Hatake Sakumo sprinted onward, carrying the unconscious Killer B. After several hundred meters, he finally spotted a group of figures in the distance.
The Konoha Ninja hadn't gone far. They had all stopped to wait.
Every one of them craned his neck toward the battlefield, worry written all over his face...
After all, their opponent was the Eight-Tails. Could Lord Hokage handle him?
Just then, they spotted a figure rapidly approaching from afar. The Konoha Ninja immediately assumed fighting stances in unison.
No wonder they were nervous... If Lord Hokage had been defeated, the approaching figure would be an enemy.
But when the figure drew closer and they recognized his distinctive white hair, their taut nerves instantly relaxed.
The newcomer was none other than their Fourth Hokage, Hatake Sakumo.
In his hand, he was dangling a dark-skinned guy in sunglasses like a little chick. The man looked as though he'd just been dug out of a coal pile.
Wasn't that the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B?
"It's Lord Hokage!"
"Lord Hokage is back!"
"He captured Killer B too!"
The crowd erupted, everyone talking at once. They all breathed long sighs of relief, practically jumping for joy.
The fighting hadn't even officially begun, yet Kumogakure's two most important people-the Third Raikage's own son, A, and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B-were both prisoners.
Hatake Sakumo stopped in front of the group and nodded to the "representatives" of the various big and small clans as they gathered around him.
He cleared his throat and spoke:
"Everyone, follow me. We're going after Kumogakure's army."
He paused, a smile appearing on his face:
"I expect the Kumogakure ninja still don't know how the battle turned out. Now is the perfect chance to attack."
Uchiha Arashi, Hizashi Hyuga, and the others lit up at his words. Their blood racing, they answered one after another:
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
"Catch them off guard!"
Just as Hatake Sakumo had expected, Kumogakure's army hadn't gone far either.
They had stopped after running several hundred meters. They were quite confident that the Eight-Tails would defeat the Konoha White Fang.
That was the Eight-Tails!
One of the most formidable Tailed Beasts!
Once the Eight-Tails went berserk, wouldn't taking care of Konoha's Hatake Sakumo be a matter of minutes?
Of course, one other thing weighed on the Kumogakure ninja... Lord Raikage's son, "Lord A," had been captured by Konoha.
That was a serious problem.
Several veteran Kumogakure ninja hurriedly gathered and discussed what to do, all talking at once.
Their leader was none other than Dodai, one of Kumogakure's higher-ups and a strategist-type ninja.
Now, Dodai was no ordinary fighter.
Not only did he possess the powerful Lava Release, he was also one of the few ninja in Kumogakure who liked to use his brain.
Dodai listened to the tremendous sounds constantly coming from the distant battlefield... the Eight-Tails' roars, the booming of Tailed Beast Bombs, and the tremors of the earth splitting apart... His brow furrowed ever more deeply.
"The Eight-Tails is going berserk," he said in a low voice. "With all that commotion, Hatake Sakumo shouldn't last much longer."
A Kumogakure ninja beside him quickly chimed in. "Lord Dodai, shouldn't we seize this chance to charge in and rescue Lord A?"
"No rush." Dodai waved a hand, completely at ease. "Once the Eight-Tails takes care of Hatake Sakumo, those Konoha people will be leaderless. Then we'll charge back and rescue Lord A."
He looked around and continued unhurriedly, "Without Hatake Sakumo holding them together, the Konoha Ninja's strength is nothing to worry about!"
The Kumogakure ninja nodded repeatedly, all agreeing that he made sense.
None of them had ever considered the other possibility:
What if Hatake Sakumo won?
What if that white-haired guy not only won, but also subdued the berserk Eight-Tails while he was at it?
What a joke! That was the berserk Eight-Tails, a Tailed Beast the Third Raikage had only barely managed to subdue after fighting with all his strength until he was exhausted.
No matter how strong Hatake Sakumo was, could he really be stronger than the Third Raikage?
Just then, the sounds from the center of the battlefield gradually died down.
The Kumogakure ninja strained their ears for a long while, but the noise over there had stopped completely.
Dodai narrowed his eyes, calculating inwardly:
Hatake Sakumo must be dead.
As for the Eight-Tails... Maybe B used his powerful will to forcibly suppress the Eight-Tails and seal him back inside his body.
At that thought, Dodai felt a trace of satisfaction. When I personally chose this kid to be the next Raikage's "brother and partner," I knew he could do it...
"Perfect opportunity." Dodai waved his hand. "Attack! Rescue Lord A!"
At the command, the Kumogakure army charged toward the battlefield as one.
Meanwhile, the Konoha army was also charging toward them in force under Hatake Sakumo's command.
Both sides had their own thoughts. Each believed the other had already been defeated, and both were eager to kick their opponents while they were down.
With both sides traveling quickly, they soon reached the battlefield where the Eight-Tails and Hatake Sakumo had fought.
Staring at the battlefield before them-the cracked ground, the uprooted trees, and the shattered ravines everywhere-the ninja on both sides were dumbstruck.
The Kumogakure ninja sucked in a cold breath. "This is... the Eight-Tails' power!"
The Konoha Ninja, on the other hand, felt their blood boil. "This is Lord Hokage's strength!"
Even Dodai, a Kumogakure higher-up, couldn't help being secretly shocked.
He had personally been responsible for choosing a brother and partner for the next Raikage back then, and knew better than anyone how powerful the Eight-Tails was...
Not just anyone could become the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
Yet the devastation before him still made him realize that he had underestimated the Eight-Tails' power.
Dodai felt both awe and pride.
He was awed by the Eight-Tails' destructive power, and proud because, with all that commotion, surely not even a trace of Hatake Sakumo remained.
But immediately afterward, both sides spotted a group of figures appearing in the distance.
The Kumogakure ninja froze, and so did the Konoha Ninja.
Almost simultaneously, the same thought occurred to both sides:
Wait, we haven't even come looking for you, and you dare come to us instead?
Well, that's perfect. Saves us the trip.
Both sides were reckless. Yelling at the tops of their lungs, they accelerated toward each other's ranks.
The only thing that gave Dodai pause was Killer B.
Now that the Eight-Tails had been suppressed, Killer B should have shown himself. Yet he was nowhere to be seen.
Dodai figured, B must know he's in bad shape and found somewhere to hide because he's afraid of running into the enemy. A wise move.
Once we've defeated the Konoha Ninja without Hatake Sakumo leading them and taken Lord A back, we'll go look for Killer B. With that thought, Dodai worried no further.
Little did he know that the supposedly "hiding" Lord Killer B was currently being carried in someone's hand like a dead pig.
As for Hatake Sakumo, he really was cautious.
To widen the information gap, he deliberately hid among the crowd instead of running at the front as they headed off to ambush the Kumogakure ninja.
The Kumogakure ninja couldn't spot Hatake Sakumo. That only reinforced their belief that the Eight-Tails had won and Konoha was leaderless.