhaps a few hundred, perhaps even fewer. But at this point, he could no longer afford to think about that. He had done everything he could; he had fulfilled his duty.

His face was pale.

His vision had grown blurry.

He was in dire straits: he had lost too much blood, overused his Byakugan, and nearly depleted his chakra.

"Damn it, I can't fall here!"

He wanted to hold on.

But his body could no longer keep going.

"Lord Ao!"

"Rumble!"

Once again, Utakata sent a violent storm of sand and shattered rock surging forward with the six tails behind him. The frontal assault blanketed everything in its path, joined by the Six-Tails Saiken's unique corrosive attack. If Utakata hadn't needed to protect the Snow Ninja around him, he could have used the Tailed Beast Ball. Delay them!? Then the Mist Ninja behind you wouldn't even have a chance to retreat.

But even without using such a devastating weapon,

the Six-Tails' massive body, the corrosive gas it sprayed everywhere, and its terrain-altering attacks

had already inflicted terrible casualties on the Mist Ninja before it.

Ao was about to be struck by another combination of boulders and acid.

His body had already lost its last strength. He could no longer move.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

The last of the elite Mist Ninja threw themselves in front of him.

"The rear guard