"Lava Release: Rubber Ball!"
Hatake Sakumo saw Dodai open his mouth across from him and spit something pitch-black from his throat, straight at him.
He saw through Dodai's objective at once.
Dodai wanted to wrap Killer B in rubber and forcibly snatch him back.
Rubber Ball was a Lava Release technique Dodai used to "protect a target." The "rubber thread" he spat out flew like a stream of water, and as soon as it touched its target, it would turn into a sphere and wrap the person up completely.
Hatake Sakumo held Killer B in his left hand and gripped his short blade, White Fang, in his right. When the rubber thread reached him, he flicked his wrist.
"Clang!"
With one slash, he cut the remarkably resilient Lava Release rubber in two, like a dead snake.
Dodai's eyes went wide, and he blurted out, "How is that possible? How could my Lava Release be cut?"
His Lava Release was different from the destructive kind used by Roshi and the Four-Tails.
Roshi's lava was highly destructive, high-temperature magma, while his was defensive, highly elastic rubber. Ordinarily, let alone a blade, even an A-rank ninjutsu would only dent it before it sprang back into shape.
But the sight before him had torn apart the defense he was so proud of. He stared at the two severed lengths of rubber, unable to recover for a long moment.
Against top-tier Armament Haki, the stuff might as well have been made of paper, breaking at a touch. But Hatake Sakumo had no interest in answering his question.
He tossed the short blade into the air. White Fang spun halfway around before dropping neatly into the sheath on his back.
He didn't even need a blade to deal with Dodai. That way, he wouldn't accidentally cut him to death.
Hatake Sakumo still intended to capture him alive. He was eager to see what valuable things the Third Raikage would offer in exchange for his trusted aide.
Hatake Sakumo pushed off and rushed toward Dodai.
Seeing this, Dodai didn't dare confront him head-on. He couldn't beat this white-haired monster, so his only option was to stall until Hatake Sakumo ran out of stamina.
As his opponent closed in, he quickly retreated.
Unfortunately for him.
Dodai was indeed fairly strong, an experienced and capable Jonin even by Kumogakure's standards. But compared to Hatake Sakumo, he fell far short.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between them shrank again.
Dodai's expression changed. He spat out more rubber ropes, sending them winding toward Hatake Sakumo's feet to slow him down.
Hatake Sakumo punched out with a fist coated in Armament Haki.
He unleashed an "air strike."
His fist never touched the rubber ropes, but they were instantly flung away, as though gripped by an invisible hand.
Seeing Dodai endlessly release rubber ropes to keep him from getting close, Hatake Sakumo grew annoyed.
He leaped into the air and whipped out his right foot.
"Rankyaku!"
Rankyaku was one of the Six Powers. It allowed him to kick out a crescent-shaped slash as though his foot were a blade, and this one was also coated in Armament Haki.
Fast and fierce, the slash traced an arc of black light through the air, cutting through every rubber rope in its path.
A chill ran down Dodai's spine. Instinctively, he knew he was in trouble.
He stopped running, planted his feet and brought his hands together, quickly activating his technique. "Lava Release: Rubber Wall!"
Highly elastic rubber surged up in front of him, piling layer upon layer into a thick wall.
Unfortunately, the slash came straight at him without slowing.
"Whoosh..."
The rubber wall failed to stop it. The slash passed through it like a knife through tofu and sliced one of Dodai's legs clean off.
Dodai immediately rolled on the ground, howling in pain.
Hatake Sakumo hurried over and grabbed him.
With Dodai captured as well, the Kumogakure Ninja were left entirely without leadership.
Under the Konoha Ninja's assault, they were driven back at every turn.
The Uchiha Clan was ruthless indeed, especially when it came to beating a drowning dog.
Once they activated their Sharingan, even two Tomoe or one Tomoe, never mind three, represented an insurmountable gap for these ordinary Jonin and Chunin.
Holding his two captives, Hatake Sakumo kicked out a Rankyaku from time to time, sweeping away the remnants of the retreating Kumogakure army.
The pursuit lasted more than two hours.
The Kumogakure Ninja had long since lost the will to fight. They all ran for their lives, and whoever ran slowest died first.
The Konoha Ninja pursued them for a full two hours, killing many Kumogakure Ninja and capturing many more alive.
Of the great Kumogakure army that had marched out, only a quarter remained to be carried away alive.
As Hatake Sakumo directed the Konoha Ninja in clearing the battlefield, the system sounded in his mind again.
"Ding! Host, you're amazing! You led the world's greatest swordsman's subordinate forces to defeat a fodder pirate crew."
"Host, not to criticize, but the greatest swordsman went after a bunch of fodder and still had to bring out his subordinate forces. Sigh..."
Hatake Sakumo: "???"
He couldn't help rolling his eyes.
Wait, this was Kumogakure's ninja army, and it included the Third Raikage's son A and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B.
And the system called a lineup like that fodder?
Hatake Sakumo couldn't be bothered to argue with it.
But the system's remark belatedly reminded him of something.
He had originally hoped the system might mistake A or Killer B for a character from the world of One Piece this time.
The thought left Hatake Sakumo feeling empty.
Those two were major figures in Naruto Shippuden, after all. He had thought the system might mistake them for someone else, giving him a chance to draw a powerful ability.
Instead, the system had classified them both as fodder, without even giving them a second look. His hopes had been for nothing.
Meanwhile.
The ninja Hatake Sakumo had sent back with news of the battle finally made it to the village.
Tsunade, who had stayed behind to "oversee the village," received the report immediately.
She opened the letter and read it. Her brow immediately relaxed, and she felt much lighter.
The letter stated clearly that Hatake Sakumo had captured not only A, the Third Raikage's son, but also Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
It was an impeccable victory.
Tsunade set the letter on the table and let out a long breath.
Things were settled on Hatake Sakumo's side, and the southwestern border was firmly secured.
Now she only had to wait for news of Orochimaru and Jiraiya's battles.
Tsunade wasn't too worried about Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
For one thing, she had confidence in the strength of her two old friends. For another, their opponents weren't being led by their "Kage."
What truly worried her was Nara Shikata's side.
Nara Shikata was facing the Land of Wind's army, led by the Third Kazekage himself.
The Third Kazekage was reputed to be the strongest Kazekage in Sunagakure's history!