The six Konoha ninja led by Yōsuke Yamashiro heard Naruto Uzumaki's shout, but before they could react,
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and Momoshiki Otsutsuki both turned to look at the six of them.
The corners of their mouths rose simultaneously in almost imperceptible curves.
Had Naraku's Observation Haki not covered the entire battlefield throughout, he would almost have missed that subtle detail.
A hint of something almost like relief suddenly surfaced in Isshiki's cornered expression, while Momoshiki's face, which had looked slightly ferocious from chakra depletion, took on the cold smile of a hunter locking onto his prey.
Naraku's pupils contracted slightly.
He understood something in an instant.
"Everyone, listen up!"
Naraku's voice abruptly rose, and his blade light traced a pitch-black arc in front of Isshiki, forcing him back three steps.
"Stay away from the battlefield! Go two kilometers southwest! The wounded we evacuated earlier are there! Find them and take care of them!"
"That's an order!"
When Momoshiki had launched his surprise attack on Naruto earlier, the other ANBU ninja had all suffered serious injuries.
And with Naraku's arrival, the scale of the battle had grown again.
While Naraku fought Isshiki and Momoshiki, Naruto and Sasuke had seized the opportunity to move all the wounded ANBU members away.
Had those wounded stayed where they were, they would certainly have been caught in the fighting.
Meanwhile, the six who had finally stopped stood at the edge of the battlefield.
Yōsuke Yamashiro froze for a moment.
His gaze swept rapidly over Naraku, Naruto, Sasuke, and the two unknown, white-skinned enemies. As commander of the Border Forces, he certainly did not lack judgment.
So he understood at once.
It seemed the six of them had no business intervening in this battle at all, or Shihōin Naraku, as Hokage, would not have given such