"Bang!"
The ground beneath Shihōin Naraku's feet exploded, spraying clods of earth in every direction.
Under the others' surprised gazes, Naraku shot into the sky, reaching a high altitude in an instant and looking down at a distant mountain road.
More than ten kilometers away, a large force of Iwagakure Ninja of unknown origin had formed a long column and was rapidly advancing toward the battlefield.
The distance was too great for even Observation Haki to make them out clearly, so Naraku visually scanned their ant-sized formation.
"About a thousand, but there's no telling exactly how strong they are..."
Still, Naraku did not believe Iwagakure could send out many more powerful troops. After all, their all-important village still needed protection, and troops were needed along their other borders as well. This thousand-strong Ninja force might be Iwagakure's last resort.
Glancing down at the battlefield, where smoke still lingered, Naraku turned and slowly descended.
Jiraiya sensed something was wrong and immediately approached to ask, "What happened?"
"Iwagakure has sent reinforcements. A force of around a thousand. Their strength is unknown."
"So soon?"
The Konoha Ninja had only just finished a grueling battle and had no strength left to keep fighting.
Jiraiya looked toward Might Guy, who was resting nearby. The aftereffects of opening the Eight Gates Formation had already set in, and he was trying to ease his pain and exhaustion.
Fortunately, Might Guy had only opened the first six gates of the Eight Gates Formation during the battle. Otherwise, he would have been lying on the ground now, not daring to move.
As for Kakashi and the others resting in the center of the battlefield, they were so tired they did not even want to move.
Jiraiya gave a bitter chuckle. How could they possibly keep fighting in this state?